You might be thinking…what in the world is berry sauce? Well, it is a simple invention that makes homemade flavored yogurt, strawberry milk, and berry ice cream a piece of cake! All you have to do is mix a few teaspoons of the finished sauce into whatever your heart desires, although I do recommend sieving out the seeds for the optimal berry-flavored milk. Please no more Hershey’s “Strawberry Syrup” which is pure high-fructose corn syrup! This berry sauce is also a great topping on pancakes and waffles. The possibilities are endless!
Berry Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup frozen berries
- 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, depending on how sweet you like it
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a light simmer.
-
Cook until the berries have softened, about 5 – 10 minutes.
-
Remove from heat and puree with hand immersion blender or countertop blender.
Use immediately or store in the fridge for later.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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How long will this berry sauce, and also the homemade dressings, keep in the fridge?
Hi Dauren. The berry sauce will be okay will be okay for a few days. With dressings, depending on the ingredients, it can vary greatly. This has helped me: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/15553/how-long-will-homemade-salad-dressing-stay-good-in-the-fridge. ~Amy
I make berry purees frequently in big batches and then can it (hot water bath method for 10 minutes).
We use the puree in kombucha, kefir, on pancakes, yogurt….
Does anyone know if this berry sauce would work for the homemade poptarts? I want to make those so bad but don’t have the supplies for canning jam like that recipe calls for! :(
Hi Cassi. You could certainly try. The sauce is thinner than the jam would be. Let us know how it turns out. ~Amy
Decided to try it out. Added more berries to thicken it up and it didnt work well. still too liquidy. Next time ill try just using blended berries- no water. The kids still love them- its just a big mess! haha
I’m still getting used to the difference from the whole wheat flour compared to what im used to- regular AP flour. But they weren’t bad! :)
This was decent, it does become like jello when put in the fridge but still edible.
Just made the Berry Sauce. I used blueberries and I have the granola in the oven. Looking forward to yogurt with sauce and granola, mmmm. Just wondering, when I was making the sauce, I used a high-topped pot but when I put the immersion blender in I had blueberry sauce spraying everywhere, guess the countertop blender would be the better choice next time :)
Hi there Michelle. Lisa loves her immersion blender and uses it for stuff like this all the time. Maybe this will help: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/29331/how-to-minimize-splatter-using-an-immersion-blender. :) ~Amy
Just made this and put it in some plain greek yogurt, it’s really good, thanks!
My kids don’t like plain yogurt, so I’ve been buying high-quality vanilla for them and cringing a bit at the sugar level. This is a GENIUS idea and should make “plain” yogurt a lot more appetizing!
(I actually found it on your recipe for chocolate cake. I have a cake-like brownie recipe that adapts well to whole wheat flour, so I’ve usually been making that for a birthday cake with whipped cream frosting… never thought about adding berries or other fruit.)
Just made this as we transition to real foods… used it in malt o meal instead of brown sugar.. it was a hit! Now I know they’ll like it, I can relax a little on making things “sweet” and just add berry sauce :) I tried to rate 5 stars, but I guess my phone wont let me.. lol
Love this recipe. It turned out fantastic and the kids love it in yogurt (we only eat organic plain whole milk yogurt so a nice switch up).
The berry sauce looks great! When I started giving my infant daughter plain Greek yogurt, I jazzed it up with baby food puree. Sometimes home made or sometimes store bought. It’s an easy thing to buy and it’s all fruit with no added sugar or sweetener. Yogurt, oatmeal, even her waffles. I’m really don’t like her to have any sugar so this is helpful. Good flavor combos too! Just thought I would share. Gerber makes a banana berry food that’s really yummy on yogurt and a pear pineapple food is yummy on waffles.
About how much sauce does this recipe make?
Hi Jenny. It makes about a cup. ~Amy
Thank you for the reply. We tried it over the weekend for a topping on my daughter’s birthday cake. It was delicious. We made blueberry & strawberry. We also made the chocolate sauce that Lisa posted for the chocolate torte. Yum! Thanks again!
