No-Cook Raspberry Sauce Recipe

By
Molly Watson
Molly Watson
An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients.
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Updated on 05/3/22
Tested by
Danielle Centoni
Danielle Centoni
Tested by Danielle Centoni

Danielle is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon.

Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
No-Cook Raspberry Sauce in a bowl, and over a slice of cake on a plate

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Macerate: 15 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 8 servings

Turn fresh or frozen raspberries into a delicious raspberry sauce by adding just a bit of sugar and time. It's just that simple. No cooking involved. Note that frozen raspberries work perfectly in this recipe, so if you had a big hull over the summer and froze some of them, go ahead and use them here.

Use this raspberry sauce on ice cream, in shortcakes (along with some fresh berries for texture, if you like), over yogurt, or on pancakes or waffles instead of maple syrup. It's also lovely layered with yogurt to make raspberry parfaits. For the prettiest version, spoon some yogurt into a parfait glass, glass bowl, or even a wine glass. Spoon in some sauce, then some yogurt, and then more sauce. Sprinkle some granola on top of the parfaits, and you'll have a tasty breakfast. 

No-Cook Raspberry Sauce/Tester Image

"This versatile sauce couldn't be easier. Just stir, let sit, and serve. I used thawed frozen raspberries and sweetened them to taste with just enough sugar to preserve their natural tartness. So far we've enjoyed it on vanilla ice cream and plain yogurt, but chocolate ice cream, pudding, and crepes are next on the list." —Danielle Centoni

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Ingredients

  • 12 ounces raspberries, fresh, or frozen and thawed

  • 2 to 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, more to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    No-Cook Raspberry Sauce ingredients

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  2. If using fresh raspberries, rinse quickly under cool water and pat them very dry. Put them in a medium bowl.

    Raspberries in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  3. Sprinkle the berries with sugar to taste (about 1 tablespoon of sugar for 6 ounces of raspberries is usually right).

    Note that using 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar will make the sauce less sweet. Ripe berries won't need a ton of sugar, and this method makes excellent use of berries that are not as ripe by sweetening them and drawing out their juices.

    Raspberries and sugar in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  4. Use a fork to mash the berries.

    Mashed raspberry and sugar mixture in a bowl with a fork

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  5. Cover the bowl and let the raspberries sit (or macerate, the culinary term for "marinating" sweet things) until the sugar has pulled the juices from the raspberries and has created a sauce.

    The berries will get a bit saucy immediately, but you'll want to let them sit to let the sugar dissolve. This should take about 15 minutes, but feel free to let them sit for several hours if that timing works better for you.

    Raspberry and sugar mixture in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  6. Taste the sauce and add more sugar, if desired. At this point, you can serve the sauce. For a more elegant presentation, you can strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

    No-Cook Raspberry Sauce, pressed through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Recipe Variations

If you want to get more indulgent, fold the sauce into a pint of heavy cream whipped to soft peaks. This makes a raspberry fool, a raspberry twist on a classic English strawberry fool, one of the world's simplest yet tastiest desserts. 

How to Store

You can store the sauce, covered and chilled, for up to a week.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
59 Calories
0g Fat
14g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 59
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 11mg 56%
Calcium 11mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 64mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)