This strawberry chia seed jam is an easy and delicious spread, sweetened only with maple syrup and whole strawberries. Plus, no pectin needed!

I feel a little late to the party with chia seed jam. I’d seed food bloggers post about it in the past but always blew it off, thinking it was too much work. I was so wrong. Chia seed jam is very easy to make, and there are so many flavor combinations you can try!

With it being the middle of November, berries are out of season and quite expensive. So instead of shelling out $8.00 for a pound of fresh berries (I just couldn’t justify spending that much to make jam), I headed over to the frozen section and grabbed a much cheaper bag of frozen strawberries. While I can’t compare using fresh to frozen, I can tell you that this jam turned out exactly as I’d hoped. So, if you’re like me and craving some homemade jam in the winter, feel free to use frozen fruit.

Traditional homemade jam requires buying pectin to help the fruit “gel” together and doing spoon tests to get the consistency just right. This recipe varies by using chia seeds, no spoon test needed, and much less sugar to get the desired consistency.

In case you aren’t familiar with them, chia seeds are a trendy superfood that is worth its newfound popularity. Similar to flax seeds, chia seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids as well as many important minerals. Just 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) contains 11 grams of fiber, 4 grams protein, 5 grams omega-3 fatty acids, 18% RDA for calcium, 30% RDA of magnesium, and 27% RDA for phosphorous. All of that in just 137 calories!

While chia seeds go great sprinkled over a salad or bowl of yogurt, their true magic is when they’re combined with a liquid. Mix a tablespoon or two of chia seeds with water and within ten minutes a gel will form. Many vegans use this chia seed “gel” as an egg replacement, but for our purposes today, this gelling makes chia seeds the perfect substitute for pectin.

Unlike most jams sold in the store, this chia seed jam contains just 2 tablespoons of maple syrup for the whole batch. That adds up to just 3 grams of sugar per 2 tablespoons of jam – not bad at all, especially when compared to standard store-bought strawberry jam which contains 24 grams of sugar per 2 tablespoons!

I’ve been loving this jam on slices of sourdough toast, but it also goes great swirled into yogurt and oatmeal!

So here’s a toast to getting your jam on this winter!

Print Recipe

Strawberry Seed Jam

This strawberry chia seed jam is an easy and delicious spread, sweetened only with maple syrup and whole strawberries. Plus, no pectin needed!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Homemade, Jam, Strawberry

Servings: 16

Author: The Healthy Toast

Ingredients

• 1 lb frozen strawberries
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Place medium-sized pot on stove over medium heat.
• Add strawberries and maple syrup. Stir frequently until boiling (depending on your stove may take about 10 minutes).
• Carefully mash strawberries with a fork or masher and continue to cook until it begins to thicken.
• Taste and adjust sweetness as desired.
• Stir in chia seeds and allow to boil for 1 minute.
• Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract, and let it sit for 10 minutes so the jam can thicken.
• Pour into a glass container and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Notes

Nutrition per 2 tablespoons: 24 calories, 0 g fat, 4 g carbohydrate, 3 g sugar, 1 g protein

Adapted from Oh My Veggies

Don’t own any chia seeds? You can find them in the bulk bin aisle of most grocery stores, but I prefer buying mine online.