Name: Strawberry Coulis
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 500g (1.1lb) fresh or frozen strawberries; 100g (½ cup) granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice; Pinch of salt

Jump to Recipe

Strawberry coulis is a simple strawberry sauce made by simmering down fresh or frozen strawberries, which intensifies the strawberry flavor.

The word coulis is a french word for a smooth sauce, either a fruit purée or made from crushed and strained fruits. This simple strawberry coulis is lovely and smooth.

Cooking the strawberries down first brings intense strawberry flavor. I push the simmered berries through a sieve to remove the seeds. You can also puree it using a stick blender or a food processor and keep the seeds in there.

It’s the perfect topping for ice cream, cheesecake, pancakes, angel food cake, pound cake, and more. I have a raspberry coulis recipe too!

The beauty of this recipe is that if you want a chunky thick sauce, you can skip the straining or pureeing part and turn this strawberry coulis into a strawberry compote for even less work!

The ingredients

The ingredients in this easy strawberry coulis recipe are so simple – You only need 4! The ingredient quantities are written in the recipe card below but here is a rundown.

Fresh or frozen ripe strawberries.
Granulated white sugar. Only a small amount of sugar to complement the strawberries. You could use another sweetener if you like, such as maple syrup or honey.
Lemon juice (or use lime juice)
Pinch of salt

The best strawberries to use are those that are at their most ripe and flavourful. In summer when it’s strawberry season, fresh strawberries can be at their best, juicy and sweet, but in the cooler months, frozen strawberries will trump the fresh ones.

Frozen strawberries are usually frozen at their peak ripeness and sweetness.

The easy strawberry coulis sauce is a great way to use up a glut of strawberries or frozen strawberries, and you can preserve it to last longer.

Equipment

For this homemade strawberry coulis recipe, you’ll need a fine mesh sieve to push the cooked strawberries through and a large wooden spoon or spatula to push them through with. This makes a smooth sauce with perfect consistency.

Alternatively, an immersion blender can puree the strawberry mixture together for a slightly more textured strawberry sauce.

Yield

500g of frozen or fresh strawberries makes around 400-500ml of strawberry coulis, depending on if you’re pureeing the berries or pushing them through a sieve.

Method

Remove the top green leafy part of the strawberries and roughly chop them.

Combine the strawberries in a medium saucepan over low heat, along with sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

Cook over low heat while the juices of the strawberries start to release. Stir occasionally as the strawberries come to a simmer.

Once simmering, cook the strawberries over low-medium heat for around 15 minutes until the strawberries begin to break down, stirring every so often so they don’t burn.

Remove the berries from the heat. At this point, it is strawberry compote, and the chunky sauce can be left like this. To make the strawberry coulis, it must be strained or pureed into a smooth sauce.

Straining the coulis

Pushing the sauce through a fine mesh strainer/ fine sieve makes a smooth strawberry sauce. Balance a sieve over a bowl and carefully tip in the strawberries.

Push them through a fine-mesh sieve with a wooden spoon or spatula, rubbing them along the bottom.

Take your time doing this to get all the strawberry pulp you can.

Scrape the bottom of the sieve to get all the pulp accumulating there.

A few seeds will escape through the sieve, but the majority will stay behind.

In the end, there should only be a tablespoon or two of pulp remaining. Pour the finished sauce into clean jars.

Pureeing

Alternatively, let the sauce cool to room temperature, then use an immersion blender to puree the sauce until smooth. Pour the strawberry puree into clean jars.

How to thicken strawberry coulis

The coulis will thicken as it cools, but it stays like a sauce consistency. If you want to thicken your coulis even more, stir through a cornstarch slurry or add chia seeds that act as a gelling agent.

A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of cornstarch mixed with cold water. Mixing it with cold water stops the cornstarch from becoming lumpy. Add the sauce back to a saucepan once you have strained or pureed it. Mix together well 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Add this to the puree and bring it back to a boil, whisking regularly. The cornstarch will become clear and jelly-like as it boils, and the coulis will thicken.

Storing

Cooled fruit coulis will store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Alternatively, it can be frozen for up to 3 months. You can freeze it in ice cube trays for individual servings.

Uses

Here are some different ways to use this delicious strawberry sauce

In ice cream sundaes
Dollop it over a vanilla cake or chocolate cake.
Use as a strawberry sauce to top cheesecake
Add to a smoothie
With french toast
Drizzled over pancakes and waffles

Preserving strawberry coulis

Pour the coulis into washed, clean preserving jars, leaving about 1cm space between the coulis and the top of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jar clean and add on the lids.

Lower the jars into a large saucepan of water, with a rack or similar at the bottom, to keep the jars from sitting directly on the bottom of the pot. If you don’t have a rack, you could use the lids of your spare preserving jars instead. Add more water so the jars are covered by about an inch.

Bring the water to the boil and keep it at a rolling boil for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the water and allow them to cool down completely.

Once the jars are cooled, check that they are sealed properly. Label the jars and store them in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months.