Berry Sauce
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Packed with juicy berries and natural sweetness, this berry sauce recipe is perfect for dressing up both everyday and special-occasion treats.
Quick and easy to make, this mixed berry sauce is perfect spooned over cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, pancakes, crepes, or waffles. It’s thickened with puréed fruit rather than cornstarch, so the berry flavor really shines through. I like to reserve some of the whole fruit to stir into the purée before serving, but serve the berries on the side instead if you prefer.
“This is delicious and easy to do. Great with Jenn’s cheesecake, as a topping for a bowl of ice cream or on plain Greek yogurt for a sweet treat.”
What You’ll Need To Make Berry Sauce
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Simmer the berries with lemon juice and sugar. Combine all of the berries in a large bowl and stir gently. Transfer about two-thirds of the mixture to a medium saucepan (set the rest aside in the fridge for later). Add the lemon juice and sugar to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and cook until syrupy, about 5 minutes.
Pro Tip: If your berries aren’t super ripe or are particularly tart, you can bump up the sugar a touch—or add a splash of orange juice for a different flavor.
Step 2: Purée the sauce. Pour the hot berry mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pro Tip: Take the center cap off the blender lid and cover with a kitchen towel to let steam escape—this keeps pressure from building up and making a mess.
Step 3: Strain. Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the sauce through it. Use the back of a ladle to press the liquid through in a circular motion, leaving the seeds behind. (If you prefer a rustic, more textured sauce, you can skip straining altogether—but expect it to be seedy, thicker, and more jam-like.
Step 4: Chill and finish. Discard the seeds, then refrigerate the sauce until cold. Right before serving, stir in the reserved fresh berries. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little water, bit by bit, until it reaches the consistency you want.
Pro Tips for Berry sauce
- Berry flexibility: Feel free to tweak the berry ratios based on what you’ve got on hand or what looks best at the store—just keep the total amount the same.
- Make it boozy: Stir in a splash of Chambord, Grand Marnier, or port for a more grown-up twist.
- Storing: This sauce keeps well in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months..
- More uses: Try it over frozen yogurt, pound cake, or French toast, or swirl it into Greek yogurt or oatmeal.
More Recipes You May Like
Berry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
- 6 oz (1 dry half pint) fresh raspberries
- 6 oz (1 dry half pint) fresh blueberries
- 6 oz (1 dry half pint) fresh blackberries
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- ¾ cup sugar
Instructions
- Combine all of the berries in a large bowl and stir gently to combine. Spoon about ⅔ of the mixed berries into a medium saucepan; transfer the remaining berries to a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Add the lemon juice and sugar to the berries in the sauce pan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and cook until the fruit is syrupy, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the hot berry mixture to a blender and purée until smooth. Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour the sauce into the strainer and use the back of a soup ladle and circular motions to force the sauce through the strainer and into the bowl. Discard the seeds that remain in the strainer. Refrigerate the berry sauce until cold or ready to serve.
- Before serving, add the reserved berries to the sauce and stir to combine. If the sauce seems too thick, add a few tablespoons of water, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
Comments
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I made this sauce to go with your cheesecake recipe. I didn’t have fresh berries on hand because I wasn’t planning to make a topping however when I saw how simple the recipe was I thought why not. So I used frozen strawberries, sugar and lemon juice. I let 3/4 of them thaw a little and then added the remaining frozen from the freezer after I puréed my sauce. It was delicious even for frozen fruit.
This sauce is perfect. I make it every year to top the delicious NY cheesecake (your recipe). It’s a Christmas tradition in my family, and I even got a beautiful glass ornament for the tree – a slice of cheesecake with berry sauce – because it looks exactly like this fabulous dessert. Merry Christmas! 🎄❤️
This sauce is the best and the cheesecake is out of this world! Can the sauce be made ahead and put in freezer? How long will it stay in the fridge?
Hi Audra, The sauce can definitely me made ahead – it will keep for about a week in the fridge or you can freeze for up to 3 months.
Used 1 lb. frozen mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, and blueberries) and cut sugar to 1/2 cup. Delicious on crepes!!
Can you use frozen berries?
Sure – I would thaw them first and drain off any excess liquid. Hope you enjoy!
I made this for a bridal shower to serve over vanilla ice cream. There were many delicious dishes served and this sauce received the most comments! I used mostly strawberries with a mix of a few cherries, blueberries and blackberries because that’s what I had in my freezer. Yummo!
Do you think I could heat it a bit to serve warm over ice cream?
Virginia
Sure!
This recipe is perfect. I sometimes make a coconut cheesecake substituting coconut cookie crisps for graham crackers. Also add about a cup of sweetened coconut to the batter. Yum!
Hi Jenn,
I am having company over and am looking forward to trying my hand at your cheesecake recipe! I’d really like to make this sauce to go with it but unfortunately I am allergic to strawberries. Might you be able to suggest a substitute or how much more of the other berries would be best to use? Thank you. Cheers!
Hi Ashlee, it’s fine to replace the strawberries with an equivalent amount of any of the other berries. Hope you enjoy both this and the cheesecake!
This is delicious and easy to do. Great with Jenn’s cheesecake, as a topping for ice cream or on plain greek yogurt for a sweet treat.
As always, love ALL of Jenn’s recipes. For some reason I misread (lost my glasses yesterday!) and only used 1/2 cup of sugar…still very good. Husband LOVED with the EXCELLENT cheese cake of Jenn’s!!!