Fruit sauce

A smooth or chunky sauce made from fruit cooked or blended with sugar, served with desserts.

Fruit sauce: A small glass pitcher of glossy red berry fruit sauce beside a slice of cheesecake with a smooth ribbon of the sauce across its top
  • Fillings, creams, frostings and sauces

Fruit sauces are made by cooking fresh or frozen fruit with sugar and a little water or juice until soft, then leaving it chunky or blending and straining it smooth. Some are thickened with cornstarch, while uncooked versions, called coulis, are simply blended raw fruit and sugar. Lemon juice brightens the flavor.

Berries, cherries, mango, peach and apricot are common. Fruit sauces are spooned over cheesecake, ice cream, panna cotta, pancakes and pound cake, or used on dessert plates for color. They are thinner than jam and usually stored in the refrigerator and used within a few days.

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Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. The Essential Glossary of Cooking Terms for the Culinary Arts, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts