Quick Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe
How to Make Freezer-Friendly Strawberry Jam
Once you’ve tried this homemade strawberry jam recipe, you’ll never want to buy store bought ever again. The flavor, the texture, everything about it is just so much better!
Now, it may seem like a hassle to make your own jam, but with a bit of time and some tips and tricks that we’ll show you, it’s actually pretty easy (and totally worth it). You can make enough jam in one day to last for months, and you can even give some to friends and family (if you’re willing to share)!
Another big perk of homemade freezer jam is that you can choose all of the ingredients. You could go organic, lower carb, or whatever works best for you depending on the fruit, sweetener, and pectin that you choose!
Supplies for 1 Batch of this freezer jam recipe:
- Strawberries
- Sugar (Splenda or Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener work great too)
- Ball Real Fruit Instant Pectin
- Containers
Helpful Tools:
- Blender (a Blendtec or Vitamix blender will bust this out fast for you, plus it’s awesome for a million other things!)
- KitchenAid (another wonderful multipurpose tool) or whisk (best whisk ever)
- Huller (FYI – the Chef’n brand is better than the similar off-brands, in my experience)
- Spatula
Step 1. Prep
Any big project will go smoother if you start in a clean kitchen! Plus having a helper is always nice! So, get everything organized and laid out so that everything goes smoothly!
Step 2. Washing the Strawberries
In my recipe, I use 2 pounds of strawberries at a time to make it nice and easy for measuring. Plus, the pectin container instructions state that you don’t want to do a batch any bigger than that at one time because it may not set right.
After dividing it all up, it is time to wash.
Strawberries need more than just a rinse under the faucet. They are dirty! Get a little assembly line of 2 big bowls and a strainer going before you hull them.
Step 3. Hulling the Strawberries
A knife works fine, but I prefer this strawberry huller. It makes the process a little bit safer and reduces strawberry waste!
The more of the white tasteless stem you can get out the better your jam will taste.
Just remember that one pound of strawberries is about 2 cups of pureed strawberries. For this recipe you need 4 cups puree, so use 2 pounds strawberries.
Step 4. Pureeing the Strawberries
Here’s one huge time saver…have a good blender that will puree your strawberries quickly! If you like your jam a little more chunky, just puree half the strawberries in your batch for a shorter time.
My blender purees the strawberries in less than 30 seconds!
Step 5. Mixing the Pectin and Sugar
In a separate bowl, whisk together 5 tablespoons of pectin and 1.5 cups of sugar. Just use a wire whisk and you can have it blended well after 30 seconds of some brisk whisking!
Step 6. Mixing the Jam
For this step, if you have a KitchenAid, USE IT! If you don’t have one, save up and buy one! It will change your life! Think about this for a minute…
3 minutes x 30 batches = 90 minutes
I can shave 90 minutes off my total prep time! Because of the KitchenAid, I was able to multitask! See how much time this amazing tool can save you!? (Not to mention the sore muscles!)
Back to the recipe, pour your pectin and sugar mixture in first. Then pour in 4 cups of strawberry puree. I like to use my spatula and scrape the bottom of the KitchenAid bowl before I turn it on.
Mix at the lowest speed using the whisk attachment and have it stir for 3 minutes while you work on your jam. That’s right, 3 minutes of multitasking! Woot! Of course, you can whisk it by hand instead, if you want!
Step 7. Store it
Once your jam is nice and blended (don’t forget… 3 minutes!) pour your jam into containers. You can do any size container.
Some people like to put one batch into one big container, but I prefer 2 cups/pint or half pint reusable containers. This way the jam is consumed before it becomes a big sticky mess (and the containers stack better in my freezer than jars).
Let the jam set for 30 minutes before you put it in the freezer. It’s good in the freezer for 1 year and good in the fridge for 3 weeks.
(Optional) Making Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
Want to make some Strawberry Lemonade concentrate too? Yes! I simply use this Homemade Strawberry Lemonade recipe and leave the water out of the mixture.
