In this post, we are going to make sugar free strawberry jam together! It’s a simple jam that is completely sugar-free and pectin free. Even though I didn’t use sugar I was surprised to find out that it was plenty sweet enough for us. This is a basic recipe that you can use with other berries too. I hope you’ll like it!
I’ve been wanting to try a sugar-free jam for a while now and finally got around to make a batch. I’ll be honest and say that I kinda have a problem with the idea… When I think about jam I think sweet, sticky goodness and no matter how sweet the fruit is, or how much honey you add, it never as sweet as when you use good ol’ sugar.
I never make jam with the traditional ratio of 1:1 between sugar and fruit anyway. If I use 2 lb of fruit, I’ll add 1lb of sugar. Most of the time I stick to that ratio. So I was already making jams with less sugar, but I really wanted to try a sugar-free version too.
Since I was going to make a healthier jam, I decided to add some chia seeds to the mix as well. They add a crunch and are very healthy for us. They also gel so in this case they do the part of pectin and gel the jam naturally.
A side note here… Instead of buying pectin at the store, I use lemon seeds in my jams (if I don’t add chia seeds). Lemon seeds have natural pectin in them. If you’d like to see how I usually make my jams, without pectin and less sugar, check out this Peach Jam Recipe.
How to Make Sugar Free Strawberry Jam…
It all started when I noticed these strawberries…
I mean, look at them… How can you leave these in the store on a cold shelf?
I couldn’t, so I got 6 lb of them.
2 pounds were gobbled up with no mercy whatsoever on the way home by my three little termites. Another 2 pounds turned into a strawberry shortcake (can’t go wrong there), and the last 2 pounds participated in the sugar-free jam experiment.
Another side note… I have since then planted a 100ft plus of strawberries with the hopes of making many delicious strawberry desserts every spring (read: Planting Strawberries and Caring For Your Plants). But the termites I was talking about above (now there are four of them!) won’t let one, One, ONE strawberry in the house!
So I still get most of my strawberries for jams and desserts at the grocery store. I have to go shopping without the kids, smuggle the strawberries into the house in the dark and hide them in the fridge behind a pile of other things until I can get to them.
It’s quite the operation, I tell you. But it’s worth it.
Ok, back to the jam now…
After I removed the tops and cut them into pieces, I was left with 1lb 10oz of fruit.
In a shallow pot the strawberries went…
And to the party joined half a cup of honey. I turned the heat to medium-high…
And let the berries cook for a few minutes. The heat will make them lose some juice and soften. I let it come to a boil and left it at this stage for a couple of minutes before lowering the heat to between medium and low. I kept cooking the strawberries for about 20 minutes or so at this temperature stirring frequently.
At this point the strawberries were completely soft. I used a potato masher to mash the strawberries and then let them gently cook for another 10 minutes.
During those 10 minutes, I fished out some of the foam from the sides of the pot and stirred every couple of minutes. The foam doesn’t bother me too much so I don’t go crazy trying to get it all, just the majority of it.
I also added about 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice to the jam.
The jam is almost ready so it’s time to prepare the jars. I prepare my jars in the oven instead of in a water bath… Much easier in my opinion.
Here is how you do this: heat the oven to 320F, place your jars without the lids on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven for 10 minutes. At the same time fill a small pot with water, place your new lids and rings (rings don’t have to be new) in there and let the pot boil gently for a few minutes.
Do this about ten minutes before your jam is ready, so your jars and jam are ready approximately at the same time and you can transfer the hot jam into the hot jars (keeping similar temperatures will prevent cracks in the jars).
OK, so after 30 minutes or so, the jam was starting to thicken but not quite there yet. At this point, I added 3 tablespoons of chia seeds and mixed them in…
A couple of minutes later the jam was thick enough. It takes some practice to learn when a jam is ready, but after making jams a couple of times you’ll know to recognize this stage. When you move the jam around in the pot with a spatula, you can feel it’s thick and there is not too much liquid flowing around.
