Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
This strawberry jam is the best! Sweet and smooth, this homemade low sugar strawberry jam recipe is made with whole strawberries, lemon juice, and pectin for a yummy jam you can add to toast, biscuits, cookies, cake, and much more. If you are looking for a low sugar jam, this recipe is it!
It’s not summer until we’ve been strawberry picking.
The official start of summer in my mind; ditching the cooler days of Spring for shorts, sun, and all-you-can-eat strawberry fields.
What to do with all of these berries? Fresh strawberries naturally lead to my vegan strawberry shortcake, strawberry lemonade scones and strawberry basil margaritas. The possibilities are endless. I think I ate 5 cups of fresh sliced strawberries the moment we got home. Still warm from the sun, these are the berries I wait all year for.
This strawberry jam recipe feels like the gift that keeps on giving. We made two batches of this low-sugar jam recipe, allowing me to stockpile jars of homemade jam for effortless gift-giving and thank you’s.
Neighbors who took our trashcans in while we were gone? A jar of jam for you. A friend who picked up my kids while I was running late from a meeting? Two jars of jam! Strawberry jam is really good currency.
Since having kids, I’ve become more conscious on how much sugar and salt we’re consuming. Therefore, it was a no-brainer that this jam would be lower in sugar than traditional recipes.
Spoiler alert- you cannot tell. It’s not as cloyingly sweet as some jams can be, but who wants that anyway? This strawberry jam tastes like summer! I swear I can still taste the sun-kissed strawberries straight from the garden in every bite.
To make this easy strawberry jam recipe, you’ll need the following:
This recipe works with other fruits as well. Use the same measurements with other berries to make raspberry preserves, blueberry jam, peach jam, and more.
Wash fresh berries and remove the stems and hulls. You can leave them whole, but it will be easier to mash if you halve them first.
Mash the strawberries either by using a food mill or potato masher. If you want jelly, then blend the strawberries in a blender and strain the juice, discarding any seeds and pulp
Place strawberries, water, and lemon juice in a large stock pot. Stir in the pectin and heat the mixture over high meat until it comes to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Keep stirring the mixture to prevent the bottom from burning.
Add in the sugar and return to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Continue boiling for a minute while stirring, then remove from heat.
Pour the cooled jam into your clean jars. From here you can either enjoy it right away, place it in the freezer for up to 6 months or can. To can your low-sugar jam, follow the directions below.
You’ll need to sterilize the jars first. Some suggest that it’s enough to wash jars in soapy water, but the safest way is to sterilize your jars first and not just wash them. This is true even for jars that you just purchased, as they are not sterilized, and debris from the packaging, along with dust, can be in the jars.
To sterilize your jars for canning, boil clean mason jars in a water bath for ten minutes, then remove them. Some dishwashers have a sterilizing option that you can use. Not only does this help sanitize the jars, but it also warms the jars before you put the hot jam in. For water bath canning, like in this strawberry jam recipe, placing the warm jam directly into hot jars is recommended.
Once your homemade jam is ready to be canned, ladle the hot jam into the prepared jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace at the top of the jar. Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean towel and then screw the sanitized lid on top. Place the sealed jars into a boiling water bath canner and boil, fully submerged, for 10 minutes.
Remove and let the cans cool completely.
If you want your homemade strawberry jam to be thick, then you will want to use pectin! Without pectin, your strawberry jam will be cooking for a very long time until it sets.
Make sure to grab the pectin specifically for low-sugar canning for this strawberry jam recipe; regular pectin will not work. If you don’t want to use pectin, then you’ll need to choose other thickeners, like chia seeds. My recipe for chia seed jam is here.
Yes, if you want to make jelly instead of strawberry jam, then you’ll want to blend the strawberries in a blender first and then strain the juice, discarding any seeds and pulp.
Your jam can be as chunky as you’d like, depending on how much you crush your berries first.
If you’ve never canned before, let me assure you how simple it is to do. Years ago, when we lived in our first apartment in Sacramento, I thought I was going to be one of those people who canned everything. We were living in the middle of the salad bowl, with fresh-grown produce of every variety on literally every corner. Why not learn to can?
That lasted all of two months, but long enough for me to buy a few tools. A giant stock pan for holding a dozen mason jars, a funnel for easy filling, and a magnet for placing the lid on top. Though, you really don’t need any of this. A funnel will make things easier, but you can do without it. You will need a large enough pan to place the jars in, mason jars, and that’s it!
Now, living in St. Louis, I can regularly. Making my homemade salsa for canning and homemade tomato sauce a few times each summer.
