This quick and easy homemade strawberry jam recipe (aka strawberry freezer jam) is delicious! It tastes as good slathered toast as it does drizzled over ice cream or cheesecake. And it’s what I use to make one of our all-time favorite strawberry desserts — Italian strawberry crostata (and little strawberry jam cookies from the leftover crostata dough). This is a fresh strawberry jam recipe, but it works just as well if you use frozen strawberries (I’ve done it many times). The best part — you get to adjust the sugar to your liking (or dietary needs). Read on to discover my not-so-secret ingredient that makes this strawberry jam taste even better.

zigzagged edged lattice top covered strawberry jam crostata in a diamond pattern

a bite of cheesecake in a small spoon and drizzled with strawberry sauce and a biscoff crust with the rest of the cheesecake in an individual terra cotta ramekin typically used for creme cramel

assembled and unbaked strawberry crostata with homemade strawberry jam and fresh sliced strawberries resting under leftover pieces of zigzagged edged lattice top

Why We LOVE This Homemade Strawberry Jam (Strawberry Preserves)

It’s super easy and ready from start to finish in 30 minutes (and that includes prep)
It tastes like summer strawberries through and through
You decide how sweet (or not sweet) you want to make it
A great homemade jam recipe that kids can help make
There are no added preservatives or dyes (just all-natural fruit and sugar)
This is a no-pectin strawberry jam recipe (which saves money and time)
This jam requires no hot water bath and you don’t have to sterilize the jars
Easily double the batch to make the easiest strawberry freezer jam
Adding a little blood orange juice (or regular orange juice) makes the strawberry flavor burst even more

a spoon full of strawberry jam on a plate

a tablespoon full of white sugar held above a pot filled with chopped strawberries

half of a blood orange and half of a lemon ready for the juice to be added to the fruit and sugar

Easy Homemade No-Pectin Strawberry Jam Ingredients (Strawberry Freezer Jam)

All you really need to make homemade strawberry jam or strawberry preserves is fresh or frozen strawberries, sugar, and a little lemon juice. But I like to add my “secret” ingredient (a little homemade blood orange juice or regular orange juice) which adds something amazing to the overall flavor. In fact, it helps brings out the “strawberrieness” in the strawberries. I’ve been using this trick to enhance the flavor of strawberry sauces, jams, and coulis for the better part of 20 years now and hopefully you’ll love it as much as we do.

fresh or frozen strawberries
granulated sugar
freshly squeezed blood orange juice (or regular orange juice)
freshly squeezed lemon juice

A few things to remember: before adding sugar, first understand how naturally sweet or tart the strawberries are. You may need to add just a bit more (or less sugar) to balance the sweetness and tartness of the fruit. Just be sure to use at least one tablespoon of lemon juice which is necessary to help the jam jell (because the acidity lowers the pH in the mixture).

a view down into a widemouth Mason Ball glass canning jar filled with bright deep red homemade strawberry jam

How to Adjust the Sugar in Homemade Strawberry Jam (to Make a Lower Sugar Jam)

With homemade freezer jams or jams you just plan to cook and refrigerate for a week or two, it’s easy to play around with the level of fruit and sugar in the recipe. This is because when you’re not making a jam that needs to be shelf-stable (like a traditional preserved or canned jam, you can add less acidity and sugar than a typical jam calls for. If you have dietary restrictions or just want to eat less sugar, making your own homemade jam is a great solution.

All fruit (whether fresh or frozen) have different levels of natural acidity and sweetness. And making any jam requires natural pectin from the fruit, acidity (usually lemon juice) to lower the pH in the mixture (which helps it to jell properly), and sugar (which also helps homemade jam to set properly).

You may use the precise measurements called for in this recipe, or feel free to add a little more (or less sugar) depending on the natural sweetness of your fruit. If you add less sugar, you may have a less “set” jam which is still delicious and often what homemade Italian marmellata is like, or you may need to cook it just a few minutes longer.

squeezing blood orange juice into the strawberry sugar mixture

How to Make Strawberry Jam From Scratch — Measure, Cook, Set & Serve.

If you’ve ever wondered “how do I make strawberry jam”, you’re in the right place. Making strawberry freezer jam or jam you plan on storing in the fridge, is really quick and easy. Follow these simple steps and enjoy the taste of sweet strawberries on all your favorite desserts or breakfast goodies. Once you make this, you’ll never look back.

Measure the ingredients. In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, add the chopped strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice and stir well to combine.
Make the strawberry jam. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and cook stirring frequently to avoid scorching for 25 to 27 minutes, or until the strawberries are mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon (see photos). Remove from the heat and ladle the jam into a heatproof glass canning jar (Mason/Ball/Kerr/Weck/Quattro Stagione) and allow it to cool to room temperature. Use right away, or refrigerate which will further set the homemade jam. Store for 2 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 1 year in the freezer. Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam recipe step-by-step photos

a thicker and more foamy boiling strawberry jam mixture

a super pink and foamy a thicker boiling strawberry jam mixture with the liquid noticeably reduced

a spoon with homemade fruit sauce and a finger has swiped horizontally across the back of the spoon leaving a clean spot that the sauce is not dripping into

A jar full of homemade strawberry jam without pectin

(Below) How a Finished Strawberry Jam Should Coat the Back of a Spoon

How Can You Tell When Homemade Jam is Set Properly?

