As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.

This strawberry sauce or strawberry glaze is made with puréed strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Fresh strawberry pieces are mixed in for extra flavor and texture. It’s a fantastic glaze or topping for cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, pancakes, angel food cake, waffles, ice cream, and more!

Strawberry sauce on top of cheesecake.

This strawberry sauce or glaze is hands down the best topping for cheesecakes, cakes, and ice cream! It’s a versatile dessert sauce that’s delightfully sweet from ripe strawberries and brightened with just the right amount of lemon juice. Best of all, it’s incredibly simple and easy to make and requires just 4 ingredients!

Why use cornstarch in strawberry sauce?

Cornstarch gives the strawberry sauce a perfect consistency – not too thick and not too thin. Using cornstarch slightly thickens the sauce to create a smooth glaze that slowly oozes down your dessert to create a beautiful drip effect.

If the sauce is too thin, it creates a watery mess and doesn’t stay on top of your dessert. Too thick and it doesn’t flow easily enough to pour or glaze desserts. Adding a bit of cornstarch gives it the perfect viscosity to make this the best strawberry topping for any dessert or breakfast.

Ingredients for Strawberry Sauce & Glaze

Ingredients for strawberry sauce with text.
  • Strawberries – Use fresh, ripe strawberries. Half of the strawberries are puréed to create a smooth, viscous sauce. The other half is halved or cut into big pieces to add texture.
  • Sugar – Use fine granulated sugar. Start with less and adjust with more if needed.
  • Lemon juice – Fresh lemon juice is preferred. It adds the perfect amount of brightness to the sauce.
  • Cornstarch – A bit of cornstarch slightly thickens the strawberry sauce to give it the perfect pouring consistency to glaze any dessert.

Steps by Step Photos

Strawberries cut into small pieces and blended with an immersion blender.
  1. Start with fresh, ripe strawberries. Wash and hull them to remove the stem. Then chop half the strawberries into small pieces and halve the remaining half.
  2. Purée the chopped strawberry pieces using an immersion blender or food processor.
Strawberry halves added to cooked strawberry puree.
  1. Add the strawberry purée, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch to a pot and stir together to combine. Heat over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil to thicken.
  2. Once it boils, turn off the heat and add the halved strawberries.
Strawberry pieces added to strawberry puree and cooked in a pot.
  1. Stir gently to combine to avoid smashing the fresh strawberry halves. It will soften in the sauce and add a wonderful texture and visual appeal to the sauce.
  2. Taste the sauce and adjust with more lemon juice and sugar, depending on the sweetness of the strawberries. For a thinner sauce, add one teaspoon of water at a time. Note: the glaze will thicken as it cools.

Allow the strawberry sauce to completely cool before using it as a glaze for cakes or topping for cheesecake. But for pancakes, waffles, and French toast, I prefer serving it warm.

Strawberry glaze used for topping desserts.

Ways to serve strawberry sauce or glaze

Strawberry sauce is used to glaze the top of cheesecake.

More recipes

Strawberry sauce on top of cheesecake.
5 from 197 votes
Servings: 8

Strawberry Sauce (Strawberry Glaze)

This strawberry sauce or glaze is made with puréed strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Fresh strawberry pieces are mixed in for extra flavor and texture. It's perfect for topping a cheesecake, shortcakes, pancakes, angel food cake, waffles, ice cream, and more!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 3 minutes
Total: 8 minutes
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb strawberries, washed and hulled
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, adjust as needed
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions 

  • Prep strawberries: Cut ½ the strawberries into halves and set them aside. For the other half, purée using a blender or food processor until smooth.
    1 lb strawberries
    Strawberries cut into small pieces and blended with an immersion blender.
  • Cook: In a medium pot, add the strawberry purée, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir to combine the cornstarch and sugar, then heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil to thicken. Turn off the heat.
    1 teaspoon cornstarch, 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    Strawberry halves added to cooked strawberry puree.
  • Add fresh strawberries: Stir in the halved strawberry pieces then taste and adjust with more sugar or lemon juice. For a thinner sauce, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time. Note: Sauce will thicken as it cools.
    Strawberry pieces added to strawberry puree and cooked in a pot.
  • Cool: Allow the sauce to completely cool. The halved strawberries will soften in the sauce but still keep their shape for presentation. Serve as a topping for cheesecakes, ice cream, and more. Enjoy!
    Strawberry sauce on top of cheesecake.

