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This Strawberry Compote Recipe is sweet, delicious and made from fresh strawberries. Strawberry Sauce comes together in minutes, with just a few simple ingredients. Pour it over waffles, ice cream, sweet cream pancakes, as a strawberry shortcake sauce on angel food or pound cake, or for cheesecake topping!
this recipe
If you want to know a simple way to make any dessert extra with little effort, this Strawberry Sauce is the answer. It's so easy to make. Just throw the ingredients into a pot and within 25 minutes, you've got this amazing compote.
It's finally Strawberry season in North Carolina! I was so excited to go pick my own that I went without the kids, when they were at school. It didn't go over well when they found out, but it was 80 degrees and just me and a few other people in the field, which was so nice. I'm not even going to feel bad about it.
If you have extra Strawberries in the Spring, this is the recipe to use them up!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- What is a Compote:
- What to Use Strawberry Compote on:
- Ingredients:
- How to Make Strawberry Compote:
- Expert Tips:
- Recipe FAQs:
- Storage:
- More Spring Recipes You Will Love:
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Easy to Make. This Strawberry Compote sauce is so easy to make with just a few ingredients
- Versatile Recipe. There are so many options you can pour it over for an absolute flavor overload. From poundcake to waffles and ice cream, it's good on everything.
- Use up those Strawberries. It's a great way to use up fresh strawberries and it stays good in the fridge for up to a week
If you love fruit desserts, try my blueberry galette, strawberry turnovers, and key lime pie bars.
What is a Compote:
A compote is any kind of fruit that is boiled or stewed down into a syrup like texture. Whole or chopped fruit is used so that the final product has a chunky texture. It originated in France, much like many other delicious things.
What to Use Strawberry Compote on:
Serve the strawberry compote warmed up over waffles, ice cream, oatmeal, my brioche french toast, sheet pan pancakes, or for strawberry shortcake sauce over pound cake or angel food cake. I like to add a dollop of whipped cream to balance out the tartness from the compote.
Serve it cold over cheesecake, yogurt parfaits, or overnight oats.
Ingredients:
Fresh Strawberries- They need to be fresh and not frozen. Frozen berries hold a lot of water and while you could make it work, the recipe won't be as flavorful. If you can get berries in season, that's even better. Strawberries are fantastic in a compote because they are sweet and also offer a great texture.
Lemon and Zest-Lemon brings in a tart flavor and acidity that tastes amazing paired with sweet flavors, like strawberry and sugar.
Sugar-Granulated sugar is added for sweetness.
Cornstarch and Water- Combines to form a slurry that is added for thickening the compote. We only use a little bit, because we still want a pourable sauce, not a jam texture.
*Full recipe ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
Variations & Substitutions:
If you don't love tart lemon flavor, you can remove the zest from the recipe.
Trying to cut down on sugar and don't mind tart strawberries? Cut the sugar in half. If it's too thin after doing this, double the cornstarch and water mixture.
How to Make Strawberry Compote:
Step 1: Prepare the Strawberries by removing the stems and cut each berry into quarters.
Step 2: In a medium sized saucepan, add in the strawberries, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar.
Step 3: Place the saucepan on the stovetop over Medium High heat. Stir and bring to a boil for about 6 minutes, stirring every few minutes to avoid burning.
Step 4: Turn heat to medium low, and use a potato masher to mash down only 5 to 6 times to add a little texture to the compote.
Step 5: In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Make sure it is completely blended and pour into the strawberry compote pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Step 6: Remove saucepan from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Step 7: Serve over waffles, ice cream, cakes and more!
Expert Tips:
- Be sure to mix the cornstarch with water really well with no powdery chunks before adding it to the compote. If you don't, it will not dissolve and leave white flecks in the compote.
- Watch the compote while it's boiling and stir frequently to avoid any burning, especially in the beginning when it is being cooked over a high heat.
If you love fruit toppings, try these Caramelized Peaches too!
Recipe FAQs:
What is compote made of?
Compote is made from whole fruit and sugar. The fruit is boiled to create a syrupy like texture, but still has chunks from the fruit.
Do you eat compote hot or cold?
It really depends what you are serving. I enjoy my compote warm over waffles and for strawberry shortcake sauce, but cold in yogurt parfaits or on cheesecake! Ultimately, it's amazingly tasty either way.
How to thicken fruit compote?
The easiest way to thicken fruit compote is to add a cornstarch and water slurry to the mixture. It's crucial not to add the cornstarch without water, or you will end up with white powder that doesn't dissolve well in the compote. Remember, you don't want it thick like jam, but also not runny. A 1 teaspoon cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of water is a good starting point when using about 1 lb of fruit.
Storage:
This compote can be stored in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to a week and be used on all sorts of recipes! You can serve it cold or warm.
More Spring Recipes You Will Love:
- Creamy Vegetable Pasta
- Fresh Strawberry, Pecan and Feta Salad
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Whipped Buttercream Frosting Recipe
If you tried thisStrawberry CompoteRecipeor any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟star ratingand let me know how it goes in the 📝commentsbelow. I love hearing from you!
Strawberry Compote Recipe (Fresh Strawberry Sauce
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star
5 from 1 review
- Author: Tara Smithson
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 and ½ cup 1x
Description
ThisStrawberry Compote Recipeis sweet, delicious and made from fresh strawberries. Strawberry Sauce comes together in minutes, with just a few simple ingredients. Pour it over waffles, ice cream, as a strawberry shortcake sauce on angel food or pound cake, or for cheesecake topping!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb package of fresh strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut each berry into quarters.
- In a medium sized saucepan, add in the strawberries, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar.
- Place the saucepan on the stovetop over Medium High heat. Stir and bring to a boil for about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring every few minutes to avoid burning.
- Turn heat to medium low, and use a potato masher to mash down only 5 to 6 times to add a little texture to the compote.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Make sure it is completely blended and pour into the strawberry compote pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
- Remove saucepan from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve over waffles, ice cream, cakes and more! Enjoy!
Notes
Be sure to mix the cornstarch with water really well with no powdery chunks before adding it to the compote. If you don't, it will not dissolve and leave white flecks in the compote.
Watch the compote while it's boiling and stir frequently to avoid any burning, especially in the beginning when it is being cooked over a high heat.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cooling Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: sauces
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: french
