Super Quick Chia Seed Jam
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Today we’re making chia seed jam using almost any fruit! This jam takes roughly 15 minutes to make from start to finish, and the best part is, you get to control the sweetener you use and the amount!
Cha-cha-cha chia!
Okay, if you’re a 90’s kid or older, you know how those commercials go! And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’re probably way younger than I am!
Chia seed jam! We’re taking our favorite fruit, tossing in some chia seeds, sweetening it up and keeping it around in the refrigerator to make healthier PB and J sandwiches and topping our favorite yogurt with this stuff and on the weekend spreading it nice and thick on waffles or french toast.
Chia seed jam isn’t anything new. In fact, it’s probably been done a bunch of times, but it’s something I’ve never made for us, so I thought with the berry season just around the corner, it would be some quick and easy to share with you!
Chia seed jam is the perfect thing to make when you’ve got fruit in the fridge that needs to be used up before your next grocery run. You know, when the fruit is a few days old and the family just kind of turns their nose up at it because it doesn’t look as fresh as it once did?
It’s also great if you buy fruit in bulk, I mean how can you not grab a container full of those beautiful berries? And 2 pounds, for how much? Oh, that’s soo going in the cart. Before I know it most of those berries are sitting in the back of the fridge, begging to be used up.
WHAT ARE CHIA SEEDS, AND WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM?
Chia seeds are an edible seed or a nutrition powerhouse as I like to call it, related to the mint family. They were essential ingredients in the Aztecs and the Mayans diet. Roughly translated from ancient Mayan, chia means ‘strength.’
Chia seeds can easily be found in the bulk section of most grocery stores; you can also purchase them prepackaged.
WHAT IS CHIA SEED JAM?
Chia seed jam is a jam made with fresh fruit and chia seeds instead of relying on pectin as a thickening agent. Chia seed jam can also contain a lot less sugar than traditional jams!
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REGULAR AND CHIA SEED JAM?
I find chia seed jam to be a little looser than regular jam. However, once you refrigerate it for a few hours, it does start to thicken up quite a bit. You can easily spread it to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or do what I do! Use it as a topping on your midday yogurt!
The best thing about chia seed jam is that YOU decide the type of sweetener, and you get to control how much you use!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHIA SEED JAM
- fruit
- lemon juice
- sweetener
- chia seeds
WHAT SWEETENERS CAN YOU USE TO MAKE CHIA SEED JAM
- honey
- maple syrup
- agave
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
Try this with vanilla flavored maple syrup! I found some at Trader Joe’s in case you’d like to give it a try. SOO GOOD.
WHAT OTHER FRUIT CAN YOU USE TO MAKE CHIA SEED JAM?
- raspberries
- strawberries
- blueberries
- blackberries
- peaches
- apricots
- cherries
CAN I USE FROZEN FRUIT TO MAKE CHIA SEED JAM?
YES!
HOW TO MAKE CHIA SEED JAM:
- Cook it down: chop up the fruit, place it in a saucepan and let it hang out over medium heat until the fruit starts to break down and become syrupy. Let it cook down for longer if you prefer a thicken jam and less time if you prefer it to be looser. Use a heavy spoon or a muddler (yes, the kind you use for your drink) to mash the fruit.
- Sweeten it: add the chia seeds and sweeten it with your favorite sweetener. Taste and adjust with additional sweetener as desired. Now, take the jam off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and sweeten with more sweetener if it needs a bit more.
- Cool it to thicken: now let the jam come to room temperature. You’ll notice it will thicken quite a bit once it starts to cool. You can also freeze the leftover jam for a few months.
It’s about 12-15 minutes start to finish but homemade chia seed jam is so much better than regular store-bought jam!
Super Quick Chia Seed Jam
Today we're making chia seed jam using almost any fruit! This jam takes roughly 15 minutes to make from start to finish, and the best part is, you get to control the sweetener you use and the amount!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups chopped fresh raspberry, strawberry etc. (frozen works too)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 -2 tablespoons sugar (or honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc,)
- 4-5 teaspoons chia seeds (or more to taste)
Instructions
- CHOP: chop the fruit into small pieces.
- COOK: place the fruit in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the fruit breaks down and starts becoming syrupy, this will take close to 8-10 minutes. Using a potato masher, the back of a heavy spoon, or a heatproof muddler, mash the fruit down to your liking. Stir in the chia seeds and sweeten with the desired sweetener and allow it to cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice and taste, adjust with additional sweetener as desired.
- STORE: allow the jam to cool to room temperature, the jam will thicken quite a bit once it starts to cool. Use as desired in yogurt parfaits, on toast, etc. Leftover jam can be kept for about a week in the refrigerator but you can also freeze it for a few months! I’m not at all familiar with canning, so I can’t say with certainty if this would be good for canning.
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