Making your own jam is much easier than you think! This chia jam recipe is refined sugar free, requires only 4 ingredients, and is ready in about 10 minutes. Use blueberries, strawberries, or a mix of both and spread it on your favorite toast or add it to oatmeal.
I’m always a fan of making your own versions of typical store bough items. From hummus, salad dressing, granola, and this chia jam, it’s often much healthier to make your own version.
You have control over the ingredients and can adjust the flavors and textures to your liking.
This chia jam is seriously SO easy to make. All it requires is some berries of your choice, chia seeds, lemon juice, a bit of sweetener and 15 minutes of your time.
This berry chia jam is the star ingredient in my no bake peanut butter and jelly granola bars and is a healthy jam recipe to have in your fridge to spread over toast, pancakes, or whatever you want!
How to make this recipe
Add 2 cups of berries to a pan. You can use one type of berry, or a mix of several berries.
Heat over medium/low heat until the mixture starts to bubble. If using frozen berries, this will take a bit longer, but either way, make sure you stir the mixture occasionally so it does not stick to the pan.
Once the berries are soft enough, use a fork, potato masher, (or even an immersion blender for an ultra smooth jam), and mash the berries.
The berries should become liquidy, especially if you use frozen berries as these release more water. The chia seeds will absorb any excess liquid, so don’t worry if there is a lot!
Add in the lemon juice, chia seeds and sweetener of choice and let thicken for 5 minutes on very low heat.
Once it starts to thicken, turn off the heat and let it continue to thicken, uncovered, until it reaches your desired consistency.
If you want it thicker, you can add in some extra chia seeds, or a splash of orange juice to make it thinner.,
Should I use fresh or frozen fruit?
You can use fresh or frozen berries for this recipe. You will end up with the same end product either way.
If you use fresh berries, you may need to add 2 tbsp of water to the pan with the berries to help them soften/melt. If using frozen, don’t worry about this since the frozen berries release water on their own.
You also don’t have to use berries for this recipe, most fruits will work! You just want to make sure it’s a high water fruit like mango, peaches etc.
Serving Suggestions
One of my favorite ways to enjoy this jam is with some toast, coconut yogurt with my almond butter granola, in my mashed sweet potato breakfast bowl or as a classic PB & J sandwich!
The options are endless with this jam and you don’t have to worry about flooding your body with refined sugar. Sounds like a win to me!
Tips & tricks
You can use white chia seeds or black chia seeds for this recipe. I used white because it keeps the color of the jam a bit more vibrant.
If you don’t want any fruit chunks in your jam, you can blend the fruit before adding in the chia seeds. You can make it super smooth and then add in the chia seeds to thicken it into jam.
I recommend storing this jam in an air tight container. You can use a traditional tupperware container, mason jar, or these weck jar I used.
It will last for one week in the fridge but you can also freeze it for 1-2 months! Just defrost in the fridge before using.
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If you try this chia jam recipe, be sure to leave a comment and rating below and let us know how you like it! As always, follow me on instagram for more recipes.
How To Make Chia Seed Jam
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 2 cups berries of choice or a mix of several types
- 3 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp honey maple syrup, or coconut sugar
- Juice from 1 large lemon about 2 tbsp
Instructions
- Add the berries of choice to a pot.
- Cook over medium/low heat until the mixtures starts to bubble and the berries soften. This will be about 10 minutes.
- Use a fork, potato masher, or even an immersion blender to mash the berries. You can leave a few chunks if desired, or mash until no chunks remain.
- Add in the lemon juice, chia seeds and sweetener of choice and let thicken for 5-10 minutes on very low heat. Remove from heat and let sit to continue to thicken for about 10 minutes.
- Store in an air tight container or weck jar.
Anna says
Hello! Should I add sugar and lemon in the begging or at the end?
Claire Cary says
You’ll want to add it after you let the berries cook down, then add the lemon, sugar and chia seeds!
Hillary says
I have always wanted to make jam but thought it was too complicated. Thank you for this great recipe!
Claire Cary says
The chia seed make it so simple! Thank you for the feedback <3