Make homemade raspberry sauce (aka raspberry coulis) for your desserts or breakfast using fresh raspberries with this simple 4-ingredient recipe. When raspberries aren’t in season, you can use frozen raspberries. If you’re looking to fill a layer cake, use my thick raspberry cake filling instead.
One reader, Slynne, commented: “Excellent! I used frozen raspberries and followed the instructions exactly. It paired wonderfully with Sally’s classic cheesecake recipe. ★★★★★“
This raspberry dessert sauce is wonderful to have on hand, because you can use it to finish so many recipes, like cheesecake, brownies, pound cake, lemon cupcakes, or chocolate mousse pie. A homemade raspberry sauce can even turn a simple bowl of vanilla ice cream into a guest-worthy dessert. And don’t forget breakfast like pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, or yogurt!
You could even try mixing it with some sparkling water, or include it in a cocktail—the possibilities for this homemade berry sauce are endless!
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Raspberry Sauce
- Fresh-tasting, a bit tangy, & not overly sweet
- Just 4 easy ingredients plus water
- You can use fresh or frozen raspberries… so convenient
- Less than 10 minutes on the stove
- Strain it or keep it thick & chunky
- Like salted caramel & lemon curd, it’s extremely versatile and can be used on many dishes
- So good on easy cheesecake pie or even ice cream cake!
Grab These Ingredients:
- Water & Cornstarch: Cornstarch lightly thickens the sauce. You don’t need much, but you must combine it with a little water before using, otherwise you’ll have lumps of powdery cornstarch in your finished sauce. Cornstarch is typically mixed with water to make a “slurry” before using in sauces; see strawberry sauce and blueberry sauce as an example.
- Fresh or Frozen Raspberries: You’ll love that you can whip this sauce up in the summertime when berries are fresh in season, or in the middle of winter as the snow falls outside. I actually love this sauce with frozen raspberries because they’re typically frozen at their peak freshness and sweetness. Same story with my ultra thick raspberry cake filling. And I only use frozen berries in these raspberry sweet rolls.
- Sugar: Too much sugar can mask the natural berry flavors, so stick with only 1/4 cup (50g) in this recipe. If your raspberries are extremely tart, increase to 1/3 cup (67g). This isn’t jam, so we don’t need an onslaught of sugar.
- Lemon Juice: The sauce needs *something* to balance the berry and sugar, and lemon juice provides that hint of freshness. Do not leave it out or the sauce will taste pretty flat. You can also add a splash of vanilla extract once the sauce comes off heat. (Vanilla is optional, but tasty!)
Raspberries are so convenient—no chopping or peeling required.
Just 4 Steps to Make This Raspberry Sauce
This raspberry sauce cooks on the stove in just under 10 minutes. It’s similar to the swirl recipe we use in these white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars.
- Combine ingredients together on the stove.
- Boil mixture while stirring occasionally.
- Optional: Press the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, to remove the seeds.
- Let cool.
Strained vs. Keeping the Seeds
When strained, this sauce is on the thin side, as sauces go, and great for drizzling. This strained version is also known as a raspberry coulis. If you’d prefer a thicker sauce and don’t mind the seeds, you can skip Step 3 altogether!
Here is a photo comparing the 2 consistencies:
Mixture is very hot right off the stove:
Strain the warm mixture with a fine mesh strainer:
Or keep it chunky:
This recipe yields about 1 cup of raspberry sauce if straining, or about 1 and 1/2 cups if not straining.
Uses for Raspberry Sauce
There are so many ways to enjoy this raspberry dessert sauce, and here are many suggestions:
- Enjoy drizzled on scones, crepes, muffins, buttermilk waffles, whole wheat blueberry pancakes, brioche French toast, or a Dutch baby pancake
- Stir into yogurt, cottage cheese, or oatmeal
- Use as a filling for lemon cupcakes or lemon blueberry cupcakes (see my How to Fill Cupcakes post for details on how to do this—so easy!)
