Blueberry Sauce

Want to serve a homemade Blueberry Sauce over cheesecake, pancakes, ice cream, biscuits from scratch or more? This delectable 7-ingredient berry sauce is perfectly sweet and tangy to add to desserts and breakfasts!

straight on shot of cheesecake with blueberry sauce

Why You’ll Love This Blueberry Sauce

Great for adding to all types of delicious recipes, this blueberry sauce is loved by all.

  • Versatile – Not only can you use this sauce as a cheesecake topping or for blueberry pancakes, it also tastes great on savory recipes!
  • Take advantage of blueberry season – After blueberry picking with the family, you can use your fresh fruit to make this delicious sauce.
  • Handful of ingredients – You only need a few ingredients to make this sauce, most of which you might already have on hand!
fork in slice of cheesecake

Ingredients

You’re just going to need seven simple ingredients for this homemade blueberry sauce recipe. They can all easily be found at your local grocery store.

  • Blueberries—you may use fresh blueberries or frozen. Both should work perfectly here! Just note that frozen blueberries will take more time to melt and cook down and might not hold their shape as well.
  • Granulated sugar—also known as “white sugar,” this is the sweetener we’re using in our sauce.
  • Cornstarch—this is going to help the sauce thicken. A little goes a long way, so please don’t over measure! It will change the texture of the sauce if there is too much or too little corn starch, which is also known as corn flour.
  • Lemon juice—I juiced a lemon for this recipe and love the acidity the juice adds. You don’t get a ton of lemon flavor, but it’s there in the background. Lemon and blueberries play nicely together, so this works!
  • Water—we need just a splash of this to thin out the sauce and help those blueberries hold their shape.
  • Sea salt—you’ll just need a pinch of fine sea salt or kosher salt. This will serve as a counterbalance of the sweet and help give it a nice pop.
  • Vanilla extract—I love to use just a little bit of pure vanilla extract. It adds a wonderful aroma and undertones of vanilla to the sauce.
overhead shot of blueberry sauce ingredients in pan

Variations

You can easily take the original recipe and turn it into your very own easy blueberry sauce recipe. Here are some ideas:

  • Lemon – Juicy blueberries always pair really well with lemon. Try adding in a little lemon zest or even fresh lemon juice into the fresh berries for an even brighter flavor.
  • Orange – Another citrus option is orange. Add a tablespoon or two or orange juice into the blueberry mixture for a fun flavor variation.
  • Maple syrup – Pure maple syrup is the perfect way to add a little warmth to this homemade berry sauce.
slice of cheesecake topped with blueberry sauce

How to Use Blueberry Sauce

There are plenty of different ways to use this blueberry compote, however, here are a few of our favorite ways to use it:

  • On desserts – Fruit sauces like this one are perfect for adding to things like cheesecake, angel food cake, pound cake or any other dessert you can think of.
  • Breakfast foods – Adding this homemade sauce to french toast, waffles, cottage cheese or a stack of pancakes as a blueberry syrup would be the perfect topping.
  • Ice cream – Add this sauce to a scoop of vanilla ice cream to really take your sundae up a notch.
  • Yogurt – Adding sweet blueberry flavor to things like yogurt parfaits will be sure to please all blueberry lovers.
  • Savory dishes – Don’t knock it till you try it! This sauce makes a delicious topping for things like pork loin or pork chops.
  • Charcuterie board – Combining this sauce with some cream cheese in a small bowl would be a nice addition to your charcuterie board.
blueberry sauce in a jar

How to Make Fresh Blueberry Sauce

Making this simple blueberry sauce couldn’t be easier!

  1. Combine the ingredients. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine the blueberries with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat.
  2. Add the liquids. Measure in the lemon juice and water.
  3. Cook it down. Heat the blueberries over medium heat. You’ll cook them for about 5 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and has thickened. You want the blueberries to still mostly be holding their shape.
  4. Pro tip! If you’re using frozen blueberries, cooking them down will take longer. Also, they are less likely to hold their shape, but that’s OK.
  5. Add the vanilla. Once the blueberry sauce is the correct consistency, pour in the vanilla, and stir with wooden spoon.
  6. Cool it off. Let the sauce cool for 15-20 minutes when it reaches the perfect consistency before transferring to a mason jar. 
  7. Serve it up. You can serve this sauce warm (but not super hot, unless you want to melt your dessert) or cold. Keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks!
blueberry sauce on spatula

Storage and Freezing

How to Store

We like to keep ours in a large mason jar in the fridge. It will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container, so if you’re planning to serve it for an event or special brunch or dinner, you can make it well in advance.

Can I Freeze Blueberry Sauce?

You can also freeze it solid. (Ice cube trays are awesome for stuff like this! Freeze the sauce in there, then transfer to a freezer bag when solid.) It will keep for 3 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to use it, defrost in the fridge, and enjoy even during the winter months!

More Dessert Sauces

Sweet sauces elevate any dessert. Check out these and maybe have two or three options.

cheesecake with blueberry sauce with text overlay for pinterest
slice of cheesecake topped with blueberry sauce

Homemade Blueberry Sauce Recipe

This delectable 7-ingredient Blueberry Sauce recipe is perfectly sweet and tangy to add to desserts, breakfasts and more!
5 from 6 votes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: blueberry sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 3 cups
Calories: 243kcal

Ingredients

  • 18 oz. blueberries ~3 ½ cups
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • A pinch of fine sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water in a large saucepan. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat.
  • Heat the blueberries over medium heat. Cook them for about 5 minutes, bringing to a boil. The sauce will bubble and will have thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. The blueberries should mostly hold their shape.
  • Add the vanilla once the blueberry sauce is the correct consistency. Stir to combine.
  • Let the sauce cool for 15-20 minutes before transferring to a mason jar or another airtight storage container. Transfer to the refrigerator. (It will keep for up to two weeks!)
  • Serve the sauce warm or cold with your favorite dessert or breakfast item.
  • If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.

Nutrition

Calories: 243kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Sodium: 3mg, Potassium: 149mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 51g, Vitamin A: 93IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 1mg
collage of blueberry sauce for pinterest
Jessica Formicola of My sauce Recipes
Meet the Author

Jessica Formicola

Jessica is a cookbook author and Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School certified recipe developer. See her work in Parade Magazine, Better Homes & GardensMashed, AllRecipes AllStars and The Daily Meal Food + Travel and more!

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5 from 6 votes

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Questions and Reviews

  1. 5 stars
    This recipe was absolutely delicious and definitely a new favorite! Can’t wait to make this for my family party again!

  2. 5 stars
    This blueberry sauce is amazing. I made it last Sunday. We enjoyed over pancakes and I can’t wait to make it again.

  3. 5 stars
    This sauce looks absolutely delicious! I can see this on pancakes, French toast, or my ice cream. I can’t wait to make it.

  4. 5 stars
    My kids love anything blueberry so I always have a batch of this on hand. They love this sauce on their morning pancakes. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.