Made with fresh or frozen strawberries, this strawberry simple syrup adds fresh berry flavor to lemonade, iced tea, sparkling water, cocktails, or mocktails. The smooth homemade syrup mixes easily into cold drinks and skips the artificial flavor of store-bought bottles. Keep a jar in the fridge for summer drinks, lemonade bars, or quick strawberry lemonade by the glass.
One of my favorite ways to use this syrup is to stir it into a glass of homemade lemonade. It is also a fun base for homemade summer drinks, especially when paired with other fruit syrups like rhubarb syrup for easy flavor combinations.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Only Three Ingredients - Just strawberries, sugar, and water.
- Made With Real Strawberries - No artificial ingredients.
- Smooth and Pourable - Stir it into lemonade, iced tea, sparkling water, cocktails, or mocktails.
- Fresh or Frozen Strawberries Work - Easy to make any time of year.
- Great for Summer Drinks - Keep a jar in the fridge for quick homemade drinks.
What You'll Need
- Strawberries - Fresh or frozen strawberries both work well for this syrup.
- Sugar - Sweetens the syrup and helps create the smooth syrup texture.
- Water - Simmers with the strawberries and sugar to create the syrup base.
See the recipe card for the exact measurements and complete instructions.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Boil the ingredients
In a saucepan, add the strawberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and simmer until the strawberries soften and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Why are the strawberries sliced? Because I was using up a bag of frozen sliced strawberries! Yup, they work too!
Step 2: Strain the syrup
Pour the simple syrup through a fine mesh strainer to remove the strawberries. Let cool before storing in the refrigerator or adding to drinks.
Tips and Tricks
Saucepan Size Matters! The syrup bubbles up quite a bit while boiling. Use a larger saucepan than you think you need. Ask me how I know this…
Bowl First! Add the bowl underneath the strainer before even thinking about pouring the liquid into it. Otherwise all that strawberry syrup will go right down the drain.
Don't Procrastinate Wiping Up Spills! The homemade simple syrup will dry into a sticky mess. It is much easier to clean it up before it dries. Again… ask me how I know this.
But DO Wait For… Let the hot syrup cool before adding it to the containers. This will reduce the condensation.
How To Use Strawberry Simple Syrup
- Homemade Lemonade - Stir into lemonade by the glass for quick strawberry lemonade.
- Sparkling Water - Mix with sparkling water for an easy homemade soda.
- Cocktails and Mocktails - Add to margaritas, mojitos, or party drinks.
- Sweet Tea - Mix with iced tea.
- Strawberry Milk - Stir into cold milk.
- Breakfast Drinks - Mix into smoothies or protein shakes.
- Ice Cream Floats - Add to lemon-lime soda with vanilla ice cream for a fun summer dessert drink.
- Fruit Dip - Stir a little into whipped cream or vanilla yogurt for a quick fruit dip.
- Sweetened Yogurt - Add a bit to plain Greek yogurt topped with cinnamon roll granola.
Easy Way To Serve Strawberry Syrup
To keep the sticky mess to a minimum, especially at parties, store the strawberry syrup in a regular mouth mason jar with a pump lid.
It is a simple way to add syrup to lemonade, sparkling water, cocktails, or iced tea without sticky measuring spoons all over the counter. Keep the jar in the refrigerator and pump directly into drinks as needed.
What I Used (with affiliate links):
- Regular mouth pint-sized mason jar
- Food-safe pump lid that fits a mason jar
- Label maker for naming different homemade syrups
If you plan to serve multiple homemade syrups at a lemonade bar, labels make it much easier for guests to mix their own drinks.
What You Need for a Lemonade Bar
For my son's graduation party we wanted to serve a lemonade bar, but didn't want to use shelf stable syrups with funky ingredients. It was such a fun way for both the kids and adults to create a drink station where they were in charge!
Lemonade - Classic lemonade is a must, but pink lemonade is fun too.
Homemade Flavoring Syrups - Strawberry syrup, rhubarb syrup, or blueberry syrup let everyone customize their drinks.
Ice - Keep plenty of ice in an insulated cooler with a scoop nearby.
Glasses with Lids and Straws - The straws double as stir sticks and the lids help cut down on spills and sticky messes.
Fresh Fruit - Totally optional, but sliced lemons, strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries make the lemonade bar feel extra fun.
Storing
Store: Keep the strawberry syrup in an airtight jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Stir before using if needed.
Freeze: Pour the cooled syrup into a freezer-friendly container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Reducing Food Waste
I am a huge fan of not tossing food away and love finding new ways to use it up. With the leftover strained strawberries, I added it to my oatmeal in the morning, added to my kids vanilla ice cream, and spooned it over gluten free biscuits for an easy strawberry shortcake vibe.
Save strawberry tops from strawberry freezer jam in a freezer bag until you have enough to make syrup. You will need about 4 to 5 cups of packed strawberry tops to make the homemade strawberry syrup.
FAQs
Nope. Add frozen strawberries directly to the saucepan.
Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1 week in an airtight container or mason jar.
No. This syrup is thinner and smoother so it mixes easily into drinks.
No, but you can. To me, the foam is a way to let people know it's homemade. Sort of like how homemade ice cream melts faster. The foam will decrease as the syrup cools.
You can slightly reduce the sugar, but then it is no longer a simple syrup and may not keep as long.
That is normal. The syrup thickens slightly when chilled. Stir before using if needed.
Low FODMAP Notes
Low FODMAP ingredient information is based on the Monash University Food App and FODMAP Friendly App testing results as of the day posted. As always, modify based on your gut and what works for you on a low FODMAP diet.
- Strawberries: Safe up to 5 medium sized (65 grams) per meal.
- Sugar: Plain, white granulated sugar is safe up to ¼ cup (50 grams) per meal.
For additional information on a low FODMAP diet, please visit Monash University or FODMAP Friendly. Both have websites and apps for additional guidance and testing results.
More Loveable Strawberry Recipes
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Recipe
Strawberry Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 cups strawberries fresh or frozen
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Add the strawberries, sugar, and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer with a bowl beneath to catch the syrup. Lightly stir the cooked strawberries to get as much liquid out.
- Let the syrup cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Serve it in lemonade, iced tea, sparkling water, cocktails and so much more.
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