This simple berry compote recipe is about to make your favourite breakfast foods and desserts even more spectacular. Spoon this easy fruit compote over angel food cake, ice cream, profiteroles, pancakes, waffles, regular or baked oatmeal, French toast, or more!
Homemade berry compote is the perfect topping for nearly every dessert. Whether you’re ladling it over vanilla ice cream or onto pound cake, you’re going to be thrilled. Nobody needs to know it’s a vitamin packed powerhouse, though!
Having a jar of berry compote on hand gives you a shortcut to major berry flavour in just about anything. Heck, you can even add it to smoothies or cocktails like this berry kombucha margarita.
And wonder of wonders, this swoon-worthy easy mixed berry compote recipe can be made from fresh or frozen fruit. That makes this mixed berry compote a delight any time of year!
Berry Compote
This is one of the most easy recipes anywhere ever. It just takes two simple ingredients with one third ingredient being strictly optional:
- Frozen berries or fresh berries
- Fresh orange juice, lime juice, or lemon juice (or bottled)
- Optional: sugar
I’m going to bang the drum for frozen fruit right now because where I am, berries are not currently in season. What is in season, though, is using the abundance of berries I froze over the summer.
While this is a great way for me to use my pounds and pounds of frozen blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries to use up, you can just as easily use purchased frozen mixed berries. If berries are in season where you live, use those by all means!
If your freezer has a super abundance of one type of berries, feel free to use one single variety of berries: think strawberry compote, blackberry compote, or raspberry compote. I personally prefer a mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and maybe even cherries, if I have them.
You can even mix fresh fruit with frozen if you have it. This is one of my favourite ways to use up the last of my fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, or what have you.
Heck, it’s delicious if you add in some frozen or fresh stone fruits, too. Peach Melba compote is yours if you combine peaches and raspberries! Just keep your fruit content to 4 cups total.
As for lemon or orange juice, choose whatever you like best! I find lemon juice wakes up the berry flavour better than orange juice, but it’s a matter of personal preference.
If you’re using fresh lemons for the juice, please add the lemon zest to your warm compote for extra sunshiney freshness. Lime or orange zest is delicious in it, too!
Fresh juice is always going to be more flavourful than bottled juice, but don’t let a lack of fresh juice stop you from making this berry compote. Bottled lemon juice or orange juice will still yield a delicious end result.
I always make my fruit compote recipe then taste a tiny spoonful of it. Most of the berries in my freezer do not need added sugar.
That said, sometimes the berries need a little boost so they don’t taste dull or too sour but you won’t really know it ‘til the compote is done. If it tastes a little boring or over-tart, add up to 1 tablespoon of sugar, honey, maple syrup, simple sugar syrup or agave syrup and stir well until the sugar is dissolved while it’s still warm.
Just remember not to add too large an amount of sugar to the berry mixture. You don’t want to cover up the natural beauty of your berry recipe with too much sweetness.
Recipe for Berry Compote
This recipe is equally low maintenance when it comes to equipment. All you truly need is three things to make our berry compote recipe.
- 2 quart saucepan
- Measuring cup
- Potato masher or sturdy wooden spoon
- Optional: Jar with a tight fitting lid or other airtight container
Berry Compote Recipe
Add fruit and juice to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Gently bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. As the berries begin to soften and give off juice, use a potato masher or sturdy spoon to break up the berries.
You don’t want to obliterate the berries; there should still be recognizable pieces of fruit in the compote.
The total cooking time should not exceed 10 to 12 minutes for frozen berries or 6 to 8 minutes for fresh ones. Taste the compote. If needed, adjust by adding a teaspoon of sugar at a time, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Serve hot, warm, room temperature, or cold.
f you can’t eat up your berry compote within a week of making it, you can preserve the goodness for later by freezing it in ice cube trays. Once they’re solid, transfer to a labeled zipper top bag and store for up to 3 months.
Berry Compote Recipe
Rate RecipeEquipment
- 1 2 quart saucepan
- 1 Measuring cup
- 1 Potato masher or sturdy wooden spoon
- 1 Optional: Jar with a tight fitting lid or other airtight container
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed berries
- ¼ cup lemon juice or orange juice
- Optional: sugar maple syrup, honey, or agave syrup to taste
Instructions
- Add fruit and juice to a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Gently bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. As the berries begin to soften and give off juice, use a potato masher or sturdy spoon to break up the berries.
- You don’t want to obliterate the berries; there should still be recognizable pieces of fruit in the compote.
- The total cooking time should not exceed 10 to 12 minutes for frozen berries or 6 to 8 minutes for fresh ones. Taste the compote. If needed, adjust by adding a teaspoon of sugar at a time, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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