Strawberry French Macarons Recipe ~ Barley & Sage (2024)

Published: Aug 21, 2020 · Modified: Jun 25, 2021 · by Kyleigh Sage · This post may contain affiliate links.

I had some leftover strawberries after making my strawberry cupcakes, so naturally I had to make these super cute strawberry macarons! They are filled with a super simple cream cheese frosting and homemade strawberry jam!

I'll walk you through how to make homemade French macarons and give you all my tips and tricks for success!

You might also enjoy these blueberry mascarpone macarons, these vanilla bean macarons, or my favorite strawberry galette!

Ingredient Notes

You only need a few simple ingredients to make these strawberry macarons!

• Egg whites- I've recently started "aging" my egg whites and I've found it helps with my consistency. This is absolutely not necessary, but it's super easy to do so I recommend trying it out. Weigh out 100 grams of egg whites into a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top. Place in the fridge for at least 24 hours but up to 3 days. Make sure to remove the egg whites from the fridge at least an hour before baking.
• Almond flour- If you've ever seen macarons that look bumpy, it's usually because the almond flour isn't ground finely enough. I love Bob's Red Mill for my almond flour because it's usually fine enough. But if you have lumpy almond flour you can also just pulse it in a food processor for a few seconds to break it up further. Sifting your dry ingredients is also super important for ensuring smooth macarons.
• Gel food coloring- This is optional, but it's such a fun way to add a little extra color.
• Nonpareil sprinkles - These are optional, but I love adding nonpareils to the tops of these macarons!

The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in therecipe card below.

Homemade Strawberry Jam

I like to make my own homemade strawberry jam for these macarons, but you can also just use your favorite store-bought jam instead!

You only need a few simple ingredients!

• Fresh or frozenstrawberries
• Granulated sugar
• Lemon juiceandzest
• Cornstarch

I recommend making the jam the night before you want to make the macarons so that it has time to fully cool.

Add all of the jam ingredients to a large saucepan over medium-low heat.Allow the jam to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently until thickened.

Transfer the jam to a glass jar and allow to cool to room temperature. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

How to Make French Macarons

Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.

Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until soft peaks form.

If desired, add in 1-2 drops of pink food coloring. Then continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form.

Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients.

Continue to gently fold the batter until it reaches a “flowing lava” consistency. You should be able to make a “figure 8” with the batter before it breaks. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop mixing! If you over-mix the batter, the macarons won’t rise properly in the oven.

Line alarge baking sheetwith a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with alarge round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat and pipe 1 inch rounds.

Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.

*The macaron batter will look like photo 7 before banging out the excess air, and photo 8 afterwards.

If desired sprinkle a few nonpareils on top!

Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.

While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.

Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 13-15 minutes or when they do not move on their “feet” when touched.

Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.

After the macarons are fully cooled, pipe a circle of cream cheese frosting around the edges and fill with homemade strawberry jam.

Put the assembled strawberry macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge to mature for 12-24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating! [Directly out of the fridge they can sometimes be super hard but at room temperature they're perfectly soft and tender!]

Macaron Tips & Tricks

Macarons can be tough so setting yourself up for success is key!

• Buy akitchen scaleif you don’t already have one! Macarons are incredibly finicky, so weighing all your ingredients is super important!
• Clean the mixing bowl and whisk attachment of your stand mixer with lemon juice or white vinegar to make sure there are no trace fats on either (if you don’t, your meringue may not form).
• Use a super sturdy baking sheet that won't warp and conducts heat evenly! TheseCuisinart baking sheetsare my favorite for macarons! I have 6 of them lol.
• Invest in somesilicone macaron mats! They aren’t expensive and they will make your lifesomuch easier!
• Also invest in anoven thermometer! We want our oven as close to 300 degrees as possible to make perfect macarons but just because your oven says it's 300 degrees, doesn't mean it actually is. My oven tends to run hot, so I usually end up having it set to about 290.
• Always usegel food coloring! Since macaron batter is so finicky, we don’t want to add any extra liquid to the batter. So gel food coloring is the way to go! The color is also even more concentrated so you need less.

Recipe FAQ's

More Macaron Recipes!

Recipe Card

Browse moremacaron recipes →