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strawberry compote in white bowl with fresh strawberries scattered around behind the bowl.

Strawberry Compote

Robyn
This easy strawberry compote recipe brings out the sweet fragrant flavour of strawberries, even those berries that aren't at their best. Enjoy it for breakfast or dessert, on waffles or cheesecake, or freeze for using later on.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Breakfast | Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine International
Servings 4 people
Calories 65 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 medium saucepan

Ingredients
  

  • 500g (17 ½ oz) strawberries, cut into halves or quarters
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • ½ tablespoon water
  • ½ tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the strawberries: Hull the strawberries / chop the top off the berries, and chop larger strawberries into quarters and smaller ones in to halves.
  • Combine the chopped strawberries with caster sugar, water, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat on a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Once the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat to medium and simmer gently for 5-6 minutes until the strawberries are tender and the liquid has reduced slightly and is syrupy.
  • Cool completely - either in the pan or tip in to a heatproof bowl.
  • Once cold, store in the fridge covered, for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Video

Notes

Strawberries - fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries - no need to defrost them first.
Sugar - white sugar / granulated sugar.
Lemon juice - brings out the flavour from the strawberries. You can use fresh orange juice instead.
Water - because I don't add much sugar to the compote, this helps to keep the compote from tasting too sour from the lemon juice.
Vanilla - I love the extra flavour vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract adds to the cooked strawberries, but you can leave the vanilla out if you prefer.
Don't cook the compote on too high a heat, at first you need a low heat to dissolve the sugar, otherwise the finished compote can be grainy. If you leave the compote to boil it can burn.
If you don't want to use lemon juice you can leave out the water too - it can be quite sharp with lemon juice and no water.
This coulis can be on the tart side, especially if made with underripe strawberries (which does especially well on ice cream and cheesecake!). Carefully taste the coulis - it will be very hot and can burn your mouth - if you find it too sharp add another 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to sweeten it.
If using frozen strawberries, no need to defrost them first. Don't add the water to the compote, as frozen fruit can make it more watery. If the compote is looking too thick once the fruit has defrosted, then add a little water.
If the strawberries are very ripe and a little mushy, they will probably need less cooking time - around 3-4 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 65kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 1gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.02gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 194mgFiber: 3gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 15IUVitamin C: 74mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
Keyword strawberry compote, strawberry recipe

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