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Just a fancy name for a delicious, super versatile raspberry sauce, this Ridiculously Easy Raspberry Coulis pairs fabulously with chocolate, lemon and a zillion other desserts! Along with being ridiculously easy, it's also ridiculously delicious!
I can't remember when or where it was, but the first taste of raspberry coulis had me totally smitten. It was more than the sweet, vibrant flavor and the delicious, intense raspberry essence that enchanted me. The gorgeous crimson color also made a huge impression as I love to serve food that has beautiful eye appeal.
What I didn't know, was how amazingly easy this gourmet sounding raspberry coulis is to make! So easy that it definitely falls into our ridiculously easy recipe category. You can read in more detail about our ridiculously easy recipes in this post but, in a nutshell, they're all recipes that require minimal work, while making you (and me) look like a cooking rock star.
This raspberry coulis is almost too easy to be considered a recipe although I have learned some little tricks over the years to share with you. I know you'll find the results super delicious!
What is a coulis?
What's a coulis? Coulis (pronounced koo-LEE) is French for a thick sauce that's made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. The original, classical use of the term was a meat sauce that was reduced three times. These days, savory coulis made from puréed veggies and sweet coulis, from just about any kind fruit are more common. Restaurant chefs often use coulis as a delicious garnish for both entrees and desserts.
What do you do with raspberry coulis?
This Easy Raspberry Coulis is one of those wonderful culinary magic tricks I love to have up my sleeve and can be used in lots of delightful ways.
- It pairs deliciously with chocolate desserts like this easy Chocolate Obsession Cake or this wonderful Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake.
- It also goes well with anything lemon (like this French Grandmother's Lemon Yogurt Cake or this Limoncello Lemon Tart)
- Drizzle it over ice cream, pound cake, cheesecake and or meringues.
- Serve it with fresh fruit. It's wonderful with fresh peaches, bananas, pineapple, melon, strawberries, etc.
- A little raspberry coulis drizzled over yogurt or oatmeal is a fabulous way to start the day.
- Try it as a unique and beautiful topping for baked brie. Drizzle the warm brie with raspberry coulis, then add a few fresh raspberries and a scatter of thyme or basil leaves. Serve with crackers for an appetizer that will bring rave reviews!
Don't believe such a fancy sauce could be easy? We created a little video so you could see for yourself:
Café Tips for making this Easy Raspberry Coulis
- This raspberry coulis will keep well in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. If you won't use it up within a week, it also freezes beautifully and can be pulled out for a quick and easy dessert drizzled over ice cream (or any of the suggestions above in the post).
- This coulis recipe is fabulous on its own but for a fun depth of flavor, add a splash of Chambord, Framboise (both raspberry liqueurs) or Grand Marnier (orange liquor).
- You can either drizzle this raspberry coulis over a dessert or, for something different, serve the dessert on a pool of the delicious raspberry sauce. Either way, it will be a winner.
- I make a simple syrup in the microwave when preparing this sauce. You could also make the syrup on the stovetop.
- You can you fresh raspberries for this coulis but I really like frozen better. It's funny, I find that the color is not as pretty with fresh. If you use fresh, you may need to add a tablespoon more liquid when pureeing.
- Any blender or food processor will work well for this recipe. I use my Wolf High-Performance Blender to make my raspberry coulis. This is truly a dream machine that's a workhorse in my kitchen for so many tasks. It's similar to the Vitamix, but to me is built a lot stronger and sturdier. I use it for soups, sauces, smoothies, nut butters and a myriad of other things. If you're in the market for a high-quality blender that will literally blend everything from soup to nuts, this is a fabulous machine.
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One of our favorite ways to use this raspberry coulis is paired with this crazy delicious, incredibly moist Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake that could possibly elicit marriage proposals - or at the least, lots of ooohs and aaaahs!
This Easy Raspberry Coulis recipe was originally published in January of 2018. We've updated the post and images and added a video so we're sharing it again for your culinary pleasure. Bon Appétit!
Just a fancy name for a delicious, super versatile raspberry sauce, this Easy Raspberry Coulis pairs fabulously with chocolate and a zillion other desserts!
