Name: Strawberry Topping Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 1 3/4 cups
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups strawberries, diced (plus 1/4 cups); 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 cup white granulated sugar

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This strawberry topping recipe has 4 simple ingredients and can be made with either fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries. Strawberry lovers are going want to spoon this strawberry sauce over pancakes, shortcake and cheesecake and so much more!

Strawberry topping is wonderful on pancakes, waffles, shortcake, cheesecake, poured over ice cream, folded into a crepe, with sous vide creme brulee, as a topping for Oreo cheesecake, on toast or served alongside lemon blueberry bread, or rhubarb cake.

What 4 ingredients do you need to make homemade strawberry topping sauce?

strawberries
lemon juice
vanilla extract
sugar

For the full recipe and complete directions scroll to the bottom of the post where the recipe card is! You can also print the recipe there!

How big of a batch does this recipe make and can it be doubled?

This recipe will yield 1 3/4 cups of strawberry topping. I have doubled and even tripled the recipe with excellent results.

How much is 1 pint of strawberries?

A pint of strawberries is 16 ounces or one pound. Commonly strawberries are sold in pint plastic clamshell containers in the grocery store. If your recipe calls for a quart of fresh strawberries you are going to need 2 pint containers to make the quart.

How much is 1 qt of strawberries?

A quart of strawberries is approximately 32 ounces or 2 pounds. This is the rhyme I use to remember how many pints are in a quart. A pint is a pound, the world round. There are 2 pints in a quart and 4 quarts in a gallon. 128 ounces in a gallon.

Do you wash strawberries before making topping?

It is best to wash the strawberries and remove the green stem just before cutting them to cook them down. Don’t let the strawberries soak in water as they might absorb the water and start to break down quicker.

Can you freeze strawberry topping?

I freeze my extra strawberry topping in vacuum seal bags. Just be sure to manually seal them before the moisture reaches the seal edge. I also portion out the topping into 1 1/4 cup portions. This is 1/4 cup of strawberry sauce per person in our house for a pancake breakfast.

If you don’t have a seal and vac system, use a freezer safe plastic zip top bag and be sure to force out as much air as possible before sealing the bag. Additionally, a freezer safe container would work week for freezing the topping.

How long do you store strawberry topping in the refrigerator?

I store my strawberry topping in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It is usually eaten before the 2 weeks is up!

How to make strawberry topping:

Cut cleaned, hulled strawberries into quarters and measure out 2 cups.
In a medium sauce pan, add the quartered strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Stir over medium high heat, bring the sauce to a boil, stirring to prevent burning.
Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Remove from the heat and cool completely before storing in the freezer or refrigerator.

Extra strawberry topping tip:

At the 13 minute mark of simmering the sauce, add 1/4 cup of chopped strawberries. These berries will not break down as much as the other strawberries in the recipe, giving you firmer strawberries in the sauce in addition to the tender berries.
Fresh lemon juice is best but use bottled if that is all you have available.

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Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Strawberry Topping Recipe

This strawberry topping recipe has 4 simple ingredients and can be made with either fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries. Strawberry lovers are going want to spoon this strawberry sauce over pancakes, shortcake and cheesecake.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries, diced (plus 1/4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white granulated sugar

Instructions

Cut cleaned, hulled strawberries into quarters and measure out 2 cups.
In a medium sauce pan, add the quartered strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Stir over medium high heat, bring the sauce to a boil, stirring to prevent burning.
Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Remove from the heat and cool completely before storing in the freezer or refrigerator.

Notes

At the 13 minute mark of simmering the sauce, add 1/4 cup of chopped strawberries. These berries will not break down as much as the other strawberries in the recipe, giving you firmer strawberries in the sauce in addition to the tender berries.

Fresh lemon juice is best but use bottled if that is all you have available.