The sweet taste of strawberry blends beautifully with the sweet peppery flavor of basil creating a tantalizing treat in this Homemade Strawberry Basil Syrup.
It can be used for all kinds of things!
I don’t even understand how it is summer already.
June 1 is here, and I am still trying to figure out where March and April went, let alone May.
This year is just flying by, and we are at the halfway point now.
With the first of the month, comes another fun Secret Recipe Club recipe. One of my favorite times of the month!
This month I was assigned Chef in Disguise written by Sawsan.
She is an orthodontist and a very passionate food explorer.
She has loads of beautifully photographed recipes on her site, her recipe index is extensive and made us drool!
We finally settled on her Homemade Strawberry Syrup which probably seems like a simple choice, and it was, BUT it was because this year the garden is once again, overflowing with strawberries and I don’t want to waste them.
This seemed like the perfect, extremely easy, life extending recipe for these strawberries.
And it was perfect. And delicious. I may nor may not have licked the spoon on more than one occasion.
I love fresh strawberries. So much.
I only made one slight addition to the recipe, and that was to add just a little Basil for a little added flavor, and because well, my basil plants are thriving at this point too.
You can only freeze so much for later.
We made about 3 or 4 batches of this, and it lasts in the fridge for about two weeks.
We did freeze a batch.
It froze well, and while it was a little thinner consistency when it thawed, we were able to use it for most of the things I mention below.
10 Ideas for Using this Awesome Strawberry Basil Syrup
- Pancakes, Waffles and French Toast – As a syrup for your breakfast, this is incredible. Use it alone or drizzle a little and then add your maple syrup. Either way, it is fantastic.
- Smoothies and Milkshakes – If you want some strawberry flavor in your smoothie or milkshake, add some syrup, blend and taste. Add more if you want more.
- Cocktails – Add some Strawberry Basil Syrup to your Mojitos, swirl it through your Margaritas, Juleps are awesome with it. So many delicious things!
- Oatmeal – Swirl some of the Strawberry Basil Syrup into your Oatmeal to give it a little extra pop in the morning!
- Cake and Cupcakes – Whether it is sponge cake, angel food cake or simply a moist decadent chocolate cake, this syrup goes perfect with cake!
- Ice Cream – A great topping by itself or with chocolate syrup. It is like a sundae without all the extra work.
- Meat, Fish or Poultry Glaze – I know it sounds strange, but fruit gives meat a wonderful flavor and with the combination of Strawberry and Basil, you cannot go wrong with adding some to your meal tonight.
- Yogurt – Swirl it through your yogurt, or use it as a layer in parfaits. Delish!
- Salads – It makes a wonderful, flavorful dressing for any salad, but tastes absolutely amazing with Spinach! Yum!
- Vegetables and Beans – Swirl some through baked beans, or stir some into a vegetable dish for a unique, delicious flavor that will add something different to your meal.
Recipe for Homemade Strawberry Basil Syrup
Homemade Strawberry Basil Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 cups strawberries
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Hull the strawberries.
- In a large bowl, slice the strawberries in half and then mash them.
- How you do this, will determine the outcome of your sauce. If you want some chunky strawberry visible, only mash a bit. If you want it smooth, use a blender or food processor to blend. I wanted it pretty smooth.
- In a pot on the stove, add the mashed or pureed strawberries, basil leaves, granulated sugar and 3/4 cup of water.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat for ten minutes. Stir occasionally.
- When you have 5 minutes left in the cooking time, dissolve the corn starch in the 1/4 cup of water and add it to the syrup while stirring. This will thicken the sauce and give it a beautiful consistency.
- Store the left over sauce in a clean dry jar in your fridge, it will last up to two weeks.
Your strawberry plants always make me so jealous of your green thumb. This syrup is a perfect way to use your fresh strawberriers. And now I want to try it on all 10 foods you listed. In the same day. LOL 😀
lol Leslie, I would totally do the same. haha And I only had the green thumb the first year, after that – they have done it all on their own. haha
Hello Nicole
Thank you so much for the kind words about my blog. I am really glad you enjoyed the recipe
Oh my, this is right up my alley! And I love the all the uses you suggest for it!
Thank you so much Susan, and I am sure happy to see your face over here on Group A 🙂 Welcome to your new position! 🙂
Thanks so much Nicole! I’m really very excited about it 🙂 And it’s so nice to see some familiar and friendly faces :-)!!
I love fresh strawberries too. This sounds wonderful. Great SRC pick!
Thank you so much Sarah!
How VERY, VERY lucky you are to have such an abundance of strawberries! Here in NH we still have a couple more weeks until our strawberries are ready to be picked. Your sauce is beautiful and tasty looking! 🙂
It is the only thing that is a given each year in my garden. haha The abundance of strawberries, but it is totally just fine with me. Enjoy Strawberry Season when it finally hits!! (and thank you for the sweet compliments!)
What a delicious SRC pick. This syrup sounds fantastic!
Wow, that looks great. I love strawberries in all variations, but did not yet create my own strawberry sirup. I definitely have to get some fresh strawberries in order to try your recipe. Thank you very much for sharing it!
Best wishes,
Sylvie
You have both strawberries and basil in your garden? I am so jealous. I love my shade trees, but I can barely grow chives and thyme on my back deck. Anyway, your syrup sounds amazing – I love the combination of strawberries and basil. I’d use it in a bunch of cocktails and sit outside admiring the plants I don’t have growing in my tiny backyard 🙂
I am quite blessed to have Strawberry and Basil in my garden, but it took me years to get it growing well. haha The shade thing was a problem for us too.
Thank you for the sweet words.
Hello Nicole
Thank you so much for the kind words about my blog. I am really glad you enjoyed the recipe
Wow, that looks great. I love strawberries in all variations, but did not yet create my own strawberry sirup. I definitely have to get some fresh strawberries in order to try your recipe. Thank you very much for sharing it!
Best wishes,
Sylvie
Can we pour some in lemonade for a summer drink? 😏
Absolutely! I bet it would be incredible in some fresh lemonade!
Love the idea! I’m just imagining all the applications I will do this summer for this recipe.
One question do you blend the basil leaves after, the instructions said to put them whole… What do you do to make a smooth syrup? or you strain the syrup?
Thanks
I went ahead and updated the recipe, however yes, we did leave the basil leaves whole so they would continue to release flavor. However we have also blended them in with the strawberries and of course also removed the leaves at the end before serving. It’s pretty much your choice. Good luck, and we hope you enjoy!