This healthy chia seed jam with strawberry and cherries will quickly become your go-to morning spread! It is totally vegan, low in added sugar, and kid friendly.
By now, we all know about the nutritional powerhouse that is the teeny tiny little chia seed – one tablespoon provides a whopping 5 grams of fibre and 3 grams of protein. Holy moly! Talk about dietitian approved.
Now I love to sprinkle chia seed into my smoothies and yogurt parfaits as much as the next person, but the chia recipe that is the ruler of my little foodie heart? CHIA SEED JAM.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
If you’ve ever made chia pudding before, you’re probably well aware of chia seeds’ amazing thickening properties. They absorb liquid and make it somewhat jelly-like and thick.
That’s what makes chia seeds ideal for making a thick and delicious jam! Not to mention, one of the biggest advantages of using chia seeds is that it boosts nutrition in a BIG way. Chia seeds are loaded with fibre, protein and healthy omega-3 fats! They’re also vegan so our plant-based friends can get in on the PB&J fun.
Finally, this chia seed jam doesn’t require any sugar to do it’s job – you can basically get away with sweetening your jam or jelly to taste depending on the sweetness of your fruit.
Key Ingredients
Fruit – I love to make this chia jam recipe using strawberries and dark cherries. But you can literally use any fruit that you prefer – if you love blueberry jam, use blueberries. If you’re a raspberry jam type of gal, go ham on the raspberries. This recipe is insanely versatile which is why we love it.
Chia Seed – Like I said, chia seeds work their magic in a big way for this recipe. Not only does it boost the nutritional value, but it creates a gel when combined with liquid.
Maple Syrup – I like to sweeten this recipe with a little kiss of maple syrup. But you can choose to omit this or add extra sweetener if you prefer. Either way, this recipe requires no granulated sugar, which makes it an amazing low sugar alternative to most store-bought jellys and jams.
Lemon Juice – The lemon juice gives this chia seed jam recipe a nice little spritz of tartness that really makes the fruit stand out and do the talking.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: In a saucepot, heat the cherries and strawberries until they start to bubble and get syrupy.
Step 2: Once super soft, mash them with a potato masher until the mixture is jammy, loose, and with some visible little bits of fruit in it. Add in the lemon juice and maple syrup, and taste.
Step 3: Take the mixture off of the heat, transfer it to a container and add in the chia seeds. Allow the mixture to set for at least 20 minutes, or until it thickens up. Enjoy immediately, or pack away in the fridge to use throughout the week.
Expert Tips
Making this cherry strawberry chia seed jam is pretty much as easy as adding chia seeds to mashed up soft fruit. My two favourite jam flavours are cherry and strawberry, so I decided to combine them into one flavour combo. But you can literally choose any kind of jam-friendly fruit – there are no hard and fast rules and you can totally make this chia jam recipe your own!
This low sugar cherry strawberry chia seed jam is perfect on toast, in thumbprint cookies, swirled through ice cream or layered in breakfast parfaits. You might as well make a huge batch and preserve it – and if you do, I suggest you read my easy to follow post on canning here!
Recipe FAQs
This jam lasts in the fridge for about 2-4 weeks in an airtight container.
I have personally never tried making it with flax seed, but flax seed also has gel like properties so it would totally be worth a shot! I’d suggest trying 1.5 tablespoons of flax seed for every 1 cup of fruit.
If you don’t need to make this chia seed jam vegan then you can definitely use honey or any other sweetener you prefer.
You can add it to ice cream, yogurt parfaits, baked goods, oatmeal or just enjoy it alone with some crackers.
More Recipes You Might Like
Here are some of my favourite ways to add chia seed jam to my recipes!
- Chocolate Cups with Chia Jam
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Chia Pudding
- Roasted Fig Chia Pudding and Tahini Date Caramel Parfait
- Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with PB&J
- Strawberry Lemonade Poptarts (Vegan)
What are some of your favourite jam flavours for chia seed jam?
BEST Chia Seed Jam (Vegan, Low Sugar, Kid Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pitted dark cherries fresh or frozen
- 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries fresh or frozen
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice or to taste
- 2 tsp maple syrup or to taste
- 3 Tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
- In a saucepot, heat the cherries and strawberries until they start to bubble and get syrupy. Once super soft, mash them with a potato masher until the mixture is jammy, loose, and with some visible little bits of fruit in it.
- Add in the lemon juice and maple syrup, and taste. Adjust the lemon and maple syrup depending on the sweetness of your fruit.
- Take the mixture off of the heat, transfer it to a container and add in the chia seeds. Allow the mixture to set for at least 20 minutes, or until it thickens up. Enjoy immediately, or pack away in the fridge to use throughout the week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried making this cherry strawberry chia jam? Leave me a comment below! I would LOVE to hear your favourite combinations!