- Use as a topping for cream cheese pound cake, ice cream, angel food cake, or pavlova
- Serve with chocolate treats like brownies, chocolate cake, and flourless chocolate cake
- Drizzle on choux pastry or cream puffs
- Top cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, no bake cheesecake, and cheesecake pie (pictured below)
- Spread on homemade biscuits, croissants, and toasted English muffins
- Stir a few spoonfuls into whipped cream or whipped frosting and use as garnish on desserts
Can I Use This to Fill a Cake?
No, because it is too thin. Instead, try my raspberry cake filling.
Print
Raspberry Dessert Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup strained or 1.5 cups chunky
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This raspberry dessert sauce topping is fresh, quick, & easy and gives desserts and breakfast dishes that little something extra! You can use fresh or frozen raspberries.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 cups (about 12 ounces/375g) fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (do not leave out)
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk the cornstarch and water together until all the cornstarch has dissolved. (I just use a fork to mix—very easy.) Combine cornstarch mixture, raspberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Using a silicone spatula, stir the mixture, lightly mashing the raspberries as they begin to heat.
- Bring to a boil and let it boil for 3 full minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and—if desired for a richer flavor—stir in vanilla extract.
- Press the warm sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds, if desired. I use the back of a spoon to press the liquid through the strainer, held over a bowl. It takes a couple minutes to really squeeze it all out.
- Feel free to serve warm over warm desserts, but it should be cooled to really thicken up. Cool the sauce completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools, but the strained version is still liquid and perfect for drizzling.
- Cover and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: After the raspberry sauce cools completely, freeze in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3–6 months. Thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator. Warm up in the microwave or on the stove, if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Small Saucepan | Silicone Spatula | Fine Mesh Strainer
- Berries Are Tart: If your raspberries aren’t very sweet, you may want to increase the sugar to 1/3 cup (67g).
- Thicker Sauce: If you’d like a thicker sauce and don’t mind the raspberry seed texture, you can skip Step 3 completely, or even try pureeing the mixture in a blender instead of straining.
- Other Berries: You can substitute blackberries with no changes to the recipe. Or try these strawberry sauce and blueberry sauce recipes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Excellent recipe! Thanks!
Easy & delicious! Thank you ☺️
Would this recipe be alright to can in a canning bath?
We haven’t actually canned it, but I think it should work fine!
Could I use this to flavor a buttercream?
Hi Riley, yes, you can actually do that to make the frosting on these lemon raspberry cupcakes. Let us know if you try it!
Can you can this recipe in a hot water bath?
Hi Diane, we haven’t tried that with this particular recipe, so we’re unsure of the results.
This being raspberry season, I had extra raspberries and of course the only last a little while. So I tried this recipe. Wow! This sauce is amazing and a keeper!
This is a great recipe. The flavor is excellent. There is one step that I did different and to me makes it a lot easier. Instead of pressing the mixture through a sieve with a spoon I put it in my kitchenaid blender and puréed it. Then I just have to pour it into the sieve and use a spatula to push the purée through. It takes a few minutes and you’re just left with the seeds. You get the flesh from the raspberry and keep all the benefits of it. I did 12 cups of berries and x4 the other ingredients. My relatives put it on pancakes and French toast. They loved it. Myself, I prefer vanilla ice cream. Thank you Sally for this delicious recipe.
Can I freeze the sauce if I make a larger batch? If so, follow same steps but lastly after it cools place in the containers and freeze? Thank you so much!!
Hi ASH! Yes, this sauce can be frozen – see recipe Notes for details.
I use this recipe all of the time and its FANTASTIC! I am on Weight Watchers and I just increase the amount of raspberries, so I use 24 oz. instead and leave the sugar the same. I am not seeing a serving size though. Do you happen to have that? Thanks!
Hi Laurie, we’re so glad you love this recipe! We don’t typically include serving sizes in our recipes, sorry we can’t help here!
Recipes says it yields 1 cup strained or 1.5 c chunky if that is any help?
I’ve made this sauce several times just winging it with my own recipe. Nice to have some written down amounts to use. I use frozen and just run my immersion blender through it while cooking or after. I don’t mind the seeds. Absolutely delicious for Peach Melba or just on ice cream. On those frozen coconut bars it’s delicious. I’m addicted. Thank you.