I pour the concentrate into quart sized freezer bags and write the directions on the front. On Father’s Day, we took a bag out of the freezer and let it soften a bit and then added Sprite to it. Oh my goodness, THAT was yummy!
Final Thoughts
In the end, we can get 70 containers in the freezer and 8 bags of Strawberry Lemonade in about 6 hours. We have fun working together and the other kids pop in and out and help in their own special way as well!
Want to adjust the recipe? Use this cool tool on the Ball Real Fruit Pectin website.
What tips do you have for making jam?
Other favorite recipes you might like:
- Delicious homemade bread (to put my jam on!)
- Easy Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Recipe (you can freeze the concentrate too!)
- How to make your Strawberries Last Longer
- Gluten Free: Strawberry Yogurt Lime Smoothie
- Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe
- Basic Cheesecake Recipe with Strawberry Topping
- Strawberry Shortcake on a Stick
- Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake
- Kid Friendly Strawberry Spinach Smoothie
- 3 Ingredient Good Till the Last Bite Strawberry Pie
- Low Carb Raspberry Chia Jam
Quick Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds strawberries
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 5 tablespoons Ball brand “Real Fruit Instant Pectin”
Instructions
- Wash, stem, and puree 2 pounds of strawberries.
- In a large bowl, briskly whisk together 1 ½ cups of sugar and 5 tablespoons of pectin.
- Add the pureed strawberries to the pectin/sugar mixture and whisk for 3 minutes, making sure to scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
- Pour or ladle into desired freezer-safe containers, leaving at least a 1/2 inch of open space at the top for expansion, then let it set for 30 minutes before freezing.
- Makes 6 half pints (or about 6 cups) of jam.
Recipe Notes
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we use Splenda in ours because we have friends and family who are diabetic – such great flavor – we grow our own strawberries and make jam every year
Thanks for the tip Leland! I updated the post to let people know Splenda is a good option as well.
SPLENDA!!?!?!? What, are you crazy?!?!?!?
do you also drink the chlorine from your swimming pool????
I’m not a personal fan of Splenda, but others are. 🙂
Has anyone tried this with Truvia or Stevia instead of Splenda? And is the ratio of splenda to sugar the same? So would the ratio of Stevia to sugar be the same?
Thanks!
I used Splenda & used the same amount. They turned out awesome! You can probably go to the Truvia or Stevia websites for the info you need.
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I used splenda in everything or I could not have half of what I do eat as I am diabetic! It tastes fine in jelly and is equal to the amount of sugar I would normally use.
Can I use half splenda and half sugar?
You could definitely test it out! I haven’t done that myself. If you do, please let us know how it turns out!
You forgot the fresh lemon. It has to have lemon to jell properly.
Actually you don’t with this “instant” pectin recipe. You don’t cook it either. This is the 3rd year I’ve made my jam with this pectin and it’s wonderful!
Well, I didn’t use lemon and it did not set up. I’m very disappointed. I guess we now have very sweet ice cream topping.
How much lemon, and when in the process?
Which pectin did you use?
I’ve used this recipe as is and out works every time!
Would love to try this will have to be on the lookout for the next strawberry sale
Can you tell us how to make the concentrate recipe for the strawberry lemonade?
You just follow the directions in this recipe {https://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2012/06/easy-homemade-strawberry-lemonade-recipe.html}, but omit the 5 cups of water. Freeze the concentrate and when you’re ready to use it, add the water.
Thank you for all your details! I made freezer jam last week as teacher gifts and searched a variety of recipes online and this explanation and pictures were the best. Question though: if I let a jar sit out on the counter for 3-4 days is it ok? I froze the rest but one was sitting out as a gift and now I’m wondering if that’s ok??
Glad you like it Cheryl! Thank you! As for the one left out for 3-4 days, I think it will have a weird taste to it. I left some out a few years ago (can’t remember how long) and I ended up throwing it out because it had this weird metallic taste to it. 🙁
thank you!
