No Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe With Instant Pectin

A fresh and delicious 30 minute strawberry freezer jam recipe made with instant pectin. No cooking or heating! Mix sugar and pectin in with your fresh berries—that’s it! Double or triple the recipe to make up to 6 (8 oz.) jars at a time.

It’s strawberry picking season! I told my kids that I was going to pick strawberries last week and asked if any of them would like to come. They all wanted to come! So we made a fun afternoon of it. There is a farm just around the corner from us with a large field of strawberries, farm animals, and a play area for the kids. We picked 15 pounds of berries and are heading back next week to pick more with friends.

Did we eat 15 pounds of fresh berries in a week? No. We froze 5 pounds, ate 5 pounds, and used my favorite strawberry freezer jam recipe to process the last 5 pounds!

If you’ve ever been intimidated by jam making you’ve come to the right place. This strawberry freezer jam recipe is about as easy as it comes. No cooking, no heating, just berries, sugar and instant pectin. Freezer jam, by nature, has a much softer consistency than cooked jam. It also tastes like fresh fruit. Cooked jams taste delicious, but they do not taste like fresh fruit because they’ve gone through the canning process. I’ve made both many times and always go back to freezer jam. You can make a batch start to finish in about 30 minutes with only a few ingredients and supplies.

I’ve used several different kinds of pectin products over the years and really like the RealFruit Instant Pectin by Ball. You simply sprinkle it over your sugar and fruit and stir. Most other kinds require you to heat with water over the stove. Heating it isn’t hard, but if I can cut out a step and still end up with a delicious product I’m all for that. Make sure to read the label since  several of their containers look similar. If you want to make jam without cooking or heating make sure to buy the INSTANT pectin.

No Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe With Instant Pectin

Each batch will yield 2 (8 oz.) jars of strawberry freezer jam (about 2 cups).

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups of prepared fruit *

2/3 c. white sugar

2 T. Instant Pectin

*Prepared fruit: Rinse strawberries. Cut the tops off and add to a blender. Pulse until the puree is a desired consistency. I like having small chunks mixed in so we don’t puree it completely. 

Step 1. Prepare the strawberries.

Step 2. Pour prepared strawberries in a bowl. Add sugar and pectin. 

Step 3. Stir for 3-5 minutes.

This may seem excessive, but is essential to make sure that the sugar is evenly distributed and reacting with the strawberry juice. You don’t want gritty jam.

Step 4. Pour into clean, sterile, containers. Add lids.

I used glass jars because I have an entire cupboard full of them. Plastic containers are great for freezer use as well. You do not need to use canning lids (the kind with a ring and top) since you will not be processing these in a canner. Simple screw on lids are easier to open and close anyway!

Step 5. Let sit on the counter for 1 hour. Store in the freezer for up to a year and in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. 

Because it is made from fresh fruit, and not cooked, the jam will not last as long in the refrigerator as cooked jam. We have a large family (7) so a 16 oz. jar will go pretty quickly. If you have a smaller family it is best to make 4 or 8 oz. jars. To thaw a frozen jar simply place the jar in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

I found these darling Pioneer Woman lids at Walmart. You can get a 4 pack for $3.

We made multiple batches. I made two quart sized jars and each of the girls made their own batch and filled up smaller 4 and 8 oz. jars.

We like using our freezer jam on pound cake, waffles, and our absolute favorite white bread recipe.

This Amish White bread is so delicious. I’ve memorized the recipe over the years and make it on a regular basis. One recipe will yield 2 loaves. It makes delicious toast, especially when topped with strawberry freezer jam.

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