Here's a staple for your fridge: sugar free blueberry jam! Spread on low carb bread or use it as a fruity sauce with yoghurt, pancakes or waffles.
If you ask me about the one thing in our freezer that we never run out, I'd say it's frozen blueberries.We add a few to top a bowl of yoghurt or coconut flour porridge, the kids like to use them in smoothies and they give lovely little bursts of flavour in these grab and go low carb muffins.
My family finish around one bag of blueberries a week, so I have added them to my repeat supermarket delivery order.
Blueberries are high in vitamins, high in antioxidants and have a moderate amount of carbs. 100g of blueberries contain 12g of net carbs, which makes one handful of blueberries - a decent portion - an agreeable 4g net carbs. Here's a handy article by Diet Doctor if you'd like to find out more about the amount of carbs in fruit.
On top of that, frozen blueberries are rather reasonable in price. And whilst you might want to decorate your showstopper cake with fresh berries, for a normal meal the frozen berries will do nicely.
So. Jam. I stopped eating it when I went sugar free. And I missed it. That glistening dollop of fruity deliciousness on a slice of toast... history. Until I started making my raw raspberry chia jam, that is, and my favourite low carb rolls.
Here is a new addition to your low carb jam repertoire that is so ridiculously easy to make you could get your kids to do it for you: sugar free blueberry jam.
Blueberries are so sweet on their own that this jam does not even require extra sweetener. All you need to do is blueberries, lemon, some water and a couple of pinches of xanthan gum to thicken. That's it!
This jam tastes great on bread such as my Rustic Paleo Bread or these low carb English muffins (they're so simple, you make them in the microwave!). It works well as a fruity sauce on almond cream cheese pancakes or these almond butter waffles . I imagine it would also be delicious as a filling for low carb sponge cakes. Plus, you can use it as a filling in my Keto Pop Tarts.
Recipe Tip - How sweet your jam is will depend on the natural sweetness of your blueberries. If you find the jam is not sweet enough, feel free to add a teaspoon or two of powdered erythritol or 4 drops of stevia glycerite.
If you do not have xanthan gum, you can also thicken the jam with ground chia seeds. 1 teaspoon should be enough.
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Sugar Free Blueberry Jam
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 300g blueberries, frozen or fresh
- 2 tablespoon water
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 pinches xanthan gum
- optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Put the blueberries, water and lemon juice (and vanilla, if using) in a non stick pan, cover and bring to a boil.
- Remove the lid and cook on a medium heat for ca 15 minutes, stirring regularly. The mixture will reduce by ⅓ and thicken. Smash the berries with a spoon while they cook.
- You can blend the mixture if you wish to have a smooth consistency. I like it the way it is, with a few bits and pieces in it.
- At the end, take a couple of pinches xanthan gum and sprinkle it evenly into the pot, stirring well afterwards. Xanthan gum is a brilliant thickening agent and is also used in gluten free baking, so it does come in handy. You only need a tiny amount - it's quite remarkable.
- Pour the mixture into a clean jar and store in the fridge. This recipe fills a small (200ml) jar.
Notes
Nutrition
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Dan
I don't have xanthan gum - do you think I could substitute in a few pinches of gelatin?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that would work well.
Ali
I used konjak root instead (glucomannan) and it worked great
Lynne
Just made this jam! Wow! Amazing and delicious! Because of sugar issues, I haven’t had jam in years. So excited to have gluten free bread with this wonderful jam. Thank you!
Micky
This recipe is very similarly to the one I use for compote, with the exception that the latter requires orange juice instead if lemon juice. Never thought to use it as a jam though, so kudos to you. 🙂
Since blueberries produced in South Africa are small and tart rather than plump and sweet, I added 3 tablespoons of erythritol to neutralise the acidity of the lemon juice. It worked brilliantly and didn't require any xanthan gum to thicken it.
This has become my go-to site for vegan-friendly sugar-free recipes since I leaned that I'm allergic to sugar cane and all its derivatives some years ago. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was so easy and quick that I was able to finish a double batch before breakfast.
