Fresh Blueberry Compote (Blueberry Sauce)

Our Fresh Blueberry Compote is made using a few simple ingredients, we show you how easy it is to make at home. We also give you our favourite blueberry compote uses to make the most of this deliciously fruity Blueberry Syrup.

When it comes to adding extra flavour to your pancakes, French toast or favourite dessert, you can't beat our Easy Blueberry Compote.

We made this Blueberry Compote for Pancakes, but this Fresh Blueberry Sauce is super versatile too and can add flavour to any dish. So we show you our favourite Blueberry Compote uses too.

Compote is a great way of making a quick jam like sauce, albeit with a little more texture, but without the faff of having to boil the fruit and sterilise jars.

What is blueberry compote?

A compote is a fruit sauce or syrup that is made with fresh fruit and sugar. You can use any variety of fruit to make a compote, in this case we have opted for a fresh blueberry compote. The ingredients are cooked gently over a medium-low heat until the blueberries start to break down leaving you with a thick and chunky fruit syrup.

You can then leave the compote with a chunky texture or you can opt to blitz to make a smooth blueberry sauce. You can also split the compote, blending one half and leaving the other half chunky then combining both to achieve a blueberry syrup that's somewhere in between. It is entirely optional.

Why you'll love this recipe:

• Made with only 3 ingredients and some water, this is a simple fruit sauce that can be made in minutes and be adapted for any variety and flavour of fruit.
• Make ahead and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• Versatile and a great topping to add to pancakes, scones, french toast of to top a cheesecake.
• Gluten free, dairy free and suitable for a vegan diet.

What's the difference between compote and coulis?

A compote tends to have a thicker texture, whereas a blueberry coulis is first blitzed to a smooth puree before being passed through a fine sieve to achieve a really smooth textured sauce.

What's the difference between compote and jam?

Firstly there is the length of cook, compote cooks in a far shorter time than jam. Secondly the fruit in a compote retains some of it's shape, whereas when making jam the fruit really breaks down during the cook.

However, for me the main difference is length of time it can be stored. A fresh fruit compote will store for 2 weeks in the fridge. Whereas once cooked and placed into sterlised jars and sealed, a fruit jam can be stored in a cool dark place for anything up to a year.

How to make blueberry compote:

• Look out the ingredients ready to start.

• Place the frozen berries, sugar and 300ml water into a small saucepan.

• Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes. Then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

• Mix the cornflour with the 3tbsp of water to form a smooth paste.

• Remove the berry compote from the heat and add in the cornflour mix. If you want a smoother consistency blend to your liking with a stick blender.
• The sauce is now ready to use or can be chilled or frozen until needed.

How to thicken blueberry compote:

There are two simple ways to thicken a fresh blueberry compote. You can do as we have done and add a little cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with water and stir that through the sauce. If you don't want to use cornflour, then simmer the sauce for a little longer and it will thicken up naturally.

Recipe ingredients & substitutions:

• Blueberries - we have used frozen berries but you can also use fresh blueberries. It's worth mentioning that this same recipe would work with any fruits, from berries and stone fruits to apples and pears. As you can see we used frozen berries so you could use any bags of frozen fruits that you will find in the freezer section of your local store. The list is endless.
• Granulated Sugar - sweetens the compote, but you can also use caster sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup or honey.
• Cornflour - is used to thicken the compote. It's entirely optional and you can leave it out if you prefer and just cook the berries for a little longer to reduce the consistency of the compote.

Recipe variations:

Don't be limited by flavour, you can combine a whole host of other flavours along with the blueberries to make a great tasting compote. Here are some ideas for flavour combinations:

• Lemon & Blueberry
• Strawberry & Blueberry
• Peach & Blueberry
• Apple & Blueberry
• Cinnamon & Blueberry
• Vanilla & Blueberry

Don't be limited by only using blueberries, as you could use this same method for making any flavour compote. Here are some ideas that use fresh or frozen fruit:

• Mixed Berry Compote
• Mango & Passionfruit Compote
• Apple & Blackcurrant Compote
• Peach & Vanilla Compote
• Apricot & Ginger Compote

Fresh blueberry compote uses:

We made our fresh blueberry compote for pancakes but it's a really versatile ingredient that can add flavour to any dish. We show your our favourite blueberry compote uses below:

• Pour over some over your favourite pancakes, like our American Buttermilk Pancakes, Scotch Pancakes, or Dutch Poffertjes.
• Great with some Cinnamon French Toast.
• Replace the jam on your favourite Buttermilk Scone recipe.
• Add to desserts, like a Vanilla Baked Cheesecake, to add a burst of fresh fruit flavour.

How long does blueberry compote last?

Once made a fresh blueberry compote should be cooled and placed into an airtight container or if freezing can be decanted into an ice-cube tray.

• Fridge: store for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
• Freezer: store for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Useful hints and tips:

1. No fancy equipment required which makes this a more convenient to making jam.
2. Always take care when working with hot sugar to avoid burning.
3. Don't walk away from the pan when making any compote, coullis or jam as burns and sticks to the bottom of the pan really easily.
4. Double the recipe and store some fresh fruit compote in the fridge and freeze the other half to enjoy later.
5. Containing no dairy this side dish is suitable for Vegan diners.
6. Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions:

If you like this recipe then try some of our other preserve recipes:

• Scottish Raspberry Jam
• Scottish Strawberry Jam
• Blackberry (Bramble) Jelly
• Blackcurrant Jelly
• Apple Jelly