Fresh Chia Seed Jam using frozen strawberries is a great way to use up freshly picked strawberries or frozen berries! You can use any frozen or fresh fruit that you would use to make homemade jam.
This is chia seed jam recipe is a healthy jam recipe you can feel good about serving to your family and so much better than store bought jam. Even get the kids involved, they’ll love mashing the berries with a potato masher. Frozen fruit or fresh fruit works and once you stir in chia seeds it magically thickens up and kids watching the process. The jam will thicken in the refrigerator and the total time it takes to make this recipe is about 10 to 15 minutes.
read chia seeds benefits and nutrition
While berries are naturally sweet sometimes we do add a little bit of a natural sweetener like maple syrup to this jam. This is especially true for frozen, sometimes they’re just not as sweet as fresh and maple syrup definitely helps make it a sweeter, but not an overly sweet jam.
ingredients in chia seed jam
- Strawberries: You can use any type of berry, for this recipe we’re using frozen strawberries.
- Chia Seeds: Chia seeds allow the jam to become jelly – they absorb 10-12 times their water when they gel up.
- Lemon: The acidity in lemon brings out the flavor of the berries and also helps preserve it a little longer.
- Maple Syrup: Sometimes berries aren’t the sweetest they can be and need a little help. Our preferred sweetener is maple syrup.
how to make chia seed jam
- Cooking: Cook the strawberries in a small saucepan until they’re cooked down, then you’ll mash the fruit using a potato masher.
- Reduce: After mashing allow the jam to reduce for 1-2 minutes and then remove from the heat.
- Combine: Add in the lemon juice, maple syrup, and chia seeds and stir to combine.
- Refrigerate: Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Refrigerating the chia seed jam not only allows it to cool but also allows the chia seeds to fully gel and thicken the jam.
Can I freeze this to make it last longer?
Is it safe to can chia seed jam?
ways to use strawberry jam
We love mixing into yogurt, in pancake batter to make strawberry pancakes, poured over banana ice cream, over oatmeal, in baked goods, spread onto toast, or even on some freshly baked biscuits.
recipe notes:
- This is a refrigerated jam and not meant for canning.
- Make it smooth by using your blender or an immersion blender.
- Freeze portions if you won’t be able to finish within the week, it’s freezer friendly. Let it set overnight in the refrigerator before freezing.
- You can use white chia seeds or black chia seeds – we used black in this recipe.
- Feel free to swap out strawberries for other berries or even do a mix of berries.
- Make sure you’re stirring occasionally and keep an eye on the berries as they cook quickly, don’t let the strawberry juice burn.
- Easily make this without any added sugar or you can use your preferred sweetener if the berries aren’t sweet.
Chia Seed Jam
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen strawberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
Instructions
- Place the frozen strawberries into a small saucepan and cook on medium heat.
- Stir the strawberries until they start to break down, once they're no longer frozen use a potato masher to mash the berries.
- Cook the berries for another 2 minutes after mashing to reduce and thicken the liquid.
- Remove from the heat and add in the lemon juice, maple syrup, and chia seeds, stir to combine.
- Pour the chia seed jam into a mason jar and then refrigerate for 1-2 hours before enjoying.
Notes
- This is a refrigerated jam and not meant for canning.
- You can use white chia seeds or black chia seeds.
- Feel free to swap out strawberries for other berries or even do a mix of berries.
- Make it smooth by using your blender or an immersion blender.
- Freeze portions if you won't be able to finish within the week, it's freezer friendly. Let it set overnight in the refrigerator before freezing.
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