This delicious strawberry syrup recipe is my favorite thing to make at the peak of strawberry season! Plus, you’ll have the added benefit of knowing what went into your syrup– just three ingredients, all natural, nothing artificial. Sugar acts as a natural preservative, so all you need to do is refrigerate. The syrup will last for weeks (but it’s so addicting, it never lasts that long in my kitchen!).
Homemade strawberry syrup can be used for a number of purposes. It is most commonly added to beverages and cocktails like my strawberry basil martini to give them a strong, sweet strawberry flavor.
Try adding it to lemonade to make strawberry lemonade or seltzer to make a strawberry spritzer. It makes a lovely addition to cocktails and mocktails. Add it to your favorite ice cream float or sundae. You can also drizzle it on pancakes or waffles as an alternative to maple syrup. So many possibilities!
Recipe Ingredients and Notes
Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete details!
- Fresh Strawberries – I don’t recommend using frozen strawberries for homemade simple syrup. They’re likely to be too watery and may make the syrup bland.
- Water – This is used to boil the berries and forms the base of the syrup.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar enhances the natural sweetness of the berries and provides the proper texture for the syrup. I don’t recommend using any other types of sugar for this strawberry syrup. However, you could try natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, coconut sugar, or agave.
How to Make Strawberry Syrup
- Prep the berries. Rinse the strawberries, and hull them with a paring knife. Then, slice them into bite-sized pieces.
- Cook. Transfer the berries to a medium saucepan, cover them with water, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook to break down the berries.
- Strain. Pour the strawberries into a fine mesh strainer or sieve, straining the liquid into a clean pot. Discard the berries.
- Boil. Add sugar to the strawberry liquid, and bring the mixture back to a boil, allowing the sugar to dissolve.
- Serve. Skim any foam from the top, allow the syrup to cool completely, and enjoy!
Tori’s Tips for the Best Taste and Texture
- Skim the foam. Make sure to skim the foam from the top of the syrup throughout the cooking process for a clear syrup.
- Don’t press the strawberries. It’s tempting to try to smash the strawberries to obtain more juice, but this will make the syrup cloudy!
- Adjust the thickness. For a thicker syrup ideal for pancakes and waffles, let the mixture simmer a bit longer after the sugar dissolves.
Homemade Strawberry Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds strawberries
- 1 quart water (4 cups)
- 2 cups sugar
Instructions
- Rinse the berries clean, then hull them with a paring knife by slicing around and pulling out the stem.
- Slice the strawberries into smaller pieces.
- Place the strawberry slices in a medium saucepan.
- Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium simmer and let the strawberries cook for about 20 minutes. Skim any foam that rises to the top.
- After about 20 minutes, the strawberries will have lost most of their color and the water should be deep pink/red in color. Remove from heat.
- Strain the strawberry liquid through a fine mesh strainer into another clean pot, separating the solid berries from the liquid. DO NOT press down on the solids to extract more juice; it’s tempting, but doing this will make your strawberry syrup cloudy.
- Once the strawberry liquid has been strained, discard the solid berries. Add 2 cups of sugar to the strawberry liquid. Bring back to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar into the syrup. Let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved, skimming any additional foam that rises to the top.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Pour into a glass container, seal, and refrigerate. The syrup should last for several weeks.
- Note: if you prefer a thicker syrup for use on pancakes or waffles, you can simmer it for several minutes longer until the liquid reduces and thickens more. The consistency as written is perfect for mixing into beverages.
NOTES
Nutrition
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FAQs
Yes, this method works with other berries. Try my homemade raspberry syrup. Or, use blackberries or blueberries instead.
If you’re looking for even more ideas, this simple syrup recipe makes for a great addition to certain salad dressings – like to make a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. Or, use it as an alternative to store-bought syrups with ice cream, challah French toast, yogurt bowls, or cake, cheesecake.
I love recipes that replace store bought items ladened with preservatives and unknown extras. This looks delicious. Would this work with other berries (i.e. blueberries, raspberries)?