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons water or orange juice
- 12 ounces frozen raspberries thawed
- 1 tablespoon Chambord Framboise or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)
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Combine sugar and water (or orange juice) in a 1 cup (or larger) microwave-safe cup or bowl. Stir to combine. The mixture will be very thick.
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Cook in the microwave on high power for two minutes. Stir for 5-10 seconds to ensure that the sugar crystals are dissolved.
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Combine the raspberries and hot syrup in a blender container. Blend until the mixture is smooth and pureed.
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Pour puree through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium-size bowl. Stir and push on the solids with the back of a rubber spatula until all of the liquid has been extracted. This will take several minutes as the mixture will be thick.
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Discard the seeds. Add the liqueur, if using and stir to combine.
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Store in the refrigerator for 5-7 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips.
Susan says
This sounds delicious. Can you use the water bath process & can this for a longer shelf life ?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Susan, I haven't tried canning this coulis but it freezes beautifully.
Rhoda Culbreth says
This was Fantastic. I served it with a devils food chocolate cake with whipped chocolate buttercream. The sauce was so bright and perfect with chocolate. Delicious!
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! I'm so glad, Rhoda!
Susan says
I'm having problems getting the raspberries to go through my strainer, and I've been working on it! Is my strainer perhaps TOO fine? Has anyone just left the remnants of the seeds in their coulis? thank you! Oh - and the juice and sugar idea was brilliant!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Susan, your strainer might be too fine. I often need to use a spatula to push the liquid through the strainer though. You could definitely leave the seeds in the coulis and it will still be delicious!
Patricia says
Made this yesterday using local raspberries and added the Chambord. My goodness, it was delicious and intensely flavoured.
In fact I paired it with a sensationally failed no bake cheesecake that had raspberries in it. And the coulis saved the dish.
I’m going to stir it through some Greek yogurt tonight with fresh raspberries for dessert. Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks, Patricia!
Lindsey Bradley says
Hi. I made thìs today but it was super sweet. I had 50g less raspberries, used 8 Tbs of sugar. If I added more raspberries would it balance it out or would i add something else to take away some of the sweetness?
Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lindsey, coulis is supposed to be a sweet sauce to drizzle on des , kind of like jam. That being said, if you want it a little less sweet you could add more raspberries or a splash of fresh lemon juice.
Peter says
pairing this with coconut cake a little whipped cream and a sprinkle of toasted coconut.
Chris Scheuer says
Sounds delicious, Peter!
Sparks says
Be still my heart. Coconut and raspberry? I need to try that combination.
Jen says
Hi, How long can the coulis be left out?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Jen, the coulis is good in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days. At room temperature, an hour or so is fine.
Ann says
Great easy recipe. Thank you.
I made this and poured it over pavlova roulade. Was delicious.
Chris Scheuer says
Yum! That sounds wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to share your results, Ann!
Olivia says
how long will this last?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Olivia, it's fine in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Patricia Webster says
Chris, I am thinking of using the raspberry coulis to flavor a buttercream frosting. Do you think that would work?
Chris Scheuer says
I think it would be delicious and very pretty however, the raspberry flavor won't be very strong as you don't need a lot of liquid when making buttercream.
Janice Dernar says
I have used this as a topping for cheesecake, ice cream & pound cake. Yum! I recently altered by straining into a small saucepan & adding a small amount of water/cornstarch to slowly cook & thicken a bit more, then used as a filling for shortbread thumbprint cookies...amazing! So much better than a jelly filling!
Chris Scheuer says
Great idea about the thumbprint cookies, Janice! I'm so happy you've enjoyed this recipe!
TMac says
I just picked raspberries. Can I substitute fresh raspberries for frozen? Are any adjustments needed? Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Fresh raspberries will work fine. Just thaw, smash and then measure.
Susan says
Or simmer your fresh raspberries with the sugar and water for just a few minutes, put them in a food processor with some raspberry preserves and the Chambord and give them a whirl. Strain the seeds and you have the best Raspberry Coulis ever!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi TMac, nope you can sub fresh raspberries for the frozen without any adjustments.
