Low sugar strawberry jam is a delicious alternative to traditional strawberry jam. It’s perfect for those who want to enjoy the sweet and tangy taste of fresh strawberries without the added sugars and calories.

I make a lot of jam here, blackberry jam, raspberry jam, and Christmas jam are some of my favorites for sure. But I really love dipping a spoon into a jar of homemade strawberry jam. Nothing beats the flavor.

I love making my own jam because I get to control what’s in it. I prefer jam where the fruit takes center stage instead of having more cups of sugar in it than actual fruit.

Unlike jam from the grocery stores, I know the exact amount of sugar, and I know exactly what the fruit looked like before it was preserved. Since I grow my strawberries and/or buy them from the farmer’s market, I even know how the fruit was grown and where it was grown.

Choosing strawberries for jam making

Just about any strawberry variety will yield a delicious-tasting jam. Be sure to select fresh, red, ripe berries. Leave the mushy, overripe berries for something other than jam as these will likely yield you a mushy, not-so-tasty jam as a result.

You can use frozen strawberries to make jam, however, it will take longer to reach the gel stage due to the additional water content in the frozen fruit. Be sure to thaw the fruit first.

There aren’t quite 3 cups of strawberries in a pound. Once you remove the tops and hull the berries, you’ll have 2 to 2 1/2 cups of strawberries for making jam. You’ll need approximately 4 pounds of berries to make 4 half-pints of jam.

Can I double the jam recipe?

While you can double this recipe, I don’t recommend more than that. It just takes too long for the jam to set. If this is your first time, or you have trouble getting to the gel stage, I recommend keeping this small-batch jam recipe, small-batch, and making the jam a few jars at a time. You can always process them in a canner together after you’ve made a few batches of jam.

Typically, I will can four small batches. This provides us with roughly 16 to 20 half-pint jars out of 32 cups of berries, from approximately 14 to 16 pounds of fresh berries. This is generally enough to last us all year in addition to the other jams, pepper jelly, and blueberry jelly we can up each summer.

Strawberry freezer jam

This low-sugar strawberry jam recipe only has three ingredients. Fresh strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar.

This recipe, along with virtually any other jam recipe, can be frozen, refrigerated, or canned. Some people prefer the flavor of frozen jam saying it tastes more like fresh fruit because it’s not been cooked in the canner during processing.

Canning is a great way to preserve food though, and we can a lot of our fruits and vegetables and even can venison so that we have shelf-stable food that will stay fresh in the event of a power outage.

If refrigerating or freezing, simply be sure to allow the jam to cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge or freezer, and use a freezer-safe container to avoid breakage.

Refrigerated strawberry jam should be eaten within 6 weeks. Freezer strawberry jam will stay fresh and have the best flavor if consumed within four months.

Making strawberry jam without pectin

I prefer my jams to be simple and not require things I cannot make in my kitchen. While there are natural sources of pectin available, I would rather the jam be full of natural berry sweetness and not have pectin or tons of sugar, or worse, high fructose corn syrup in it.

While you can use commercial pectin to make a low-sugar jam reach the gel stage more quickly, most of the time it’s not necessary.

Unlike blackberries, though, strawberries are low in natural pectin, so it does take a little additional finesse to get your jam to be, well, jam. But, it is possible to accomplish. For this recipe, instead of regular pectin, we are going to use lemon juice to help set our jam as lemons are naturally high in pectin.

How to make strawberry jam

Prepare Jars & Canner (if using)

Wash mason jars, lids, and rings in hot soapy water. If canning, prepare a canner by placing clean jars in a water bath canner covering them with water, and heating them over medium heat. Place lids in a small saucepan, cover with water, and heat them over medium heat as well.

Prepare the jam

Remove tops and hull fresh, ripe strawberries, and place strawberries in a large saucepan. Using a potato masher, mash them, one layer at a time until they are the consistency you prefer.

Add lemon juice and sugar to the mashed berries. Heat mixture over medium heat allowing the sugar to dissolve and constantly stirring and mashing the mixture.

Bring the mixture to a boil and continue at a low boil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, before checking for a proper set.

Check jam for proper set

Dip a spoon that you had in the freezer into the hot jam, pull it up, and allow the jam to drip off of the spoon. If the jam is dripping off in drops, it’s not set, if it’s dripping off large globs it is almost set, if it is dripping off in a sheet or sticks to the spoon, it’s set. Remove the set jam from the heat.

Pack jars

Ladle the hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4″ of headspace. Remove any air bubbles and adjust for proper headspace, if necessary. Wipe jar rim, center lid on the top of the jar, and tighten screw bands to finger-tight.

Process

If canning, place packed jars into a canning pot. Cover the tops of the jars with 3 inches of water, place the lid on the boiling water bath canner, and bring water to a full rolling boil over high heat. Process half-pint jars for 10 minutes.

Remove warm jars of jam to a towel-lined counter and leave them undisturbed in a cool place for at least 12 hours before checking for proper seals. Remove screw bands from properly sealed jars and store jars in a cool, dark place for up to 24 months.

More Jam, Jelly, and Preserve Recipes to Try Next Time:

• Easy Spiced Cranberry Jam for Canning
• Easy Four Ingredient Wine Jelly Recipe
• Brandied Apricot Preserves

If you try this low-sugar strawberry jam recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below! Also, I’d love if you could leave me a five star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ recipe review on the recipe card below. If you want more recipe inspiration, make sure to follow me on Facebook or Pinterest!