This Strawberry Coulis sauce is super quick and easy to make with 3 ingredients only. It is the most delicious dessert sauce to pour over cakes, cheesecakes, ice cream and desserts or to serve over pancakes, french toasts and yogurt for breakfast.
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Why we love this recipe
Don't you love a recipe made with 3 ingredients only and that can be used in hundreds of different ways? This Strawberry Coulis is one of those!
The fresh strawberry sauce is also super quick and easy to make. Pour it over a Cheesecake, Pavlova, Strawberry Mousse, Strawberry Panna Cotta, Strawberry Crumble Cake for an extra burst of colour and flavour. Use it as a cake filling, drizzled over your favourite breakfast or simply over ice cream or yogurt... the possibilities are endless!
What is a Coulis Sauce
"Coulis" is a French Word coming from the verb 'couler', which means to drip or pour.
What is a fruit coulis? It is a sweet, thick sauce made from a fruit cooked with sugar and usually some lemon juice. Once reduced into a compote (a Strawberry Compote here), it is blended and strained to get a super smooth, flavourful dessert sauce.
More coulis recipes to try: Raspberry Coulis / Mixed Berries Coulis / Blueberry Coulis / Passion Fruit Coulis / Mango Coulis.
Ingredients
This strawberry sauce is Dairy-Free, Vegan, Gluten-Free and is made with 3 ingredients only:
- Strawberries: you can use fresh or frozen strawberries
- Lemon Juice: used to balance out the sweet taste of strawberries, and to help the sauce set as lemon is naturally high in pectin.
- Caster Sugar: used for sweetness, to thicken the sauce and and for preserving it.
- A little bit of Water, if required
Water may or may not be required - it will really depend on how much liquid comes out of the fruits naturally! If the fruits start to stick to the bottom of the pan straight away, add a little bit of water to help.
Note that if you use Frozen Strawberries, you will need to cook the fruits for a little bit longer to thaw them completely and to make sure most of the extra water evaporates.
How to make Strawberry Coulis
A coulis is made over the stove in a small saucepan then blended with an immersion blender.
- Slice the Strawberries.
- Place them in a small pot with the Lemon Juice and Caster Sugar and turn on a low to medium heat.
- Leave them to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until very soft. Stir occasionally to make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
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- Remove from the stove and blend it using an Immersion Blender (or carefully transfer into your blender - it will be very hot). Mix until very smooth.
- Pour through a thin-mesh sieve to keep the liquid only and remove any seeds or thick chunks of fruits that could be left.
- Leave to cool down, then Transfer into a sealed jar in the fridge.
Note that if you don't have an immersion blender, you could use a regular blender but make sure to blend it on low and for a few seconds only. If you blend it too much, the thick sauce will become too liquid.
Recipe FAQs
Making a Coulis and a Purée starts the same way: by cooking some fruits in a pot on the stove. While making a Fruit Purée only requires you to mash the cooked fruits, a Coulis has a couple of other steps: be blended, then pressed through a sieve to keep a thick sauce only.
A Puree usually has chunks of cooked fruits while a Coulis is a liquid sauce only.
With Strawberries especially - because they are naturally sweet - you could basically make a sauce from the fruit only. But I like to add a little bit of Sugar as it helps to slightly caramelise the fruits before they are blended.
If you want to make Refined Sugar Free Strawberry Sauce, you can absolutely skip the Caster Sugar all together, or replace it with the same amount of Honey - or Maple / Agave Syrup to keep it Vegan.
A Coulis does not require any extra ingredients to thicken it. Instead, it uses cooked fruits that are blended just until smooth - and should be naturally thick.
If you are looking for a thick strawberry sauce instead, you can always add a little bit of Cornstarch to the finished coulis and place it back on the stove to thicken more.
They can be served either way! Depending on the dessert or breakfast you are serving it with, a coulis can be kept cold or re-heated. It is entirely up to you!
Storing & Freezing
How to store
A coulis should be kept in the fridge, preferably in a sealed jar or air-tight container. Because it is low in sugar, it will not keep for days at room temperature so it is best to store it in the fridge.
How long with the coulis last
I keep my coulis in the fridge for up to a week. Again, because it is low in sugar, it won't keep for as long as a jam or canned fruits for example.
How to freeze
A great way to freeze a coulis - or any sweet sauce - is to pour it into an ice tray. That way, you can thaw small quantities when needed. Alternatively, you can also keep it in a freezing bag or container.
To thaw a coulis, either use your microwave or place it back on the stove. I personally prefer to stove option as it will help evaporate any extra water that would come from the freezing.
Serving Suggestions
There are literally millions of desserts, breakfast, or even savoury dishes you can serve this sauce with!
Here are a few of my favourites:
- Blueberry Pancakes
- 3 Ingredients Banana Pancakes
- Cinnamon Strawberry Galette
- Coconut Strawberry Scones
- Strawberry Custard Tartlets
- Flourless Strawberry Almond Cake
- Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
More Sweet Sauces and Fruit Toppings
Recipe
Easy Strawberry Coulis (Strawberry Sauce)
Ingredients
- 350 gr Strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 30 ml Water, if using fresh strawberries only
- 50 gr Caster Sugar, (see note 1)
- 30 ml Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Wash and Slice your strawberries. Place them in a small saucepan with the Caster Sugar, Lemon Juice and Water (only required if using fresh strawberries).
- Turn on low to medium heat and leave to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes (see note 2), or until very soft. Stir occasionally to make sure the fruits don't stick to the bottom of the pan. If the fruits seem to stick to the pan straight away, add a little bit of water and stir.
- Remove from the stove and blend with an Immersion Blender (see note 3) until very smooth. You should not see any chunks of fruits anymore.
- Pour the sauce through a thin-mesh sieve to keep the thick liquid only. Discard any seeds or fruit chunks left.
- Leave to cool down, then transfer into a sealed jar to keep in the fridge. Reheat for serving if needed.
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Notes
- Depending on the natural sweetness of your strawberries, you may need to slightly increase the sugar quantity. I recommend tasting the sauce at the compote stage (before blending) and adding sugar if required.
- If using Frozen Strawberries, you may need to cook them for a little bit longer to allow for the fruit to thaw and evaporate any excess moisture.
- You can also use your stand blender, but be careful when transferring in the coulis as it will be very hot at this point. You may want to leave it to cool down first before pouring it into your blender.
Nutrition (per serving)
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