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!
We all love blueberries, so it’s no surprise that we’re taking this beloved summertime fruit and transforming it into a decadent sauce.
This from-scratch Blueberry Sauce is sweet with a little tanginess. The blueberries hold their shape as you cook them down and burst in your mouth when you take a bite.
And when served over cheesecake, the tartness of the berries pairs beautifully with the creaminess of the cheesecake. It’s a glorious combination.
Whether you use this as a blueberry sauce for pancakes, cottage cheese ice cream, a blueberry sauce for cheesecake or a blueberry sauce for ice cream… well, you’re in for a treat.
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!
Ingredients
You’re just going to need seven 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.
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 or a stack of pancakes as a blueberry syrup would be the perfect topping.m
- 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.
How to Make Blueberry Sauce
Making this simple blueberry sauce couldn’t be easier!
- Combine the ingredients. In a large saucepan, combine the blueberries with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat.
- Add the liquids. Measure in the lemon juice and water.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the vanilla. Once the blueberry sauce is the correct consistency, pour in the vanilla, and stir.
- Cool it off. Let the sauce cool for 15-20 minutes before transferring to a mason jar.
- 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!
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.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: 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.
Freezing: 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.
Butterscotch Sauce Recipe
Nutella Sauce
White Chocolate Sauce Recipe
Homemade Blueberry Sauce Recipe
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
This recipe was absolutely delicious and definitely a new favorite! Can’t wait to make this for my family party again!
This blueberry sauce is amazing. I made it last Sunday. We enjoyed over pancakes and I can’t wait to make it again.
This sauce looks absolutely delicious! I can see this on pancakes, French toast, or my ice cream. I can’t wait to make it.
This is such a version sauce. Great for cheesecake buy pancakes too. Thanks!
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.
We’ve used this on pancakes, yogurt parfaits, and oatmeal and it is delicious every single way!