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Estelle De Roose says
Hi Abbey 🙂
Would it be possible to know how much is 1 and 1/2 cup of fruits (strawberries, cherries, raspberries, …) in grammes.
Also if i’m only using 1 1/2 cup of raspberries, do I still need 3 tablespoons of chia seeds (or should it be more like 1 and 1/2 tablespoon?)
Thank’s a lot for your wonderful recipes!
Abbey Sharp says
1 cup is around 128 grams and yes you can halve the amount of chia seeds.
Lily says
delicious!
Abbey Sharp says
Thanks Lily!
Steph says
Love t
Steph says
Sorry meant to say! Love this! How much would you recommend a serving size be? 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
Hi Steph. About 2 tbsp or so but there really are no rules with chia jam haha
Lu says
This recipe was SO easy and delicious. Very happy with the results, and it tastes even better than store bought jam!
Amber says
What would be a good substitute for strawberries in the recipe? We have some strawberry allergies in our family.
Abbey Sharp says
You can omit strawberries and just use cherries, or try experimenting with any other fruit combination that you might like 🙂
Crystal says
I don’t have maple syrup but I do have agave nectar. Would it be okay to substitute?
Abbey Sharp says
Yes absolutely.
Iva says
Have been eyeing this recipe for a while and finally had all ingredients to make it, home made jam included. My goodness. This might be one of the tastiest things I’ve ever tried (and I’m neither vegan nor have a big sweet tooth)! I used a mixture of tahini and PB, and it’s absolutely incredible. It’s also very filling, couldn’t finish it in one go, which is great because there is more to look forward to later! I will be making it on the regular to enjoy myself and to impress my vegan and non-vegan guests alike! Thanks Abbey!
Abbey Sharp says
Thanks for the rating Iva 🙂 I’m so happy you loved the recipe.
Stefanie says
Can I leave out the lemon? Or is that going to make the jam spoil faster? My husband is allergic to citrus fruit, but if it’s necessary to the recipe, it will just be more for me😄
Abbey Sharp says
You can leave it out
McKayla says
Wow!! This chia jam is amazing!! Definitely going to be a staple in my home! Thank you for creating this wonderful recipe, highly recommend! ?
Abbey Sharp says
Amazing! I’m so glad. It’s definitely a staple for sure 🙂
Emma H says
Would this work with flaxseed?
Abbey Sharp says
I’ve never tried it but it can definitely be done. Try 1.5 tbsp of flaxseed for every 1 cup of fruit
Manon says
Just made it with mix berries and now letting it cool down in the fridge. Can’t wait to try it!!
Abbey Sharp says
Delish! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Chantelle Daby says
So yummy and easy to make! Amazing on toast, ice cream, porridge and Greek yogurt!
Abbey Sharp says
Thank you! Yes its super versatile. So glad you’re enjoying
Lisa says
Easiest jam I have ever made. Looking forward to using it tomorrow morning!
Abbey Sharp says
Yep its crazy easy! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Shelby says
Super yummy! And it was totally easy to make!
Abbey Sharp says
so glad you loved it! its a staple in our house too and you can switch up the fruit!
Hannah says
Holy CANNOLI this turned out so well!!! I had a lot of strawberries quickly wilting and bruising in my fridge so I decided to use those up with this recipe. I used 3cups of strawberries and the juice from a lemon I’d zested for another meal and swapped the maple syrup for a couple tablespoons from a jar of honey from a local farm. I wanted a tart strawberry lemonade flavor and it turned out just perfectly! I pulsed the hot fruit mixture in a food processor after mashing it to really get it smooth and creamy before thickening it with the chia seeds and the overall texture turned out just DIVINE. Absolutely delicious, I’m super excited to try with all sorts of fruit combinations in future, and to get some of this jam dolloped into some poppyseed thumbprint cookies <3
Abbey Sharp says
so glad you love them!
Tihani says
Can you use honey instead of maple syrup.
Abbey Sharp says
Yes definitely
Trisha says
How long will this jam keep in the fridge?
Abbey Sharp says
Hi Trisha, I would say 2-4 weeks
Trisha says
Thanks!
Nicole says
Hi, I was wondering if you thought raw honey would work okay in this recipe instead of maple syrup? Thank you!
Abbey Sharp says
Yes it can work
Abbey Sharp says
Thanks for sharing my recipe!
Sara says
Love these!!
Heather says
Looks delish! I was not able to get my hands on any cherries. If I am only using strawberries should I just cut the amount of lemon, chia, and maple syrup in half?
Thanks!
Abbey Sharp says
If you’re doing JUST the portion of strawberries then yes half the other ingredients but if you’re going to double the strawberries to account for the missing cherries (full recipe size) then keep the other ingredients as is