Hi Cathy, do you think it’s OK to use less sugar in this recipe since the puree doesn’t have to be cooked? I find most jams too sweet so this could work out for me if I can use less…
On my first 4 batches, I had packets (same company, diff packaging) that I bought last year that called for 1.5 cups of sugar. The stuff I bought this year called for 1 2/3 cups. I still just did 1.5. Do a test batch and see how it goes. Before I did this quick method, I always used the low sugar pectin and thought it tasted wonderful!
Thanks, Cathy! I’ve done some checking around and it actually seems that 1 1/2 cups sugar to 4 cups of fruit IS considered low sugar…some recipes call for much more than that, ick! I’ll be giving this a try!
I always use half the sugar it calls for, and it turns out great!
Kari, do you use the instant method (no cooking involved)? And no problems with the jam not setting with less sugar? That seems to be the issue some people run into when using less sugar… Thanks!
Yes, I use instant (no-cook) ball pectin, and use half the sugar. It sets up nicely. I’ve been doing it this way for a few years now.
Kari…have you done that with RASPberries? i love raspberry freezer jam but my recipe (Sure-Jel) calls for an ungodly amt of sugar. Even the Ball recipe using the Classic pectin calls for 5 1/4 cups sugar -to- 3 cups of raspberries…YIKES. Thanks~
Raspberry would work great. This works with any fruit. When you do peaches it has you add lemon juice to prevent browning.
Great tip Donnalee!
Want freezer jam all year long but short on freezer space? Learned a trick a few years ago — go ahead and do the berry crushing/blending and then freeze. I like to measure amount needed for one batch of jam into ziploc. Label and freeze. Then when we are out of freezer jam, pull out a bag or two and make more jam.
Nice tip! Plus you could throw that in smoothies and shakes, eh? 🙂
Grapefruit spoons for hulling strawberries is the easiest, fastest, cleanest way to prep fruit! You don’t lose any fruit from a straight across cut with a knife and you’re able to get the whole center. I some how ended up with a set of 4 even though we never eat grapefruit! But I won’t get rid of them for this one reason!
I should have clarified that mine have little “teeth” at the end of them, they’re not just little spoons which quite often are sold for grapefruit. They’re the same size as our baby spoons but with little sharp teeth at the end – which makes it that much more important to put them in the right drawer! 🙂
I like that tip Tara!
A faster easier way to take the tops off strawberries is using a plastic drinking straw. Hold the berry in one hand, push the straw up from the bottom of the berry with the other hand. Plastic drinking straws are very sharp and can easily cut through the berry. As you push up, the white center will will go inside the straw and kind of guide the straw to take the green top off. If you don’t get all of the top the first time, simply pull the straw back and aim again. I’m sure you can find an example of this n Pintrest or You. Tube.
Cool, great tip Lorraine!!! I love it!
How well do the deli containers work for jam? Have you used them before? Curious as some friends and I are going to make freezer jam in a few weeks and we all need containers.
I’ve always bought the Ziploc or Hefty disposable stuff. Because I was down to one that had a matching lid, I bought new ones at the dollar store. They said they were freezer safe, so I think they’ll be just fine! The ones with the blue lids felt a bit more durable than the circle ones you see in the picture.
I just made a batch of this jam…and I wasn’t looking closely and accidentally used the Classic Pectin, does that mean this batch is ruined or is it still edible? Anybody know? 🙁 I’ve already made a 2nd batch with the Instant Pectin and it’s setting a lot better!
I’m not sure that it will set. Does it taste OK?
We made some that didn’t set very well a couple of years ago, and we just used it as Strawberry ice cream topping! So as long as it tastes good, it isn’t wasted!
i had a batch a few years ago that didn’t set as much as usual. we either used it straight out of the freezer on sandwiches or used it to top oven pancake (dutch babies).
