Paleo Homemade Strawberry Jam
Paleo Homemade Strawberry Jam is a tasty spread that’s perfect on toast or for PB&J. It’s made with fresh strawberries, honey, chia seeds and lemon juice. Even though there’s no sugar, it’s completely delicious!
Have you ever made homemade jam? It’s something I’ve wanted to make for SO many years! But I put it off because it seemed sort of complicated to me. This whole business about sterilizing jars in a water bath, then boiling the filled jars again sounded like a whole lot of trouble. It also would require a bit of research. So my lazy instincts kicked in and I decided to try it one day far far into the future.
Fast forward about twenty years and now that day has arrived! I’m here to report that I FINALLY made my own jam.
I tried the Whole30 diet over the Summer and have since been experimenting with Paleo recipes. It’s hard to find jams without added sweeteners in the grocery store, so I decided to make my own.
I also decided not to worry about the boiling of the jars part of the process, so this recipe is for jam that you will consume in a couple of weeks. This isn’t a preserves recipe. But eating the jam in a couple of weeks turned out just fine because it’s so DELICIOUS. I also gave a jar to my neighbor. The recipe makes a total of 3 small jars.
I love that this Paleo Homemade Strawberry Jam contains chia seeds too. It bumps up the nutrition value and also acts as a thickening agent.
Benefits of Chia Seeds
• Good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and calcium
• Nearly 5 grams of fiber per tablespoon
• Can be used as an egg substitute by adding water
• Provides added protein in your diet
How to Make Paleo Homemade Strawberry Jam
1) Bring strawberries, honey, lemon zest and lemon juice to a boil on medium heat.
2) Stir constantly until it thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.
3) Mash slightly with a potato masher. Remove from heat and add chia seeds.
4) Let cool and pour into jars.
5) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
This jam is perfect for spreading on your favorite biscuit or scone. I especially enjoyed having it on homemade paleo orange scones. Stay tuned for that recipe.
Isn’t it fun to finally make something you’ve always wanted to try? I must say, I felt quite accomplished after producing my 4 little jars of strawberry jam. I see lots more jam making in my near future.
Next time, I’m tackling the actual preservation process. I’m going to do the whole jar boiling thing so I can preserve some jam for the Winter. Yay! I’m excited.
What kind of jam should I make next?
Tools for success
Le Crueset 5.25 Quart Dutch Oven
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Paleo Homemade Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries, cut in half, use really sweet strawberries, if possible
- 1/4 cup honey, or more, if desired
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
Instructions
- Place the strawberries in a large pot. Add honey, lemon zest and lemon juice and heat over medium high heat.
- Bring to a boil and stir constantly until mixtures thickens. This should take about 10-20 minutes. You don't want it too thick. Use a potato masher to mash up the strawberries slightly.
- Taste to check if the jam is sweet enough. Be careful not to burn your tongue. Add more honey, if desired, one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired sweetness.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the chia seeds.
- Let cool and then pour into clean jars. I used 4 small (8 ounce) canning jars. Store jam in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It also freezes well.
- Note: If you would like to preserve the jam for a longer shelf life, you will need to sterilize the jars. I'm not an expert at this, but I found this article with information on sterilizing jars for canning: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/how-to-preserve
Did you make this recipe?
Please let us know by leaving a star rating and review!You might also like Paleo Silver Dollar Pancakes
Or Paleo Orange Blueberry Muffins
This Paleo recipe is great for kids… Homemade Healthy Gummy Bears
All text and images © Lise Ode for Mom Loves Baking. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate. This post may contain affiliate links.
Can I use something besides lemon juice? It makes it too tart for my kids.
No but you could add more honey.
Hi Lise it’s a great recipe I’m going to make this jam but boiling honey turns it toxic you shouldn’t even put it in a very hot tea but boiling it for quite some time is not a good idea.
What are the serving sizes?