My Easy Homemade Strawberry Preserves (with No Pectin) only has 3 ingredients, no funky additives, and comes together quickly on the stovetop as a small batch recipe. No canning necessary!
Strawberries were on sale this week, and I thought it would be the perfect time to test out a recipe for homemade strawberry preserves! Making homemade jam (without pectin) is so incredibly easy. Just add chopped fruit, sugar, and lemon juice to a pan and cook until thickened. For another addictive flavor, try my homemade blueberry jam recipe!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving (1 tbsp.): $0.20
- Total Cost (12 oz. jar): $4.80
- Those Other Guys: $5.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Strawberries - Fresh or frozen strawberries will work here. If using fresh, try and grab ripe berries that are almost too soft to eat... but not moldy. In addition, make sure you thoroughly clean your fresh fruit; I like to use a water + apple cider vinegar combination.
- Granulated Sugar - We don’t use a lot of sugar since great strawberries have a natural sweetness. You can also use honey or agave as a sweetener!
- Lemon Juice - A small amount of lemon juice will add much-needed acidity as well as help prevent the growth of bacteria when we store it in the fridge.
Pairing Ideas
Strawberry Cheesecake No-Churn Ice Cream: Cool off with this delectable treat! A cheesecake based ice cream has swirls of strawberry jam and buttery graham crackers.
Cheesecake Cups: Top these Mini Cheesecake Cups in ramekins with tons of homemade strawberry preserves.
Breakfast Rolls: Take my recipe for Homemade Yeast Rolls, cut them in half, and stuff with strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, and cheese. Then spread some strawberry preserves on one half of the roll!
Peanut Butter & Jelly Baked Oatmeal: For a fun and filling breakfast, try this recipe for PB&J Baked Oats using homemade strawberry jam.
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Jam
Making homemade jam or preserves is so simple! Most jelly recipes use pectin, a food starch, to get the gel consistency that we’re all used to. But we’re going to make this homemade jam without pectin.
Pectin can be expensive and sometimes hard to find. Strawberries naturally contain pectin, and combining them with the acidity of lemon juice (and cooking down most of their moisture) really allows the pectin to shine, forming delicious, jammy, homemade preserves.
Step 1: Start by adding all of your ingredients to a large pot.
Step 2: Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring frequently so the jam doesn't get stuck on the bottom and burnt.
Step 3: While it's cooking, be sure to smash any large pieces of fruit using the back of a spoon or a potato masher.
After about 45 minutes, it should be done.
Step 4: Pour the hot preserves into a glass jar, let it come to room temperature, and you're ready to seal and store in the fridge. It's that easy!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Take the temperature of the jam. You want to make sure your homemade jam reaches 220°F. That temperature ensures we have the consistency needed.
- No candy thermometer? If you don’t have a food thermometer, there's a quick freezer test that can help. Once you think your preserves are ready, add a plate to the freezer for about one minute until it gets chilly. Then, spoon a dollop of hot strawberry preserves on the plate.
- Place the plate back into the freezer for another minute, and run your finger through the jam. It should stay where it's at, and not immediately run back into the space you created with your finger - that's how you know you're ready to go.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Some fruit naturally contains pectin. Below, I show a cooking technique to create the jam consistency that we want without using added pectin.
You can store this homemade jam in a mason jar in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks (if it lasts that long!) I like to make small batches so the jam can continuously be fresh. You can also freeze this for up to 2 months as long as it's sealed well.
Regular granulated sugar actually uses a non-vegan technique when processing. To make vegan homemade jam, substitute the granulated sugar with coconut sugar.
Other Breakfast/Brunch Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this Homemade Strawberry Preserves Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Easy Homemade Strawberry Preserves (No Pectin!)
Equipment
- Chef's Knife
- Pot
- Silicone Spoon
- Candy Thermometer
- Mason Jar
Ingredients
- 16 ounces strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Rinse your strawberries, remove the tops, and slice them into quarters.
- Add the sliced berries, sugar, and lemon juice to a pot and cook on medium heat until it begins to boil, stirring frequently.
- Cook for about 25 minutes. While it is boiling, smash some of the larger strawberries with the back of a spoon.
- After 25 minutes, your jam should reach 220℉ (use a candy thermometer to test).
- For another test, or if you don't have a candy thermometer - set a plate in the freezer for about one minute.
- Drop a quarter-sized amount of the hot preserves onto the plate and put back in the freezer for another minute.
- If you can run your finger through and it wrinkles up (aka, the preserves don't quickly fill the path you made with your finger), your preserves are ready!
- Add the hot strawberry preserves to a mason jar and let it cool completely.
- Once the preserves are cooled, seal, and store in the fridge.
- Serve on biscuits, toast, pancakes, or anything else you can think of. Enjoy!
Leslie Gardone says
Fast, easy and delicious!
Anonymous says
Fantastic recipe!!!!!!