An easy 3-ingredient blueberry compote recipe that can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries in just 15 minutes.
The quick blueberry compote is delicious on pancakes and scones, drizzled over ice cream, or swirled through plain vanilla cheesecake. It also makes a fabulous topping to waffles and french toast, not to mention stirred through porridge and yogurt for breakfast.
This fruit compote is perfect for using up the abundance of blueberries during the summer months, but it can also be made with frozen blueberries for year-round enjoyment.
Plus, it's a much simpler and faster alternative to making blueberry jam!
👩🍳 Love compote? Try my easy blackcurrant compote too!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- It can be used as a topping for pancakes, waffles, yogurt, ice cream, cakes, and so much more.
- The compote requires only a handful of ingredients and takes just 15 minutes to make.
- Blueberries are packed with antioxidants and other nutrients that are beneficial for your health. Making blueberry compote at home allows you to control the amount of sugar and other ingredients added to it.
- If you have an abundance of blueberries, making compote is a great way to use them up before they go bad. The compote is freezer-friendly too!
- Frozen blueberries can be used to make blueberry compote, which means you can enjoy it even when fresh blueberries are out of season.
🛒 Ingredients
Blueberries - fresh or frozen can be used for the compote.
Lemon - the juice of half a lemon in needed for flavour, and the natural pectin helps to thicken the compote. Make it extra lemony by adding the grated zest of the lemon!
Sugar - blueberries are naturally quite sweet, so you only need a small amount of granulated sugar.
Water - to help soften the fruit.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Place the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and water in a pan and bring to a boil (stirring frequently).
Two: Turn down the heat to low and simmer for a further 8-10 minutes until the fruit is soft and thickened.
Three: Allow to cool before refrigerating.
💭 Top tips
- For a chunkier compote, remove the blueberries with a slotted spoon halfway through cooking and allow the liquid to reduce by half. Take off the heat, add the blueberries back in and allow to cool.
- To thicken the blueberry compote (remembering it will continue to thicken upon cooling), spoon 1 tablespoon of the blueberry juice into a small bowl and whisk with 1 tablespoon of cornflour. Whisk this back into the compote, simmer for 2 minutes, and watch it thicken!
- If storing the compote in glass jars, make sure they have been sterilised first.
🍴 Serving suggestions
You can use fruit compotes in so many ways!
- Stirred through Greek yogurt, porridge or granola.
- Drizzled on pancakes (check out my what to serve with pancakes post for more topping inspiration), or scones.
- Spooned on ice cream.
- Spread on toast, waffles and crumpets.
- Swirled over or into cheesecake (why not replace the red cherry pie filling in my cherry cheesecake with the blueberry compote?)
- Used as a filling for turnovers, cakes or sweet pastries.
📖 Variations
- Make it extra lemony by adding the zest of half a lemon. Vanilla extract, grated ginger, or cinnamon could also be used for flavouring.
- Swap the lemon for orange or lime.
- For a tarter, less sweet compote reduce the sugar by half, to one tablespoon. You could also use light brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.
- Try different berries. Raspberries or blackberries would work well.
🥡 Storage
Store - The homemade blueberry compote will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. I store it in sterilised jars, but a covered bowl or container would also be fine.
Freeze - The blueberry compote can also be frozen for up to 6 months. Ensure the compote has cooled to room temperature, before placing it in a freezer-safe container. When you are ready to use your frozen blueberry compote, simply remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Once it has thawed, it can be used in the same way as fresh compote.
❓ FAQs
A compote is where fresh or dried fruits have been slowly cooked in a sugar syrup. Coulis on the other hand is a thinner, pureed and strained fruit sauce.
A compote is a simple chunky fruit sauce made with chopped or whole fresh (or frozen) fruit and, sugar or sweetener, and cooked briefly on the stove. Compote should be chunky and not pureed.
If you are looking to make a sugar-free blueberry compote, there are several alternative sweeteners that you can use. These include stevia, erythritol, and monk fruit sweetener. Keep in mind that these sweeteners may have a slightly different flavour than sugar, so you may need to adjust the amount used to taste.
Granulated sugar or caster sugar are traditional sweeteners for blueberry compote and widely used in recipes.
Honey is a natural sweetener that can add a unique flavour to blueberry compote. It's also a healthier alternative to granulated sugar.
Maple syrup is another natural sweetener that can add a rich, sweet flavour to blueberry compote.
Agave nectar is a natural sweetener that is similar in consistency to honey. It has a milder flavour than honey and is often used as a vegan alternative to honey.
😋Related recipes
- Blackcurrant Coulis
- Blackcurrant Compote
- Mixed Berry Compote
- Stewed Plums
- Strawberry Coulis
- Frozen Blueberry Yogurt Bites
- Stewed Rhubarb
- Stewed Apples
More blueberry recipes
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Recipe
15 Minute Easy Blueberry Compote Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen Scales
- Saucepan
- Measuring Jug
- Citrus Juicer
Ingredients
- 350 g Blueberries fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- ½ Lemon juice only
- 1 tablespoon Water
Instructions
- Place the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir frequently to prevent the blueberries from sticking to the bottom of the pan.350 g Blueberries, 2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar, ½ Lemon, 1 tablespoon Water
- As soon as it has reached boiling point, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Take the pan off the heat and allow the compote to cool before refrigerating in sterilised jars or an air-tight container.
Notes
- For a chunkier compote, remove the blueberries with a slotted spoon halfway through cooking and allow the liquid to reduce by half. Take off the heat, add the blueberries back in, and allow to cool.
- To thicken the blueberry compote (remembering it will continue to thicken on cooling), spoon 1 tablespoon of the blueberry juice into a small bowl and whisk with 1 tablespoon of cornflour. Whisk this back into the compote, simmer for 2 minutes, and watch it thicken!
- If storing the compote in glass jars, make sure they have been sterilised first.
- Make it extra lemony by adding the zest of half a lemon.
- Swap the lemon for orange or lime.
- For a tarter, less sweet compote reduce the sugar by half to one tablespoon.
- Try different berries. Raspberries or blackberries would work well.
Dannii
You can't beat homemade compote on pancakes and waffles. The perfect way to start the day.
Danielle Wolter
This is so delicious! Definitely going to be making it over and over again. Love it!
Tavo
Loved this compote! thanks for sharing, it was delicious!
Cathleen
I have so many blueberries in the fridge, so I know what I am doing this weekend! Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Beth
I love how simple and easy this compote is! Such a great and very delicious recipe especially for pancakes or ice cream! My family is going to use this so fast!