Strawberry Sauce is a delicious addition to pancakes, ice cream, or to just eat with a spoon!
A History of Strawberries
My father loves to tell the story of the strawberries he grew in the garden when I was just a toddler. I refused to try them, until one day he would not let me out of my high chair until I ate one. From that point on there were never any strawberries in the garden. The second they started to turn pink, I would pick them and eat them.
From strawberries in the garden to strawberry soup, this sauce was a lifetime in the making! Share on XMy history with strawberries doesn’t end there. In high school we had been given tons of frozen strawberries, and I, thinking I was Martha Stewart, decided that I would make a strawberry pie. I made the crust from scratch, taking my time to make sure it was perfect, added in the strawberries and the sugar, and put it in the oven. I was so proud of myself. The thing is, these were frozen strawberries. I had no idea you were supposed to thaw them first. My beautiful pie turned into strawberry soup, mind you, it was the best strawberry soup any one had ever tasted, probably because no one has ever made strawberry soup before, but regardless it wasn’t to bad.
I’ve always loved strawberries.
Strawberry Season
In South Florida the height of our strawberry season is actually January, but thanks to the ease of transporting fruits and veggies all over the Unites States, we get to share in summer strawberry season with everyone up north. Strawberries have been incredibly cheap this summer and I always grab several containers when I’m at the store. Sometimes, I buy more than we can actually eat.
It was during one of those times I got the great idea to make homemade strawberry sauce. My husband loves strawberry ice cream, so I knew he would be head over heels for this. I started researching different recipes and I was shocked at the amount of sugar that was used to make the sauce.
You could go into a diabetic coma just reading some of these recipes.
So, of course I had to try making my own version without all the white sugar. Turns out it was not that hard and my family loved it. When my husband came home from work and saw strawberries cooking away on the stove, he was very excited!
Strawberry Sauce
For this recipe, I chose to use just four ingredients- strawberries, lemon juice, agave nectar, and a splash of vanilla. By reducing the amount of sugar used (I went from 1 cup of white sugar to 1/3 cup of agave), it really allows the strawberries to shine through.
Plus, we put the sauce on gluten free pancakes (I used GF Jules Pancake Mix) and ice cream, both of which are already sweet. My dad and stepmom came over for our pancake feast and were in love with the sauce. They were especially excited that I had packaged some in cute little jars so they were able to take some home!
Just a few little notes:
Strainer:
You are going to want a fine mesh strainer for this. I used the same one I use to rinse rice and it worked perfectly.
Hot or Cold:
You can serve the strawberry sauce hot or cold. If it is still warm, it will be thinner. It thickens as it cools.
Get a mason jar!:
This strawberry sauce makes the perfect take home gift for a brunch or ice cream social. I bought the little jars at Target for a $1.00
What are your favorite things to put Strawberry Sauce on? Chime in, in the comments!
Simply Delicious Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Fresh Strawberries stemmed and cut
- 1/3 cup golden agave syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Instructions
- Combine Strawberries, agave, vanilla, and lemon juice in a small pot.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently and breaking up strawberries for about 5 minutes.
- Strawberries should be soft and easily mashed.
- Strain strawberry mixture into bowl using a mesh strainer.
- Press strawberries to get as much of the juice and syrup out as possible. Place left over strawberry mash aside to use in smoothies later.
- Pour strawberry sauce back into pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
- Use warm or refrigerate.