This Huckleberry Sauce is sweet, tart, and absolutely delicious. It's also unbelievably versatile! Pour it over pancakes, blend it to make a huckleberry syrup which you can use to sweeten huckleberry wine, or use it to make huckleberry margaritas!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
Huckleberries are a local favorite here in Montana. Not only are they delicious, but they are highly sought after when in season. In a pinch, you can substitute blueberries if you have to.
I've been working on a lot of Huckleberry recipes, however, the easiest recipe I've come up with so far is this Huckleberry Sauce recipe. It's perfect on waffles, over ice cream, or mixed with yogurt.
You can also use a few shots of this sauce in mixed drinks, including huckleberry mules!
*If you need more information about huckleberries including when they're in season and how to pick them, check out my Wild Huckleberry Pie post.
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Huckleberries — Not everyone has access to huckleberries and they're only available for a few months in the Summer. Substitute blueberries, if you need to.
- Brown Sugar — Huckleberries are tart, so the brown sugar helps to sweeten the huckleberry sauce. If you don't have brown sugar, white sugar can be substituted.
- Cornstarch — Cornstarch is optional. If you're sauce needs thickening, you can either cook it longer or mix the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cold water and whisk it into the huckleberry syrup.
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
🫐 How To Make This Recipe
STEP 1: Add huckleberries, brown sugar, and water to a saucepan. You can use white sugar if you prefer. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
Pro Tip: I like to smash the huckleberries against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon to release the huckleberry juices. This is an optional step, but kinda fun!
STEP 2: Add orange juice to the huckleberries and cook for an additional minute or two, until slightly thickened.
Optional Step: If you want the huckleberry sauce thicker, you can either cook it longer or add cornstarch. To add cornstarch, make a slurry with a few tablespoons of orange juice or cold water and the cornstarch. Whisk until smooth then add to the sauce and whisk until combined. Cook for a few minutes longer.
How to Make Huckleberry Syrup
You can use this huckleberry sauce recipe to make Huckleberry Syrup. Just follow the same recipe instructions, but leave out the cornstarch, which is used as a thickener.
When the sauce reaches the desired consistency (it will thicken the longer it's cooked) allow it to come to room temperature. Next, add the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth.
The syrup is great to use as a base for all kinds of drinks. My friends, Dave and Lori, use the huckleberry syrup I give them to make Huckleberry Mules. Man, are they good! But my huckleberry margaritas aren't too shabby either!
Huckleberry Cheesecake Topping
So we've already looked at how to dilute the huckleberry sauce to make huckleberry syrup. But what if you want to make a thicker sauce to use as a topping? Well, that's really easy too!
Again, you can use the same ingredients as in the original recipe. The only difference is you will want to do one of two things.
The first method is to increase the amount of cornstarch from one tablespoon to two. You shouldn't need to increase the amount of orange juice when making the slurry. After all, if you want the consistency to be thicker, you don't want to increase the amount of liquid unnecessarily.
The second option is to decrease the amount of water to a ¼ cup and/or cook the sauce longer. An additional five or ten minutes of simmering the sauce over a low flame should do it.
The longer the sauce is cooked, the more it will reduce down and the thicker it will get. Be careful, however, not to overcook the sauce as it can burn.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Huckleberry syrup is absolutely delicious! Huckleberries can taste a bit sour so the sugar balances out the sour flavor quite nicely!
Huckleberry syrup is usually prepared with a mixture of huckleberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water. So yes, huckleberry syrup is gluten-free.
👩🏼🍳 Recipe Pro Tips
- Feel free to use brown or white sugar, or a combination of the two to make the sauce.
- If the sauce gets too thick, you can easily dilute it by adding more water and cooking it for a few minutes longer.
- Do you prefer huckleberry sauce extra smooth? If so, just strain the sauce through a soup bag after blending it.
- Don't have huckleberries? Blueberries may be substituted!
- Although I haven't added any spices to the sauce, ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon would be a great addition.
🍯Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Huckleberry Sauce, Syrup, and Topping
Ingredients
- 2 cups huckleberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup brown sugar (or white sugar)
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
Instructions
- Add huckleberries, brown sugar, and water to a saucepan. You can use white sugar if you prefer. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
- Add orange juice to the huckleberries and cook for an additional minute or two, until slightly thickened.
Optional Step
- If you want the huckleberry sauce thicker, you can either cook it longer or add cornstarch. To add cornstarch, make a slurry with a few tablespoons of orange juice or cold water and the cornstarch. Whisk until smooth then add to the sauce and whisk until combined. Cook for a few minutes longer.
Notes
- I like to smash the huckleberries against the side of the pot using a wooden spoon to release the huckleberry juices. This is an optional step, but kinda fun!
- Feel free to use brown or white sugar, or a combination of the two to make the sauce.
- If the sauce gets too thick, you can easily dilute it by adding more water and cooking it for a few minutes longer.
- Do you prefer huckleberry sauce extra smooth? If so, just strain the sauce through a soup bag after blending it.
- Don't have huckleberries? Blueberries may be substituted!
- Although I haven't added any spices to the sauce, ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon would be a great addition.
Sue says
Can I use this over pan seared halibut?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Sue,
I've never tried using this sauce over savory foods before. I actually make a huckleberry chutney that goes good over meats. I think this sauce would be too sweet for fish.
Sue says
Thank you. I will look for that
Jer’s Nana says
I’ve already cooked down, mashed and and strained juice. I’m not sure what ratio to use now to make the syrup. Any ideas?
Hilda Sterner says
If you're not following the recipe from the beginning it's hard to say. Will you be using a thickening agent? I would try 1/2 of sugar for every cup of juice and cook until it reaches the consistency you want. It shouldn't take that long. Remember it will thicken once cooled. If it gets too thick, reheat and add a little extra water.
Belinda says
Question... how long will this store? Have you tried making the syrup shelf stable?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Belinda,
I've had it last for a year or so in the pantry. As long as you process them in boiling water for around 10 minutes you should be good to go!
Faith Foust says
As if huckleberries weren't good enough on their own, this takes them to a new level. You can put this on top of ANYTHING and be taken one step closer to heaven!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Faith, I see you love huckleberries even more than I do, and that's saying something!