Raspberries will work great, I do it that way every year. Blueberries should too, but you may need more berries to get that deep rich blue color and flavor (I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for certain– you would have to experiment a bit). Enjoy!
This looks good. Can anything be done with the remaining berry pulp, such as taking some of the finished syrup and creating a pancake topping or something like that? It’d be great if there were a way to avoid throwing out the berries — they might not look pretty, but they’ve probably still got some taste left in them. Thanks.
Hi Jessica. Believe it or not, the berries are pretty tasteless after the extraction process. That said, I understand not wanting to waste them. What you could do is mix them up with some sugar then use them as a topping for pancakes or ice cream. They won’t be nearly as flavorful as normal berries, but they will still taste slightly strawberry-ish.
can it be frozen????
Yes, you can! It may not solidify completely in the freezer, though.
Will this work with Splenda instead of sugar?
It won’t have the same preservative properties as sugar, but I don’t see why you couldn’t make it with Splenda to make it lower carb… I’m just not sure what the ratio would be of Splenda to strawberry water, since I’ve never tried it myself before. Perhaps try adding it to taste? It also won’t thicken in the same way that the sugar syrup will, which is no big deal for adding to beverages, but you won’t get a pancake syrup-like texture from it if that’s what you’re after. If you try it let me know how it worked out for you!
I just did this with plums and it turned out amazing. I did actually can it in small jelly jars so it would keep longer and then I could give it as gifts throughout the summer.
Fabulous! Did you save one for me? 😉
This is a lovely recipe, so simple – and it really does look very beautiful. I like that you can make it with several other berries. Do you think you could do something similar with Pomegranates?
Interesting idea Leah! I make a pomegranate molasses which is much thicker than this: http://theshiksa.com/2011/09/07/pomegranate-molasses/ but a thinner beverage “simple syrup” would also be great. Putting it on my list for pomegranate season!
Dear Shiksa, Anthony is a pro, certainly. Still, I´ve followed your recipes almost every day with surprise and delight, and I´m one of those NYC-DC foodie types who is always on the lookout for new restaurants and bistros. Hope you don´t mind that I´ve suggested some of your recipes to friends in the business, mostly on the French side. In the end, we must give Anthony his due, while I continue to delight in your ingenuity and astonishing creativity. BTW: I remain a fan of Jacques Papin and the late great Julia.
My wife wants to learn to make it…. MMMMMMMMM I love my wife.
I need a bigger fridge for all your cool ideas!
Love you tori!
I love the color of this syrup. I’ve been experimenting with simple syrups a lot this spring, and I think this one would make a killer mojito!
I have bbeen looking for a new idea for all these strawberries I have thank you! however, if they go bad fairly quickly as strawberries often do, will making them into this form, help preserve them and if so, for how long, refrigerate etc? thank you
Yes, this syrup is naturally preserved with sugar. It will last for several months in the refrigerator, or even longer if you know how to can it using a sterile canning process.
Falafels not so much, but SC strawberries are so yummy right now
Can I do with frozen berries. I have frozen berries and would love to make strawberry seltzer. Thanks
Hmm, I’ve never tried it with frozen berries before… in theory it should work, but I can’t promise because I haven’t tried it myself. If I have a chance to try it I will report back!
Frozen is great way to go for many dishes.’
Yes frozen works just fine I just finished mine… Your recipe is awesome
Happy to hear that Yolanda!
Shiksa, you are culinary genius. Anthony Bordain had nothing on you.
That is a pretty major compliment! Anthony rocks, I bow down to him. 😉 Thanks!
YYYYUUUUMMMM!!
I love the simple syrups (especially from the candied lemon peels!) but can your recipe work with raspberries and blueberries just the same? Not big on strawberries
Absolutely Nicole! I make raspberry syrup every year. Blueberries should also work, but you might want to start with less liquid for them to see how strongly they infuse. Enjoy!
yummy Thanks! ;0
and falafels!
Thank you! Now I know what to do with all the strawberries I have here!