Strawberry Syrup

5 from 47 votes

Sweeten your summertime sips with a homemade Strawberry Simple Syrup. Made with three ingredients (and fresh or frozen strawberries), you can also pour this easy strawberry cocktail syrup onto pancakes or drizzle it over desserts.

A decorative glass bottle filled with red liquid, surrounded by fresh strawberries and a metal jigger, on a white background.

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About this Strawberry Simple Syrup recipe

Strawberry-picking in the summertime is one of the best pastimes. I’m curious: What do you do with all those ruby red beauties?

After making chocolate-covered strawberries, baking strawberry shortcake, putting them into smoothies and — of course — snacking on them, and and and… Well, that all sounds like hard work. It’s time to make a cocktail!

Homemade Strawberry Simple Syrup is the easiest way to infuse the rich, sweet flavor of berries right into your favorite drink recipes. This three-ingredient recipe is easy to customize and has many uses, from the copycat Pink Drink to a strawberry martini.

More syrup recipes: Blueberry SyrupCherry SyrupPrickly Pear SyrupRosemary SyrupCucumber Syrup

Why you’ll love this recipe

This strawberry syrup recipe is simply the best, and here’s why:

  1. You can make it with fresh or frozen strawberries, which is great for when these berries are out of season.
  2. With just three ingredients, it comes together in less than 20 minutes.
  3. Homemade syrups are an inexpensive and healthier alternative to store-bought cocktail syrups.
  4. And, you can use it in drinks, desserts, on breakfast foods… the options are endless!
A clear glass bottle filled with red liquid, placed on a white surface with strawberries and a gold jigger nearby.

The sweet secret behind better drinks

Have you ever tried to stir pure sugar into a cold drink? Good luck — you’ll be stirring a while. And ever wondered how to flavor your favorite drinks without store-bought syrups?

Homemade simple syrup is the answer to these problems. It’s a liquid sweetener made by combining sugar and water. You can use simple syrup to sweeten cocktails, mocktails, coffee, tea and other drinks. That’s its primary use, but you can also drizzle it over pancakes or ice cream. Bakers even use it to moisten cakes before decorating.

Once you’ve mastered classic simple syrup, there’s a whole world of flavor to explore. Try infusing herbs like basil or mint or spices like cinnamon or vanilla. You can even make syrups with fruit like blackberries, peaches or pumpkin. And strawberries, of course!

strawberry syrup ingredients

Ingredients

You only need to pick up three basic ingredients at the grocery store to make this fresh strawberry syrup. If you’d like to mix things up, check out the section below titled Variations & Substitutions.

  • strawberries: You can use fresh or frozen berries — more on this below!
  • water: Filtered water or distilled water will give you the best, purest results, but tap water is totally fine.
  • sugar: Granulated sugar and cane sugar are my recommendations for this simple recipe, since it will allow for the best rosy red color.

Best strawberries for syrup

Bright red, juicy, ripe, sweet strawberries are the best for this simple syrup. In fact, fruit that is a little bruised or is just about to go bad will make a very rich syrup with tons of sweet strawberry flavor.

Fresh strawberries will provide the most succulent, sweet flavor. Strawberry season will vary depending on where you live, but if you can get your hands on berries from a local grower, do it. It’s always nice to support local.

However, you can use frozen strawberries in this recipe, ideally sliced ones. Use them like you would fresh ones. If they are whole berries, let them thaw first then slice them and use them in this recipe.

Prep tip: Make sure you wash your berries before you begin. Then, use a strawberry huller* to remove the green tops of the berries and use a knife to slice the berries.

A clear glass bottle with an ornate pattern is filled with bright red liquid, set against a white background with a gold jigger and strawberries in the background.

Substitutions

Use other types of sugar: You can use the same amount of brown sugar or honey instead, though both will alter the color of the syrup slightly. It will be a darker red.

Sugar-free strawberry syrup: Use your favorite sugar substitute instead of sugar to make a sugar-free syrup.

Thicker syrup: A thicker syrup may be ideal if you want to drizzle it over pancakes. For a thicker syrup, use a greater ratio of sugar to water. Typically a syrup recipe calls for an equal, 1:1 amount of sugar and liquid, but for a richer syrup you can use a 1.5:1 or 2:1 ratio instead. In this case, you would normally end up with about ½ cup of strawberry concentrate so you’d add ½ cup sugar, but for a richer syrup, you might do ¾ to 1 cup sugar.

Strawberry syrup vs. sauce: Straining out the berries is what makes strawberry syrup different from strawberry sauce, in which the solids stay mixed in. If you’d like, blend the syrup with the berries and sugar in a food processor or with an immersion blender until you get a smooth texture.

Flavor variations

Have fun mixing up this simple strawberry syrup recipe with new flavor combinations!

  • Strawberry Mint Syrup: Add mint sprigs to the syrup while it cools to infuse mint flavor. Use it to make big batches of strawberry mojitos.
  • Mixed Berry Syrup: Use a mixture of berries, such as raspberries, blackberries and blackberries, in addition to the strawberries.
  • Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup: Reduce the strawberries by half and add as much diced rhubarb. Cook until the rhubarb is soft, then strain out the fruit and add sugar. Then use it in this strawberry rhubarb champagne cocktail.
  • Strawberry Maple Syrup: Use maple syrup instead of sugar to create a strawberry-flavored maple syrup.
A decorative glass bottle filled with red liquid sits beside a glass bowl and loose strawberries on a white surface.

