A gorgeous ruby-red syrup made with fresh summer strawberries. Perfect for cold foam, lemonade, cocktails, sparkling water, or drizzling over shortcake.
Let me tell you what I did with a bottle of homemade strawberry simple syrup that I made on a warm June morning: I made a chocolate-covered strawberry iced coffee in a mason jar, drizzled chocolate syrup and strawberry syrup down the sides, poured in iced coffee, and topped the whole thing off with a strawberry cold foam. It was ridiculous. It was delicious. It was a Tuesday in New Hampshire, and honestly, I highly recommend it.
But let’s back up.
If you live in New England, you already know that iced coffee isn’t a seasonal beverage…it’s a lifestyle. We drink it in January. In a blizzard. Through a straw. It’s just who we are. So when I had a bottle of fresh strawberry simple syrup sitting on my counter, upgrading my daily iced coffee was basically inevitable.
This week, I went strawberry picking at Saltonstall Farm in Stratham and came home with more berries than I knew what to do with. I made jam. I made macerated strawberries for shortcake. And then I made this: a simple strawberry syrup that takes about 20 minutes, uses just three ingredients, and produces the most gorgeous ruby-red liquid you’ve ever seen come out of your kitchen.
It’s one of those recipes that feels a little fancy and is actually incredibly simple. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool before you pour it into something.
I’m Jennifer, a lifelong New Englander, gardener, enthusiastic home cook, and firm believer that the best recipes start with something you grew or picked yourself. Around here, recipes are simple, seasonal, and made for real life.
Welcome to my kitchen.
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What You’ll Need
This is a minimal equipment situation, which is one of the reasons I love this recipe. A small saucepan, a fine mesh strainer, and a bowl to strain into. That’s really it.
For storing, I used a swing-top glass bottle, which I have to say looked absolutely beautiful; that deep ruby color against the glass is genuinely one of the prettiest things I’ve made in my kitchen this summer. A mason jar works perfectly, too, if that’s what you have.
One thing worth mentioning: don’t throw away the strawberry bits left in the strainer after you strain the syrup. They’re soft, jammy, and sweet. I spooned mine over a dish of yogurt the next morning, and it was perfect. Nothing goes to waste around here!
Ingredients For Strawberry Simple Syrup
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cups water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
How To Make Strawberry Simple Syrup
This strawberry simple syrup is very easy to make and all-natural. This beats those bottled flavored syrups that you pump into your drinks & coffees!
Step 1: Prepare The Strawberries
Wash 2 cups of strawberries. Then hull and slice the berries in half
Step 2: Combine Ingredients
Combine ingredients: Add 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 cup water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently to combine.
Step 3: Simmer
Simmer: Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the strawberries have broken down and turned pale, about 15 minutes. Don’t rush this with high heat, or the syrup can turn cloudy.
Once the berries had softened, I used a potato masher (the back of a spoon works too) to mash the berries a bit.
Step 4: Strain The Mixture
Strain: Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl or jar, pressing gently on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much syrup as possible.
Don’t force it or the syrup will be cloudy; gentle pressure is all you need.
Step 5: Squeeze of Lemon Juice
Finish: Stir in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor and helps preserve the color. Let cool completely before transferring to a jar or bottle.
Step 6: Transfer To Bottle or Jar
Store: Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The color will be a stunning deep ruby.
This recipe filled 1 8.5 oz bottle plus a small creamer that I had (it wasn’t enough to use another bottle).
Save The Berry Bits!
Don’t throw away the cooked strawberry solids left in the strainer! They’re essentially jammy, soft strawberries, delicious stirred into yogurt, spread on toast, or spooned over vanilla ice cream. Transfer to a storage container and refrigerate to be used within 2 days.
Five Ways to Use Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup
Here’s the thing about having a bottle of homemade strawberry syrup in your fridge: it makes everything better. And I mean everything. I started experimenting with it over the past couple of days, and I have used it five different ways without even trying!
It’s one of those ingredients that just quietly upgrades whatever it touches, and at about twenty minutes of effort and pennies per serving, it might be the best return on investment of anything I’ve made this summer. Here are my five favorites:
The Chocolate Covered Strawberry Iced Coffee
This is the one that started it all. Drizzle chocolate syrup and strawberry syrup down the inside sides of a large mason jar. Pour in your iced coffee (or cold brew). Then make a simple strawberry cold foam and spoon it right over the top. It looks like something from a coffee shop and costs almost nothing to make at home. You’re welcome.