Maybe I had too high of expectations, but this recipe didn’t work for. The berry sauce itself was wonderful. When I added it to plain oatmeal- it was still gross. I couldn’t add enough to mask the yucky oatmeal flavor. The same with plain yogurt. I’m not real sure what to do with it now besides just eat it by itself : )
Lisa,
(Love your website, we have implemented a lot of ideas from you and Feel so much Better after just 2 weeks! Thanks!)
How long do you thibk the Berry Sauce will keep in the fridge?
-I just made Cinnamon Peach sauce using the same process. ..yum)
Hello. I’ve kept it for up to a week. ~Amy
Thanks
Just made a strawberry sauce using maple syrup freshly made from our sugar bush. very tasty – can’t wait to have it on my husband’s crepes.
What is the purpose of cooking the berries? Cooking fruit destroys the heat sensitive vitamins. could you make the sauce without cooking the berries?
Hi Lori. You could certainly blend the ingredients without cooking. ~Amy
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I was finally able to get my kids to eat plain yogurt with this rather than the store bought flavored stuff!
I just throw all the ingredients in a food processor/blender. I don’t even cook it and it turns out great =)
Would one patch of this be enough to flavor a 2lb container of plain yogurt? It’s easier to have container of yogurt than having to mix small batches each time I want to pack it for lunches.
Hi Nora. It depends upon how flavored/sweet you prefer your yogurt. This make about a cup of the berry sauce. I use 1-2 tablespoons of the sauce per serving. ~Amy
Haha … I meant batch ;)
I made this last night and it is delicious! My 7 year old who is the pickiest eater, gobbled it up in plain yogurt!
Just wondering for long you can store this in the fridge?
Thanks!
Hi. I’ve kept it for up to a week. I would freeze it beyond that. ~Amy
This looks yummy! How well does it freeze?
Hello Vicky. It freezes well!
How long can you store it in the fridge?
Hi. Up to a week. Freeze it beyond that. :)
I am not a big fan of maple syrup. Does it taste mapel-y? Could I use agave nectar in place of maple syrup? Thanks!
Hi Bethany. We do not use agave. I’ve used honey, instead. ~Amy
I just made this and used honey also. Delicious. Thank you.
Have you ever mixed bananas in? Have you ever canned any of this?
Hi Sarah. Nope, haven’t tried it with banana. It freezes really well but Lisa has not canned it. ~Amy
Do the berries have to be frozen? If so, how would that work?I have fresh strawberries I wanted to use.
Hi Jessica. Frozen berries tend to break down much easier when they are cooked. Others have used fresh berries, however. ~Amy
I’ve made this before and want to make it again however the recipe is no longer showing up. I see the picture and then this: [easyrecipe id=â€1440″ n=â€0″]. Can you please, correct this, or email me the recipe, or try to post it here in the comments? Thanks so much!
Hi Kasey. We had a brief technical problem but all is reolved and the recipes are in place.
I have sliced peaches in the freezer from last summer. Would this work with peaches? If so my son would LOVE it in his morning yogurt!
Thanks!
Hi Mary. We’ve not tried but I bet it would.
I searched to see if anyone has asked this question but couldn’t find it. Is the sauce supposed to be runny? It turned out to be blueberry water rather than a sauce. I used honey rather than pure maple syrup and even added a bit more honey thinking it would thicken but it did not. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Hi Kristy. It is thin but not watery thin.
I used honey also and mine came out ok. Instead of blending it I mashed the berries with a potato masher, which left chunks of berry in the sauce. I like it much better this way.
I do this too but no need for maple syrup or any sweetener, just the berries make it sweet enough for me.
I use 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt and 1 cup frozen strawberries (or other frozen fruit). I add about 2 Tablespoons of honey and a smidge of liquid stevia extract. I love the boost of protein for my kids who are sometimes stingy about meat and other protein sources.
