Easy Strawberry Compote Recipe
This Strawberry Compote recipe uses just 5 ingredients and can be made in under 15 minutes. It’s the perfect way to use fresh strawberries in the summer, but easily made any time of the year using either fresh or frozen berries.
Strawberry compote is one of my absolute favorite ice cream toppings! It’s amazing spooned over a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream, or mixed into homemade mascarpone ice cream.
I’ve even enjoyed this berry compote with lime sherbet! You can also add it to desserts like this easy strawberry shortcake.
We love using compote in desserts. One of our favorite ways is to layer it with gluten-free chocolate cake. It’s also amazon on fluffy Greek yogurt pancakes.
Why You’re Going to Love this Recipe for Strawberry Compote
- Better Than Store-Bought – Compote from the store will be preserved in a jar, which might be convenient, but it automatically means that the compote is made with preservatives. When you make strawberry compote from scratch, all you’ll get is the fresh flavor of berries cooked into a delicious topping with sugar and a bit of lemon.
- Easy to Make Ahead – This recipe can be made and stored in the fridge for a week or so. It’s an excellent way to preserve fresh berries that might go bad before you’re ready to enjoy them.
- It’s Very Simple to Make! You just need to mix up these few ingredients and cook them on the stove for a bit so that the compote thickens and the berries cook down. You can do the same thing to make raspberry compote or blueberry compote too.
Ingredients in Homemade Strawberry Compote
- Strawberries – Fresh strawberries are ideal, but you can also make this with frozen, thawed strawberries if you need to. Wash, hull, and dice the strawberries before cooking them.
- Lemon – Zest the lemon, then juice it. We’ll use both to give this compote a bright, fresh flavor.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar is my preferred sweetener for making fresh strawberry compote. You can add more sugar if your berries seem particularly tart.
- Cornstarch – to thicken the strawberry sauce, a slurry of cornstarch and water works quickly and easily.
For the complete list of ingredients and instructions for making homemade strawberry compote, please see the recipe below.
How to Store Strawberry Compote
Once the compote has cooled to room temperature, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days. I prefer to use a glass jar, but any type of container will work just fine.
How to Reheat Strawberry Compote
Sometimes you’ll want to enjoy compote cold from the fridge, but for some applications, like topping ice cream or waffles, you may want to warm it up a bit!
Add the compote to a small saucepan and warm it over low heat, or use your microwave to heat the sauce at 15-second increments, stirring after each. Be sure not to overheat the strawberry sauce, you don’t want to burn your mouth!
Tips for Making This Strawberry Compote Recipe
- Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream toppings, you’ll want to make sure you are using high-quality ingredients for the best outcome.
- Don’t skimp on the sugar – Fresh strawberries are sweet, but not quite sweet enough to be an ice cream topping on their own. The amount of sugar in this recipe is perfect, and you can even add more if your berries are particularly tart.
- To make strawberry sauce rather than compote, you can press the finished strawberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer to create a smooth sauce.
What Berries are Best for Compote?
This method will work with any kind of berries that you enjoy! Try it with raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries. Mixed berry compote is also very simple to make with any combination of your favorite fruits.
How to Serve Strawberry Compote
There are infinite ways to enjoy strawberry compote! It’s of course amazing on ice cream, but you can try one of all of these ideas as well:
- On pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
- Mixed into yogurt, oatmeal, or cottage cheese.
- Spooned over cheesecake, angel food cake, or pound cake.
- Spread on toast, English muffins, or bagels.
- Blend it into a vanilla milkshake or smoothie.
Strawberry Compote Variations
This recipe is completely basic, and lets the flavor of strawberries shine! You can get creative with other flavors though. Try one or more of these flavor enhancers:
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Vanilla extract
- Almond Extract
- Orange or lime zest
- Fresh herbs
- Rum, gin, or liqueur (for an adults-only variation of strawberry compote)
Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Top any of these ice cream flavors with your homemade strawberry compote!
- No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
- Frozen Yogurt
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Lemon Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Death by Chocolate Ice Cream
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Strawberry Compote
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh strawberries hulled and diced
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the diced strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries begin to break down and release their juices, about 7-9 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved.
- Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan with the strawberries and stir to combine.
- Cook the strawberry syrup for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the strawberry syrup cool completely.
- (Optional) For a smooth strawberry sauce, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor and then pour it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
- Feel free to use frozen strawberries for this recipe rather than fresh, if that's what you have.
- To Store: Keep for up to 7 days in the fridge in an airtight mason or preserving jar. Can be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight container as well.
