Healthy Strawberry Jam
Published Mar 14, 2018
Updated Aug 09, 2023
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The point of this Healthy Strawberry Jam is to show you that you can totally make jam without sugar. So even if you don’t have strawberries around you, grab any other fruit around you and let’s make some healthy jam. Mango or pineapple will work well here.
This strawberry jam is sweetened with honey and to tell you the truth, I can’t tell the difference between this jam and jam made with sugar. It is sweet, fruity with a gel-like consistency, just like a jam should be. And oh, it is also made without pectin. So sugar-free healthy jam for the win!
You guys, 14 days! That’s how long a carbaholic like me has stayed without baking/eating bread or anything with regular white flour. Neither have I tasted white rice or eaten any sugar. Has it been easy? No! But let me tell you this: I feel great! I enjoy detoxing my body like this every now and then.
I have experimented with all sorts of healthier alternatives to my traditional diet. I have baked with oats, made waffles out of plantains and eaten vegetable salads more times than I can count. These 14 days have taught me a lot. One is that a life without refined sugar is totally possible. Another is that you can totally get kids to enjoy healthy food that is non-traditional, My girls have totally loved the unconventional meals. And one of their favorite things has been this healthy strawberry jam which has been a good friend on the breakfast table.
At first, I was skeptical about trying to make jam without sugar. Will the consistency be right? Will it taste good? Will the taste of honey not overpower it? Ha. But when I made this jam, I found myself eating the warm jam right out of the pot with a spoon. It is sufficiently sweet. The honey taste is not overpowering at all. In fact, you will think it is regular jam made with sugar. Winner!
Besides, I just had to make something with strawberries because my local grocery store had strawberries for only $1 per pound. So I grabbed a good quantity to take home with me.
To make the jam, you need strawberries, honey and 1 lemon. 3 simple ingredients and jam will be yours!
If you are looking for a regular jam recipe with sugar, click here. Also check out the following jam recipes:
If you make this recipe, please take a moment to rate it below. Also, share a picture with me on Facebook or tag me on Instagram. I’ll love to see!
Healthy Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries (about 1 kg)
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest from one lemon
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice squeeze this out of the same lemon you use for lemon zest
Instructions
- Rinse the strawberries well then chop off the top part with the leaves. Cut the strawberries into halves or quarters. Place them in a pot. Add in the honey, lemon zest and lemon juice. Toss to combine.
- Place the pot on medium heat and cook covered for 10 minutes. Open the pot and using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher, mash the strawberries to break them down a little. Let them cook for another 10 minutes while you stir from time to time. Place in a glass jar to cool then store in the fridge.
- Enjoy on pancakes, muffins, crepes, bread and more!
Notes
Nutrition
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Breathe and enjoy life.
This was delicious! I made a few adjustments to the original and it came out thick, sticky and delicious.
– After the first 10 minutes of boiling, for every pound of strawberries I added 1 tbsp of Chia Seeds and continued the cooking process as suggested. This added quite a bit of thickness to the jam while leaving the taste the same. The consistency at the end was more similar to raspberry jam, but the seeds feel and taste totally natural.
– I increased the honey. This was actually an accident, I used 3/4cup instead of half. I had planned to double the recipe, and then decided just to make it in two batches. But in my head I was still doubling so I almost doubled the honey….thought it was too much and dialled it back a bit. I think 1/2cup would be more than enough honey, but 3/4cup tastes delicious too.
– I didn’t have a zester and my cheese grater wasn’t quite doing the trick, so I used the juice of a whole lemon instead. It was the perfect amount of sweet to sour.
Here is the exact instructions to follow what I did:
Ingredients:
2 lb – Fresh strawberries, quartered with tops removed
3/4 cup – Honey (the runny stuff, not the creamy stuff)
1 lemon – juiced
2 tbsp – Chia Seeds
Combine strawberries, honey and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, mash the strawberries (I scooped them up with a slotted spoon and mashed them on that with a wooden spoon). Once everything is mashed to your desired texture, add chia seeds and simmer/boil for another 10 minutes. Remove from burner and let sit for another 10 minutes.
Add to your sterilized jars, screw on lids tightly and add to a pot of boiling water, making sure all jars are covered. Boil for 10-15 minutes. Remove from water and let sit for 12 hours without disturbance. Provided they seal correctly, these will keep for a year (thats what everyone says, but it always lasts longer than that lol)
Thank you, Precious Core, for this delicious recipe! It will be my go-to from here on out.
Thank you for sharing, Jessi! I should make this with chia seeds next time. Sounds awesome!
Is the nutrition info for 1 tbsp?
Hi Shannon, the nutrition info is for one tenth of the jam. That’s one serving if all of the jam is divided by 10. Hope this helps.