Great alternative!
I used a straw to hull my berries, it works great and works wonders if you are like me and forget to order a tool before you start your jam 🙂
https://thesupersavermom.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-easily-hull-strawberries.html
Thanks for the recipe. I just made 13 batches of jam and a strawberry pie.
Does this make 4.5 pints or 4.5 cups? One pint = 2 cups. Also, does anyone know what store in the Northern Utah area has this in stock?
Thanks!
Sorry. It’s 4.5 cups (or 9 pints)/
But 1 pint equals 2 cups… so is it 9 cups/4.5 pints? or 9 pints/18 cups?
Mine is making about 5.5 half pints or 5.5 cups but I am not filling up all the way. I was counting 9 pints as in 18 cups and I don’t think I will have enough strawberries now :-/ I guess it is another trip to the store!
Does this work pound for pound with raspberries? I’m allergic to strawberries but want to try making raspberry or blackberry jam.
Hi Rebecca, it should! If you go here: https://www.freshpreserving.com/tools/reference/pectin.aspx#, you can see how the recipe may vary if you use raspberries.
Getting ready to make this later today! I am using strawberries from our garden. Do you know about how many cups of strawberries are in a pound? I have tried looking but can’t really find a definite answer. I thought I’d go with your suggestion because everything I make of yours always turns out FABULOUS!!!
1 pound is 2 cups pureed! Good luck!
Thanks so so much! So when you use 2 lbs. of strawberries before pureeing, would I measure out 4 cups of strawberries. I don’t have them in pre packaged 1 lb. containers so I am just kind of guessing lol. Sorry if my questions are kinda confusing. I just need to know how many whole strawberries approximately are in a lb. 🙂
It would depend on your size of berries. You could just puree a bunch of them and put them in a pitcher. And then from there you can measure for each batch.
Great idea Cathy! Thanks so much for your help! Made the jam and it turned out delicious!!!
I messed up and used classic pectin, but then I figured it out quickly and was able to redo the batch by adding 5 T of instant pectin. So far, it looks pretty good. I just made it this afternoon, so we’ll see. It seemed to set up, but it was still thick/runny, not a jam-like consistency. Anyone know if this is normal, how long it takes to fully set and if I ruined it by adding instant pectin later?? Thanks all!
How did yours turn out? I did the same thing.
I didn’t realize there were different types of pectin, and I used the “classic” version that Ball makes. So now all of my jam is in tubs and not set. If I go purchase the instant pectin (assuming I can find it) can I pour my “jam” back into the mixer and mix it up with instant pectin and expect it to set?
Sorry Julie, I thought I had covered it through out the post (including a picture and links to the specific product), but do see the need for an added word in the breakdown at the top (even though it was correct in the breakdown at the bottom). Got it fixed!
We tried this recipe for the first time last week, and loved it SO much that we bought more strawberries for another round. We also tried it with raspberries, and it is AWESOME. Not having to cook the jam is fantastic, and the flavor couldn’t be better. Thanks so much for posting it!
So glad to hear you loved it!
Have made freezer jam for years, but, this year we could only find
MCP premium fruit pectin (from makers of Sure-Jell) it had very different directions including -3 1/2 cups berries – 1 pkg pectin – add 1/4 C lemon juice and 1 cup light karo syrup – let stand 30 min stirring every 5 min. then gradually add the sugar and stir until totally dissolved -(we do not have a kitchen aid! we must have stirred it over and hour for the sugar to dissolve!
This was ridiculous. Do you have info about what happened to the recipe where you boil the pectin for 1 minute and pour it into the berries (sugar was already added earlier) then stir about 3 minutes only. Sooo discouraged and also says it may take 3 weeks to set up??? Followed the instructions to the letter on the insert that came with the pectin, any help or comments on this?? Thank you!
Did you look on Amazon? Sorry, this is all I’ve been using. Prior to this I used the SureJel (or SureGel?) low sugar (in the pink box).
