Blueberry season is well underway and since I’m a big fan of these little blue gems, I’m trying to find as many ways as possible to work them into some delicious recipes. Sure, I could totally just eat them by the fistful straight out of the little basket, but why not explore new recipes that utilize this sweet summer berry?
Over the weekend, I picked up a mass quantity of locally grown blueberries and knew that I wanted to create a simple lemon infused homemade blueberry sauce for a recipe that’s coming up tomorrow. But this sauce was so incredibly tasty, that I couldn’t just stop there. As the weekend progressed we were adding a dollop of this homemade blueberry sauce to freshly churned vanilla ice cream, graham crackers and breakfast pancakes.
This sauce is sweet with a hint of tartness and adds the perfect little something extra to anything it comes into contact with. Okay – maybe not anything, so don’t go slathering this on Beef Jerky expecting something epic.
Stay tuned to tomorrow’s post and find out what I did with this homemade blueberry sauce that created one of the easiest and tastiest recipes that I’ve made in recent weeks.
Homemade Blueberry Sauce
Yield: about 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)Directions:
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/2 cup of water, sugar and lemon juice. Stir frequently, and bring to a low boil.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water.
3. Slowly stir the corn starch into the blueberries, taking care not to crush the blueberries. Simmer until the homemade blueberry sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and gently stir in vanilla and lemon zest.
Notes:
- The amount of sugar that you use will depend on the sweetness of your berries, simply adjust the amount to suite your taste.
- If this sauce is too thick for you, slowly add in water until you reach the desired consistency.
- No lemons on hand? This homemade blueberry sauce recipe tastes really great with orange juice and zest.
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{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }
Those pancakes look perfect and I’m pretty sure I’d eat that blueberry sauce with a spoon!
You don’t know my weird food cravings – I just might eat this with beef jerky!
Looks luscious! I’d be putting it on everything too, well not beef jerky
Yummy! Do you think this would freeze well?
Catherine–
I do think it would freeze well. I actually just put a container of it into the freezer this afternoon. Enjoy.
–Jamie
Rich and luscious looking sauce…
What a delicious picture!! Oh. My. Goodness. I want those pancakes now!!! Ok, well maybe this weekend
I’ve always been a pure maple syrup kind of gal but I think you could twist my arm with this one! Imagine swirled in ice cream! Yum!!
What a gorgeous blueberry sauce! My daughter is always asking me for blueberry syrup for her pancakes…this is it…even better that it’s a sturdy sauce and not a thin syrup! YUM!
Not only does the recipe sound delicious – you pictures are absolutely incredible! I love blueberries – but your pictures make me want to lick my computer screen! Stunning!
I can lick a jar of those right now!
This sounds perfect! Great recipe
Recipe as yummy as the photos! One could also replace the cornstarch with other thickeners like pectin or potato starch which is a higher quality of starch.
My girls LOOOVE blueberries, I think I’ll have to make this for them! Sounds so delicious Jamie!
This sauce will be delicious on so many things! This will become a regular in my home
I love Blueberry Sauce over Swedish Hotcakes. And warm, over ice cream, is pretty decent too!
Thank you for posting this recipe, I have printed and saved. Looking forward to making this soon.
Oh my goodness. I would pour this over just about anything. Maybe it would make certain vegetables more palatable…
Yummy! I’m on a blueberry kick lately, too! I just made blueberry cheesecake this past weekend.
Yum! I could totally see this poured over vanilla bean ice cream! I might just be making this for that very purpose
This looks fantastic. I also have blueberry bushs and get blueberries from my CSA, so I always freeze them for pancakes in the winter, but I think I’ll make some of this sauce. It should can well, right? Smells like a Christmas present
Your blueberry sauce looks AMAZING. I love anything with blueberries in it (well, except for bagels), and I can see myself doing as you did and pouring this over just about everything
Can’t wait to try this!
We are still a month away from fresh blueberries, so you are making me very hungry! Looks like a combination of two recipes that I thought were good, but not quite perfect–I thinkl this is it! For other blueberry ideas, try infusing vinegar–same as you would for raspberry vinegar. Salad dressings are awesome, and, of course the blueberries are right at home in the salad …..and brownies.
