3 Ingredient Instant Pot Strawberry Ice Cream Topping– the easiest strawberry sauce recipe ever! Strawberries, sugar and lemon juice is all you need for the fool-proof recipe. No pectin, no cornstarch, no artificial preservative, no added color. This is such a lovely seasonal treat that can go with so many things, but why not add it to my favorite- ICE CREAM!

HOW TO MAKE JAM WITHOUT SUGAR?

I personally haven’t tried this one, but apparently, you can replace sugar with honey or monk fruit extract in jam recipes. If you get around trying this, please don’t forget to drop in a comment below. I’d love to know how did it turn out and what were your thoughts on it?

IS HOMEMADE BETTER THAN STORE BOUGHT?

What I love about homemade strawberry ice cream topping is that I know what’s in it. I love that I have control of the ingredients I want to use to make my sauce. No artificial preservatives, sweeteners, or colors.

I like the sauce to be low-sugar so I control the amount of sugar I add without compromising the texture or taste. It’s so much more cost effective to make sauce at home. Once you master the art of making this sauce you can make so many different variations and flavors of ice cream toppings. The options are endless.

WHAT’S THE BEST TIME TO MAKE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM TOPPING?

Now, because its the Strawberry season!!! The best time to make Strawberry Jam is definitely spring April to June, when strawberries are abundant and go on sale.

Tools Needed:

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HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM TOPPING?

Making strawberry ice cream topping is easier than you think. If you haven’t tried making it at home earlier, try this strawberry ice cream topping recipe is simple and fail-proof. I promise. All you need is three ingredients, of course, lots of strawberries, fresh lemon juice, and sugar. No preservative, no pectic, no cornstarch, no artificial sweetener or no color. Isn’t that great?

I marinate the quartered strawberries with sugar in my IP for an hour. The sugar helps draw juices from the strawberries so you don’t need to add any extra water in the recipe. Then I add the lemon juice which helps balance the sugar in the sauce and most importantly since lemon juice is high in pectin it give the low pectic strawberries a boost.

Then I just pressure cook the strawberries for a minute in my Instant Pot and let the pressure naturally release. If you don’t have an Instant Pot I have shared stove top instructions in the recipe card below. Using a masher I blend the strawberries and the juice.

Lastly I thicken the mashup buy boiling it to my desired consistency and allow the mixture to cool after transferring it into containers or cans. That’s all you need to do. You can find the measurements and timing in the recipe card below.

CAN I USE OTHER FRUITS OR FROZEN BERRIES?

Yes, you can use frozen berries if you making the sauce offseason. Just make sure to defrost the berries before you use them and then just add a minute of cooking time. The rest remains the same.

STRAWBERRY FREEZER SAUCE. HOW LONG DOES THE STRAWBERRY SAUCE LAST?

If you are canning correctly it would last for up to a year in the freezer. However, if you are refrigerating it, then mine lasted two weeks. Of course, it was all gone by the end of the second week. We did make enough extra to sell at our market and give some away as gifts!

HOW I CAN THICKEN THE SAUCE WITHOUT ADDING PECTIN OR CORNSTARCH?

I am not against adding pectic or cornstarch but if I can achieve great results with natural ingredients why add an extra processed ingredient. Citrus fruits are rich in pectin, so the freshly squeezed lemon or even orange juice does the trick. Honestly, this strawberry ice cream topping came turned out to be perfect after reducing the juices by boiling and refrigerating, which also help thicken the sauce.

How to can strawberry ice cream topping?

Ladle the hot sauce into your hot sterilized glass jars leaving ½ inch of headspace. Seal the containers or jars. If you prefer, you can follow the instructions that came with your canning jars.

How you can use your strawberry ice cream topping

On course on a slice of bread or toast
As a topping on your dessert, ice cream or custard.
Decorate your yogurt bowl
A scoop on your pancakes or waffle
Fill it in your donuts
Layer your cakes
Eat it out of the jar with a spoon 😉

Strawberry Ice Cream Topping

Only 3 easy ingredients, strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. No pectin, no cornstarch, no artificial preservatives, no color. Stove-top instructions are available.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hr

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Course Dessert

Equipment

instant pot
masher

Ingredients

4 Cups Quartered strawberries
½ Cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS

Thoroughly wash the strawberries. Add the strawberries and sugar to the Instant Pot and stir. Allow them to marinate for an hour at least until the strawberries are juicy. Add in fresh lemon juice and mix well.
Cover and lock the lip and pressure cook or use the manual button and adjust the timer to 1 minute. When the timer beeps, allow the pressure to naturally release until the float valve drops. This takes approximately 15 minutes.
Then unlock the lid. Using a potato masher or blender, blend the sauce until the desired consistency.
Press the Saute button on the pot and boil for 5 minutes or until the sauce reaches the desired gel state.
Skim off and discard any foam. Ladle into hot, sterilized glass containers or jars, leaving ½" headspace. Seal the containers or jars following the instructions that came with your canning jars.
Allow to the sauce to cool and then serve. Store remaining mixture in an airtight container with a tight-fitting lid for up to a couple weeks in the refrigerator.

STOVE TOP INSTRUCTIONS

Keep a saucer in the freezer before starting the sauce.
Marinate the quartered strawberries and sugar for an hour in a bowl.
Tip the mixture in a preserving pan or saucepan adding lemon juice to it.
Cook on low heat until the sugar completely dissolves.
Turn up the heat to start bubbling the jam and bring it to boil. The sugar must be completely dissolved before increasing the heat, otherwise, it will be difficult for the sauce to set.
Boil for about 5-10 minutes and turn of the heat.
Now spoon a little sauce on one of the cold saucers. Leave for 30 seconds, then push with your finger. If the sauce wrinkles and doesn't flood to fill the gap, then it is ready.
If not, turn back the heat on for a couple more minutes, and repeat the wrinkle test until ready.

Notes

Washing berries

Of all the methods I have tried, a 10 minute vinegar-water bath followed by pat drying the berries has given me the best results. 1 part apple cider vinegar & 8 parts water. The pH of the vinegar does the job of killing the bacteria and removing any residue. Bonus, it also helps your berries last longer without going bad for upto a week in the refrigerator.

Enjoy & Cheers!