The Easiest Blueberry Jam Recipe

Looking for a delicious and easy blueberry jam recipe? This is the one for you! Learn how to make this sweet and tangy jam using fresh or frozen blueberries and simple ingredients.

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits. Simple to harvest (no thorns, no bending over, contrasting colors), and no prep before using or eating them. And of course, delicious flavor.

And that makes them so easy to make quick treats with. One of my favorites during the summer is gluten-free blueberry crisp, or a buttery gluten-free blueberry cobbler (served with ice cream, of course!).

When I was growing up, we used to make blueberry syrup to put on our pancakes, and that was always a wonderful treat! We even used to can blueberries during the summer so we could use them to make syrup all year round. Plus, I’m a sucker for blueberry banana muffins, or good ol’ gluten free blueberry muffins.

There are just so many things to make with blueberries! But at the top of the list might be blueberry jam.

It’s probably the easiest way to preserve that peak-season summer blueberry flavor, perfect for buttered biscuits or toast.

Sadly, we aren’t able to grow blueberries in the part of the country where we currently live, but we usually end up going back to my hometown in Tennessee during the summer to visit and go blueberry picking while we’re there. I’m glad I can pass on that tradition to my kids, even if it means hauling a cooler full of blueberries back to Texas. Totally worth it.

Selecting the right fruit

With some fruits, there’s a bit of thought that needs to go into picking the right variety. For example, with apples, you need to assess the qualities of the varieties you’re working with.

For the most part, blueberries are simpler: You get what’s available. While some varieties are bigger, smaller, sweeter, or more tart, the differences are small enough that, in my opinion, they’re not worth quibbling over.

The biggest question is whether to use fresh blueberries vs. frozen. If you happen to have a bunch of frozen blueberries, by all means, use them to make jam! Just be aware that you’ll need to keep the heat low as they thaw, so they won’t scorch before you can mash or blend them to release the juices.

Ingredients for Homemade Blueberry Jam

This is a simple recipe – all you need are blueberries, lemon or lime juice, sugar, and pectin. Of course, you’ll also need freezer jam jars, or canning jars are perfect.

Substitutions and variations

Blueberries go well with many things, so if you want to make some additions, feel free!

Here are some ideas:

• Basil. Add 4-6 basil leaves to the jam as it boils, and take them out before you ladle the jam into jars to add a nice, herbaceous flavor. The same can be done with mint. Alternatively, you could add a drop of basil essential oil after the jam is done cooking.
• Cinnamon. Add 2-3 cinnamon sticks to the boiling jam mixture as it cooks, and remove them before canning jam, or add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. This gives your jam a nice, warm kick, similar to apple butter.
• Lime or lemon. This recipe already uses lime juice, but you can also add the zest of a lime for more depth of flavor.

For substitutions, there aren’t many to make. You can interchange lemon or lime juice depending on your preference.

If you want to make sugar-free jam, you need to use a recipe and pectin developed for that. You can see examples in this sugar-free strawberry jam recipe.

Directions for making this homemade blueberry jam recipe

Once again, blueberries are such an easy fruit to work with; this recipe has very little prep work.

1. Measure out all ingredients before you start.
2. Place blueberries – either fresh, or frozen, thawed – into a 4-quart or larger pot
3. Using a potato masher, hand mixer, or immersion blender, mash berries to your preference. If you like to leave some chunks, feel free. If you like to blend them thoroughly, use an immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender.
   

   

4. Once berries are mashed, stir in fruit pectin until dissolved and heat over medium heat to a full boil.
5. When the fruit is boiling, add sugar, all at once, and stir to dissolve.
   

   

6. Bring back to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for one minute.
7. Remove from heat, and use a spoon to skim off any foam that may have accumulated. Some fruits produce a lot of foam, which can be partially mitigated by adding a teaspoon of butter to the pot with the cold fruit, but blueberries don’t usually produce much.
   

   

8. Ladle hot jam into prepared jars, and screw down lids and rings.

Canning Instructions

All you need for canning jam is a water bath canner. Be sure to ladle your jam into appropriate canning jars. I usually use half-pint jars. If you have a larger family or use a lot of jam, you may choose pint jars. A good option for putting together gift baskets is quarter pint jars.

For lids, if you’re using brand-new jars, they probably came with brand-new lids. Most brands have fairly dependable lids, so use those, except Walmart’s house brand. Personally, I had such bad luck with those, I stopped trying to use them, and go straight to Denali canning lids, which is my go-to after using whatever the jars came with.

1. After you’ve filled the jars, wipe the rims with a clean cloth to remove any debris or drips, then screw down lids and rings firmly.
2. Prepare your water bath canner with warm to hot water, and place hot jars of jam in the canner, ensuring the water depth covers the jars by at least an inch.
3. Place the lid on the canner, and heat over medium-high heat to a rolling boil.
4. Process jars by continuing to boil 10 minutes for half pints, and 15 minutes for full pints.
5. Remove from heat and let cool gradually. It’s best not to take jars out of the canner until they are relatively cool to avoid breakage. If you do need to remove jars from the kettle, be sure to protect them from drafts by covering them with a towel until they are cool.
6. After 24 hours, test the seal. You may wash jars, remove rings if desired, and store jars out of direct light.

What to do with blueberry jam

You likely already know what you want to use your blueberry jam on, but here are a few ideas just in case.

• Sourdough waffles
• Toast, made with either gluten free sandwich bread, or sourdough bread
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• On ice cream
• On homemade baking powder biscuits
• On oatmeal, yogurt, or granola

More Jam Recipes to Try:

There are endless variations of homemade jams, jellies, and butters out there for you to make can, and once you start branching out into the world of flavors, there’s no going back! One of my favorite things to do is can a bunch of jams in 4oz. jars and put together samplers to give away to friends. Everybody loves to try new spreads!

• Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
• Raspberry Peach Jam
• Blackberry Freezer Jam
• Cinnamon Pear Jam
• Peach Jam

 

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