The best homemade strawberry jam made with pectin so it sets up perfectly every time. Full of fresh sweet berry flavor, it beats out store bought any day.

Jars of homemade strawberry jam with fresh strawberries and a split biscuit spread with jam.

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The Best Strawberry Jam Recipe

I learned to make this strawberry jam with pectin as a little girl helping my grandma in the kitchen, and she always said I was the best “taste tester!”

It’s still the way I make it today because the jam sets up thick every time, and every batch brings back those childhood memories.

These days, one of our favorite family summer traditions is going strawberry picking, then turning the fresh berries into this homemade jam, strawberry sauce, strawberry rhubarb crisp and strawberry cream pie.

XO - Jamielyn

Ingredients You’ll Need

Strawberry jam ingredients including fresh strawberries, sugar, lemon, powdered pectin and water.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Strawberries: You will need 2 pints of fresh strawberries. Look for bright red berries with no spots or blemishes. Fresh is best, but frozen thawed strawberries work too.
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar is needed for the jam to set properly.
  • Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice acts as a preservative plus the tart taste helps cut the sweetness.
  • Powdered fruit pectin: Regular powdered pectin, not instant, is needed to thicken the jam. It gets boiled with water before being stirred into the berries.

How to Make Strawberry Jam

Place strawberries in a blender with the lemon juice. Pulse the strawberries about 5-10 times.

Pureed strawberries in blender.

Pour strawberries into a large bowl and then stir in sugar. Stir for about 2-3 minutes and then let sit for 15 minutes.

Strawberries and sugar in a bowl.

Bring fruit pectin and water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour mixture into the strawberries, stir and let rest another 2-3 minutes.

Strawberry jam with pectin thickening in a bowl.

Next pour or ladle the homemade jam into sterilized jars (leaving about 1/2 inch from the top) and place lids on.

Stacked jars of homemade strawberry jam.

Tips for Making Homemade Jam

  • If you don’t have a blender, you can use a potato masher as well. I use my Blendtec.
  • I love to use a strawberry huller for easily prepping the strawberries. Using a straw to push through the bottom to the top of the berry is a great hack to hull as well.
  • I love to use mason jars to store this easy strawberry jam recipe. When filling leave about 1/2 inch room from the rims (this ensures they won’t explode in the freezer).
  • After 24 hours, test if the jam is ready. Place a small amount on a plate then run your finger through it, if it wrinkles and doesn’t fill the gap, it’s ready. If it’s still runny after 48 hours, the pectin likely wasn’t boiled long enough, so simmer the jam with a little additional pectin to fix it.
  • Out of pectin? Use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch per 2 cups of berries, or boil the fruit mixture until it reaches 220°F.

Variations

  • Other berries: Make jam with blackberries, try no pectin raspberry jam or make a blueberry jam.
  • Rhubarb: Sweet strawberries pair really well with tart rhubarb in my strawberry rhubarb jam without pectin.
  • Cinnamon: Add just a pinch for warm taste, I love to do this in my freezer peach jam.
  • Zest: Up to 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest, lime zest or orange zest will give the jam a citrus undertone and also help preserve teh color.
  • Preserves: Jam is made with mashed or pureed fruit. Preserves on the other hand contain larger pieces of fruit.

Favorite Ways to Use It

Spread it on English muffins, homemade French bread or warm drop biscuits, spoon it over buttermilk pancakes or crepes at breakfast, or bake it into strawberry crumb bars and peanut butter and jelly cookies.

Four jars of strawberry jam on the counter with a biscuit split open to the side spread with jam.

More strawberry recipes to enjoy include strawberry crepes, strawberry sour cream cake and this strawberry shortcake with angel food cake!

More Strawberry Recipes

Four jars of strawberry jam on the counter with a biscuit split open to the side spread with jam.

Strawberry Jam Recipe

5 from 74 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Set Time: 1 day 18 minutes
Total Time: 1 day 39 minutes
Servings: 80
The best homemade strawberry jam that's easy to make with only four ingredients! Full of fresh sweet berry flavor, it beats out store bought any day.
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Video

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 2 pints fresh strawberries , washed and stems removed
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • 4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1.75 ounces powdered fruit pectin (regular, not instant)
  • ¾ cup water

Instructions

  • In the base of a blender, pulse strawberries and lemon juice 5 to 10 times, or until crushed but with some strawberry pieces still visible.
  • Pour the strawberries into a large bowl. Stir in sugar 2 to 3 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved. Let sit 15 minutes.
  • In a small saucepan, stir together the fruit pectin and water over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Stir into the strawberries and let sit 3 minutes.
  • Carefully pour into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch room at the top, and add lids. Let the jars sit on the counter 24 hours to set. Store in the freezer up to 1 year.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

No blender: If you don’t have a blender, you can use a potato masher as well. I use my Blendtec for everything!
Lemon juice: Don’t skip out on the lemon juice! The lemon helps set the jam and prevents the growth of bacteria.
Fruit pectin: Be sure to use the regular powdered fruit pectin, not instant.
Storage: Store sealed jars in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks. This is a freezer jam, not a canned jam, so it isn’t shelf stable.
Freeze: Place sealed jars in the freezer up to 1 year.
Recipe credit: Recipe slightly adapted from Sure-Jell.

Nutrition

Serving: 2TB, Calories: 45kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 2mg, Potassium: 18mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 1IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Strawberry jam on homemade bread.