Roasted Strawberries; a perfect way to convert ordinary strawberries to a juicy, flavorful and delicious jammy version.
A simple 4 ingredient recipe that is perfect as is or as a topping for yogurt, granola or ice cream!
Strawberry season is definitely one of our favorite seasons. When the fresh berries show up in farmer's markets, small stores and large grocery stores, we get boxes full of these berries home.
And while the season lasts, we love to go strawberry picking at Brentwood. The farms are laded with fruits and given how low they lie, our toddler loves picking baskets full of these berries.
We try and go early in the morning before it is too hot and the berries start to warm up. And get home a lot of strawberries. I love to make so many recipes using them. Strawberry milkshake, strawberry cream, some strawberry jam, cakes and muffins and so on.
And when there are more strawberries than we can consume before they go bad or I see that my toddler picked far too many hard or not so sweet berries, I tend to make this recipe of Roasted Strawberries.
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Why roast strawberries
A jar of roasted strawberries is the perfect way to make the summer berries last longer. When we roast them, the strawberries become a delicious syrupy mix of sugar, juices from the berries and the flavoring we add in.
Together, these make a delicious topping for so many desserts. Plus, they are amazing to use in so many recipes.
Roasting strawberries is so much to do with simple science. As we cook the berries on high temperature, the heat speeds up the enzymes that break starches down into sugars. So this process helps make a delicious syrup-y mix of the berries.
Why this recipe works
- Roasted strawberries is super easy to make using a baking tray and a bowl.
- We can easily season this recipe with so many add-ins.
- The recipe is naturally Vegan.
- This one is versatile in terms of additions, berries used and sweeteners.
- Plus, the recipe is also gluten-free.
- We can make a large or small batch of roasted strawberries.
- The recipe works for blackberries, blueberries or a mix of these with strawberries.
- The resultant mix is great on desserts, breakfasts or to enjoy as-is.
- We can make this recipe with only about 10 minutes of active time.
- The same recipe works to get a syrup-y mix or just roasted strawberries.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Strawberries: We need a lot of strawberries to make recipe. Try and use fresh berries while they are still new. Those with dings and dents tend to spoil faster and spoil the whole lot very soon. Pick these when they are in peak season for best results.
- Sweetener: Some sweetener like honey, brown sugar or regular cane sugar is best for the recipe This helps release the juices from the berries. Pick the one that you like best. The results will be similar. I use cane sugar for the recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: I like to flavor these roasted strawberries with vanilla. Both vanilla extract or some vanilla bean work in the recipe. If you want the flavor to be subtle. use a few drops of the extract. The bean on the other hand has a more intense flavor.
- Balsamic Vinegar: A little acid helps brighten the strawberries. Balsamic Vinegar also makes the flavor of the strawberries amazing. An optional ingredient, I like to add it most of the time. However, if I am making the berries to exclusively add to ice creams, I skip this. A little vinegar or lemon juice can work just as well.
- Other flavors: These berries are great with some cinnamon sticks, thyme leaves or basil leaves. These can be used in conjunction with balsamic and vanilla or by themselves. Rose or orange blossom extract works wonderfully in the recipe too.
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.
How to make this recipe
1- Wash the strawberries well. To do so, dip them in a bowl of cold water and rub them lightly till the mud and other things comes off.
2- Remove and pat dry using a napkin. Then hull out the greens.
3- Chop the strawberries into equal size pieces. I cut the small ones in half and the large ones into fours.
4- Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle sugar on them. Also add the vanilla extract and balsamic vinegar if using.
5- Toss well to coat.
6-Spread them in a single layer in a baking tray. I have used a 6*8 inch tray here.
Pro Tip: Crowding them close to each other will give you a lot of syrup compared to when they are far apart in a tray.
7- Place in an oven preheated to 350 F/ 180 C. Bake the strawberries are soft and release the juices (about 25- 40 minutes depending on how soft you want them). Remove the tray and cool to room temperature.
8- Transfer to an airtight bottle and refrigerate.
Expert Tips and Notes
- Pick fresh berries: Use the freshest strawberries you can get. They give us the best roasted strawberries. Plus, make this within a day or two of getting the berries.
- Discard the spoilt ones: A box of strawberries often has a few berries with some dings, cuts etc. Do not use these to make the roasted strawberries. One spoilt berry will cause the others to spoil quickly too.
- Two ways to make them: Crowding in a baking tray to give us a lot of syrup as they roast or spreading them out to make roasted berries that do not have a lot of syrup.
- Adding some acid: Add a little acid in some way to the strawberries. Lemon juice, vinegar, balsamic vinegar or orange juice works well. This helps brighten the berries and add some flavor as well.
- Cooling the berries: Once the berries are roasted, let them stand in the pan till cool. The remaining heat from the pan makes the syrup nice in consistency. Transfer once it is at room temperature.