Notes

Makes 1.5 cups of strawberry sauce or about 8 servings. 
Storage: Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 3 days. 
Reheat: To serve warm, microwave for 15 seconds at a time until warmed through or reheat on the stovetop over low heat. Warm strawberry sauce is great over pancakes, waffles, and crepes!

Nutrition

Calories: 37kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 0.4g, Fat: 0.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.01g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 89mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 7IU, Vitamin C: 34mg, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 0.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

How long does strawberry sauce last?

Strawberry sauce and glaze should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for 3 days.

How do I reheat strawberry glaze?

Reheat in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time or heat on the stovetop over low heat.

Jamie from Drive Me Hungry

Jamie

Hi there! I’m Jamie, enthusiastic eater and determined cook! I make is quick and easy recipes that still look amazing and taste delicious. Most of my recipes are perfect for weeknight meals as they're simple and easy to follow.

You May Also Like:

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




22 Comments

  1. Lindsey says:

    5 stars
    Hands down the best strawberry sauce! It has the perfect thickness for a cheesecake topping and goes great over pancakes. My family loves this so much I make a double batch every other week to go with whatever dessert we have. We even have it for breakfast over yogurt. Amazing!! 5/5

  2. Tera says:

    5 stars
    Scrumptious strawberry glaze!

  3. Amy says:

    5 stars
    I made this recipe, and it was so easy and delicious!
    Perfect glaze for my cheesecake and ice cream!

  4. Rebecca says:

    5 stars
    Used this as a strawberry topping for store bought cheesecake. It really made it taste so much better and gave it great flavor! The consistency is just right. Delicious!

  5. Megane says:

    5 stars
    So easy and tasty! I loved the bit of lemon with the strawberry to break the sweetness. It was the perfect amount.

  6. Tyson Williams says:

    Can the glaze be frozen

  7. Lisa says:

    5 stars
    This strawberry sauce is so good! I love it on yogurt and ice cream.

  8. Cathleen says:

    5 stars
    This is basically my new favourite strawberry sauce. Thank you so much for sharing, I put it on everything these days 🙂

  9. Alex says:

    5 stars
    I have had an abundance of homegrown strawberries this year and was tired of making jam, so I made a big batch of this strawberry sauce. Delicious! We served it over homemade vanilla bean ice cream. I added a pinch of cinnamon but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I am going to try your chocolate coated strawberries next!

  10. Nicole says:

    Could I can this strawberry sauce to keep it longer?

  11. Sharon says:

    5 stars
    This simple strawberry sauce is so versatile and a great way to use up summer strawberries in so many different ways.

  12. Elena says:

    5 stars
    I made this strawberry sauce to top my pancakes and it was so good! It had a perfect consistency and I can’t wait to try it on cheesecake as well.

  13. Marta says:

    5 stars
    I made this strawberry sauce to serve over a sour cream pound cake I made for our book club meeting. Everyone overloaded on the strawberry sauce, it was so good!

  14. Sara says:

    5 stars
    I love trying anything with strawberries in the summer, and this was no exception! Turned out perfectly sweet and delicious; easily, the best way to cure my sweet tooth!

  15. Darlene says:

    Where do we find the amount of ingredients?

  16. Melba Scarbrough says:

    Can this strawberry glaze be canned?

  17. Liza says:

    5 stars
    What a BERRY delicious strawberry sauce – so fresh tasting! I love your suggestion to drizzle it on French Toast! Another winner from Drive Me Hungry!

  18. Tayler says:

    5 stars
    This strawberry sauce is good enough to put on anything! I made it with pancakes this weekend and it was fantastic!

  19. Ieva says:

    5 stars
    Really nice, easy sauce! Used it for new york cheesecake and it kept very well in the fridge for the full 3 days! 🙂

  20. Traci says:

    5 stars
    Love how easy and delicious strawberry sauce is! Perfect for the season…thanks for sharing 🙂