You can find low-sugar pectin in most grocery stores or online. The regular pectin won’t work, so make sure you find the low-sugar one.
This low-sugar strawberry jam will thicken considerably as it cools. Don’t try to add more pectin if your jam is thin. If, for any reason, your jam is still very thin after canning, processing, and cooling for 24 hours, then you can reprocess it.
This jam is low-sugar, but it’s not a sugar-free jam. I don’t recommend adding less sugar than the recommended cup, as the amount is helpful to thicken the jam.
You need to use the low sugar pectin, not regular pectin, for this low-sugar strawberry jam. The regular pectin will not work as it won’t thicken the same way.
Enjoy this strawberry jam recipe on strawberry scones, shortcake or on ice cream! A spoonful of jam on ice cream or yogurt is delicious!
We also love it on homemade waffles or in a classic PB&J sandwich.
The lemon juice allows the pectin to set quicker and also neutralizes the flavor of the jam.
If you cook the jam too long, then it will form into a solid gel rather than soft jam.
If you are not immediately opening the jars, then the jam will last in a cool dry place for up to a year or two. If not canning, you can store homemade strawberry jam for a year in the freezer in an airtight container!
Yes, the jam will thicken as it cools. Be patient! If for any reason your jam did not set, then you can reboil the jam with pectin and reprocess it.
I recommend following this recipe exactly. You need the amount of sugar listed here for the jam to set properly. This recipe has not been tested with other sweeteners or liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup and should not be substituted.
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
PrintThis healthy strawberry jam is the best! Perfect and subtly sweet, this freezer-friendly recipe is so easy to make and tastes delicious with almost anything! You will love this strawberry jam made with lemon juice, pectin, and just a little bit of sugar!
Tag @delishknowledge on Instagram and hashtag it #delishknowledge
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(67 comments) leave a comment
i HAVE NOT MADE THIS YET. CAN i SUBSTITUTE APPLES FOR THE PECTIN?
Hi Sherri, I don’t recommend those changes as it will likely affect the gelling of the recipe. The pectin (specifically low sugar pectin) is essential for this recipe
Hi Alex, I made this jam and it tastes delicious- tangy sweet. I’m just not sure if it thickened or set enough – I followed the directions other than using organic cane granulated sugar. The consistency us closer to freezer jam. Is this okay? The lids are all vacuum sealed. Thank you.
Yes! It should thicken quite a bit as sits. How long ago did you can it?
Do you know roughly how many pounds of strawberries yield 8 cups crushed? Trying to make a shopping list, excited to try this recipe!
One pint (24 medium or 36 small berries) is roughly equal to 2 1/2 cups whole, 1 3/4 cups sliced, or 1 1/4 cups mashed. I would likely get 6-7 pints to ensure you have enough.
Hi!
I swore this recipe said you could can in pint jars. now after processing and it sitting on the shelf for a month I reread this and see that it’s half pint!! Did I just make botulism jam and need to throw these away?!
if you processed for an addition 5 minutes, then it will be fine. https://winnebago.extension.wisc.edu/files/2010/09/Safe-Preserving-Jams-Jellies-now-in-PINT-jars.pdf
Can I use Certo, I don’t know where to buy The other pectin,I would like to make this recipe today. Thanks
as long as it’s designed for sugar-free or low-sugar jam, it will work!
Hi…I also have the SureJell low sugar pectin…do you think I would I just substitute 6 tbsps of that for the Ball that you list? Thank you!
Yes, that will work as long as it’s for low sugar jam
Perfect! Thanks so much for the reply! Getting started right now!
PERFECT! I pinned your recipe to use again in the future 🙂 My husband was SO afraid this wouldn’t set and he used the SureJell recipe that calls for LESS strawberries and FOUR cups of sugar – yuck! Let’s just say I put a sticker on my jars so I know which ones to eat haha! Thanks for a great recipe!!
This turned out wonderfully. Absolutely delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
Is it possible to only make 1/2 of this recipe ?
you can half it!
Your recipe calls for 6 tablespoons of this no pectin item
Is that 6 tablespoons per this recipe? In other words total 6 tablespoons
Hi Michelle- yes, 6 tablespoons total
This. Was. Perfect!! I ended up making two batches and find myself wanting to just eat it out of the jar! I’m about to go peach and blueberry picking and am wondering if you think I could use the same recipe. I’m pretty new to canning so I figured it’s worth asking! Thanks so much!
★★★★★
hi Lydia– it should as the low pectin is OK for all fruit types