At this time my jars were ready so I filled them with the jam (make sure to leave about 1/2 inch headspace). This is a small batch. It made 2 half-pint jars.
I covered them with the clean lids and bands (not too tight), then placed them upside down on a kitchen towel on the counter. They both sealed within a couple of hours. I let them completely cool overnight and then removed the ring and placed them in the pantry.
We had a little bit of leftover in the pot that I used to make cookies with, it was a great cookie filling (read: Thumbprint Cookies Recipe).
Obviously, this jam is not as sweet as a jam that has a load of sugar in it but it tastes great in my opinion, even the kids had no problem with the lack of sugar.
Other Recipes You Might Like…
Here are other recipes with no or less sugar that you might like…
How to Make Candied Oranges and Can Them – recipe with half the amount of sugar usually used to preserve oranges.
How to Make Applesauce and Can It – no sugar added.
How to Make Mulberry Jam – special, fresh, hand picked (in Israel!) Pakistani Mulberries turn into a delicious jam with less sugar.
Peach Jam – my basic process for making jams with less sugar. You can do this with any fruit.
Notes About This Sugar Free Strawberry Jam…
Can I use other fruit?
I think you can definitely use other berries. I’ve never tried it with other kinds of fruit but I am sure that the same recipe will work with other berries.
Someone was asking if they can use frozen berries. I think it’s possible, the only thing that I notice about frozen fruit is that when you cook them they seem to have more liquid than fresh fruit so you might need to cook it a bit longer to get rid of the excess liquid.
Can I double or triple the recipe?
You sure can!
Preserving this sugar-free strawberry jam…
You probably notice that I didn’t process the jars in a water bath… Turning the jars upside down is an old method of sealing jars and I find it to work wonderfully, however “trusted sources” that are not grandma say it’s not a safe way to preserve food. It’s up to you to decide which way to go but just know that you can process the jars in a water bath as well.
If you prefer, you can also freeze this jam. It should last a long time in the freezer!
How long will the jam last at room temperature?
Since there is no sugar in this jam I don’t think it will last as long as regular jam. After my jars sealed I placed them in the pantry and tried to keep them so I can see how long the jam last. After four months we couldn’t wait any longer and opened and ate the last jar. It was still great.
Make sure you remove the rings before you store your jars and once in a while check that nothing funky is happening in the jar. Like I said above, I believe it will last longer in the freezer so you can go this route if you want to keep it for a long time but four months were good enough for me.
Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about sugar-free jams. Would love to hear about your experience!
Sugar-Free Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 2 lb ripe strawberries, washed, cleaned of tops, and cut to pieces.
- 1/2 cup honey.
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds (optional).
Instructions
- Add your strawberries into a shallow, wide pot.
- Add 1/2 cup honey.
- Turn heat to medium high and bring to boil, let boil for two minutes while stirring frequently.
- Lower the heat to medium-low to keep a gentle boil for 20 minutes until the fruit is soft. Stir frequently and fish out some of the foam while the fruit is cooking.
- Use a potato masher to mash the fruit.
- Add lemon juice and stir. Let jam gently boil for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare your jars in the oven or in a water bath.
- Add chia seeds to the jam and stir.
- Jam should be ready a couple of minutes after you added the chia seeds. You'll notice it gels and thickens.
- Fill your hot jars with the hot jam making sure to leave 1/2 inch headspace. Cover the jars with the lid and screw the rings on finger tight. Set upside down on a towel on the counter or process in a water bath.
- Once jars sealed and cooled completely, remove the rings and store jars in the pantry.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: One half pint jarAmount Per Serving: Calories: 491 Total Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 11mg Carbohydrates: 112g Fiber: 15g Sugar: 92g Protein: 6g
linda says
Hmmm….you didn’t use sugar, but half cup of honey. Honey is good for diabetic people?
Lee says
Every diabetic is different and some diabetics can add a measured amount of honey to their diet. There is some good information here: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/diabetic-diet.html
Diana says
How long does this jam last in jars in the fridge?