Can I use blackberries instead?
This should help you determine what changes to make when using blackberries Stephanie: https://www.freshpreserving.com/tools/reference/pectin.aspx# Good luck!
I made this recipe last night–I used it last year, only one batch, and in small containers.. The only thing is the measurements aren’t right. The final amount you get isn’t what is noted. It says it makes 9 PINTS/4.5 cups… 1 pint=2 cups… So if it really made 9 pints, it would be 18 cups of puree. The correct amount would be that it makes 2 pints and some extra. I used half pint jars, so it all works out..But I was confused half the time on why I didn’t get the amount noted..
Can you can (hot water bath) this recipe?
Yes! But you don’t want to use the instant pectin. Swap it out for Low Sugar or regular pectin. 🙂
Then in Jelly Jars, fill to 1/8 inch of the top of the jar, and process for 10 minutes.
I made your freezer preserves today. (strawberry & blackberry) AWESOME! I used Splenda (I’m sure someone will protest) & they are yummy. I have never used Stevia or Truvia for jelly/jam making. But I am sure it would be worth a try. Thank you for the detailed instructions. I used my food processer & Kitchen Aid Mixer. It was a big help. Thanks bunches!
Incorrect Measurements
Made this last night. It is delicious, however your end-result measurements are incorrect. The finished product does create 4-4.5 cups of jam. However that is NOT 9 pints. A pint is 2 cups. THIS RECIPE MAKES 2 PINTS OF JAM.
I just made the Strawberry Freezer Jam with your recipe and it made exactly 6 cups 8oz cups. That was using 2 lbs of strawberries. I haven’t had any yet but it looks good. A little finger taste test seemed to taste fine. I have always used the Sur-jel which does call for a LOT of sugar. I made Peach and Strawberry Jam with the above earlier. Will compare shortly. I like the fact that this is so easy.
I just made the Strawberry Freezer Jam with your recipe and it made exactly 6 8oz cups. That was using 2 lbs of strawberries. I haven’t had any yet but it looks good. A little finger taste test seemed to taste fine. I have always used the Sur-jel which does call for a LOT of sugar. I made Peach and Strawberry Jam with the above earlier. Will compare shortly. I like the fact that this is so easy.
Thanks for posting I got all the ingredients but the instructions I had were confusing thanks for sharing this helpful post first batch done :O)
You may want to stress the instant pectin for us first time dummies who don’t know that there’s a difference between instant and classic pectin.. it still tasted good, just had to use it as a syrup instead…..
Where do you buy a lot of strawberries like that
Hi Jenny! This particular times I purchased them from Zaycon. They don’t do strawberries anymore. So I just get them from fruit stands that sell the cheap. Seems like the best prices are in the spring.
Does the jam expand in the glass jars add it freezes?
Yes! So be sure to leave some room for expansion. 🙂
My daughter and I made this today. So easy and fast! We took a taste as we poured it into the containers – oh my! Delicious. Thank you for sharing this! .
Awesome, so glad to hear it!
Grrrrr….I did not see that this called for INSTANT Pectin . So, now that it has been sitting in the fridge for 24 hours and is not setting, have you heard from anyone that has fixed this issue (since I see I am not the only one who has made this mistake)? What if I add it all to a sauce pan and heat it….which the standard pectin then be activated? What if dump the whole batch back together and add gelatin? Anyone have any suggestions??
Oh darn LPell! That stinks! I am not sure what will happen here… if nothing else you’ll have some delicious Strawberry Syrup?
I tried this recipe and followed the instructions, but it did not set up. I also tried the instructions on the ball instant pectin packaging, but that didn’t set up either. What am I doing wrong? Can I fix it?
Nothing you can do to fix it, except repurpose it. 🙁 The jam is a little thinner than store bought jam, but still works great for sandwiches, pancakes, and waffles! Is it a runny syrup like consistency? Or just not “thick” jam?