My recipe for 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!
If you've read my recipe for 3-Ingredient Blueberry Jam, you know that I'm officially boycotting store-bought jams and preserves. It's honestly been one of the easiest stands to take - the homemade stuff is so much tastier. Also, I'm one of those people who don't like grape jelly/jam, so even when I buy the stuff it's usually some nontraditional fruit. (My absolute favorite is blackberry jam.)
Ingredients
- Strawberries - Fresh or frozen strawberries (cutting off the hulls if fresh) will work here. Just 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. I actually suggest starting out with ⅛ cup of sugar and working your way up to the recipe amount, depending on your personal taste. You can also use honey or agave as a sweetener!
- Lemon Juice - A small amount of lemon juice will cut some of the sweetness of the jam as well as help prevent the growth of bacteria when we store it in the fridge.
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Jam
Making homemade jam or preserves is so simple! All you do is add your ingredients to a large pot and let the fruit mixture come to a boil, then simmer everything until it’s thickened.
You want to make sure your homemade jam reaches 220°F. However, if you don’t have a food thermometer, I also included a trick to figure out if your jam is ready in the instructions (step 3.)
Most jelly recipes use pectin, a naturally-occurring 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. Using this cooking technique, we’re going to cook down the moisture from the fruit to create an amazing jam consistency with no pectin.
I also note how the recipe has ¼ cup of sugar but I actually prefer it with ⅛ cup. I'd suggest that you try it with less at first, and add more if you feel like you need it.
After a few rounds of Whole30, I've noticed that my tolerance for sugar has gone way down and I didn't want to cut you guys short. Also - strawberries can be naturally sweet so take that into consideration!
Keep it simple with a nostalgic PB&J sandwich, or try my recipes for homemade strawberry pop-tarts (coming soon!) and PB&J baked oatmeal.
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.
Technically, most regular granulated sugar uses a non-vegan technique when processing. To make vegan homemade jam, substitute the granulated sugar with coconut sugar.
Other Breakfast Favorites!
Cajun Shrimp & Grits (with a Creamy Tomato Sauce)
Purple Rain Smoothie Bowl (Whole 30!)
Easy Homemade Strawberry Preserves (No Pectin!)
Ingredients
- 16 oz. strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar*
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
- Rinse strawberries, remove the tops, and slice in half. Add berries, sugar, and lemon juice to a pan and cook on medium heat until it begins to boil, stirring constantly.
- Cook for about 25 minutes. While it is boiling, smash some of the strawberries with the back of a spoon.
- Set a plate in the freezer for about one minute. Drop a quarter-sized amount of the preserves onto the plate and put back in the freezer for another minute. If you can run your finger through and it wrinkles up, your preserves are ready!
- Add the preserves to a mason jar and let cool completely.
- Once the preserves are cooled, seal, and store in the fridge. You can eat this right after cooking, but it will continue to thicken to a more jam-like consistency after being in the fridge overnight.
- Serve on biscuits, toast, pancakes, or anything else you can think of. Enjoy!
Notes
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The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost serving (1 tbsp.): $0.22
- Total Cost (8 oz. jar): $2.40
- Those Other Guys: $2.53 per jar
Leslie Gardone says
Fast, easy and delicious!
Anonymous says
Fantastic recipe!!!!!!