Julie Clark
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Easy Raspberry Sauce
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Use frozen or fresh raspberries to make this easy raspberry sauce. Perfect for cheesecakes, ice cream and pancakes.
One thing we’ve learned from our kitchen adventures over the past 25 years is that almost every dessert can be enhanced by a great sauce. This easy raspberry sauce is one of our all-time favorites.
This homemade raspberry sauce is a true game-changer when it comes to all meals of the day. That’s right…even dinner. I add a secret ingredient to the dessert sauce that makes it rich and delicious. Perfect for special occasions or random summer Saturdays when you have fresh berries.
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Why you’ll love this easy raspberry sauce recipe:
- This raspberry sauce is incredibly easy to make. Even if you’re new to cooking or are feeling a little bit intimidated by the idea of creating a sauce from scratch, this recipe is designed to be accessible and straightforward. All it takes are a few simple ingredients and less than 25 minutes.
- It solves a common problem many home cooks face: how to add a quick and unique flavor punch to everyday dishes. Too often, we find ourselves stuck in a cooking rut, using the same recipes and flavor profiles over and over again. The Easy Raspberry Sauce breaks through that monotony, bringing a fresh and fruity twist to both savory and sweet dishes.
- It’s versatile. You can drizzle this delicious raspberry sauce over ice cream for an elevated dessert experience, add it to your smoothie bowl to make breakfast a bit more special, or even mix it into your savory dishes, like grilled chicken or baked ham, to add a sweet and tangy dimension. It’s the secret weapon you didn’t know your kitchen needed!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Reader Phyllis says, “This is so amazing, our family loves it in yogurt on ice cream and pancakes. Yum good on everything. Thank you so much for sharing. Has become our favorite!”
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Reader Tyzer says, “Wonderfully simple and flavorful sauce! I steeped a large habanero (seeded and cut) in my sauce while the raspberries and water were breaking down. It added a delicious level of heat to it!”
Is this the same as raspberry coulis?
Raspberry sauce is a broad term that can refer to a wide range of preparations. The sauce could be chunky or smooth, sweet or tangy, and it might contain various added ingredients such as spices, vinegar, or other fruits. It’s often used as a topping for desserts, but can also complement savory dishes.
Raspberry coulis, on the other hand, is a specific type of sauce. The word ‘coulis’ is derived from the French verb ‘couler’, which means ‘to flow’. A coulis is traditionally a smooth, strained sauce made from pureed fruit or vegetables.
Raspberry coulis is typically made by blending raspberries, sugar, and a bit of lemon juice, and then straining out the seeds for a velvety, smooth texture. The primary goal of a coulis is to enhance the natural flavor of the fruit, so it’s less common to see additional flavorings used.
What is raspberry sauce made of?
There are only 6 ingredients in this raspberry sauce:
- Raspberries. Fresh or frozen raspberries work. You do not have to thaw frozen raspberries before cooking them.
- Cornstarch. This is what thickens the sauce.
How to Make Raspberry Sauce
This recipe is very similar to our homemade strawberry topping. Here’s how you make it:
- Place 1 ½ cups raspberries in a saucepan with sugar and water. Cook over medium-low heat until the mixture is at a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and add vanilla.
- In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and water. Whisk this together until it is smooth. Don’t just throw the cornstarch into the raspberry mixture or you’ll end up with little globby clumps of white cornstarch in your beautiful red raspberry sauce. And nobody wants that. Mixing the cornstarch with water first helps the cornstarch to completely mix in.
- Once the cornstarch and water are mixed, add it to the raspberry sauce. Cook and stir this mixture until it is slightly thickened. Maybe 3-4 minutes, depending on how hot your mixture is.
- Then remove the pan from the heat and add butter. The butter is our secret ingredient that adds a delicious richness to the raspberry sauce.
- Let the mixture cool, then add the remaining raspberries (from the original 12 ounce bag) and stir gently.
How to Use Raspberry Sauce
Think of this raspberry sauce on:
- pancakes
- cheesecake
- angel food cake
- pound cake
- ice cream
- waffles
- French toast
- swirl it into oatmeal
- buttermilk biscuits
- chocolate cake
And you know what? The leftovers, I just ate with a spoon. 😋
Easy Raspberry Sauce
Use frozen or fresh raspberries to make this easy raspberry sauce. Perfect for cheesecakes, ice cream and pancakes!
