This time of year the rhubarb is popping out of the ground and I am impatient to eat those first tender stalks with their natural sweet partner, the strawberry. But, there are no strawberries yet, at least not in my garden. In order to satisfy my craving I go against my desire to use only the freshest ingredients from local sources. It is a philosophy I adhere to as much as possible. However, I live in MN and that means I am VERY limited as to what I can eat during the 8 months of the year when nothing grows. I am determined to learn home-canning this year, then I’ll have summer fruits in February. Until then I do buy fruit that is not grown here, or anywhere near here.
In summer the strawberries are so ripe they nearly explode with sugar in your mouth. This time of year they are good but their sweetness isn’t fully developed yet, so I jump up the flavor by roasting them with a bit of aged balsamic and sugar. These balsamic roasted strawberries add a little pop when the strawberries aren’t sweet enough.
Balsamic Roasted Strawberries
Recipe card can be found at the bottom of this post!
Toss 2 pounds of cleaned and trimmed strawberries with 1/4 cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar.
Spread the berries on a baking sheet lined with a silpat.
Bake for 40 minutes. Reserve the balsamic roasted strawberries and the syrup that is produced. Serve warm with ice cream, chocolate tart, angel food cake, cheesecake or springtime crêpes.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs strawberries cleaned and trimmed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Toss berries, sugar and balsamic together. Spread the berries on a baking sheet lined with a silpat.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Reserve the balsamic roasted strawberries and the syrup that is produced. Serve warm with ice cream, chocolate tart, angel food cake, cheesecake or springtime crêpes.
What a great idea! I can’t wait to try it–thanks.
Very interesting. I never even considered roasting strawberries.
Zoe – How long would you keep these in the fridge before serving? Could I freeze them? While I always prefer fresh, sometimes the chaos of life limits me to make-ahead recipes.
Hi Tobi,
You could make them about 5 days ahead and refrigerate them or put them in the freezer for weeks. The texture of the fruit will not be hurt at all because they have been roasted which releases much of their juices anyway. Be sure to get all that lovely syrup off the baking sheet.
Enjoy. Zoë
Sounds fantastic! I would never think of roasting strawberries 🙂 Thanx for the idea!
Margot
I will definitely be making these, sounds fantastic!
Somehow right after I saw those strawberry pictures..
There’s this image of champagne dancing in my head.
This sounds good, I will def try it
I just made these tonight and oh my god are they addictive! I ate some straight out of a bowl and some on yogurt and oh how I wish I had ice cream…
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi brilynn,
Aren’t they amazing. My boys finished them off on waffles.
Thanks, Zoë
I have never seen anybody do this with Strawberries. It looks delicious and I cannot wait to try this recipe. I love strawberries and it’s the perfect season for them. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made these this weekend – OMG! Strawberry epiphany!! Thanks so much for the inspiration 🙂
Hi Jeanne,
So glad you tried them. I made some too and served it with creme fraiche. YUM!!!!
Zoë
I made these last night and served them on top of pork chops. Very good. Had the leftovers on vanilla ice cream, which was very good as well, of course! Thanks for the recipe, other Zoe! 🙂
Hi Zoe, I tried these last Spring and was so thrilled with them. I have become allergic to fresh strawberries but most fruit if cooked is fine for allergies but I did not have any experience with roasting strawberries. Thanks again for this recipe, I am about to make them again and thought I should let you know how happy I am to have this recipe, my entire family loves them. Janice
Hi Janice,
Thank you for the note, I am so glad you can enjoy these strawberries!
Cheers, Zoë
Hi Zoe,
I am trying to avoid refined sugar. Do you think this delicious-sounding-recipe would work with Stevia?
Thank you, Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Yes, I think this one will work with stevia. You will have to adjust the sweetness depending on the fruit you get, so start with less than you might think and you can always add more.
Thanks, Zoë
I love the sound of this recipe. I was going to make strawberry cupcakes with a strawberry balsamic frosting, then I found this recipe – I’m going to try roasting the berries and adding them to the cupcake mix, and using the sauce in the frosting. Wish me luck, and thanks so much for the great idea!
Hey, Zoe! Got to this recipe through Passionate About Baking. A couple of questions. Do you think a simple balsamic vinegar would work just as well? It will be a struggle to find an aged balsamic in my part of the world! Also, if I am freezing the saucy strawberries, I’ll just need to thaw ’em in the refridgerator before using. Right?
Am soooooo glad I found your blog. I know I ‘ll be spending a lot of time here! 🙂
– Pooja
Am
Hi Pooja,
Thanks for visiting my site. I think the simple balsamic will do the trick. You may need to add a bit more sugar if the vinegar is too acidic.
Cheers, Zoë
Thanks for the quick reply, Zoe! Really appreciate it. 🙂
Hey again, Zoe. The simple balsamic worked just fine & the roasted strawberries were finger licking good. Could’nt get enough….making another batch. Just one more question. Am planning to freeze some now. Should I do it with or without the syrup? Thanks!
Hi Pooja,
Either way will work, just depends on the kind of container you have.
Enjoy! Zoë