Made with fresh summer berries, you’re going to love this delicious Strawberry Syrup. This is a delightful homemade treat for pancakes, waffles, baked goods, drinks, and more.
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There is no such thing as too many fresh seasonal strawberries! These bites of sunshine deserve to be enjoyed in bulk. But there are days when you want to savor that taste longer than strawberry season lasts.
And that is where this strawberry syrup recipe truly shines. You can keep it in the fridge, freeze some for later, or even can it. You’ve got options. Go get some berries and let’s do this.
This recipe is so great to use on whole wheat pancakes, sour cream pancakes, oat milk pancakes, incorporated into Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream, or drizzled over cold start Instant Pot yogurt.
You’ll also love adding it to drinks like a Virgin Mojito, Instant Pot Iced Tea, or a Moscow Mule Mocktail.
How Do you Thicken Strawberry Syrup?
You have three options: 1) cook it longer to reduce the water content 2) add sugar 3) thicken with a bit of cornstarch. Safety tip: It is not suitable for canning if you add cornstarch.
How Do You Make Strawberry Syrup From Scratch?
We’re going to cook down some strawberries with a bit of sugar and lemon juice until the sauce they make is liquid perfection. I’ll walk you through it in photos, but you’ll find a printable and detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Remove the tops and cut the berries in quarters (or eighths for big ones) and add them to a large pan. Now we’re going to cook them down over medium heat and gently mush them as they heat up.
Pro tip: if you want this process to go more quickly, chop the berries smaller before adding them to the pan. You could even “pulse” half of them in a food processor or just start with a base of homemade strawberry puree and add in chopped berries.
Add in the sugar and lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring often until the syrup comes to a boil. Cook at a boil for two minutes, stirring the whole time. The syrup will more than double in volume while it is boiling, and you may need to lower the heat a bit to keep the sauce from popping and boiling over. Prop tip: choose a pot that is 3x the size of the berries. You’ll see in photos below I had to transfer to a larger pot. Whoops!
Remove the pot from the heat and allow the syrup to cool before storing. It will thicken as it cools.
Your finished product can take on whatever texture you want. I prefer it mostly sauce with some berries in there for texture. If you want it completely smooth, use an immersion blender in the (cooled!) sauce, run it through a food processor or blender in batches.
How Long Does Strawberry Syrup Last?
You can keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks, or freeze for 3-6 months. If you choose to can it, you can store it in a cool dark place for up to 12 months.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- You can use frozen strawberries (related: How to Freeze Strawberries). Let them heat up in the pot with a splash of water. You’ll need to cook everything a bit longer to reduce the liquid as they defrost.
- To thicken with cornstarch, combine 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tsp of cool water. Mix until smooth and add to the syrup after you have finished the boiling process. Cook for an additional two minutes.
- You are able to can this strawberry syrup recipe as long as you don’t use cornstarch. The processing time and directions are the same as this Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam.
- If you want a completely smooth syrup, you’ll want to blend the berries before adding sugar. Cook in a saucepan for a few minutes until the sauce is warmed through. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a clean bowl and pour the berries into the strainer. You may need to “push” the sauce through with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to get every last drop. Then add the filtered sauce back to the pan, add the sugar and lemon juice, and bring to a gentle boil for 2 minutes.
More Delicious Recipes Like This
- Strawberry Simple Syrup
- Peach Syrup
- Strawberry Waffles
- Frozen Strawberries in Syrup
- Blackberry Syrup
- Sugared Strawberries
- Blueberry Freezer Jam
- How to Can Apple Butter
- Freezing Rhubarb
- Strawberry Freeze Jam
- Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Canning Applesauce
- Canning Peaches
- Strawberry Truffles
- Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving of strawberry syrup has 1 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Homemade Strawberry Syrup
Ingredients
- 6 cups strawberries {tops removed and cut into quarters}
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Rinse and remove the tops of the berries.6 cups strawberries
- Cut berries in quarters (or eighths for big ones) and add them to a large saucepan.
- Cook berries over medium heat and gently mush them with a wooden spoon or spatula as they heat up.
- Add in the sugar and lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring often until the syrup comes to a boil.1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice
- Cook at a boil for two minutes, stirring the whole time. You may need to lower the heat a bit to keep the sauce from boiling over.
- Remove the pot from the heat and allow the syrup to cool before storing. It will thicken as it cools.
- Using a metal spoon, skim foam from the top of the sauce.
Notes
- To thicken with cornstarch, combine 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tsp of cool water. Mix until smooth and add to the syrup after you have finished the boiling process. Cook for an additional two minutes.
- Store in the fridge for up to two weeks, or freeze for 3-6 months.
- If you choose to can it, you can store it in a cool dark place for up to 12 months. Makes 5 cups, or enough for five 8oz jam jars, or ~2 pints.
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Just made this today and it was so delicious I had to write a review about it. This was such a simple recipe but it really captured the strawberries at their peak of freshness, not as though they have been processed and canned into jam. This really concentrates the strawberry flavour. Thank you for this simple recipe with full flavour.Â
Best illustration of how to make strawberry paste
I made blueberry simple syrup and added cornstarch to thicken. This is my normal recipe that I would have refrigerated and we slowly ate up. But on a whim I decided to use same recipe and canned the syrup. I just opened a jar and used on pancakes. Yum. So why not use cornstarch and can??
There are notes in the post on how to use cornstarch. I’ll copy and paste it below:
To thicken with cornstarch, combine 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tsp of cool water. Mix until smooth and add to the syrup after you have finished the boiling process. Cook for an additional two minutes.
Mine was very runny? What did I do wrong?
I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot! I’d need to know a few things: did you can it, has it already cooled, did you use sugar, were the strawberries frozen?
A few things that could be the cause: frozen berries were used and not enough water “cooked off”. It may not have cooked enough. If the strawberries were super ripe (yum), they may have been extra-juicy. It will thicken as it cools so do wait a few hours before determining the final consistency. If you canned it and the bottom was a bit too watery but the top was a decent consistency, it usually means it wasn’t cooked long enough before canning.
If you want to email me (sarah@sustainablecooks.com) to figure this out, I’d be happy to help! You could also send me pix that way.