With berry-season kicking off (and only for a short 3 months), there will be a lot of jam making this spring.
Katrin Nürnberger
So happy you like the jam! Glad yo hear you are enjoying all the sugar free recipes on my website.
Shiehaam
Thank you for your comment, seems my search for a jam came at the right time.
I am in South Africa as well so I appreciate your observations about the berries we have here. I am diabetic and will be trying this jam right now.
Toni Jabben
This was very good. So glad to eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches that are comforting and low carb. I used 1/3 cup + 1 TBSP swerve sweetener & that was perfect for my blueberries.
Carmela
Thank you for an easy and tasty recipe. Made it tonight with a bag of frozen berries, and it came out perfect. A special thank you from my hubby who enjoyed it for dinner with a French baguette and butter.
Mary Nipper
Can you use dried blueberries
Katrin Nürnberger
I don't think that would work so well.
Sandy
Is this shelf stable or only refrigerated?
Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger
I have never tried to can it and always keep it in the fridge.
Sandy
I may make 2 and see what happens with one refrigerated and one on the shelf.
Thanks!
C McElhatten
I think you could hit water bath seal this or you could freeze it! If you pour the very hot jam into hot sterile jars and hot sterile lids it just may seal on its own. Maybe extra lemon juice would help that too. If you try that experiment try not to use the sealed one and watch it closely also be sure to listen and check for the sealed lid. I am thinking of trying this. With other fruits also. I love jams and I am diabetic and blueberries are such a healthy choice for me. I may try the chia or stevia recipe also make a batch with cinnamon and do it like a butter no thickener needed.
Katie
My 5 year old has a recipe in his school book that calls for 5 1/2 cups of sugar! I nearly fell out of my chair! I'm so glad to have found your alternative recipe for his project. We can't wait!
Katrin Nürnberger
Jeez! Let me know how you all like this one instead 🙂
Sherilee Phillips
I’d like to make sugar. Free pepper jam. Can I add jalapeños to this?
Katrin Nürnberger
That's an interesting idea! I don't know how this would taste, but from a technical standpoint it will work!
Marie
I am wondering what are those blueberry balls you show next to the jam? I searched your recipes for blueberries and did not find it, they look delicious too!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Marie, they are just frozen blueberries! 🙂
Mary Kay
Just finished making a batch to go with me homemade bread. Used a bag of frozen blueberries from Dollar Tree. So much cheaper than store bought and so easy. Wonder how frozen strawberries will be. That’ll be next. Thanks for sharing! Delicious!
Carla
I just made this blueberry goodness and can't wait to try it. The recipe called for a couple pinches of xanthan gum and with my being Italian, a pinch for me can be as much as a teaspoon, so I used 1/4 tsp in this recipe and it looks pretty thick. Don't know if it'll continue to thicken as it cools so am unsure if 1/4 tsp was too much.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Carla, for me, a pinch is what you can hold between two pinched fingers, so definitely not as much as 1/4 teaspoon. But I'm sure it will still taste great 🙂
Phil
A pinch is about 1/16 teaspoon so two pinches= 1/8 teaspoon. You can buy measuring spoons that are a pinch, smidge and dash.
Bev Muller
Can I freeze this jam?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, of course!
yvonne herbert
i am using 6 cups for this recipe so it would be 916 grams is that right
thank you
Katrin Nürnberger
That sounds about right!
Heather
Thank you! I had a mango I wanted to use for jam, so I just followed the recipe substituting it in for the berries.
Katrin Nürnberger
That sounds delicious!
Jamie Cooper
Does this jam freeze well? We have access to MANY fruit farms and would like to make big batches to freeze for my two boys (aka food vacuums).
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, you can absolutely freeze this jam!
Katja
This is the first time I made jam, and it turned out sooo great! i was a little skeptical about the Xanthan gum because baking with it can be such a chore. But it turned out great. I'd been wanting to make my own jam for a long time but had been looking for a simple sugar-free recipe. This is it! So great. Thank you.
