Julie Clark
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Raspberry Sauce with a Secret Ingredient
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Make an easy raspberry sauce with fresh or frozen raspberries. This raspberry reduction is rich and smooth thanks to a touch of butter, perfect for creamy cheesecake, vanilla custard, homemade pancakes, zucchini chocolate chip cake and more.
This homemade raspberry sauce (also known as raspberry coulis) is quick to make and adds a pop of color and bright berry flavor to any of your favorite desserts or breakfast dishes. It’s made with just a handful of ingredients, including a small pat of butter for extra richness. Use fresh or frozen raspberries depending on the season.
From our kitchen to yours:
Over the years, we’ve found that a simple sauce can breathe new life into everyday recipes. Whether you’re topping a smoothie bowl or giving french toast casserole a fresh twist, this raspberry sauce brings just the right touch of sweet-tart flavor.
It’s one of those family recipes we come back to again and again, not just because it’s easy, but because it makes ordinary dishes feel a little more special. We served this over ice cream at Braden and Hannah’s wedding rehearsal. It’s just that special.
If you’ve never made a sauce from scratch, this is a great place to start. You can even serve it over savory dishes such as grilled chicken or baked ham.
And depending on the season, you can make it with fresh blueberries or fresh strawberries, too.
Enjoy! -Julie
What is raspberry sauce made of?
There are only 6 ingredients in this raspberry sauce:
- Raspberries. Are fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries best? You do not have to thaw frozen raspberries before cooking them. 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.
- Cornstarch. This is what thickens the sauce.
✨ See the recipe card for full ingredients and amounts. ✨
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 of raspberries
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
Instructions
- In a small 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. 12 ounces frozen unsweetened raspberries, divided, ¾ cup granulated sugar , ½ cup water
- 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. 2 teaspoons cornstarch , 2 tablespoons water
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of butter and mix until the butter has completely melted. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon salted butter
- Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then add the last of the raspberries and stir to mix. Cool to room temperature, then serve over whatever dessert you’d like!
Video
Notes
- Reduce the sugar. I’ve made this with ½ cup of sugar successfully.
- Add lemon. 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.
- Storage Instructions: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Can you freeze this sauce? Yes. This sauce freezes well for longer storage. Store for up to 8 weeks in a freezer-safe container.
- Can I strain the seeds? Yes, if you’d like you can strain the raspberry seeds. If you want a completely smooth consistency, 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 sieve after you make the sauce.
- Makes 2 ¼ cups sauce.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
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
How to Make Raspberry Sauce: Step by Step
This easy recipe is very similar to our homemade strawberry topping. Here’s how you make it:
- Place 1 ½ cups raspberries in a medium 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. Once the cornstarch and water are mixed, add it to the raspberry sauce. Cook and stir this mixture, letting it simmer 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.
- 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 dessert sauce as the perfect topping on:
- angel food cake
- old fashioned pound cake
- whole grain waffles or chocolate waffles
- baked French toast
- swirl it into hearty oatmeal
- in our Heaven on Earth Cake recipe
- spread on top of raspberry coconut muffins
- buttermilk biscuits
- over chocolate mayo cake
- swirled in plain yogurt
- baked brie with puff pastry
- chocolate cheesecake or fudgy brownies
Can I use this sauce to fill a layer cake or cupcakes? 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.
But you know what? The leftovers, I just ate with a spoon. 😋 There are countless different ways to experiment with this sauce.
I made just half a recipe tonight. I tasted it from the pan. Oops got to go add the butter. It’s really really good. I had some really tart raspberries too. I highly recommend you won’t be disappointed. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
Would it be possible to make this in bulk, do you think? I need 200 servings for a wedding to top cheesecake slices. 😬
Can I can this with recipe as is?
Going to make this tonight – Taking a round of brie, infusing 1TB of the raspberry “sauce”, covering it with a puff pastry, baking at 425 for 10 minutes, then reducing heat to 375 until browned – serving with the sauce on top – Should be pretty and yummy!!!
Can I remove the seeds?
We have tons of black raspberries this year, so I just tried this recipe for them!!! So delicious! I did alter it a bit. I used the full 12 oz of berries cooked with the same amount of sugar and water. I doubled the amount of cornstarch/water to compensate for the 12 oz of berries. Then I stirred in 2 cups of additional berries when it was all done. It turned out just fine!!! If anyone tries freezing it, please let us know how it worked. I’m going to make several recipes of this! I’ll try freezing one jar of… Read more »
I’ve been making this using a bag of frozen blackberries from the dollar store. It’s only 10-12 oz, so I skip adding the berries at the end, and just use the whole bag at the beginning. So rich and decadent. I usually put it over French vanilla ice cream. SO good. Thanks!
This raspberry sauce is delicious! I’ve made to serve with homemade cheese cake and homemade vanilla ice cream. Even my grandson who says he hates fruit loved it. I’ve made with fresh and frozen berries and both were delicious. I strained the seeds because of the grandkids but like with or without the seeds strained.
I liked the sauce a lot, but it needed more acidity. I added a bit of lemon juice and that jazzed it right up. Maybe mix lemon juice and cornstarch instead of water?
I made this today. I used the microwave and it only took a few minutes. I forgot to throw in the other half of the raspberries but it was still great. Very delicious over pancakes!
Excellent raspberry sauce and very easy to make. I don’t add the butter, but everything else is the same. Easy to make half of the recipe. We serve it on lemon ricotta cake, lemon ricotta pancakes and, of course, ice cream. Yummy!!
This is delicious. Thanks for sharing.
This is the second time I have made this easy, delicious recipe. It is fantabulous on chocolate cheesecake. My boyfriend like it so much that he used the end of it up on his morning cornflakes!
Can you use this recipe to mix in the cheese cake ?
Love this recipe! It’s super easy and very tasty. Made it a few weeks ago to top a cheesecake, and again this morning for some cheese blintzes. I have some leftover, so i think tonight we will have raspberry sundaes! Needless to say, this sauce is quite versatile!