Lee says
I don’t have the exact time… If the jars seal, I think it should last just like a regular jam, up to a year in the pantry. If you have a jar that didn’t seal, place it in the fridge and use it first.
Angie says
Is is possible to use ground flax seed instead of chia seeds
Lee says
I never tried but it sounds good. You can definitely give it a try, just take into consideration that ground flax seed won’t have the same jelling effect like the chia so you might need to add pectin. Look up my peach jam recipe, I show there how to use lemon seeds for their natural pectin instead of using the pectin you buy at the store.Let me know how it turned out.
Brenda says
No hot water bath after they are jarred?
Lee says
I didn’t do a hot water bath for those. We are just finishing the last can and the taste is great but it has only been a couple of months since I made it.
Karen says
Can you substitute strawberries for blueberries using the same amount of the other ingredients?
Lee says
Karen,
I won’t add lemon to blueberries but the rest can stay the same.
Sheri says
I started my “Ever Bearing” strawberries with 6 plants 6 years ago. Now I supply each neighbor with a free “flat” of strawberries (About 7 flats go out) and still have enough to make what my husband & I consume in a year. This year I decided to make juice. Breakfast at our house requires juice. You can’t buy in any store the quality of homemade juice and berry juice is awesome! The first batches are a mix of strawberry, blueberry, Jostaberry & Raspberry and then the next batches included Marionberry as they ripened and now the batches are including blackberry. We can’t eat all the jam from last year (we had a great year in 2015) but we sure can put-down the juice! It’s easy to include the juice in smoothies when winter sets in for that taste of summer.
Lee says
Sheri, do you use a juicer to make the juice?
Sheri says
I do use a juicer but not for making “clear” berry blends. It makes it “too pulpy” and my husband doesn’t enjoy that. There are several berries that make a better juice when heated, that would be Marionberry, Jostaberry (a gooseberry/current cross), blueberry and blackberry, heat brings out the flavor. One reason I make a lot of clear juice and can it up for winter usage is because I don’t have a food storage freezer. We tossed the idea around several times but decided to put our money into more canning and shelf storage than running a freezer.
Amber Landry says
What would be a good substitute for the honey? I follow the South Beach diet and honey is a no no. I do use Splenda. Would that work?
Lee says
Amber, I never used Splenda so I am not sure. Maybe agave? You will have to experiment and see how it turns out. Let me know. I’ll also ask on my Facebook page and see if someone else has a suggestion.
Lindsay says
Hello,
I made this recipe last night and it turned out great however only 2 of my 18 jars sealed properly. 16 of them I could still push down the lid and make it “pop”. Do you have any tips on what I can do to reseal these 16 jars? I know I could do the whole process over again but I’m just wondering if there is a quicker way now that the jars are already filled with jam?
Thank you! 🙂
Lindsay
Lee says
Oh, Lindsay, sorry I didn’t see this sooner.
I believe that once the jam cooled there is nothing else to do. If you do it again try to turn the jars over so after you fill them and close them with the lid, turn them so they stand on the lid, this sometimes helps with sealing.
What did you end up doing?
Rhonda says
I used to do preserves with my Grandma growing up. If her jams or jellies didn’t seal she would use paragon wax to seal the top.
Lee says
I didn’t know about this option. Thanks for sharing this, Rhonda.
Lindsay says
No problem! I actually ended up just putting them in my canner and boiling them. Then I left them out on a tea towel on the counter and everyone of them ended up sealing properly! I boiled all my jars (without jam) and boiled the jam when I was making it so I knew that everything was sterilized properly. I noticed the first time that they weren’t sealing properly right away so I put them all in the fridge and used my canner method not even 24hours later. With them sitting in the fridge I figured it was unlikely that any bacteria would develop that quickly so I took my chances by not taking the jam out of the jars and starting the whole process again! Other than this issue though the jam turned out wonderfully and has a very nice flavor!