Instructions

Though you can buy strawberry simple syrup, this recipe is so very easy and inexpensive to make. In my opinion, it is just not worth buying, as it tastes so much better with fresh berries!

First, wash the berries, then hull (remove the stems) and slice, dice or quarter the berries (it doesn’t really matter, you just want smaller pieces). Add them to a saucepan, along with water.

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Bartender secret

For regular simple syrup, you typically need as much sugar as you do water, but a recipe with fresh fruit is a little different. First, boil the water and strawberries together to get a reduced strawberry juice. Strain out the solids, then stir in as much sugar as there is strawberry liquid to make the syrup.

Sliced strawberries floating in water inside a metal container, perfect for creating a fresh strawberry syrup recipe.
Fresh strawberries cut in halves and quarters are soaked in a liquid, possibly being prepared for a recipe.

In a medium saucepan, bring water and chopped strawberries to a boil. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Save the berries! You can save the cooked strawberries to muddle in cocktails like a berry mojito or blend them into a strawberry daiquiri. You could also enjoy them over yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast.

A metal strainer with cooked strawberries sits atop a glass measuring cup, filtering red juice for a homemade strawberry syrup recipe. A bowl of fresh strawberries is in the background.
Close-up of white powder in the center of a red liquid in a metal container.

Use a fine mesh sieve * to remove the solids and fruit pulp as you strain the hot liquid into a bowl or jar. While still warm, stir in sugar until dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

A clear glass bottle filled with red strawberry syrup stands next to a glass bowl of fresh strawberries and a single strawberry on a white surface.

Storing simple syrup

Store your homemade strawberry syrup in an airtight container, such as a mason jar or glass bottle, in the fridge for up to three weeks. If it ever looks cloudy or has an odor, it’s time to toss it and make a new batch! You can also freeze simple syrup to use in the future.

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Tips & tricks

  • For a richer, thicker syrup, use 1.5x or 2x as much sugar.
  • Super ripe strawberries, even ones that are bruised and ugly, have the best flavor.
  • Frozen berries are still a good shortcut though!

A pink cocktail in a coupe glass on a gold tray, garnished with a strawberry slice. Fresh strawberries and a jigger are in the background.

Drinks with Strawberry Syrup

The opportunities for this homemade strawberry cocktail syrup recipe are endless! Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it (and here are even more strawberry drinks if this isn’t enough!):

  1. Strawberr-ify classic drinks: A strawberry daiquiri or strawberry margarita is a great way to enjoy the flavor of strawberries. They are the perfect summer cocktails!
  2. Go beyond the classics: Try it in a bourbon Kentucky buck or a beer cocktail, like the strawberry French Monaco. Or try a strawberry chiller with coconut milk and whipped cream vodka.
  3. Use syrup instead of muddling: Some cocktails require smashing fresh berries, but you can simplify it with syrup — and make more drinks, faster. Try it in a strawberry Moscow mule or a strawberry mint julep.
  4. Sweeten anything: Stir it into lemonade (for strawberry lemonade) or make strawberry iced tea. Mix it into a boozy strawberry rosé sangria to sweeten it.
  5. Make strawberry mocktails: This sparkling strawberry mocktail is perfect for celebrating. Another fun one is an Italian soda with strawberry syrup and club soda.

Other uses for Strawberry Simple Syrup

Beyond drinks, there are so many ways to use this delectable fruit syrup! Here are a few ideas:

A decorative glass bottle filled with red liquid sits next to fresh strawberries and a glass container, all on a white surface.

More strawberry recipes

A decorative glass bottle filled with red liquid, surrounded by fresh strawberries and a metal jigger, on a white background.

Strawberry Syrup

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Infuse fresh strawberry flavor into your homemade drinks with this easy Strawberry Simple Syrup recipe. Makes ~6 ounces.
5 from 47 votes
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ingredients

instructions

  • Wash the fruit. Hull strawberries to remove stems, then quarter them. (See Notes section below for tips on using frozen strawberries.)
  • In a medium saucepan, bring water and strawberries to a boil. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Pour through a fine mesh strainer * to strain the hot liquid into a bowl or jar. Discard solids.
  • While still warm, add sugar to the strawberry mixture and stir until sugar dissolves.
  • Let cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

notes

If using frozen strawberries: You can use frozen berries for this syrup, ideally already sliced ones. Use them like you would fresh ones. If they are frozen whole berries, let them thaw first, then mash or slice them to use in this recipe. (Add any juices that melt, too!)

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nutrition information

Yield: 12 servings

amount per serving:

Serving: 0.5ounce Calories: 36kcal Carbohydrates: 9g Protein: 0.1g Fat: 0.1g Saturated Fat: 0.002g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g Sodium: 1mg Potassium: 19mg Fiber: 0.2g Sugar: 9g Vitamin A: 1IU Vitamin C: 7mg Calcium: 3mg Iron: 0.1mg
did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #feastandwestrecipes!

About Susannah

Susannah Brinkley Henry is the founder of Feast + West, a cocktail blog featuring creative, budget-friendly drinks and hosting ideas. A graphic designer with bartending school training, she shares cocktails, mocktails, appetizers and desserts for easy, stylish entertaining. Her work has been featured by Southern Living, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post and Mashable, and she was a finalist in the Saveur Blog Awards. Susannah is also a publisher on MSN and has appeared on local news segments sharing seasonal drinks. She lives in Charlotte, N.C., where she brings Southern charm and global inspiration to every pour. Read more.

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