Oh, also, I dissolved the Xanthan gum in a little bit of water before adding it to the jam, to avoid clumping. Worked great.
Katrin Nürnberger
I'm glad you liked the jam!
Susan Gerrish
I’ve been looking for a way to adapt my jams to be sugar free. I have blueberry & raspberries bushes, so have made jam for years. I’m new to Keto & sugar free cooking. Can’t wait to try this, and figure out how adapt to the canning process.
P.S Your 90 second bread has saved my bread cravings!!!
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you like the bread. Once you have a low carb jam to go with it, you're sorted!
Brendamarie
Can you can this in a hot water bath canner?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Brenda, I have never tried to can my jams. I always store them in the fridge. Since I'm adding the lemon juice they keep for a surprisingly long time - a number of weeks. But I cannot guarantee that you can keep them at room temperature for months on end since we're not using sugar as a preservative.
Karen
I was never interested in making my own jams, until I saw this simple recipe with ingredients I always have on hand. It came out great, and it fit nicely in an empty bottle of store-bought sugar-free preserves. 🙂 Hubby loves it in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I've been making those sandwiches with 90 second bread, but I will definitely get around to making your very popular bread recipes.
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you like the jam. And can't wait to hear how your bread turns out.
MICHELLE
This recipe is so easy and delicious! Blueberries are my favourite fruit!
I've made this 3 times using frozen blueberries. And now since I know how much sweetener I like, i just added granulated sweetener right in with the berries!. it's so easy to adjust to your own personal taste!! .
Nyoka P
Does this thicken as it stands? It's little thin. I used some fresh blueberries and strawberries. Maybe the extra water from the strawberries?
Katrin Nürnberger
It will thicken a little as it cools. But I do recommend to cook it down as much as possible.
Rochelle
Trying this tonight. Plan to use chia seeds, so if I grind them best I can (no spice grinder) will it still be bothersome to teeth as I've heard? Also can I sub the sugar for honey if necessary? Thank you in advance.
Katrin Nürnberger
If you grind the chia seeds, you won't be able to see or taste them. If you don't grind them, they will be soft, but you'll have the little gloopy seeds in your jam. Either way, it won't be bothersome to your teeth. And yes, you can sub the sweetener for honey if you prefer.
Marcia Perry
Wonderful jam recipe! I used freeze-dried blueberries and several teaspoons of erythritol (I like my jam sweet LOL) and it came out perfectly. The thickness was fine, so I didn't even need any xanthan gum. I'm looking forward to summer so I can make it with fresh local blueberries.
mperry
Can one us guar gum instead of xanthan?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that should work.
Leslie A Barberie
Can I make this jam in an instant pot?
Katrin Nürnberger
I haven't tried this yet because I don't have an instant pot. But I think it should work!
Kathy
I plan to make a larger amount to give away at Christmas. Is this jam safe to water bath process, so it can be kept on the shelf before opening?
Katrin Nürnberger
I have never tried to can it and would always keep it in the fridge. You'll definitely need to use lemon juice to preserve it.
Anna M
Natural and healthy like Nature intended!
Thank you for sharing
Bethany McKinven
I have just been looking for an answer to this, how did your batch fair?
Katrin Nürnberger
I find that my jams keep for a few weeks in the fridge. After that, they tend to be finished. I've never had a batch go off. I have a batch of sugar free orange marmalade in the fridge right now that I made in the middle of December (over a month ago) and it's still fine. I think the key is using lemon juice to help preserve it longer.
Audra
So glad I found this recipe!
I made it without the xanthan gum, used Chi seeds as suggested as an alternative (used a spice grinder to grind them fine). Can’t even tell they’re in the jam!
I also included the vanilla and I used about 1/3 cup confectioners Swerve (my berries were a bit too tart by themselves).
I will definitely make this again! Probably will try blackberry or mixed berry next.
Angie
I am going to use chia seeds. But question. Did u add the chai seeds while it’s boiling or afterwords?
Katrin Nürnberger
I added it afterwards, to soak up the remaining liquid.