Sugar Free Strawberry Jam has just the right amount of sweetness and comes together in just 20 minutes! Use local strawberries in season (or local strawberries that have been flash-frozen) for the most intensely-flavored jam.
Growing up in Buffalo, strawberry season was usually right around the third week of June. My sister and I looked forward to strawberry picking with mom every year!
It’s one of those things where instinct sort-of takes over. You’re in a field of deliciously ripe strawberries; you’ve already picked a flat of strawberries (when you only meant to pick half a flat); and yet you just can’t stop picking, lol.
“Just a little more” somehow turns into another flat before you discover you might have an obsession with gathering all the gorgeous berries you can get your hands on. You finally stop yourself, and then you realize you’ll have to find a ton of ways to use up all those berries!
One of our favorite things that mom made was strawberry freezer jam. Of course it had a ton of sugar (but it’s soooooo good!). This Sugar Free Strawberry Jam is my take on mom’s classic. It’s not exactly the same, but for being free of added sugar, it’s pretty darn delicious.
In addition to sweeteners (erythritol and stevia), I use a touch of salt, lemon juice, and vanilla extract to simply highlight the berries’ natural flavor. During strawberry season I actually flash-freeze strawberries to use throughout the year, and that’s what I used to make this jam.
You can use store-bought frozen strawberries, but know that they don’t have the same intense strawberry flavor as local in-season berries have (even after freezing local berries are still intensely strawberry-flavored).
Pro Tip: It's easy to flash freeze local strawberries in season! Make this part of your summertime routine so you'll have local berries to enjoy throughout the year. See my easy instructions below on how to flash freeze strawberries.
What is the Ratio of Sugar to Fruit When Making Jam?
The ratio of sugar to fruit needed to make jam varies based on the sweetness level of the fruit and on the amount of pectin in the fruit. However, the base ratio is 1:1. (Read more on The Guardian and BBC.)
How to Make Jam Without Sugar
My recipe for Sugar Free Strawberry Jam uses two sweeteners instead of sugar: granulated erythritol and liquid stevia. I use a combination of both because erythritol can sometimes have a “cooling effect”, which is basically a minty, menthol-like flavor. Additionally, stevia can have a bitter aftertaste. When these two sweeteners are used together, both the bitterness of stevia and the cooling effect of erythritol are lessened.
Sugar Free Strawberry Jam Ingredients
Here's what goes into my Sugar Free Strawberry Jam; scroll down to the recipe below for ingredient quantities and instructions!
- Local in-season strawberries, either fresh or flash-frozen
- Granulated erythritol
- Liquid stevia
- Salt
- Fresh lemon juice
- Pure vanilla extract
In the photo above, I used my recipe for The Best Keto Bread to make toast! Find my recipe over on The Keto Queens.
How to Flash Freeze Strawberries
Here’s how I flash-freeze local strawberries so that I can enjoy them the rest of the year:
- Rinse the strawberries and pat them completely dry.
- Hull the strawberries (remove their stems)
- Arrange the strawberries on a large baking tray so that they aren’t touching.
- Put the tray in the freezer and let the strawberries freeze completely (usually takes about 30 minutes, depending on the size of your strawberries).
- Transfer the frozen strawberries to zip-top plastic bags and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
More Fruity Sweet Treats with No Added Sugar:
- Low Carb Strawberry Mousse Tartlets
- Old-Fashioned Peach Cobbler
- 5 Minute Low Carb Mixed Berry Nice Cream
- Fathead Low Carb Blueberry Cobbler Bars
- Almond Vanilla Chia Pudding with Peach Pie Topping
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
Sugar Free Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 4 cups local in-season strawberries fresh or flash-frozen (if fresh add 4 tablespoons water, if frozen don't thaw), hulled
- ½ cup granulated erythritol
- 14 drops liquid stevia
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the strawberries, erythritol, liquid stevia, and salt in a large saucepan. Cover the saucepan and cook (covered) on the stovetop over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Use a fork or potato masher to carefully mash the berries, and continue cooking (uncovered) until the sauce is thickened to your desired consistency, about 2 to 5 minutes more, stirring frequently.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla extract.
- Cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate to chill. (This will keep well covered in the fridge for up to 10 days.)
Faith's Tips
- Net Carbs: 3g per serving (2 tablespoons)
- It's easy to flash freeze local strawberries in season! Make this part of your summertime routine so you'll have local berries to enjoy throughout the year. See my easy instructions in the post above on how to flash freeze strawberries.
- I haven't tried canning this jam, but I found that it freezes very well!
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
Constance Jones says
I need to make this recipe for Valentine's Day gifts for friends that live in other States. Can you tell me how long it will last Please? Plan is to make it a week and a 1/2 before Valentine's Day in order to have time to mail it to California Ohio Ohio Georgia and Mississippi I need your tips on what is best to do with your recipe. So much
Faith says
Constance, Thanks so much for your comment! I find that it keeps well stored in the fridge for at least 10 days (I've even had success keeping it in the fridge for about 3 weeks). It also freezes well. If you want to ship this jam, you could freeze it in plastic tupperware containers, and ship them frozen packed with ice so they're still cold when they reach their destinations. Let me know how it goes if you do this! :)
Janet Carter says
Made this, I added some lemon zest and strawberry extract. I added everything together at once, didn't add stevia drops though, just 1/2 c powdered Swerve, I suppose granulated would work well in this also. It is amazing. Love making pbj's with zero carb toast
Christine Chang says
Does this work without the granulated erythritol...or if I sub it with more liquid stevia? I'm trying to avoid sugar alcohols
Faith says
Christine, I haven't tried this recipe without granulated erythritol. However, I've used crystallized allulose instead of granulated erythritol (and kept everything else the same) and it worked well. Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
Roberta Benge says
You say you haven't tried to can this recipe yet, could you tell me if erythritol is can-able? I've been looking for a recipe I can can, as I have limited freezer space
Faith says
Roberta, I haven't tried canning this recipe because I really don't know if erythritol is can-able. I'm curious about this as well! If you try to can this recipe, please let me know how it goes.
Ann says
I needed to cook this longer than the directions said but it turned out delicious! I use it on toast, plain greek yogurt, oatmeal and more. Thank you for this recipe!