This this simple recipe for a sweet strawberry syrup that can be used on pancakes and waffles, or on desserts like ice cream, cakes and frozen yogurt!

Strawberry season might be the best season.

Nothing ushers in the sweetness of summer quite like fresh, juicy red strawberries. My family eats strawberries year round, but when the strawberry farm stands start opening and the local farmers set up shop on the corners in my neighborhood, we load them up by the flat. In fruit or green salads, over cereal, dipped in whipped cream or chocolate, or plucked warm off the vine, strawberries are one of our favorites! You can be sure another crate will be adorning our kitchen table come Mother’s Day. And while strawberries are oh so good fresh, they also cook up into the most delicious jams and sauces.

Today, I’m sharing a simple and delicious fresh strawberry syrup that you can whip up for Mom for Sunday morning.

Let’s make the Strawberry Syrup!

This strawberry syrup is made with just a few simple ingredients. You can pour it over pancakes or waffles, add it to smoothies for some concentrated strawberry sweetness, make strawberry milk, or drizzle it over ice cream! Yum!

Begin with 4 cups of fresh strawberries, washed and sliced with stems removed. (You can easily double this recipe if desired.)

In a medium saucepan, combine strawberries, sugar, and water.

Place on the stovetop over medium-high heat.  

Stir occasionally. You will notice the sugar heat and turn to liquid. Continue cooking and bring to a boil.

Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Use a potato masher to smoosh the strawberries every 10 minutes or so. If you plan to run the sauce through a blender later (which is what I did), it’s not terribly important to do a lot of mashing as you cook.

You may notice that the sauce gets frothy on top. To reduce the bubbles, add a dash (1/4 teaspoon) of butter to the pan. This will eliminate most of the bubbles and keeps the sauce cooking along at an even consistency.

Once the sauce has simmered for 30 minutes, and has turned a deep red and thickened a bit, turn off the heat and add the almond extract, if you wish.

You can now serve your sauce with fruit bits in it OR you may choose to puree and strain the mixture. I pulsated the mixture in a blender until it was a smooth consistency and then passed it through a strainer to get out any remaining seeds/chunks. The resulting texture is smooth but thick enough to stand up to a good stack of pancakes.

Serve sauce warm and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this strawberry season as much as we do and Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who has loved, inspired, and nurtured someone in their life.