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Who would not love the red, juicy, tangy sweetness of strawberries? Whenever strawberries are in season, we buy loads of them, usually more than we can consume. But that’s okay because strawberries are pretty versatile. They can be added to cakes and various desserts, as well as some dishes. What you may be missing out on is the intense flavor of roasted strawberries. If you have never roasted strawberries before, this is the sign that you should try it. Read this article to learn everything you need about roasting strawberries.

Why Roast Strawberries

You may have tried making strawberry jams, preserves, or perhaps, dried strawberries. All of these methods are great at prolonging the shelf life of strawberries and bringing out the sweetness of strawberries. However, roasting strawberries is entirely different from these other methods. It’s almost a combination of these processes in that you bake the strawberries in the oven but they stay moist after.

Roasting strawberries involves cooking them in the oven. Roasting strawberries brings out the natural sugars in them, which then facilitates the caramelization process. The result is juicy and sweet strawberries that are tender but hold their shape. You also get a sweet, slightly tangy syrup from the juices that the strawberries release during the roasting process.

Roasted strawberries are amazing eaten on its own or added to ice cream, cakes or cupcakes or their frosting, and many other desserts. It’s versatile, much like the fresh fruit. Roasted strawberries bring a stronger sweet, tangy, distinctly strawberry flavor that adds depth to any recipe.

One more reason to roast strawberries is the process also preserves the fruits, similar to a strawberry preserve. Ideally, you should use ripe strawberries, but this is a good way to keep overripe strawberries from spoiling, too. You can keep roasted strawberries in the refrigerator for up to a week.

How To Roast Strawberries

Roasting strawberries is extremely simple. You don’t need any skills to do this. However, you will need an oven, baking sheets, and parchment paper.

Ingredients:

1 lb Strawberries, quartered or sliced
¼ cup honey or 3 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt
Optional, for added twist:
¼ tsp cinnamon or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Hull the strawberries, then cut them according to your preference. Try to slice them as evenly as possible so that they will roast evenly.
3. Mix the strawberries, honey or sugar, salt, and cinnamon or vanilla extract if you’re using.
4. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, mix up the strawberries, then bake for another 15 minutes. Try to keep an eye on the strawberries if you’re using honey so they don’t burn, especially on the second half of the baking process.
5. Let the roasted strawberries stand for 5 minutes before serving or storing.
   Note: adjust the honey or sugar levels based on the sweetness of the strawberries and your preference. If you are using ripe or sweet strawberries, you may opt to skip the honey or sugar altogether.

Uses For Roasted Strawberries

Roasting strawberries is a wonderful and relatively healthy way to bring out the best flavors in strawberries. As we mentioned, you can eat roasted strawberries on their own, add them as a topping for yogurt or ice cream, or use them as topping for cakes. You could even use them as a spread. However, there are many other applications for roasted strawberries and we would like to share one recipe that make use of roasted strawberries.

Roasted Strawberry Cream Pie
The sweetness of roasted strawberries combines perfectly with the light creaminess of the cream filling and the buttery pie crust.
Ingredients:
Pie crust:
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp fine sea salt
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
4-8 tbsp ice water

Cream filling:
3 cups heavy cream, cold
1 ½ cups mascarpone
½ cup powdered sugar

Roasted strawberries

Steps:
Pie Crust:

1. If making the pie crust by hand, add 1 cup of flour, sugar, and salt to a medium bowl. Stir until combined.
   
2. Scatter butter cubes over flour then mix with a spatula or fork to coat the butter with flour.
   
3. Cut the butter into the flour by using a pastry blender. Then work the mixture until the flour becomes coarse and mealy to the touch.
   
4. Add the remaining cup of flour to the dough. Work the butter and flour with a pastry blender for about 20 seconds or until the flour is evenly distributed. By the end, the dough should be crumbly.
   
5. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of water over the dough. Press the dough onto itself with a rubber spatula. The crumbs should start to form large clusters. You’ll know it’s ready when the dough holds together when you pinch it. If the dough falls apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons.
   
6. Work the dough into the shape of a ball. Flatten it to form a disc. Wrap the disc with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
   
7. It’s time to roll out the dough. Remove the disc from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for five minutes.
   
8. Lightly flour your work surface, transfer the dough there, then sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour. Sprinkle the rolling pin as well before rolling the dough out into a 12-inch circle.
   
9. Compare the size of your dough with your pie dish. There should be bigger than the dish by at least an inch.
   
10. To transfer the dough to the dish, gently roll the dough around the rolling pin, then unroll it over the dish. Gently press the dough to fit the dish. Trim off the edges down to 1/2-inch of the dish. Then, fold the edges of the dough.
    
11. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with baking weights or uncooked rice. Bake it for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
    
12. Remove the baking weights and bake the crust again for 8 to 10 minutes or until the base is golden brown and dry to the touch. Let it cool completely.
    
13. While the crust is cooling, work on the cream filling. Use the whisk attachment of your stand mixer. Add the mascarpone, heavy cream, and powdered sugar. Whisk until you reach stiff peaks.
    
14. Spread the cream mixture into the pie crust and top with your roasted strawberries.
    
    Learn more unique recipes at Eat Café.