Canning blueberry sauce is easy and delicious. Serve it on top of pancakes, crepes, waffles, milk rice, ice cream, or whatever kind of dessert you like.
Canning blueberry sauce is one of my favorite ways to preserve fruit. I love picking things: berries, fruit, herbs, flowers. It feels so nice to be out in the fields or woods, in silence, enjoying whatever nature has to offer.
We are lucky to have blueberry fields nearby: two wild areas you can pick for free, and a huge plantation where picking is easier and the berries are larger and sweeter.
Check out more canning recipes: Canning Plums, Preserved Raspberries, or Canning Blueberries, as they are, and not as sauce.
Ingredients: 4 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Rest time: overnight | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 3 jars | Difficulty: Easy
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In about 2-3 hours, we had about 10 kg of blueberries, and we had probably eaten 1 kg directly from the bush. And the children, especially my girl, loved it.
I first posted this recipe in 2015 or 2016. Fast forward to updating this post in 2025, my kids are now 17 and 14, and I feel like crying when I see these pictures...
Recipe ingredients
Fresh blueberries: Sweet and ripe.
Granulated sugar: Use a 2:1 ratio of blueberries to sugar.
Lemon: Preferably, an organic, unwaxed lemon, as you will need both the juice and the zest.
Cornstarch to thicken the blueberry sauce.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make blueberry sauce?
Step #1: Place the blueberries in a large glass bowl and roughly mash with a potato masher or your hands - just enough to release some juice.
Step #2: Add sugar, mix well, cover, and let stand overnight (room temperature or refrigerated if it's hot).
Step #3: Transfer to a large pot, scraping the bowl to get any remaining sugar. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil.
Step #4: Whisk cornstarch with cold water into a smooth paste, then stir it into the boiling blueberries.
Step #5: Lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes.
Step #6: Ladle the blueberry sauce into the sterilized jars.
Tip
You can scale the recipe to match the amount of blueberries you have - just keep the 2:1 blueberries-sugar ratio and adjust the lemon juice and cornstarch accordingly.
How to store homemade blueberry sauce?
The blueberry sauce will keep for 6 months.
Freeze the jars for even longer storage.
You can can the blueberry sauce using a water bath or pressure canner if desired.
How to serve?
Our favorite way of serving this homemade blueberry sauce is on top of milk rice or rice pudding. But the sauce is perfect on top of pancakes, creme fraiche crepes, or German waffles. You can also stir some in your homemade muesli or have it with desserts like this yogurt bomb.
Another favorite way to serve the homemade blueberry sauce is on top of strained yogurt.
Canned Blueberry Sauce
Equipment
- Large, heavy-bottomed pot
- Jars
Ingredients
- 2 lbs blueberries Note 1
- 1 lb granulated sugar
- 1 ยฝ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 organic lemon juice and zest
Instructions
- Mix the blueberries and the sugar in a large glass bowl.2 lbs blueberries + 1 lb granulated sugar
- Mash the berries with a potato masher a little bit to help them release some juice.
- Let stand overnight.
- Sterilize the jars.
- Cornstarch slurry: Take some of the released juice from the blueberries and place it in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch and mix well until you have a paste.1 ยฝ tablespoons cornstarch
- Cook blueberry sauce: Place the berries in a large pan, add the lemon juice and zest, and bring everything to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, add the cornstarch paste and mix very well to avoid clumps. Lower the heat and let cook for about 10 minutes.1 organic lemon
- Fill jars: Pour the sauce into the sterilized jars, leaving 0.5 inches/ 1 cm free. Place the lids on the jars and leave to cool. Store in the cellar or in a dark, cool place.
- Can blueberry sauce in a water bath canner if desired.
Pam says
What is the shelf life of the water-bathed sauce?
For some reason I thought cornstarch and flour were not to be used as a thickener when canning. Is that only for pressure canning or am I misinformed?
I have SOOO many blueberries in my freezer and would really like to can them as sauce.
Adina says
Hi. I had the jars for about 6 months and they were great.
Melanie says
Can this be used as pie filling or would that be a different amount of cornstarch to make it thicker?
Adina says
It should be thicker, the sauce would be too runny for a pie.
erica says
Do you think this could be made with frozen blueberries?
Adina says
Hi Erica. Yes, I think it should work.
Cindy says
@Adina, I always use frozen,works great
Julia Rogers says
Sounds east & good.Am going to try.
Adina says
I hope you like it, Julia. ๐
Annie says
Hi I made the sauce, and make a HUGE mistake. I used 2kg berries but only add 500g sugar and 1 lemon to it. Do I have to boil it again and add the rest of the sugar and lemon or are the 500g enough??
Adina says
Hi Annie. Taste it, if it's sweet enough leave it as it is. I would rather leave it myself. If it's not sweet enough, you can always add more when you serve it.
Priya @currynation says
nothing can beat the homemade sauces. Blueberry is something we usually don't get fresh here in India.But we have jams and sauces. I wish i could try these goodies soon.
flavoursofworld says
Gosh blueberries are my favourite fruits! I love already this recipe! ๐ P.s Kids are so cuuute!!:)
Adina says
Thank you. ?
Adina says
I love blueberries too. We just had this again yesterday over small noodles cooked in milk. It was great!
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
Yum! Sounds fabulous. I love, love blueberries, so this sauce is right up my alley. I can eat this anytime with anything. Lovely share, Adina! ๐
Adina says
Didn't think of that but it sounds great. I have to give it a try the next time I bake it.
Rachel @ Simple Seasonal says
Looks yummy! I think I would like this this on your Arab Almond Cake!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
wow freshly picked blueberries, i am jealous and is there anything better than homemade berry treats to celebrate the late summer harvest? The sauce looks terrific, Adina.
Adina says
Thank you, Angie.