Sugar-Free, Fresh Strawberry Jam
How to make easy, sugar-free, fresh strawberry jam with no artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes.
The deer are spoiling us rotten by allowing us to have loads of strawberries from our strawberry patch this year. In fact, we have so many I decided to make some homemade, fresh strawberry jam. Having never made it before, I asked Papa Google for a recipe.
The first few recipes he gives me call for anywhere from 2 cups of sugar to 3 1/2 cups of sugar for only 3 cups of strawberries! Whoa! Is this for real? Does all strawberry jam have this much sugar? I’m thinking twice about what I put on my toast.
Back to Google
Figuring I just need to adjust my search terms, I type in “Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam”, and he responds with recipes listing one to 1 1/2 cups of sugar for 3 cups of strawberries. Closer, but since I’ll probably eat half a batch at one sitting, I better pass.
Sugar-Free Jam?
How about “No-Sugar Strawberry Jam”? Or “Sugar-Free Strawberry Jam”? Surely there’s a healthy option out there. This search offers lots of recipes, but all with some sort of artificial sweetener. I hated the thought of doing that to my innocent, healthy, little berries.
Oh, and all of the recipes (sugar or no sugar) tell me to cook the berries, which is apparently the normal way to make jam, but somehow I got this fresh jam idea in my head.
No Jam
Maybe I’ll just make a strawberry pie and eat it knowing that it’s a dessert and not a healthy spread for my toast.
Yes Jam
But then I remember a scribbled recipe on a tattered piece of paper stuck in an old book from over 20 years ago. I don’t know where the book is, but since I used that scrap piece of paper as a bookmark for so many years, the handwritten recipe is imprinted in my mind.
I try it. Mmmmmm! A truly sugar-free, fresh strawberry jam*. (*See “Or Maybe Not” after the recipe.)
How We Eat This Sugar-Free Strawberry Jam
We love this yummy jam on top of waffles and French toast. It makes these Banana Date Breakfast Bars super, super over-the-top yummy. And it makes a healthy replacement for sugar on top of oatmeal and other hot cereals. It’s also yummers on granola.
More Sugar-Free Recipes
It’s so easy to eat too much sugar! Here are some delicious and sugar-free recipes to help you stay sweet without the sugar.
Sugar-Free, Fresh Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups fresh strawberries - (tops removed) divided
- 1/3 cup purple grape juice
- 1/2 cup dried pineapple dices
Instructions
- Place grape juice and dried pineapple in a small saucepan. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to set for 5 minutes (covered).
- Drain juice from pineapple.
- Place 1 3/4 cup strawberries and pineapple in blender and blend on high speed until very smooth. A heavy-duty blender works best for this.
- Mash or dice remaining 1 cup of strawberries and stir into blender mixture. Chill before serving.
- Keeps in refrigerator for about 8 to 10 days.
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More Berry Recipes
I love strawberries – and just about all berries for that matter. They taste delicious in pies and breakfast bars and breakfast bowls and more. Here are some of my favorite berry recipes.
Or Maybe Not
As I was writing this post, I got to thinking, since my recipe is so different than those I found on Google, maybe it technically isn’t even jam, just like my healthy ice cream isn’t really ice cream.
Back to Google.
According to Webster, jam is “a food made by boiling fruit and sugar to a thick consistency”.
I don’t boil my jam. And I didn’t add sugar. Oooops.
So I guess this recipe needs a new name (any ideas?), but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this Sugar-Free, Fresh Strawberry Stuff that Tastes Great on Toast, Amazing Over Ice Cream, Marvelous Mixed in Oatmeal, and Spectacular Spread on Waffles.
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Sounds good no matter what you call it. I love the idea of no sugar.
Can you preserve it by canning it? I love recipes that I can enjoy all year. 🙂
Hi Mandy,
I haven’t tried to preserve it by canning; however, there’s this information at the National Center for Food Preservation about canning fruit sauces and I think it would work just fine for this.
I think this strawberry jam would probably freeze well too. I have some in the freezer right now to “test” it out. I’ll comment again to let you know the results.
Jennifer
Sounds great!! Thank you!!
i’d love to try this as i don’t like artificial sweeteners. looks great!
What is dried pineapple? Dehydrated pineapple? May be a dumb question, but im a newby to cooking/canning/making homemade stuff lol Thanks!
Yes, dried pineapple is the same as dehydrated pineapple. Sorry that wasn’t clear.
Thank you for the good question! 🙂
Is it not just called a conserve when done in juice. Or even a preserve.
Hmmm, perhaps you could call this Strawberry Preserves especially if you freeze it. And I particularly like the fact that you’re using other fruits to provide the sweetness. Would be so easy to make this organic!!!
Thank you for this recipe!
I have a recipe like this (1 # berries or other fruit, 3 p-apple rings, 1/4 c water). It is amazing & my absolute FAVORITE! Its raw, no sugar & soooo yummy! Besides the other uses mentioned above, I put it n homemade soy yogurt! Mmmm! As far as canning, I’m sure u could…but it would likely change that gorgeous, vibrant hue….so I’ve never tried (& I can a lot of things). I do freeze it all the time w/ excellent results! 🙂 Enjoy!
I would really like to try this recipe. How long can you store in a glass jar in the cupboard or do you need to freeze for longevity?
Hi Jan,
I recommend keeping this jam in the refrigerator or the freezer. It keeps for about 8 days in the refrigerator or 8 months in the freezer.
I hope you enjoy!
Jennifer
I am resurrecting this thread as I recently made some like it and “water bath” canned it. Turned out PERFECT!! Now you can get low \ no sugar sure-jel. Just follow their instructions. I did add some lemon juice for acid\safety and sweetened it with natural stevia. My next batch I will use powdered citric acid instead of lemon.
My next projects are sugar free fig and pear preserves. I’ll pass them on if you like.
Thanks Jennifer !!
Sounds lovely! So happy it worked for you.
Fig and pear preserves!? My mouth is watering. I’d love to know how you make it.
There is sugar in the pineapple bits, so.this isn’t really no sugar.
Hi SV,
The dried pineapple that the link in the recipe goes to has no sugar added, so if you choose that brand this strawberry jam can be sugar-free. I hope you enjoy!