Delicious! I made it as a filling for a vanilla almond cake with cream cheese buttercream frosting, and it was SOO tasty.
Hi, would this sauce be a good candidate for swirling into your classic cheesecake before baking? I want a marbled cheesecake effect with raspberry sauce.
Hi Kaitlyn, we haven’t tried adding this sauce directly to a cheesecake, but you can certainly give it a go. You may need to tinker with the other wet ingredients in your cheesecake. It can definitely be topped with this sauce!
I just made it and it came out delicious! We have guests tomorrow and I can’t wait to try it drizzled over the ricotta cheese cake I made!
I just made it and it came out delicious! We have guests tomorrow and I can’t wait to try it drizzled over the ricotta cheese cake I made!
Great sauce used it on top of raspberry scones and sprinkled chopped up white chocolate
on top!
I follwed the recipe to a tee, using frozen raspberries that were starting to ice up. It was so quick and easy – delicious on chocolate cake rolls, pancakes, etc. Thank you for sharing.
Turned out great!
Do you think lime juice would be ok? Just got home & forgot the lemon!
Yes, for a slightly different flavor!
Can I purée the raspberries before using them in the recipe?
Hi Chris, if you want to puree the mix, you can try pureeing the cooked mixture in a blender instead of straining. The sauce will be a bit thicker this way.
22 made and still Delicious one of my favorite raspberry sauces. With whipped cream.. ITS MAGICAL.
I am planning on making a Lemon Raspberry cheesecake, can I use this raspberry sauce recipe to add raspberry sauce swirl to the cheesecake & drizzle on top? with fresh raspberries & whipped cream
Hi Laura, we haven’t tried adding this sauce directly to a cheesecake, but you can certainly give it a go. You may need to tinker with the other wet ingredients in your cheesecake. It can definitely be topped with this sauce!
Thank you! I will let you know how it turns out.
Is it possible to use cornstarch after the sauce has been made already?! I forgot that part! It’s been in the fridge overnight now and so thin.
Hi Nelly, you could definitely try placing the sauce over heat to warm, adding the cornstarch, and then bringing to a boil again to see if that helps thicken it a bit.
I loved this recipe so much! It was so good with my ice cream and raspberry’s!
Would I be able to use this with your Lemon Thumbprint Cookie recipe? I have made the lemon curd and it came out wonderfully, and now I want to try other fruit flavors.
Hi Aubrey, this one is a bit too thin, but you could try using our raspberry cake filling instead. It has more of a jam-like consistency that would work for the thumbprint cookies. Let us know if you give it a try!
Your recipes have yet to let me down- and this raspberry sauce did not disappoint. It was a huge hit at a thank-you dinner we hosted a few weeks ago. We did a cheesecake bar and had several different toppings available- I came home to a dozen texts asking for the recipe for this raspberry sauce. It was so easy, and I was absolutely thrilled that there was some leftover to take home- I enjoyed it on chocolate ice cream and it was like a dark chocolate raspberry truffle from See’s. I’m about to make more just because I can and it’s so dang easy!
I made this sauce yesterday to go with a coeur de la creme I made for a birthday party. It was perfect with just the right balance of tart flavor. Thank you. I enjoy your recipes so much!!!!!
The recipe is lovely but how can I make the sauce thicker to put it in between layers of cake
Hi Yul, here’s our raspberry cake filling recipe.
I made this as written (including the optional vanilla and using frozen berries) to serve with homemade pear sorbet and the results were delicious. The sauce was very tart coming off the stove, but it mellowed after sitting in the fridge. I just wish I could “beam” the seeds out of the sauce ala Star Trek instead of using a strainer. Now I’m thinking about how to use it with other desserts. Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is wonderful! The first time I made iit I was out of lemons so I substituted fresh orange juice. This time I made sure to have lemon juice. I prefer the orange. It’s less tart but still full of flavor. Thank you!
This is lovely on my White Christmas Pie!
Quick note for faster making: You don’t need to make the cornstarch slurry if you mix the sugar and cornstarch together first. The sugar breaks apart the cornstarch molecules so they don’t stick together.