The summer may be coming to a close, but our family is loving the onslaught of in-season blueberries and peaches right now. Enjoying fresh blueberries by generous handfuls really makes you appreciate more deeply the joys of summer! But summer needn’t end when these blueberries and peaches become less readily available. Buy those blueberries in bulk now and I’ll show you a way to enjoy them throughout the year, even during cold winter months!
This No-Added-Sugar Quick Blueberry Jam is a natural and simple fresh blueberry jam recipe that you can whip up at the spur of the moment in less than 10 minutes. The best part is that it comes without any added refined sugar. This recipe is so super easy that it only uses 2 ingredients. That’s right, only 2 ingredients!
What’s the secret? Chia seeds! Chia seeds are used here to act as a gelling agent and provide an extra nutritional boost. Just one tablespoon of chia seeds (approximately 14 grams or 1/2 an ounce in weight) provides almost 70 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of calcium, 5 grams of fiber, 2.5 grams of protein, 1 gram of iron. Chia seeds also are a source of alpha-linolenic acid omega-3s. To learn more about chia seeds, click here.
These little chia seeds mix so well into the blueberry jam that no one who has tasted this blueberry jam even knew they were there. All you get is a delicious jammy texture for this natural plant-based, refined sugar-free, egg-free, dairy-free, oil-free, gluten-free and nut-free spread to go on toast, crackers, cakes, muffin tops, on pancakes, waffles, vegan ice-creams or even between sandwich cookies. Give it a try yourself and see!
An easy and quick to make sweet vegan, refined sugar-free, egg-free, dairy-free, oil-free and gluten-free jam spread that’s much healthier for you and your family than store-bought jams. It is so delicious you can even eat it on its own!
- 2 cups fresh ripe blueberries [280 g] (alternatively, use frozen blueberries)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
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Wash fresh ripe blueberries well then place the blueberries into a small pot. Smash the blueberries with a fork and heat on a medium-high heat until gently bubbling and simmering.
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Once the heated mashed blueberries in the pot start to bubble and simmer, cook them for about 5 minutes, keeping them lightly simmering. Use a fork to mash up any remaining whole blueberries in the pot, until you can see all the blueberries are mashed and well cooked through.
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Add in the 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and stir well to combine. Let the mixture continue to lightly bubble and simmer on the stove for an additional 5 minutes, as this helps the mixture to thicken up.
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Transfer this mixture into a lidded glass mason jar, and store in the refrigerator until a jam texture is formed (you may not have to wait very long!). The blueberry mixture will thicken up very nicely as it cools down. Then start using and enjoying!
This jam will keep well refrigerated for at least 5 – 7 days. Freeze what you won’t use immediately in a lidded glass jar or freezer safe container to thaw and use at a later date as desired.
If you are using frozen blueberries, it may take a little longer to cook down the blueberries. Alternatively, take out the frozen blueberries the night before to thaw out in the refrigerator overnight if you plan to make blueberry jam the next day. If cooking on the day itself, take out the measured quantity of frozen blueberries and place them into a small pot. Let these blueberries thaw at room temperature or heat them gently on the stove top until the blueberries have thawed. Then use a fork to smash the blueberries down, before adding in the chia seeds. Follow the rest of the recipe directions as listed.
If you would like the jam to be of a firmer texture, you can add in an additional ½ – 1 teaspoon of chia seeds into the heated blueberry mix.
For some children, the ‘skins’ of the blueberries in this jam might be a put-off (my eldest daughter complained of this but not my toddler!). If so, you can just whiz the washed fresh or frozen blueberries quickly in a food processor or blender to dice them up (or rough chop the blueberries by hand) before heating the blueberries up in a pot on the stove.
Since this jam freezes beautifully, feel free to double this recipe if you would like to make an even larger quantity at one go as you can divide up the quantity made into two glass jars and freeze one jar’s worth. The low carbohydrate sugar content of this jam makes it a great jam option for those who have diabetes compared to commercial jam options. Most commercial fruit jams give at least 13 grams of carbohydrate (includes 10 grams of sugar) in just one tablespoon of jam, with ingredients often including sugar, high fructose corn syrup or glucose-fructose. Compare that to this recipe which gives in one tablespoon serving only 6 grams of carbohydrate (includes 4 grams of natural sugar from within the blueberries), not to mention 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of fiber as well!