Once you make homemade strawberry chia jam, you’ll never go back to buying store-bought jam again. This jam is fresh, colorful, slightly sweet, and oh-so-spreadable. Enjoy it with your favorite gluten-free crackers, a piece of toasted gluten-free bread, or with a spoon – it’s that good! This post is sponsored by Crunchmaster and contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
Last month, I showed you how I made honey-sweetened homemade peanut butter that tastes fresh, smooth, and absolutely incredible.
And in this post, I’ll show you how to make the perfect complement to fresh peanut butter, and that is with fresh jam.
This is no ordinary jam; rather, it’s a chunky and sweet strawberry chia jam that tastes incredible. You’ll go back to eating store-bought jam after eating this!
This jam is loaded with fresh strawberries and a squeeze of fresh lemon. It’s sweetened with raw honey, which you can adjust to taste. And it’s thickened with chia seeds that help the jam gel up without the need for pectin or thickeners.
About Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are a rich source of fiber, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. They’re particularly high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for brain and heart health.
These tiny seeds absorb up to ten times their weight in water, soaking up the liquid from the strawberries to give the jam its gel-like consistency.
Chia seeds also contain prebiotics, which are known to feed beneficial gut bacteria. It’s why chia seeds are an excellent food for good digestion.
How to Enjoy Strawberry Chia Jam
Once you have a jar of this delicious jam in your fridge, you can enjoy it with toasted gluten-free bread or make a peanut butter and jam sandwich.
I enjoy the jam as a snack with crackers too. I particularly enjoy Crunchmaster Oatmeal Minis, which are mini oat crackers that come in various flavors, including Strawberries and Cream, which perfectly complement the strawberry chia jam.
You can find the oatmeal minis in the Crunchmaster online store and select grocery stores in the U.S.
How to Make Strawberry Chia Jam
You won’t believe how easy it is to make homemade strawberry chia jam.
(1) Wash and remove the stems of fresh strawberries, then cut them into quarters. You’ll need 2 ½ – 3 cups of strawberries (measured when sliced) to make enough jam to fill a small eight-ounce mason jar.
(2) Place the strawberries in a medium-sized pot over medium heat, stirring often until they soften and release their juices. The strawberries will take about 5-8 minutes to cook down.
(3) Remove the pot of strawberries from the heat and use a potato masher to break them down into small chunks.
(4) Add the juice of ½ of a lemon and two tablespoons of raw honey. Depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, you may need more or less honey. Adjust to taste.
(5) Add two tablespoons of chia seeds and mix until incorporated. The mixture will begin to gel as the chia seeds soak up the juices from the strawberries. As the jam cools, it will become solidified into its signature gel-like texture.
(6) Add the jam to an 8-ounce wide-mouthed mason jar, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour. The longer the jam cools, the more it will solidify.
Store leftover jam in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to one week.
Enjoy the delicious jam with breakfast toast, for lunch in a classic PB&J, or as a mid-afternoon snack with your favorite cracker. The strawberries and cream-flavored Oatmeal Minis from Crunchmaster offer a double-strawberry whammy!
FAQs, Substitutes, Suggestions
Below are answers to some of your most common questions:
Can I use frozen strawberries? You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. Adjust the cooking time as necessary.
Can I use other sweeteners? You can use any sweetener, such as granulated sugar or monk fruit sweetener. Depending on the sweetness of your strawberries and how sweet you like your jam, you’ll need to adjust the amount of sweetener to taste.
Help, my jam is runny? If your jam is runny, consider adding more chia seeds. The chia seeds will soak up the liquid, and help gel the mixture. A little chia goes a long way!
Can I freeze the jam? I haven’t tried to freeze the jam, so I’m not sure, but I think it’s best enjoyed within the week.
Additional Recipes
Enjoy these recipes:
- How to Make Homemade Honey-Sweetened Peanut Butter
- Gluten-Free Raspberry Bars
- Gluten-Free Jelly Donuts – New and Improved Recipe
- Christmas Charcuterie Board
4-Ingredient Strawberry Chia Jam
Equipment
- 1 medium pot
- 1 8-ounce mason jar or glass container
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups fresh strawberries sliced
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp raw honey more to taste
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
- Wash and remove the stems of fresh strawberries, then cut them into quarters.
- Place the strawberries in a medium-sized pot over medium heat, stirring often until they soften and release their juices. The strawberries will take about 5-8 minutes to cook down.
- Remove the pot of strawberries from the heat and use a potato masher to break them down into small chunks.
- Add the lemon juice and raw honey.
- Add chia seeds and mix until incorporated. The mixture will begin to gel as the chia seeds soak up the juices from the strawberries. As the jam cools, it will become solidified into its signature gel-like texture.
- Taste the jam and add more honey, if needed. The sweetness may need to be adjusted depending if the strawberries are sweet or tart.
- Add the jam to an 8-ounce wide-mouthed mason jar, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour. The longer the jam cools, the more it will solidify.
- Store leftover jam in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to one week.
I’m excited to try this! I usually make freezer jam with pectin, but like the simplicity of this recipe!
Joy