Strawberry Cold Foam:
- 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 2 Tablespoons Whole Milk (oak/soy works too)
- 1 Tablespoon Strawberry Simple Syrup
This makes a single-serve ratio that is perfect for topping off your iced coffee and only takes a couple of minutes to make.
Put the ingredients into a cup or small bowl and whisk or froth until it is thick and creamy. You could even shake it in a lidded mason jar. Then pour or spoon over your beverage & enjoy!
Pro Tip: If you are looking for a new coffee maker that also makes good iced coffee, you should try my setup! I used the Ninja Dual Brew (it does pods & ground), and then I got the Ninja ice pitcher, and it brews a pot of perfect iced coffee every time!
Stirred Into Sparkling Water
The simplest thing, and honestly one of the prettiest. A tablespoon or two of syrup stirred into a glass of sparkling water turns into the most beautiful blush-pink drink. You could even dress it up with a few fresh berries and a sprig of mint if you’re feeling fancy. This is also a great mocktail base if you have people over this summer.
Drizzled Over Vanilla Ice Cream
Don’t overthink this one. A scoop of good vanilla ice cream, a generous drizzle of strawberry syrup, done. Summer dessert in under two minutes.
Stirred Into Lemonade
Fresh-squeezed or store-bought, it doesn’t matter. Strawberry syrup transforms a plain glass of lemonade into something that looks and tastes like it came from a farm stand. Perfect for a summer gathering! I personally love the San Pellegrino sparkling lemonades in the summertime-they are so refreshing!
Spooned Over Yogurt
And don’t forget the strained strawberry bits that you saved after making the syrup. They are delicious spooned over a bowl of yogurt with a drizzle of the strawberry syrup. Perfect summer breakfast!
A Few Tips for Making Strawberry Simple Syrup
Use the ripest berries you can find.
The flavor of this syrup is only as good as your strawberries. Fresh-picked or farmers market berries are going to give you something extraordinary. Store-bought works too. Just look for berries that are deeply red all the way through and actually smell like strawberries when you pick them up. If they don’t smell like anything, they won’t taste like much in the syrup.
Don’t rush the straining.
Gentle pressure through the strainer is all you need. If you force it, the syrup turns cloudy, and part of what makes this syrup so beautiful is that gorgeous, clear ruby color. Take your time, let gravity do most of the work, and use the back of a spoon to press lightly.
Let it cool completely before bottling.
I know it’s tempting to pour it straight into your pretty bottle while it’s still warm. Resist. Let it cool to room temperature first.
Save the strawberry solids.
The soft, jammy berry bits left in your strainer after straining are too good to throw away. Spoon them over yogurt, stir them into oatmeal, or spread them on toast. They’re essentially a rough strawberry jam, and they’re delicious.
Storage.
Keep in the refrigerator in a sealed bottle or jar for up to two weeks. The color stays beautiful for the first week and may deepen slightly after that, still perfectly good, just richer looking.
easy stovetop
Strawberry Jam
Go Make A Bottle of This!
If you picked strawberries this season and still have some sitting on your counter, this is the move. Twenty minutes, three ingredients, and you’ll have a bottle of the prettiest syrup you’ve ever made, one that works in your late morning iced coffee, your afternoon sparkling water, your evening dessert, and every snack in between.
And if you’re a New Englander with an iced coffee habit, and let’s be honest, that’s most of us, the chocolate-covered strawberry iced coffee alone is worth making a batch for. I’m not exaggerating when I say it might be my favorite thing I’ve made all summer!
If you missed the farm visit post that started all of this, head over to A Morning at Saltonstall Farm: Strawberry Picking in NH and catch up. And if you’re on a strawberry roll, my Small Batch Strawberry Refrigerator Jam is right there waiting for you too.
Now go find your prettiest bottle and get simmering!
xo, Jennifer
Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup
A gorgeous ruby-red syrup made with fresh summer strawberries. Perfect for lemonade, cocktails, sparkling water, or drizzling over shortcake.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cups water
- 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Combine ingredients: Add 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 cup water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently to combine.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the strawberries have broken down and turned pale. About 15 minutes. Don't rush this with high heat, or the syrup can turn cloudy.Â
- Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl or jar, pressing gently on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much syrup as possible. Don't force it or the syrup will be cloudy. Gentle pressure is all you need.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor and helps preserve the color. Let cool completely before transferring to a bottle or jar.
- Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Don't throw away the cooked strawberry solids left in the strainer! They're essentially jammy, soft strawberries. They are delicious stirred into yogurt, spread on toast, or spooned over vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 48Total Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 0g
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