I’d love this sauce on Belgian waffles, my favorite weekend breakfast. Yum!
I am wondering with the lemon as the acid, if this could be canned in a hot water bath…any idea?
YUM!!! I have a lot of blueberries..fresh and frozen. This recipe is going to go over very well with my family!
I have been looking for a recipe like this. We always have tons of fresh blueberries. I was going to ask you though about storing the sauce or if it’s something that has to be made right before you use it. Looks like you already said that you put some in the freezer.
Oooh, I bet this sauce would be so amazing with some pound cake!
Just made this sauce today to go over some buttermilk pancakes. Oh my! Topped with some whipped cream, this made a decadent breakfast for my family. Thanks for the recipe.
this is the beginning of blueberry slump; do it in a skillet, add sweet dumpling batter to the blueberry sauce, cook 20 min (10 covered, 10 uncovered) a really yummy dessert, esp w/ homemade vanilla icecream
Very good! I had some leftover blueberries to use up and halved the recipe. I subbed lemon lime flavored club soda for the lemon juice, as I did not have any. I can’t wait to have this with whole wheat pancakes this weekend! Thanks for sharing.
if you make this, how long will it last in the refrigerator, so you can use it a little at a time?
Allison-
It will last a few days in the fridge, but it freezes beautifully as well! Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Just polished off some classic pancakes with this blueberry sauce. It was absolutely perfect. I just might double it next time so that we have enough to sop up with our pancakes.
I used frozen blueberries because that’s what we had and it was great, but I’m sure it would be even better with fresh blueberries. I tasted the sauce before I added the vanilla and lemon zest and thought it needed something, but then I added the vanilla and lemon zest and it completed the recipe, giving it a full delish flavor.
I’m making this for the second time-FANTASTIC!!
Barbara-
So glad to hear this recipe was a success for you! Thanks for taking the time to report back!
-Jamie
I am curious if anyone has ever tried canning this recipe? I have tons of blueberries and would like to use this as Christmas gifts for my staff this year. Do I need to add anything to preserve it? Can I just follow the recipe and do a water bath method? Any suggestions would help! Thanks!
I tried this recipe and loved it! My family is loving it too and it tasted great over chocolate ice cream (blueberry and chocolate is a surprisingly good flavor combo!)
Joelle-
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the blueberry sauce recipe. Thanks so much for coming back and telling us your thoughts! Have a great day.
-Jamie
Jamie, This looks awesome and I love, love, love blueberries! I would like to make it, but I am trying very hard to stay away from added sugar and artificial sweeteners. My sweetener of choice is Stevia. I use it as my sweetener in coffee, teas, and even Zevia brand sodas (sweetened with Stevia). Sometimes I use Xylitol sweetener. Do you know if I used Stevia or Xylitol in your recipe would it work? Thanks for posting your recipe!
Lorraine-
I haven’t tried making this sauce with Stevia, but I would be very interested in knowing how it turns out if you give it a try. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
This is a fantastic recipe. I upped the corn starch to 3 tbsp and used it as cheesecake topping (you just pour it on to the chilled cheesecake after about 10 min. of cooling and it gels really nicely and stays put). The second time I replaced the water with de-seeded raspberries and it was scrumptious. Thanks!
Ria
I am so happy to hear the sauce turned out so well! Thanks for coming back and commenting on your experience with the recipe. Have a great day!
-Jamie
I served this on homemade buttermilk icecream. They went perfectly together.
Fantastic sauce – I was licking out the pot afterwards with my finger! LOL! Pour some of the sauce over the blueberry cheesecake I just made and the rest of the sauce is in the fridge to serve with vanilla icecream; yummmylicious!!!
Portia-
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping by and providing your feedback – have a great day!
-Jamie
Thank you for the recipe.
I made a wonderful Angel Food cake today and cooked up your wonderful Blueberry Sauce to put on top. Perfect combination! Thank you for an easy, quick sauce!
-Jennifer