This strawberry jam is the best! Sweet and smooth, this homemade low sugar jam is made with whole strawberries, lemon juice, and pectin for a yummy jam you can add to toast, biscuits, cookies, cake, and much more.
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.
Strawberry jam 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 Van 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 jam tastes like summer! I swear I can still taste the sun-kissed strawberries straight from the garden in every bite.
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.
How to Can Homemade Strawberry Jam
Boil clean mason jars in a water bath for ten minutes, then remove. Not only does this help sanitize the jars, it also warms the jars before you put the hot jam in.
Wash strawberries and remove the stems and hulls. Crush 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 pectin and heat the mixture over high meat until it comes to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Keep stirring the mixture to prevent the bottom from burning.
Stir in pectin and heat the mixture over high heat until it comes to a 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. Continue boiling for a minute, while stirring then remove from heat.
Ladle the hot jam into the prepared jars, leaving 1/4″ head space. Place sealed jars into a boiling water bath and foil, fully submerged, for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
Have you canned before? 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 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. You will need a large enough pan to place the jars in, mason jars and that’s it!
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.
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 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 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!
This 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!
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(46 comments) leave a comment
This recipe turned out fantastic.
The berries keep the beautiful strawberry color, it sets well, and tastes like fresh strawberries!!!
I made a small batch last month, today I am canning a flat (28 cups, we ate a few ..)
Love those Louisiana strawberries!!
★★★★★
JUST MADE THIS TODAY IM SUPPER EXCITED THE LEFTOVER I PUT IN FRIG WAS GREAT STRAWBERRY WAS THE FLAVOR NOT SUGAR. HOW LONG IS THIS SHELF STABLE? AND QUICK QUESTION I HEARD A LOT OF POPS AFTER I SAT THEM TO COOL THEY STILL ARE BUT I WAS RUBBING MY FINGER OVER THEM AND 1 WAS STILL UP BUT THEY ARE STILL COOLING AND IT POPPED DOWN IT’S STILL DOWN HOW DO I KNOW IF IT SEALED RIGHT? AND THAT’S FOR SHARING IM A DIABETIC AND I HAVE TO WATCH MY SUGAR AND THIS IS GREAT
★★★★★
Hi Melanie, yes– as long as it’s sealed (you won’t hear them all pop) then it’s safe. Any that didn’t seal, you can reprocess
I made this exactly as written and OMG!!! SO GOOOOD! Tonight I am making batch 2. Crisp and fresh tasting, plenty sweet without the 5lb bag of sugar (exaggerating, but still) usually required. Thank you.
Best recipe for low sugar strawberry jam! Can I use this recipe for apricot jam?
★★★★★
Apricot is lower in natural pectin so it might not set the same. You can play around and see if it works, but might need to tweak the ratios!
Could you use this recipe for blackberries as well? I can’t seem to find a good low sugar recipe for blueberry jam,
Not sure why blackberries wouldn’t work for this recipe, but i haven’t tried it to say with 100% certainty.
I have “jam” berries, and want to make a quick, low sugar jam (no canning). Can I still use this recipe?
Hi Holly, I don’t know why it wouldn’t work with jam berries. Thanks!
I don’t use pectin or water in my strawberry jam. I use whole strawberries halved or quartered depending on size. I use 5 cups of sugar to 18 cups of strawberries. (About 6 lbs). I add the sugar to the cut strawberries and let sit for a couple of hours. The strawberries and sugar make their own juice. Then I cook and jar it bi have had rave reviews using this recipe
New at canning and venturing into more things.
★★★★★
I plan to make this soon. I was wondering if you could use frozen strawberries?
Hi Pam– I’m not sure if frozen strawberries will work as they may be too watery. For frozen strawberries, I like my frozen berry chia jam!
What is your thought about using older frozen fruit in low suga.
Would using more sugar/pectin make it possible?
Or should I just throw out the fruit?
Thank you
CG
Hi Carolann– I haven’t made this jam with frozen fruit so not the exact ratios to increase as freezing fruit may reduce the jelling effect of the natural pectin. You may need to increase the amount of pectin added to this jam to make sure it sets properly. If you are going to throw out the fruit anyways– I’d make it and see, but make sure to thaw all the way first and save any juices that thaw with the berries. If it doesn’t gel enough, you can always reboil and add more.