Roasted balsamic strawberries. I’ve heard of it. I’ve seen recipes for it. I’ve noticed it as a flavor through the glass window of the ice cream case. And now I’ve finally tasted it.
It sounds fancy, but it’s actually really simple. I was prepared to babysit the strawberries on the stove for a while, but my friend Audrey from UnconventionalBaker.com has a Roasted Balsamic Strawberries recipe that bakes in the oven. So much easier!
I threw the balsamic + berry mixture in a pan, popped it in the oven, and they are roasting as I write this. I am 4 minutes and 55 seconds away from trying a classic to most, new-to-me flavor pairing.
And you are 2 minutes and 40 seconds away from knowing how to make them with the help of this little video:
But of course I had to put my own spin on the classic. I replaced the typical sugar or maple syrup with date paste, creating a fruit-sweetened version of roasted balsamic strawberries. It’s a fruit-based, fruit-sweetened, fruit-sauced mug with a crunchy quinoa topping!
Prep Time:
Yield:
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PinIngredients
- FOR THE BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES
- 6 pitted medjool dates
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps water
- 1 lb strawberries (I used frozen)
- 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- FOR THE QUINOA CRUNCH
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 tbsps liquid sweetener (bee free honee, coconut nectar, maple syrup, etc.)
- FOR SERVING
- 6 bananas (2 per person, or more if you want)
Instructions
- FOR THE BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES: Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Blend the dates, water, and vanilla extract (if using) on high to make a date paste.
- Mix together the strawberries, vinegar, and dates paste in a large bowl.
- Spread into a shallow baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 375F.
- FOR THE QUINOA CRUNCH: Mix together all the ingredients with a fork until clumpy.
- Spread on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 375F.
- Let it cool, then break apart.
- TO SERVE: Slice the bananas. Layer them in bowls. Spoon the balsamic strawberries over the bananas. Top with the quinoa crunch.
Notes
Balsamic strawberries recipes inspired by UnconventionalBaker.com
Have your tried balsamic + strawberries?
SO JUICY!! And that quinoa crunch looks amazing!! I’ve had a recipe for balsamic roasted strawberry shortcake saved for so long – I really need to post haha!
Looove balsamic and strawbs – really good with avocado too!
Avocado?!? I never would’ve thought of that! Yes, share the shortcake!! I’ve never made strawberry shortcake either, I need to know what it’s all about 🙂
This looks so good Natalie!! I love that beautiful red color and that quinoa crunch granola-ish stuff looks and sounds soo good! What a perfect and healthy dessert that’s actually so good for you!
Thank you Brandi! It’s pretty much granola, I just called it ‘crunch’, and it might just be my favorite part 😀 LOL I love the color too, I was afraid the dates would turn it an icky brown color, but the vibrance of strawberries won out on color 🙂
First of all: the Quinoa Crunch looks AWESOME! Also I love the video, well.. actually… I love all your videos! They’re so pretty and you can explain it so well. Love the idea of balsamic roasted strawberries. Awesome dessert!
Thanks Bianca! If only we lived closer to one another, I have a feeling these strawberries and your chocolate cake masterpiece would be pretty spectacular together <3
Ohhh!!! That would be most awesome thing ever!!! We would eat like queens every single day 😀
It would be quite the vegan all-day snacking party 😀
Just made this for breakfast and it was delicious! I didn’t have a full pound of strawberries so I added in some raspberries too. I love how simple the “crunch” topping was (I used maple syrup) and now I’m wondering how I can turn it into simple homemade granola bars. I’m thinking adding in some cinnamon and raisins would be really good. Thank you for another keeper!
★★★★★
Wow you already made it!! I love the berry combo idea, I’ll have to try that! Sometimes running out of ingredients leads to surprisingly delicious recipes! And yes, I definitely foresee some quinoa granola bars in the future 😉
This sounds AMAZING! The berries are beautiful and so simple and I already love adding quinoa to granola.
The quinoa granola thing is AMAZING! I’m not really a huge fan of quinoa cooked savory style, but it adds the most unique texture to granola that it will possibly be appearing in many granola/granola bar recipes to come 😉
Balsamic is so good! I have bottles of it (or go through bottles of it) so quickly and I love all the flavored ones I have! I’ve always wanted to play around with balsamic reductions….for like pancakes 🙂
Ooh yes I think balsamic fruit reductions would be awesome with pancakes! I have no clue what fruits it goes with other than strawberries, but I’m sure you have plenty of ideas 😉 I did like the falvor, but I still can’t stand the smell pre-cooking!
Weird, but seems like my prev comment on this recipe got lost somewhere! Can’t leave this commentless though — I wanted to say you’ve taken the balsamic concept to a whole new level with this granola. This looks scrumptious ♥♥
You did leave a comment before, but I tried to install W3 total cache, crashed my whole site, and had to restore from backup, so I lost your some of your lovely comments 🙁 But thank you again, for your sweet words and for introducing me to this flavor combo 🙂