When homemade jam has jelled properly, it should coat the back of a spoon and when you swipe a finger through it, the swiped area should remain clean without any sauce dripping down into the “clean” just-swiped area (see the photo example above). It should also have 2 drips coming off of the spoon after dipping it into the jam instead of a single drip.

Can you Freeze Homemade Jam in Glass Canning Jars (like Ball/Mason/Kerr/Weck/Quattro Stagione)?

Yes, you can freeze jam (even other items like soup, broth, etc.) in tempered glass jars like Ball, Mason, Kerr, Weck, and Bormiolo Rocco (Quattro Stagione), but you need to make sure to leave at least an inch or more of headspace (unfilled area at the top) so that as the jam or other ingredient freezes and expands, it won’t break the jar.

How Long Does Homemade StrawberryJam Last (in the Refrigerator and Freezer)?

When stored properly in an airtight container, homemade strawberry jam lasts in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks and you can freeze it for up to 1 year but it probably will never last that long because it’s delicious.

Can You Use Frozen Strawberries or Other Berries to Make Homemade Jam?

Yes, you can definitely use frozen berries and stone fruits to make the best homemade jams. Frozen strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots, and even peaches all make great homemade jams. Just be sure to purchase only frozen fruit without added sugar (so you have control over the amount of sugar), and always add all the contents of the container including any juice from the fruit.

a spoon full of homemade strawberry jam being taken out of the widemouth mason Ball jar

Ways to Use This Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce

strawberry scone with homemade clotted cream and a scoop of strawberry sauce topped with the scone top and the plate dusted with pureed freeze-dried strawberries and three dots of strawberry sauce

a whole and beautiful key lime pie baked in a spring from cake pan

stack of beautifully fluffy golden pancakes with a fat pat of butter melting in the middle of a homemade berry sauce dripping on 3 sides and maple syrup oozing off the pile of pancakes creating a pool around the pancakes

vanilla bean-speckled white chocolate lemon poppyseed panna cotta in the shape of a Pandora star with the seeds and lemon zest visibly concentrated on top with a perfect squeeze of dark berry sauce in the middle and chopped pink white chocolate pieces as decoration and a spoonful removed

golden brown crêpe cooking in a crepe pan

a golden brown lattice-topped cherry crostata di marmellata with hearts

Depending on how you will use this 15-minute strawberry fruit sauce, you can make it as sweet or tart as you want. Below are a few tasty recipes that this strawberry sauce pairs perfectly with.

Let’s get started!

No-Fuss 30-Minute Homemade Strawberry Jam (No Pectin Recipe)

Author: Kelly
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12 1/2 ounces (360g) of Jam 1x
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

This quick and easy homemade strawberry jam recipe (aka strawberry freezer jam) is delicious and tastes as good on slathered toast as it does drizzled over ice cream or cheesecake. The best part — you can use fresh or frozen strawberries and you get to adjust the sugar to your liking (or dietary needs). See the recipe below to discover my “secret” ingredient that makes this strawberry jam taste even better.

Ingredients

Scale

17.6 ounces fresh or frozen strawberries, diced (500g)
3/4 cup granulated sugar, or more to taste (150g)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed blood orange juice (15g) (sub regular navel, clementine, or mandarine juice)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (15g)

Instructions

Measure the ingredients. In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, add the chopped strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice and stir well to combine.
Make the strawberry jam. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and cook stirring frequently to avoid scorching for 25 to 27 minutes, or until the strawberries are mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon (see photos). Remove from the heat and ladle the jam into a heatproof glass canning jar (Mason/Ball/Kerr/Weck/Quattro Stagione) and allow it to cool to room temperature. Use right away, or refrigerate which will further set the homemade jam. Store for 2 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 1 year in the freezer. Enjoy!

Notes

A few things to remember: Before adding sugar, first understand how naturally sweet or tart the strawberries are. You may need to add just a bit more (or less sugar) to balance sweetness and tartness. Just be sure to use at least one tablespoon of lemon juice which is necessary to help the jam jell (because the acidity lowers the pH in the mixture).
For an even lower-sugar strawberry jam Use 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons (130g). It’s still plenty sweet and really lets the strawberries shine.
I don’t skin the strawberry jam as it cooks because I don’t mind the foam (and it settles and all but disappears after setting up anyway). To me, that’s just more jam we could be adding to a piece of toast. But feel free to skin the foam off the jam as it cooks.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Category: Condiments + Sauces + Dips
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 tablespoons

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How to Make 30-Minute Homemade Strawberry Jam (Without Pectin)