Strawberry Compote

5 from 2 votes

This homemade Strawberry Compote recipe is super quick and easy to make with 3 ingredients only and in about 20 minutes. It is the perfect thick strawberry sauce to use over cheesecakes, cakes, ice cream or as a breakfast topping!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: cups (approx)

Calories: 40kcal

Author: A Baking Journey

Ingredients

350 gr (12 oz) Strawberries fresh or frozen (see note 2).
50 gr (1/4 cup) Caster Sugar
30 ml (2 tablespoons) Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract optional

Instructions

Wash, hull and slice the Strawberries in half (see note 1). Place them in a small saucepan.
Add the Sugar and Lemon Juice (and optionally the Vanilla) and stir to combine (see note 2).
Turn on low to medium heat and leave to simmer until the fruits have softened and the liquid starts to thicken. The exact cooking time will depend on the size of the strawberries and how much water they naturally contain, but is usually between 10 and 20 minutes (see note 3).
Remove from the stove and leave to cool down slightly. Transfer into a glass jar or container and place in the fridge to finish cooling and set. Keep in the fridge for up to a week, or freezer for 3 months.

Notes

This recipe will yield approximatively 1,5 to 2 cups of compote, serving between 8 and 10 (depending on the quantity used per serving).

For a thicker sauce, keep the strawberries whole. For a thiner compote, you can cut the strawberries in smaller pieces.
If using fresh strawberries, you might need to add a little bit of water (1 or 2 tablespoons) of water to help it start cooking and avoid burning the strawberries. It is not required if using frozen strawberries as they will release water as soon as they start thawing.
For a thicker sauce, you can reduce the compote for longer until almost no more liquid remain. For a thiner but chunkier compote, you can cook the strawberries until soft then drain them to discard any extra liquid - or keep some of the fresh (uncooked) strawberries and only add them in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Note that the sauce will continue to thicken once it cools down so it is ok to still have a little bit of liquid in the saucepan when you stop cooking it!

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