Lee says
Oh great. Good to know there is something to do. How long did you boil them?
Shawna says
This jam looks delicious and I may try it with Splenda. Honey is no different from sugar. THAT is a myth and it definitely isn’t diabetic friendly. If you want peanut butter that is healthy get the kind with no sugar added. It’s usually called natural and you have to stir it and then keep it in the fridge. Some people get freaked out when they see the peanut oil on top, forgetting that the other kind of peanut butter has hydrogenated oil mixed in and is much less healthy. 🙂
Sue Cloutier says
did u try the splenda ? if so how was it ?
Karen says
Will this recipe work with other fruit?
Lee says
Probably with other berries. I never tried it with other fruit.
Jenny says
I don’t like to cook the strawberries in freezer jam, because I think using fresh strawberries makes it taste so well…fresh! Would this recipe work if I just used fresh smashed strawberries and added the honey and chia seeds or does it have to be cooked first?
Lee says
I think it will work if you store it in the freezer. I don’t think it will work for canning though…
Stephanie says
Can you double or triple the amount and still come out the same?
Lee says
I don’t see why not, but I never tried.
Jen says
I’ve tried doubling the recipe and it did come out the same; just as delicious! I did need to switch my mix into a wide-mouth pan rather than my stock pot because the liquid didn’t evaporate quite as quickly as the single batch. It needed to be a thinner layer in a wider pan rather than piled on, if that makes sense.
Lee says
Yes! Makes sense. I always use a wide pan for jams.
Ashira Kronish says
hi’ what does 21b strawberries mean?
Lee says
2 lb. 2 pounds of strawberries.
Nichole says
Hey there, found this recipe and decided to use it. I doubled it and very happy! This is the first time at making any type of jam and also canning or jarring so I’m absolutely thrilled! My daughter is in FFA which is Future Farmers of America and has been in it for years. She sells strawberry’s for them and I bought two whole flats for a wonderful price. 4 pounds of them yielded 6 1/2 pint jars and I’ve got more to do tomorrow. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! We love it!
Much respect and thanks,
Nichole from Linden VA
Lee says
Oh, I am so happy. I plan on making it again once strawberries are ready for harvest here.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
KJ says
No water needed?
Mieke says
I heard that it is not good to can chia seeds, but there hasn’t been any experience with it that I can find. I’m just wondering how long your jam lasted with the chia seeds when you canned it? I don’t want to waste a whole year’s supply if it’s going to go bad. Thanks!
Lee says
It was a long time ago and I can’t remember exactly but I believe we used this jam within a couple of months (maybe 3 or 4…). So I can’t tell you for sure what will happen after a year but it was good for a few months.
Laura says
Can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?
Lee says
I never tried… You might need to cook them a little longer to get rid of some of the access liquid but I think it can work.
Nara Batsukh says
Hi Lady Lee,
I just waindering if you heard about honey becomes toxic when it’s boiled and what are your opinion on this.
I’ve used your recipe once and it was probably best jam I’ve ever made. But then I found out that boiling honey produces toxic effect and I am quite concerned.
At the moment I am just doing little search to find out if it’s only the myth or maybe the truth… hoping it’s not true. Looking forward knowing what are your thoughts are on this.
Cheers,
Nara
Lee says
I’ve never heard of it becoming toxic if boiled but I am a member of the local beekeepers association and I bet I can find someone there who will have an answer for me.
I always wonder how things were done in the past… I bet it was harder for them to make white sugar than harvest honey from beehives… So, did they use the honey for jams? Didn’t make jams at all? Or was there a different solution?
For example, a few weeks ago I wrote about canning milk. I found out that modern research states that you should NOT can milk at home… Still, people have been doing this for generations, you know…
Honestly, I usually take modern research with a grain of salt and check how things have been done in the past.
This is interesting… I’ll have to check and get back to you.
Let me know if you find anything.
Thanks for taking the time to write this and I am so happy you enjoyed the jam!