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 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 You'll Love This Recipe
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 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.
- 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 keto 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
- Sugar Free Nutella15 Minutes
- 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 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.
Jenny
Thank you so much for this! I love blueberries and this turned out absolutely delicious! Just started on Keto, so this is my my first time trying to make my own jam. Tastes lovely with Room temperature Brie or Camembert cheese! Your recipes are great!
Katrin
...and now I want some camenbert with blueberry jam! 🙂
Kelly
I just made this jam and It’s better than any jam I’ve ever had. I did one cup of raspberries and one cup of blueberries. I can’t wait to use this on my keto bread in the morning. Your recipes never disappoint me. They are amazing.
Katrin
Thank you so much for your support Kelly!
Bracha Yarden
Sarah Wilson (Australia, "I Quit Sugar") writes that if you can't get organically grown berries, frozen are better then fresh because they're sprayed a lot less. For various reasons I'm not able to check this out in Israel, but it's worth looking into.
Katrin
That's so interesting!
Kelly Charbula
Just made this. It thickened nice ( I used THM glucomanon) and it is delicious!
Laurie Rardin
Did u use the gluccie in place of the can than gum? Or in addition too? I hate xanthan gum and would
Live to not use it.
dominique
i have always used the gluccie in place of the xantham gum because i refuse to have 2 products that do the same thing...lol
Laurie Rardin
Would gelatin work I place of xanthan gum? I hate xanthan gum and would Love to not use it.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Laurie, yes, you can use either gelatin or a teaspoon of powdered chia seeds to help set the jam.
Moira
I’m making this for wedding favours. How early could I make it if it stays in sealed jars?
Katrin
I would make it as fresh as possible and always keep it in the fridge. I know that sugar is a preservative and even if you were to use additional sweetener I am not certain whether erythritol would have the same effect. I have kept my jam in the fridge for a few weeks without any problems, but this has always been on the basis of "it still smells good and tastes good" - it's not an exact science 🙂
Vivian
I just finished making this jam. I measured exactly two cups of blueberries, and made this exactly as the recipe is written. It reduced so much I ended up with barely anything and I didn’t even cook it for 15 minutes. Only half of the 200 ml jar is full. Maybe this is because I used frozen blueberries but it says you can if you can’t find fresh. And besides everything it really tastes bad. It is sour, I thought since it wasn’t sweetened with anything that might happen. Maybe it would taste better with the vanilla extract. I really wanted to like it but I just can’t, I’m sorry
Katrin
Hello Vivian, maybe you cooked the blueberries at a higher temperature than I did and that's the reason why yours reduced by more. Also, as you say, there will always be differences in the blueberries themselves - some are sweeter than others. To troubleshoot your jam, why don't you add some powdered sweetener to sweeten it to your liking? Start with 1 teaspoon and see if the taste improves.
Kurt
Works great with raspberries (fresh or frozen) and cherries.
Katrin
Oh, I must try it with cherries! Great idea
Izzy
I've made this jam using Chia seeds instead of xantham gum as a thickner. It's amazing and better than jam I think, sweet enough too.
However I've not tried putting vanilla essence in. Might try next time :o)
Katrin
Thanks for your comment! Chia seeds is also great as a thickener, I've used in my raspberry jam as well.
Jacqueline Reast
Just made this, needed another pinch of xanthan for consistancy but it is absolutely gorgeous. Had to stop myself eating it hot 🙂
Katrin
It makes a fantastic hot blueberry sauce too! 🙂
Helena
Could I make this recipe with the same weight of plums?
Katrin
I'm sure you can! I'd add some cinnamon instead of the lemon juice. Cinnamon and plum always tastes good together.