- Not so sweet batch: This process of roasting strawberries is often the best way to use a batch of not so sweet strawberries. Add some extra sugar to make them sweeter. This method is great for hard strawberries as well.
Making these in the Air Fryer
While the recipe does indicate we need an oven, we essentially need to cook the berries at high temperature.
This is possible using an Air Fryer too. Only thing is that the air fryer needs to have a bake or roast button. I use this Instant Vortex which comes with all these features.
I place the tray in the preheated Air fryer at 350 F and lightly cover it with a piece of foil. Set the mode to bake and time to 25 minutes or till they are soft. That way they come out perfect.
Using These Berries
These roasted strawberries are easy to use in so many ways.
- Use them on top of breakfast recipes like pancakes, muffins, waffles, croissants, crepes etc.
- Top them on popular desserts like custards, jelly, mousse or cheesecakes.
- Plus, add it to make delicious strawberry flavored desserts like ice creams, cheesecake and whipped cream.
- Serve these swirled into creamy dips like labneh, whipped butter, cream cheese etc.
- Convert them into smoothies by adding milk or yogurt with some fresh fruits.
Storage
Fresh strawberries are perfect to use within a day or two of getting them. Moreover, to prolong their freshness, wrap in paper towels and transfer to the refrigerator. It stays fresh for much longer.
The prepared roasted strawberries are perfect to use within 5 days. Keep it in a lidder container in the refrigerator all the time.
Freeze leftover roasted strawberries for up to a month. Freeze in small batches and use them at once. Do not thaw and refreeze them again. These are perfect to use smoothies, ice creams etc. The texture may be little different on thawing but the taste is still amazing.
Recipe FAQs
Heating berries does not always make them sweeter, but it often is. Heating the fruit speeds up the enzymes that break starches down into sugars. And when you heat them with a little sweetener, the resultant mix is often super sweet.
If you add a lot of strawberries to a baking tray, they tend to roast and release a lot of juices. And as the berries cook in these juices at high temperature, they make a stewed version. To avoid this, keep some space between the berries in the baking tray.
Certainly. A mix of blueberries, blackberries and strawberries works well. And so does a berry by itself. The same method will work for all of them.
Yes for sure. To make berries for savory dishes, reduce the sugar a little. Also add a dash of balsamic vinegar with some cracked pepper. Also add some sea salt after the berries have roasted. Together, these make a perfect topping for savory breakfasts and dishes.
I would not recommend doing so. As the frozen berries defrost, they release far too much moisture to become perfectly roasted. They are too mushy and not appropriate for roasting.
More Delicious Strawberry Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments whilst you are there, thanks!
Roasted Strawberries
Ingredients
- 15-20 Strawberries
- 3 tablespoon Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the strawberries well. To do so, dip them in a bowl of cold water and rub them lightly till the mud and other things comes off.15-20 Strawberries
- Remove and pat dry using a napkin. Then hull out the greens.
- Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle sugar on them.3 tablespoon Sugar
- Also add the remaining add-ins. Toss well to coat.½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract, ½ teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
- Spread them in a single layer in a baking tray. I have used a 6*8 inch tray here. Crowding them close to each other will give you a lot of syrup compared to when they are far apart in a tray.
- Place in an oven preheated to 350 F/ 180 C. Bake the strawberries are soft and release the juices (about 25- 40 minutes depending on how soft you want them).
- Remove the tray and cool to room temperature.
- Transfer to an airtight bottle and refrigerate.
- Use as a topping on yogurt, granola or ice-creams.
Video
Notes
- Pick fresh berries: Use the freshest strawberries you can get. They give us the best roasted strawberries. Plus, make this within a day or two of getting the berries.
- Discard the spoilt ones: A box of strawberries often has a few berries with some dings, cuts etc. Do not use these to make the roasted strawberries. One spoilt berry will cause the others to spoil quickly too.
- Two ways to make them: Crowding in a baking tray to give us a lot of syrup as they roast or spreading them out to make roasted berries that do not have a lot of syrup.
- Adding some acid: Add a little acid in some way to the strawberries. Lemon juice, vinegar, balsamic vinegar or orange juice works well. This helps brighten the berries and add some flavor as well.
- Cooling the berries: Once the berries are roasted, let them stand in the pan till cool. The remaining heat from the pan makes the syrup nice in consistency. Transfer once it is at room temperature.
- Not so sweet batch: This process of roasting strawberries is often the best way to use a batch of not so sweet strawberries. Add some extra sugar to make them sweeter. This method is great for hard strawberries as well.
- Air Fryer: To make this in the air fryer; place the tray in the preheated air fryer at 350 F. Lightly cover it with a piece of foil. Set the mode to bake and time to 25 minutes.
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