Pin this recipe for later!
All recipes are rigorously tested in our Nashville Test Kitchen to ensure they are easy, affordable, and delicious.
Strawberry season is so fleeting, and I’m always tempted to buy a ton of strawberries when they’re on sale at the height of the season. So I like to make a quick batch of this strawberry syrup to enjoy that fresh strawberry flavor a little longer. You can use it in all sorts of things, from strawberry lemonade to homemade ice cream or just as a topper for your yogurt, ice cream, waffles, and pancakes. Unlike basic simple syrup, which is just sugar and water, this version layers in fresh fruit flavor that’s good enough to eat by the spoonful!
Bonus: if you cook it down a little longer, it will thicken up even more and make a delicious homemade strawberry jam!
“I made this with frozen berries (to use up an excess!) and it’s soooo good. I am not usually a jam/syrup person, but loved this stuff. Since I used frozen berries, it may have taken longer to cook, and I did add a little scoop of cornstarch to thicken it up more like jam. I will be making this again. :)”
Katie
Strawberry Syrup
Servings 6 ¼ cup eachIngredients
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries ($2.44*)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar ($0.72)
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract ($0.16)
- ⅛ tsp salt ($0.01)
Instructions
- Wash and chop the strawberries into ¼-inch pieces.
- Add the chopped strawberries and sugar to a saucepot. Stir and cook over medium heat until the strawberries release their liquid and form a syrup in the saucepot.
- Let the strawberries simmer in the syrup, stirring occasionally, until they break down and lose their shape and the syrup has thickened to your desired consistency (5-10 minutes). Keep in mind the syrup will thicken more after cooling.
- Remove the syrup from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Let the syrup cool. Use the syrup as-is, or strain through a wire mesh strainer for a clear, smooth syrup.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Strainer (optional)
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Strawberry Syrup Step-by-Step Photos
Prep the strawberries: Begin by washing and chopping 1 lb. of fresh strawberries into ¼-inch pieces.
Combine the sugar and strawberries: Add the chopped strawberries to a medium saucepot along with ¾ cup of sugar.
Simmer: Begin to stir and cook the strawberries over medium heat. The sugar will immediately start to draw the water out of the strawberries, creating a syrup.
Let the strawberries simmer over medium to medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, or until the strawberries have broken down and lost their shape, and the syrup has thickened to your desired consistency. Keep in mind that the syrup will thicken further as it cools.
Cool: Remove the syrup from the heat and stir in 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/8 tsp salt. You can either use your syrup as-is with the strawberry chunks in it or strain it through a fine wire mesh strainer to make a clear, smooth syrup. I like the bits of strawberry in mine. ;)
Recipe Success Tips
- Make it chunky or smooth. When I’m making this strawberry syrup for pancakes, I like to leave it a little chunky with bits of strawberry throughout so it feels more like a topping than just a sauce. But if I’m making strawberry syrup for drinks, I strain it through a fine mesh strainer so it’s smooth and pourable. Just keep in mind the volume will be a little less after straining.
- Make it a jam or syrup. With this one simple recipe, you can make either strawberry syrup or strawberry jam, depending on the simmer time. A shorter simmer keeps it loose and syrupy, while a longer cook evaporates more water for a thicker, jam‑like consistency. And if you go a little too far and it ends up thicker than you’d like, just stir in a splash of water to thin it back out. Or for a no-cook jam, check out our strawberry freezer jam!
How to Use Strawberry Syrup
There are so many ways to use strawberry syrup, and I love switching it up depending on the occasion. For breakfast, it’s perfect drizzled over French toast, waffles, or sheet pan pancakes. At brunch, I’ll spoon it onto yogurt parfaits or swirl it into a glass of homemade lemonade.
When it comes to dessert, you can’t go wrong pouring it over vanilla froyo, ice cream sundaes, or a no-bake cheesecake. And for snacks and treats, I like mixing it into cocktails, blending it into smoothies, or freezing it into homemade popsicles!
How Long Does Strawberry Syrup Last?
You can keep this homemade strawberry syrup in the refrigerator for about three weeks, or freeze it for longer storage.
Would canning it in a hot bath make it last longer???
We don’t do a ton of canning and didn’t can them while testing so I’m not positive! I’m sure you could do it but I don’t know what the shelf life would be.
This tastes like summertime, pure and simple! I found that 3/4 c. sugar per pound of strawberries was a little too sweet unless the strawberries are early-season and not that sweet yet. For the really sweet ones, 1/2 c. sugar was plenty.
Now I want to make waffles, just so I have something worthy of eating with this awesome sauce!
I love this whith icecream!
https://www.receitasfaceisrapidasesaborosas.pt/
I made this with frozen berries (to use up an excess!) and it’s soooo good. I am not usually a jam/syrup person, but loved this stuff. Since I used frozen berries, it may have taken longer to cook, and I did add a little scoop of cornstarch to thicken it up more like jam. I will be making this again. :)
Would it possible to make this with frozen strawberries? Or would that have too much water? Looking forward to trying this!
They probably will have a little more water, but that won’t be an issue because you can just let it simmer a little longer to reduce the mixture. :) That being said, I do find that frozen strawberries sometimes do not have as strong of a flavor as fresh strawberries, so you’ll want to take that into consideration.
We went strawberry picking today and ended up with 10 pounds so perfect timing!Â
Can this recipe be processed in jam jars in a hot water bath, like making jelly?
This time of year, make it with a mix of rhubarb and strawberries and call it rhubarb compote! That’s one of my favorite things to do with fresh rhubarb. It’s absolutely amazing -so simple and fresh and yummy. I like to put it in yogurt, or oatmeal, or on pancakes, or as an upgraded PB&J sandwich. You can also freeze any leftovers in an ice cube tray and then have little cubes of rhubarb compote to thaw and use any time of year :)
We make freezer jam instead of cooked jam and use it on toast, angel cake, or even stirred into vanilla ice cream with fresh lemon juice and zest, then layered with the ice cream in a loaf pan and refrozen to make an ice cream “cake”. The lemon really enhances the strawberry ice cream! I also remember the “Strawberry Misty Cooler” from DQ in the 90s, which was strawberry sundae topping stirred into crushed ice to make a slush drink, and I might try a homemade version.
I’d love to make this and drizzle it over peanut ice cream! If I find good strawberries I’ll make this.