David says
Ridiculously complicated. You don't need to faff about with orange juice and microwaves. Just whizz up the raspberries with icing sugar and rub through a sieve. Simple. And all your American units are unfathomable. I clicked the metric button and it gave me it to the nearest 100th of a gram. Seriously?
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for your kind comment, David. Hope the rest of your day goes better.
Alison Taylor says
Your reply made me smile 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
🥰
Bianca says
Shame David doesn't like to use the orange juice, after reading his comment it seems he definitely needs a bit more sweet in his life!
Joey H. says
Coulis always seems so “fancy,” it was a pleasant surprise to see how easy it is to make! We have so many raspberries from the garden, this is a fantastic way to use up a lot of them. I’m not a cook and I’m disabled to boot, so I really appreciate an easy and forgiving recipe. I used a tablespoon of lemon juice in place of the liqueur. So far it’s been delicious on bread pudding and there’s a slice of Mt. Tam cheese I can’t wait to pair it with.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Joey, for sharing your review! It's nice to be able to serve something "fancy" that is so easy to make!
Tina says
Wow! This is ridiculously easy!!! Found your recipe and quickly made it whilst waiting for my chocolate tart to cook - they will be perfect together. This would have to be the BEST coulis recipe I have ever made - the syrup makes it!! Thank You.
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you for sharing your results, Tina!
gaylen says
We have fresh loganberries and tayberries and am going to try making this. I want to use it as part of the starter - fruit course - at our bed and breakfast, thank you for sharing
Chris Scheuer says
Lucky you to have those berries available. That sounds wonderful to use them for a coulis, Gaylen! Great idea!
Adrienne says
Made it as per the recipe. Used it under vanilla ice cream, accompanied by "chocolate bark" for some saltiness. Everyone had seconds. Very quick to make. Will make again!
Chris Scheuer says
Yum, sounds wonderful! So happy you enjoyed this sauce, Adrienne! Thanks for sharing your results.
Kelly McKay says
Can I use lemon juice in place of the orange juice?
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, that should work fine! Taste it and see if you need any extra sugar but I think it will be delicious.
Sofi says
This is delicious! My grocery store was out of raspberries so I used frozen blackberries, and it turned out amazing. The sauce is thick, rich, and pure blackberry flavor
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your results, Sofi! I haven't tried this with blackberries but I will! I bet that would be wonderful on pancakes!
Bronze says
I'm looking forward to making this! Are the raspberries measured by volume or weight?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Bronze, they're measure by weight. Enjoy!
Debbie says
I never write comments, but I made this the other day , and it is FABULOUS!
Super easy to make and was a real hit on top of my mini cheesecakes. Thanks so much for the recipe.😄
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Debbie! I'm sure it was so pretty on top of your cheesecakes too!
Tricia B says
My favorite kind of sauce! This is so pretty and no doubt delicious. Pinning to enjoy soon with a bowl of yogurt, or ice cream - haha.
Millie Harrison says
This recipe is amazing and so easy! I put it with kladdkaka (a Swedish chocolate dessert) and it tasted great.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Millie! We LOVE it on Kladdkaka!
caroljup says
My Family Loves Strawberries, and Blueberries, can i use these berries? You Say To Adjust The Amount Of Sugar, With Strawberries And Blueberries, Will I Adjust To More Sugar Or Less Sugar.
Chris Scheuer says
I would taste them. It depends on how sweet they are. Sometimes berries in the winter that come from Chile can be a little sour. If the berries aren't super sweet, add a little extra sugar, just a tablespoon or two. If you are using really sweet berries during the local season, you might want to omit a tablespoon or two of sugar.
sharyn says
For this recipe can I switch out listed berry for any berry of my choice? Can I use this sauce to drizzle over cheesecake? Getting my Easter menu together.
Chris Scheuer says
Yes and yes! It would be wonderful drizzled over cheesecake! You may have to adjust the sugar a bit if you're using a tarter or sweeter berry.
christina says
could this be served warm?
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, it would be a bit thinner but you definitely could.