Hi Lisa! Love your blog! How long does the berry sauce stay good for in the fridge? Thanks! :)
Hi Sonali. I’ve kept it for 3 or 4 days.
Are you talking about Greek or just plain regular yogurt?
Hello Julie. Either will work.
I put this sauce on the crepes and it was devoured by my three boys. Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Can I use fresh berries to make this sauce & simply adjust the water?
Hi Bridget. That’s not something we’ve tried.
I do and it works great! Fresh strawberries are cheaper than frozen right now!
This is fantastic and so simple to make! We eat a lot of yogurt and have struggled to move away from the sweetened greek yogurts. Well, I actually prefer plain greek yogurt with this berry sauce on it.
Thanks Lisa!
It’s delicious! We had it on crepes!
Typically how much berry sauce do you add to plain yogurt?
Hi there. My kids like a couple tablespoons but it is up to you. :)
We love this sauce in our homemade yogurt! Do you think something like this could work using mango? We live in an place that doesn’t really have berries, only very rarely can we find frozen blueberries and they are expensive (my supply is quickly diminishing). There is an abundance of delicious mango right now though so I was wondering if I could make that work?
Hi. We’ve not tried to cook down mango. Let us know if you give it a try. Sounds interesting.
I just blend a ripe mango with my immersion blender in a wide mouth mason jar and use it in the same way than the berry sauce with my yogurt. No need to cook it! Just blend!
Can this berry sauce be heated, then mixed with milk and possibly white chocolate, to make a berry “hot chocolate”? (Asking bc I’m throwing a tea party bday for my 6 year old daughter and I’m looking for a warm, different and pink drink!) Thanks :) Love your recipes!
Hi Meg. That is not something we have attempted. If you do, let us know how it works.
Can this be frozen?
It can. :)
I recently made this to serve chilled over homemade pound cake — it was wonderful! I don’t have a blender, so I just left the berries as is (I mashed them a bit with the back of a spoon), and we liked it that way. I’ve been adding the leftovers to yogurt for breakfast, and that’s great, too. In fact, I’m making up another batch now because my husband will actually eat it on honey yogurt (he will usually only eat yogurt with the fruit already in it).
How long will this keep in the fridge?
I’ve kept it up to a week.
THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!! I know flavoring plain yogurt is optimum but I just can’t find something that would work to where I could actually stand to eat it. I’m sure this will.
We make a similar recipe with 4c of berries, 2T maple syrup, 3T lemon juice, and 4T chia seeds. Combine first 3 ingredients in blender, add chia and bring to a slow boil, let cool. It sets up a little more because of the chia and is great for spreading on bread, topping yogurt or ice cream, or just eating like applesauce. It is perfect for putting in refillable pouches for lunches or on the go.
How long does this berry sauce last in the fridge?
Hi there. I’ve kept it for 4 or 5 days but have frozen it for longer periods.
I canned mine. Waterbathed it for 20 minutes in pints. Delish!
I use maple syrup with plain yogurt and it’s amazing!
My two year old son and I made this to go on our homemade waffles yesterday. Not only did he love pushing the blender buttons, but we both thought it was delicious! So much more elegant and less sweet (in a good way) than just maple syrup and chopped strawberries, which is what we usually do. Looking forward to doing this again next Saturday!
Can you use strawberries?
You can.
Thank You! I was looking for something like this!
This sauce is heavenly in yogurt with granola. I froze the sauce in ice cube trays. Stick two cubes in one cup of plain yogurt on the fridge overnight and it thaws perfectly.
can you use fresh raspberries rather than frozen?
You can.
Can you use fresh berries insteAd
You can.
This is one of my go to recipes. I’ve actually now incorporated it into a popsicle. It’s easy, refreshing and not packed with a ton of sugar.
How long can you store in fridge? How much do you make at a time?