Here’s a deliciously fresh recipe you must try with a load of berries: Strawberry Puree! What is it? Strawberry puree is a blend of fresh strawberries, sweetener and lemon juice. It’s uncooked and only lightly sweetened, unlike a strawberry syrup which is cooked with a hefty amount of sugar. Use the fresh puree to dollop on pancakes, oatmeal, waffles, and cakes, or eat with a spoon like applesauce. It surprised us with its pure flavor: and it’s become a standby in our house! (Our kid can’t get enough.) Want a strawberry puree for drinks? Try this strawberry syrup instead, which brings a stronger berry flavor to cocktails and mocktails.
How to make strawberry puree
This tasty puree takes only 5 minutes to make: all you need to do is throw it in a blender! Strawberry syrup requires simmering down berries with lots of sugar until it becomes syrupy. But with puree, it’s just a quick whiz. The flavor pops even more, because it uses raw uncooked berries.
To make strawberry puree, blend 1 pound of strawberries with ¼ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice in a blender or food processor until smooth. Want to make a half recipe? You can do that too! Just keep in mind if you’re using a large blender, blend on low speed until everything incorporates (it can be difficult to blend smaller quantities).
Alternate sweeteners
Can you use a natural sweetener in strawberry puree? You bet! If you prefer all natural sugars like maple syrup or honey, they work too. You can use equal parts of the following sweeteners to substitute for sugar:
Maple syrupHoneyCoconut sugarAgave syrup / agave nectar
We haven’t tried this with monkfruit sweetener, but assume it would also work as a 1:1 swap.
Storage info: refrigerate or freeze it
Strawberry puree uses uncooked berries, so it has a shorter shelf life than a syrup with cooked berries. Here’s what to expect:
Refrigerated: You can refrigerate strawberry puree in a sealed container for 3 to 4 days. Frozen: If you’d like it to last longer, freezing it is the way to go! It lasts in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Ways to use this strawberry puree recipe
There are many uses for strawberry puree: drizzle it on cakes, waffles, oatmeal and more! Here are the top ways we like to eat it:
Oatmeal: Add a swirl to morning oatmealPancakes: It’s perfect to serve over banana pancakes, oatmeal pancakes, vegan banana pancakes or almond flour pancakesWaffles: Or, use it for wafflesCake: Try it drizzled over flourless chocolate cake, cheesecake, or even strawberry shortcakeMug cake: It’s a great single serving dessert with vanilla mug cake!
It’s great for kids!
You can skip all the serving suggestions above, and just serve this strawberry puree with a spoon! It’s a great fruit puree for kids, and you can eat it just like applesauce. Our 4 year old can’t get enough of it! He cleaned his first bowl and promptly asked for seconds.
Need a strawberry puree for drinks?
One thing to know about this strawberry puree recipe: it’s not ideal for drinks. We tested it out in a strawberry cocktail, and the flavor was not nearly strong enough. It also makes for a lot of debris in a drink, which isn’t terribly appetizing. You’ll see there are a few brands that sell strawberry puree for cocktails, and it’s highly sweetened and more like a syrup. If you’d like to use this in drinks, use this strawberry syrup instead! It’s great in strawberry soda or a strawberry vodka cocktail.
More strawberry recipes
This strawberry puree is just one in a long list of favorite strawberry recipes over here! Use these tasty berries for lemonade, crumble, jam, and more.
Make a batch of strawberry jam Bake up a pan of strawberry breadTry easy strawberry sauce or strawberry compote: chunkier, sweeter variationsMix up frosty strawberry sorbetBlend the berries into strawberry lemonade, a strawberry smoothie or strawberry milkBake up a tasty strawberry crumble
This strawberry puree recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free. 5 from 2 reviews
