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.
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.
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Why Blueberries Are Great
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 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.
Why Homemade Blueberry Jam Is Great
Homemade blueberry jam is easy and quick to make, and it taste absolutely delicious.
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!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need for sugar free blueberry jam:
- Blueberries - fresh or frozen
- Water
- Lemon juice
- Xanthan Gum - This helps to thicken the jam. You only need a tiny amount - it's quite remarkable.
- Vanilla extract - this is optional, but elevates the taste. I recommend adding it.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
Making homemade blueberry jam is very simple. Here are the basic steps:
- 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 medium heat for around 15 minutes, stirring regularly. The mixture will reduce by â…“ 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.
- Pour the mixture into a clean jar and store in the fridge. This recipe fills a small (200ml) jar.
Expert Tip
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.
Serving Suggestion
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 FAQs
If you do not have xanthan gum, you can also thicken the jam with ground chia seeds. 1 teaspoon should be enough.
Yes. You can use raspberries, blackberries or peaches. Depending on the tartness of the fruit, add additional sweetness to taste. Or, try my sugar free strawberry jam.
I have never tried it. I recommend storing it in the fridge instead.
Storage
Store this jam in the fridge. It will keep fresh for several weeks as the acid in the lemon preserves it.
If you wish to make a larger batch, I recommend that you freeze the jam for up to 6 months. If you freeze it in ice cube trays, you'll have a steady supply of fresh jam!
More Sugar Free Breakfast Spreads
- Blueberry Cream Cheese20 Minutes
- Simple Sugar Free Nutella15 Minutes
- How To Make Sugar Free Lemon Curd
- Sugar Free Orange Marmalade Recipe (Keto)2 Hours 40 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
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.
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 â…“ 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.
Andrea Brown
I made this yesterday and tried it this morning at breakfast. So, SO, incredibly Good!!! I gave my, regular jam eating, husband a spoonful and he declared it Pretty Darn Good. And he's one of those people who can Always taste artificial sweetener. : D Being a sweet person, I Did add some sweetener cuz my berries needed it. Next time I'm making a double batch . Thank you for this. Two thumbs up : D Now I'm off to peruse the Rest of your recipes.
Judy P
Can you substitute other berries using the same recipe? Strawberries, raspberries, etc.?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, you can make this with any berries!
Anthea
So simple and easy and more importantly DELICIOUS! Thank you Katrin for going to the trouble of coming up with fail-proof recipes! Since my mother was diagnosed with color cancer, post surgery, she has been on a strict zero sugar (zero carbs for one year, now, we can ease up somewhat) and this jam has been one of our staples. Spread on organic oatcakes or Carbonaut toast, with grass fed butter. And I make with frozen organic blueberries so we never have to run out. Also going to 5-star your mug cake recipe and almond flour pistachio biscotti!
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
Diane
How long will this jam stay in the refrigerator? Also can I freeze it?
Katrin Nürnberger
It should be fine for several weeks as the lemon preserves it. And yes, you can freeze it for up to 6 months.
Melody
Can it be canned with water bath method?
Katrin Nürnberger
If you add lemon juice, it will last longer. I have never tried to can this jam. Just in case, I would keep it in the fridge, even before you open it.
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.
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.