Servings 10 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 12 ounces frozen unsweetened raspberries divided (about 2-2 ½ cups)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150 grams
- 1/2 cup water 4 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch 6 grams
- 2 tablespoons water 30 grams
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together 1 ½ cups raspberries, sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Heat the mixture to boiling, stirring often.
- In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and two tablespoons of water. Mix well.
- Pour this into the boiling raspberry mixture. Stir and boil over medium-low heat for 4 minutes or until the mixture has thickened a bit.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix until the butter has completely melted.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then add the last of the raspberries and stir to mix.
- Serve over whatever dessert you’d like!
- Makes 2 ¼ cups sauce. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 10, with 1 serving being 1/10 of the sauce. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Serving: 110g | Calories: 87kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 8.9mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Frequently Asked Questions
Are fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries best?
Frozen raspberries are conveniently available year-round and are typically frozen at their peak, retaining their nutritional value and flavor. For recipes like our Easy Raspberry Sauce, both fresh and frozen raspberries can be used.
If you opt for frozen, remember there’s no need to thaw them before use.
Can I reduce the sugar?
Yes. I’ve made this with ½ cup of sugar successfully.
Can I add lemon?
Yes. Lemon and raspberries go so well together. Use fresh lemon juice instead of water in the cornstarch slurry for a little bit of an acidic tang.
Can I use this sauce to fill a cake?
The sauce as the recipe is written is slightly runny and I would not recommend using it as a cake filling. You could try lowering the water or increasing the cornstarch to make it thicker.
Can I strain the seeds?
Yes, if you’d like you can strain the seeds. If you want a completely smooth sauce, don’t worry about holding back raspberries to add in at the end. Add them all at the beginning, then strain out the seeds through a fine mesh strainer after you make the sauce. This strained raspberry sauce is known as raspberry coulis. It is elegant, vibrant and smooth.
Can you freeze this sauce?
Yes. This sauce freezes well.
Other Raspberry Recipes
Dessert Recipes
White Chocolate Raspberry Trifle
Dessert Recipes
Raspberry Tarts with Mascarpone Cream
Dessert Recipes
Baked Red Raspberry Pie
Dessert Recipes
Would it be possible to make this in bulk, do you think? I need 200 servings for a wedding to top cheesecake slices. 😬
Does the recipe use 1 1/2 cups or 2 1/2 c berries? It says a different amount in the ingredient list than the intriguing and instructions
So yummy. Made some more this morning using golden raspberries, added abt 1/4 tsp lemon juice because they aren’t quite as tart as the red ones, and reduced sugar to 1/2 cup. Beautiful golden color.
Ahhh…. So what about the Vanilla?? When do you add that? I guess I’ll just throw it in. I’m trying this tonight.
Has anyone tried it over plain yogurt?
I Strained the sauce to remove seeds after boiling making sure all berries were cooked down. Then I heated again and added the cornstarch and cooked until thickened.
Sounds really yummy.
Can you substitute brown surgar for the granulated sugar or use splenda?
How would you make this sauce a little thicker so it would stay on top of the cheesecake when you cut it
Made this and it is delicious. How long should this be kept in the fridge?
Made this last night and had it on ice cream, it was good. This morning I mixed some into oatmeal and it was just like the oatmeal swirlers they used to have in the late 80s and early 90s. It was amazing.
I just finished making this with raspberries from our backyard; looks beautiful! Can’t wait to pour this over waffles …. thanks for the idea of mixing it with yogurt
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I used it to drizzle over baked Brie and we used pita bread to eat it on. It was a hit!
Has anyone tried freezing the sauce? I’d love to send some of this awesome stuff to my dad, but we live 1800 miles apart.
Thanks!
We made this this morning to top some sweet crepes, tasted fantastic! We added blueberries to it as well just to mix things up a bit and it turned out great
this was a vary amazing experience and sooo good I love this recipe I 100% recomend this. BUT you have to be able to do this with patience and have a lot of time to do it but i did it for my class and they were bagging me for more i love it and i hope you love it to