A delicious healthy chia jam made with mixed berries, lemon juice, maple syrup and chia seeds. Much lower in sugar than traditional jam, easy to make and suitable for vegans.
Homemade chia jam is the best way I’ve found to enjoy jam without a lot of added sugar. My kids absolutely love jam on toast but I do try to limit the amount of sugar that they eat. Making my own healthier version out of chia seeds means that I can control exactly how much sugar is going in, plus I know that the fruit is fresher as well.
The first time I made chia jam I made it with raspberries. The recipe is on this healthy homemade raspberry jam tarts post if you’d like to have a look.
I’ve since played around with it and made a healthy rhubarb jam which I used to make these healthy vegan rhubarb bars.
This time I’ve made mixed berry chia jam. To keep it really easy, and cost effective, you can use frozen fruit. To make this healthy berry jam I used a bag of mixed frozen berries from the supermarket but you can substitute whichever berries you prefer, and use fresh ones instead if you’re reading this in the height of summer and looking for ways to use up a glut of berries from your garden or perhaps after an over-enthusiastic trip to a pick your own farm!
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How to make mixed berry chia jam:
It doesn’t take long to make your own healthy jam but you will need to leave enough time for it to cool and set in the fridge. If you want to eat it straight away it’s more like a berry sauce than a jam. The cooling and chilling process helps it thicken up and become more spreadable.
Mixed berry chia jam
A delicious healthy chia jam made with mixed berries, lemon juice, maple syrup and chia seeds. Much lower in sugar than traditional jam, easy to make and suitable for vegans.
Ingredients
- 400 g mixed frozen berries eg raspberries, strawberries, blackberries
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or more to taste
Instructions
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Place the berries and lemon juice in a small saucepan and heat through until the raspberries start to break down and become sauce like. Press them down with a wooden spoon to help this process along.
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Remove from the heat and stir in the chia seeds and maple syrup.
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Allow to cool slightly, then taste and add more maple syrup if desired.
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Leave to cool completely then place in an air tight container and store in the fridge for 2-3 hours to allow it to set.
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Keeps for around three days in the fridge.
Looking for breakfast ideas? Check out these 25 vegan breakfast recipes.
Jo
Made this today and it is really good! In a strange way it’s better than normal jam because you can taste the fruit more if that makes sense! I made half a batch to try it out but I can definitely see me making the whole batch in the future. I might put some of it in the freezer for use in cakes or desserts. Is there any other sweetener you’ve tried this with other than maple syrup?
Mandy Mazliah
I think I agree with you Jo! You can use any kind of sweetener. I think I’ve used honey and agave syrup.
Kate - gluten free alchemist
Always on the hunt for different and lower sugar jam recipes. I would not have considered adding chia. I will have to give it a go x
Mandy Mazliah
It’s really good – great for baking as well. Hope you enjoy it x