The Easiest Berry Chia Jam
Total Time
10 minutes (Plus 3 hours chill time)
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
0 minutes
Rating
4.9 out of 5 stars
(50)
Ingredients
2 2/3 cups
- 10 to 12 ounces (around 2 ½ cups) frozen raspberries, preferably organic
- 10 to 12 ounces (around 2 ¼ cups) frozen blueberries, preferably organic or wild
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons orange juice (about ½ medium orange, juiced)
- Up to 4 tablespoons maple syrup (optional), to taste
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Preparation
Step 1
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the frozen raspberries and blueberries, chia seeds, and orange juice. Cover and let the mixture defrost for about three hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.
Step 2
Once the berries are defrosted and soft, use a potato masher (or the back of a big spoon or serving fork) to mash up the mixture to your desired consistency. I like some texture in my jam, so I don’t mash it much.
Step 3
Taste, and if you’d like a sweeter jam, stir in some maple syrup, to taste (keep in mind that you can always just drizzle maple syrup or honey onto your jam later, if you prefer). If the chia seeds aren’t nice and plump yet, let the mixture rest for about 20 minutes to let them absorb some more moisture.
Step 4
I love this jam on toast/pancakes/waffles/bagels, with yogurt and granola, and in chia seed pudding. Store leftover jam in the refrigerator, covered, for about 5 days.
Step 5
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Chef's notes
Why buy organic? Conventionally grown berries are generally exposed to lots of pesticides while growing, so organic berries really are worth the extra expense (fortunately, frozen berries are cheaper than fresh!). Organic fruit also tends to be higher in nutrients than conventionally grown fruit (wild blueberries are even higher than regular blueberries).
Change it up:
You can use all blueberries or all raspberries in this recipe, but I love to use half of each. I don’t enjoy strawberries nearly as much, but they’ll work. This recipe is really designed for frozen berries, since they naturally release so much of their juices as they thaw. To use fresh berries, you would need to cook them to release enough juices; see this recipe for guidance.
On canning:
I am not a canning expert and have no idea if this recipe can be canned safely, so please don’t do it. It’s designed to be a simple, everyday recipe.
