Sometimes a good dessert needs a sweet, light sauce to add more variety in taste, and this easy strawberry purée recipe does just that with it’s balanced sweet and tart flavors. It takes only a few minutes to prepare and the fresh strawberry flavor is amazing.
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What is Strawberry Purée?
Strawberry ‘purée’ and strawberry ‘coulis’ are used interchangeably. They are a fruit sauce made from strawberries that have been blended and sometimes strained through a sieve and then sweetened with sugar. It can be cooked or raw but isn't chunky like my strawberry rhubarb sauce or strawberry compote. The sugar and lemon juice in this recipe are common ingredients in coulis.
What is the Difference Between Purée and Coulis?
A purée refers to vegetables or fruit that are brought to the consistency of a paste or liquid through blending, grinding, straining etc.
Coulis is actually a French word for ‘strained’. It is a strained purée used as a sauce that can also be made with both fruits or vegetables. However, the word coulis most often refers to fruit purées. A fruit coulis is usually added to sweet dishes as a topping/garnish. It can also be added to breakfast dishes like this moist pancake bread.
Ingredients
- fresh strawberries - If using frozen strawberries, thaw them first.
- lemon juice - Freshly squeezed is best. It's an optional ingredient but it adds flavor and helps preserve color.
- white sugar - Or another sweetener. This is also optional and will depend on how sweet your strawberries are and your personal taste.
Instructions
To make strawberry purée, all you need is a quick spin in a blender, a run through the sieve, and a mix of sugar and lemon juice. You are left with a quick and easy sauce for many desserts.
Step 1. Clean the strawberries. Remove the leaves from the strawberries. Rinse the strawberries under cool water.
Step 2. Chop the strawberries. Roughly chop the strawberries.
Step 3. Blend. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
Step 4. Strain (optional). If you don’t like the crunch from the seeds: strain the purée through a fine mesh strainer, pushing with the back of a spoon against the strainer to get as much purée out as you can.
Step 5. Sweeten (optional). Depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, you may want to add some sweetener. Add the sugar and lemon juice, to taste. Serve!
Freezing Tips
If you find yourself with more purée than you need, here are some tips on how to freeze fruit purée:
- Ice cube tray. One way is to pour the purée in an ice tray and let it freeze overnight. Once the purée is frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer-safe bag and label the date with a marker. Keep them in the freezer until ready to use.
- In jars. You can also freeze them in jars or other containers. Always leave some headspace. This is because once it is frozen, the liquid will expand.
- Correct temperature. Make sure your freezer temperature is at or lower than 0 degrees Fahrenheit (or -18 degrees Celsius).
Strawberry Purée Uses
- You can add the strawberry purée on top of custard (as pictured in the instructions), pancakes, ice cream, cheesecake, pavlova, yogurt, muffins, cupcakes (including as a filling), Canada day themed desserts and other baking.
- It's especially good over cakes such as angel food cake or yogurt cake.
- Add it to frosting, starting with a small amount.
- Add it to smoothies.
- Add it to drinks/cocktails like lemonade or margaritas, or whatever drink you desire.
Recipe FAQs
Strawberry purée and strawberry jam are quite distinct. Purée is simply mashed and strained strawberries with a bit of sweetener, while jam is cooked with lots of sugar.
You can store your homemade fruit purée in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
🍓More Amazing Strawberry Recipes
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📋Recipe
Easy Strawberry Purée (Coulis)
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries
Optional:
- 1 tablespoon sugar - or to taste
- freshly squeezed lemon juice - to taste
Instructions
- Remove the leaves from the strawberries. Clean and chop the strawberries.
- Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
- If you don’t like the crunch from the seeds: strain the purée through a fine mesh strainer, pushing with the back of a spoon against the strainer to get as much purée out as you can.
- Depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, you may want to add some sweetener. Add the sugar and lemon juice, to taste.
- Serve! You can add the strawberry purée to ice cream, pancakes, yogurt, muffins, in beverages and smoothies, etc.
Equipment
Notes
- If using frozen strawberries, thaw them first.
- Strawberry ‘purée’ and strawberry ‘coulis’ are terms that are used interchangeably.
- You can freeze the puree in jars or other containers. Always leave some headspace. This is because once it is frozen, the liquid will expand.
- You can store your homemade fruit purée in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information on In the Kitch is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may not include toppings and/or sauces.
Ellen says
Strawberry puree is really versatile. You can eat it as-is, or you can use it as a nice addition to smoothies, ice cream, cakes, and even as a frozen treat.
Joss D says
Absolutely!