I’ve been making fruit and chia seed jam for years. I love it because it’s sugar-free, high in fibre and delicious!
Fruit and chia jam is so much better than store-bought because it is not cloyingly sweet. Even sugar-free store-bought jams are overly sweet either from an artificial sweetener or concentrated fruit sugars.
Instead of faking flavour with sweetness, this jam is packed full of real fruit flavour! It’s also a zero-waste and affordable.
How to use fruit and Chia Seed Jam
Honestly, my kids don’t even know what real jam tastes like. We only ever have fruit and chia seed jam. Here are a few ways to use this delicious alternative to jam:
- Spread on toast, pancakes or waffles.
- Stirred into yogurt.
- Use it as a fruity filling for a layer cake or jam roll.
- A healthy oatmeal topping.
- Perfect for peanut butter and jam sandwiches.
Full fruit flavours
Honestly, we make fruit and chia seed jam at least twice a month. In the summer we use fresh fruit and in the winter we use frozen fruit.
Unless I have a huge amount of a particular type of fruit, I usually use a blend of fruits. In particular, I add apples and pears to provide pulp and sweetness to softer fruits.
Looking for some inspiration? Here are a few of our favourite combinations!
- Gingered peach: A mix of pears and peaches with 1/4 tsp of ground ginger.
- Pear Plum: A combination of pears and plums gives a rich flavour
- Wildberry: A mix of apple and berries
- Blueberry Lemon: Apples and blueberries with lemon zest.
- Mango Madness: Mango is one fruit that is perfect all on its own.
- Apricot: Apricot is also thick enough all on its own, however, I recommend adding a squeeze of lemon juice to keep the bright orange colour.
Can I ferment it?
Yes! Fruit and chia seed jam is perfect for fermenting.
To add a boost of probiotics, add 2 tbsp of culture after the cooked fruit has cooled to room temperature. I recommend only fermenting fruit for 1 to 3 days as all the natural sugars will quickly be consumed.
The best cultures for fruit are those that are yeast-based:
- Kombucha, jun or water kefir
- Milk kefir whey
- Ginger bug
- Apple cider vinegar
Just keep an eye on fermenting fruit as they will carbonate and quickly sour.
PrintFruit and Chia Seed Jam
Looking for a healthy and delicious alternative to jam? This fruit-packed chia seed spread is perfect on toast or stirred into yogurt. See the section above for 6 fun flavour combinations!
- Yield: 1 pint jar 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stewed
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups of fruit (see the section above for suggestions)
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds
Instructions
- Mix the fruit and ground chia in a small saucepan. The fruit should be chopped into bite-sized chunks, but it doesn’t need to be peeled. Apple and pear skin will add fibre!
- Bring the fruit to a boil, then simmer until everything is soft. Soft fruit, like berries and peaches, don’t need to simmer for more than a minute. Apples might need to cook for 5 minutes. You can also cook the fruit in the microwave, just follow your manufacturer’s instructions.
- The cooked fruit can be left chunky, however, I usually pulse it a few times with my immersion blender until it’s a smooth spread.
- Serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- This fruit spread is perfect for fermenting. See the section above for information on how to add a dose of probiotics.
- If the spread isn’t sweet enough for your taste, then feel free to stir in a bit of honey or maple syrup. It will still have WAY less sugar than commercial jam.
Keywords: Jam, Jelly, sugar-free, gluten-free, gelatin-free, pectin-free, simple, zero-waste, summer, fall, winter, spring, 2 ingredients, 10 minutes or less
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