Strawberry coulis is essentially strawberry compote that is pureed into a sauce. It can instantly take any sweet dish to the next level by adding sweetness, flavor, and color.
Top cheesecake, waffles, oatmeal, pancakes, frozen yogurt, or fill vegan cakes and cupcakes. It can instantly add a touch of "fine dining" to your homemade desserts.
Plus there is no need to add a thickener, the natural pectin in the citrus along with the sugar helps to thicken the coulis down while cooking without cornstarch.
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If you have a big batch of fresh strawberries to use up, also try my fruity chia jam, strawberry ice cream, strawberry crumble bars, and strawberry yogurt popsicles.
🧾 Ingredients
As promised, you only need 3 simple ingredients to make this delicious strawberry sauce. Here’s what to grab:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Fresh Ripe Strawberries: Sweet seasonal strawberries will give a more intense strawberry flavor to the coulis. It's ok to use frozen strawberries as well, just note that frozen berries result in a slightly darker color.
- Granulated Sugar: This works best as it enhances the flavor of the strawberries without overpowering them. Brown sugar or coconut sugar will give a slight caramel taste and a less bright red sauce.
- Lime Juice: This compliments and enhances the strawberry flavor. You can use fresh lemon juice as well, just make sure you use freshly squeezed juice, not the bottled kind!
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🔪 How To Make Strawberry Coulis
Here are step-by-step images showing how to make this simple strawberry sauce. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
Step 1: Similar to the method for making strawberry confit like in this strawberry tiramisu, the strawberries must be cooked down with lime juice and sugar first. Add the ingredients to a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then turn it down to medium-low heat and simmer.
Step 2: After 10 minutes of simmering, the berries will be soft and mushy. Note that the cooking time will increase by a few minutes if you're using frozen fruit. Remove the pan from the heat at this point.
Step 3: Add the strawberry mixture to a high-speed blender or food processor. Once the lid is on, cover the top with a tea towel to prevent the hot liquid from splashing out.
Step 4: Blend the strawberry compote for a minute or two, until the pureed berries have the perfect sauce consistency. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the jug. Let it come to room temperature before you transfer the coulis to a sealed container.
🫐 Optional Variations
I love this simple strawberry coulis recipe just as it's written but there are lots of ways you can adapt it to suit your taste and dietary requirements:
- Switch Up Your Berries: Swap out the berries depending on what's in season and the ingredients you have on hand. You can swap in raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries, just note that like in my berry coulis, some varieties may need to be passed through a sieve after blending for the best consistency.
- Make It Refined Sugar-Free: If you need to cut back the sugar, you can swap it out for erythritol or sweeten it with maple syrup. However, liquid sweeteners such as maple or agave syrup will result in a slightly runnier sauce.
- Add Flavors: Feel free to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste for a delicious strawberries and cream flavor. You could also add a dash of white rum to make a strawberry daiquiri dessert sauce!
- Swap Your Citrus: Swap out the lime juice for some freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice.
💭 Recipe Tips
As with my other strawberry recipes, I recommend using the best seasonal strawberries you can find. If berries are out of season, you can easily swap them for frozen strawberries.
As you can freeze this berry coulis, it's an idea to make a big batch during strawberry season when berries are at their peak ripeness.
If you don't have a high-speed blender or food processor, you can use an immersion blender instead (stick blender). I recommend passing the coulis through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
🍓 Ways To Use Strawberry Sauce
Here are just some of the ways you can use this homemade strawberry sauce to jazz up your favorite desserts, breakfasts, and drinks:
- Breakfast: Pour on top of pancakes, waffles, French toast, overnight oats, and porridge. Or stir into chia pudding or vegan yogurt.
- Dessert Topping: Pour over ice cream, pavlova, or panna cotta, or make ice cream sundaes with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Drizzle on top of meringue, baked cheesecake, rice pudding, or no-bake cheesecake. You can also swirl it into frosting for pound cakes and sheet cakes.
- Filling: You can use it to fill cupcakes and cakes. Make sure you pipe a buttercream border if filling layer cakes to prevent it from weeping out the sides of the cake.
- Drinks: Use it as a base for cocktails and mocktails.
💬 FAQs
Strawberry coulis is a smooth strawberry fruit sauce and is essentially just strawberry compote after it has been blended.
Strawberry compote consists of strawberries, sugar, and usually some form of citrus cooked down into a jammy consistency.
Store it in a sealed jar or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Absolutely. You can freeze it in a freezer-safe container or divide it into ice cube trays for convenient servings. It will keep for a few months. Just defrost it overnight in the fridge before serving.
Yes, if you don't have a high-speed blender, food processor, or stick blender, just use a fine mesh strainer to get any remaining lumps out of the sauce.
🍯 More Spreads & Sauces
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Strawberry Coulis (Strawberry Sauce)
Ingredients
- 450 g (3 ⅕ cups) fresh strawberries or frozen *note 1
- 80 g (6 ½ tbsp) granulated sugar *note 2
- 1 tablespoon lime juice or lemon juice
Instructions
- If using fresh strawberries, wash well and remove the stems and hull them. Slice the strawberries into quarters.
- Add the strawberries, sugar, and lime juice to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. The mixture will begin to boil and bubble, then turn it down to medium heat. Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring the mixture often. Once the strawberries have broken down and softened turn off the heat - this will take a few minutes longer if using frozen strawberries.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and pulse until it reaches a smooth strawberry sauce consistency. You can also use a stick blender, just be careful not to burn yourself with the hot liquid.
- Pour the strawberry coulis into a jar or container and allow it to cool to room temperature before sealing it airtight.
Storage and Serving
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks - it will thicken once chilled. You can also freeze it in a suitable container or ice cube tray for up to a couple of months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before use.
- Serve over ice cream, pancakes, waffles, meringue, or as a filling for cupcakes and cakes. You can also drizzle it over cheesecakes and panna cotta. You can also use it as a base for making cocktails and mocktails!
Notes
- I recommend using the best seasonal strawberries you can find. If berries are out of season, you can easily swap out fresh strawberries for frozen strawberries, adding a couple of minutes more cooking time.
- Some white sugar in the US is not vegan, if in doubt use organic sugar. You can use coconut sugar, although it will yield a slightly darker color.
- If you don't have a high-speed blender or food processor, you can use an immersion blender instead (stick blender).
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