Strawberry Compote (or Strawberry Sauce)

Strawberry season is here, and fresh juicy strawberries rarely ever make it to the next day in my house. I use them to make strawberry hand pies, strawberry galettes, and easy strawberry cakes, and I absolutely adore using them to make a next-level delicious strawberry compote to serve on top of pancakes instead of maple syrup too.

Frozen strawberries can also be used like my mixed berry compote I made with frozen berries, so once you learn how to make strawberry compote, you can enjoy it all year round. I love the idea of spooning it over these amazing banana bread french toast for Valentine’s Day breakfast in bed or for Mother’s Day brunch.

There are so many different options when it comes to a fresh fruit compote! Here are some different ways you can use this strawberry compote:

• Use it as a filling for this chocolate hand pies.
• Serve it instead of fresh berries in strawberry shortcake.
• Use it as a topping for scones, biscuits, Dutch baby pancake, ice cream pie and more.
• Mix it with chia pudding, yogurt, oatmeal or cottage cheese for a quick breakfast or snack.

Helpful tools

The only special piece of equipment you’ll need is a zester to make the orange zest.

Ingredients and substitutions

As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:

1. Strawberries – fresh strawberries are (of course) the main ingredient in strawberry compote. Choose berries with deep red color and strong aroma for the best flavor. However, if you are making this compote outside of strawberry season, frozen berries will work.
2. Orange – you’ll use both the orange zest and the orange juice of half an orange. This keeps the flavor bright, but the orange flavor won’t be too overpowering. The acidity in orange juice also helps preserve the bright color of the cooked strawberries and it also adds a boost of natural pectin in the mixture.You can substitute lemon zest and lemon juice.
3. Sugar – I use just two tablespoons of sugar to sweeten, but you can add more sugar to taste especially if you use lemon juice instead of orange juice.
4. Salt – just a pinch is needed to enhance the flavor of the compote.

How to make strawberry compote

The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

More baker’s tips

• If you use frozen berries to make this recipe for strawberry compote, be ready to adjust the cooking time. They release more water than fresh and will take longer to reduce and thicken. Keep an eye on the saucepan to prevent anything from burning.
• If the berries start to break down while cooking and there’s still a lot of juice, you can remove some or all of the fruit. Continue cooking to reduce the juice, then return the fruit to the pan to keep them intact.
• The compote will continue to thicken as it cools.

Storage

My strawberry compote recipe keeps well for up to 2 weeks in a clean glass jar in the refrigerator.

You can also freeze it to keep it for even longer. Divide the batch into smaller portions before freezing so you only need to defrost as much as you plan to use. The best way is to use an ice cube tray. Freeze until solid, then pop them out and store the cubes in a freezer bag.

This makes using strawberry compote for pancakes or as a quick ice cream topping super easy!

FAQs

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