Blueberry Sauce Topping

Juicy blueberries bring their natural sweetness to this quick and easy blueberry sauce topping. This makes for a delicious finishing touch on so many different desserts like cheesecake and ice cream, and turns simple breakfast foods like whole wheat pancakes, oatmeal, and yogurt into something special. You need just 6 ingredients (including water!), and you can use either fresh or frozen blueberries.

Don’t you just love a versatile berry sauce topping, that’s as welcome on the breakfast table as it is on a dessert? A topping always takes desserts to the next level, both in terms of flavor and in presentation for serving. I have raspberry dessert sauce and strawberry sauce topping… so clearly it’s about time we invite blueberries to the party.

This recipe is very similar to the topping I use on blueberry cream cheese pie, but, well, saucier. For that pie topping, you want a thicker, jammier topping that sets up enough to stay together when you slice into the pie.

For this blueberry sauce topping, you want to be able to spoon or pour it on top of a slice of lemon cheesecake, or a dish of ice cream (maybe even blueberry crumble ice cream!). It also tastes phenomenal on pancakes & waffles, stirred into yogurt, and spooned over cream cheese French toast casserole. To sum up: blueberry sauce is limitless.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Blueberry Topping

• Make it with either fresh or frozen blueberries
• Comes together on the stove in less than 10 minutes
• Naturally sweet from the berries—add just 2 Tablespoons of sugar
• So versatile—delicious on so many desserts and even breakfast foods
• Serve warm, cold, or room temperature—your choice!
• Freezes well, so great make-ahead recipe

Have you ever made my blueberry swirl cheesecake? Today’s topping is a bit saucier than what you use for that cheesecake. Nearly identical taste, though.

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Grab These 6 Ingredients:

1. Water: I use more water in this sauce than in similar recipes on my website because blueberries don’t really break down as much as, say, raspberries. We want this to be a pourable/spoonable consistency right off the heat.
2. Cornstarch: This ingredient slightly thickens the sauce. You don’t need much, but you must combine it with a little liquid before adding to the berries, 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 as an example.
3. Lemon Juice: The sauce needs *something* to balance the berry and sugar, and lemon juice provides that hint of brightness. Don’t leave it out, or the flavor will fall flat.
4. Fresh or Frozen Blueberries: Blueberries are so convenient—no peeling, pitting, or chopping required! (That’s why blueberry pie is my #1 choice for a summer pie.) When they’re not in season, feel free to use frozen blueberries. If using frozen, you don’t need to stir/mash the mixture as much because the blueberries break down easier.
5. Sugar: Because blueberries are so naturally sweet, you only need a little sugar to sweeten this sauce—just 2 Tablespoons.
6. Vanilla Extract: Stir in a small splash of vanilla once the sauce comes off the heat. Vanilla gives the sauce dessert vibes. 😉

How to Make It

You’ll cook the mixture down on the stove. Warm the blueberries and sugar together first, and make sure you’re mashing some of the blueberries with your spoon or silicone spatula as it heats. This is especially important if using fresh blueberries. With frozen berries, you won’t need to break them down quite as much because the thawing liquid is there to help.

The mixture thickens as it cools. Off heat, it’s warm and drippy. After cooling and refrigerating, it thickens into a thin preserves-like consistency. If desired, you can reheat the blueberry sauce topping to thin it out.

I love it warm on ice cream:

Can This Be a Filling for a Layer Cake?

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Uses for Blueberry Sauce Topping

On its own, blueberry sauce is a naturally gluten free dessert recipe. You can also serve it with any of the following treats (some of which are also GF!):

• Your favorite vanilla ice cream, or this no-churn blueberry crumble ice cream
• Topping on pavlova and no-bake cheesecake jars
• Filling for homemade crepes
• Use as the jam in these breakfast Danish pastries or the filling in these berry turnovers
• Pancakes & waffles, such as these buttermilk waffles and whole wheat pancakes
• Lemon cheesecake, plain cheesecake, lemon blueberry cheesecake bars, or cheesecake pie
• Stir into oatmeal or yogurt
• Serve with cream cheese French toast casserole or blueberry French toast casserole
• Topping on lemon pudding cakes
• Spooned on slices of white cake, pistachio cake, or cream cheese pound cake
• Swap out the fresh fruit topping on fruit pizza and spoon this over the cream cheese frosting instead
• Topping on goat cheese crostini
• Use it instead of strawberry compote on brown butter pound cake

Can I bake this in desserts? Yes, you can bake this in desserts. For example, you can swap the raspberry swirl in these white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars with this blueberry sauce (no need to strain, just swirl the chunky sauce into the cheesecake filling). You could also skip the apples in this apple crumb cake and add a layer of blueberry sauce under the crumb topping; and swap in blueberry sauce for the jam in these raspberry streusel bars and this raspberry twist bread.

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