No-Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam
This easy strawberry freezer jam is perfect for beginners! It is a simple no-cook strawberry jam recipe that doesn’t even require special canning skills.
This strawberry freezer jam is a beloved summer recipe that I originally published in 2011 and I’ve been making it almost every year since!
Our family loves homemade strawberry jam so much that I even included it in my best selling cookbook for kids: The Ultimate Kids’ Baking Book.
When the girls were little, I would take them strawberry picking so they could see the fields where the berries come from.
When I first started making this sweet strawberry spread, I was a little nervous about canning without actually canning but after nearly so many years of making this recipe, I can promise it is so much easier than you’d think. You’ll quickly see why it is one of my favorite fresh strawberry recipes ever!
Why This is the Best Recipe
- Perfect First Jam Recipe: Strawberries are so easy to make into jam because they crush well and set up so nicely with the pectin.
- Versatile Fruit Spread: You’ll have no trouble using up every last drop. Need ideas? Check out my serving suggestions at the bottom.
- Fun to Make with Kids: This is one of our family’s cherished recipes and my girls have such fond memories of making the jam every summer. It’s a sweet tradition to start with your family, too.
Ingredient Notes
All you need is three simple ingredients:
- Fresh Strawberries: We love to use handpicked berries from a local farm while strawberries are in season but I have also done a refill batch mid-winter with berries from the grocery store. You could use frozen strawberries but you’d have to thaw them thoroughly first.
- Sure Jell Fruit Pectin: I use the original Sure Jell pectin mix, not the low sugar version. Be careful that you get the right one or the ratio of strawberries to sugar will be completely off in the final recipe.
- Sugar: This will feel like a lot of sugar but remember that when you use the jam you’ll only be eating a tablespoon at a time.
Prep the Fresh Strawberries
Start by thoroughly washing your strawberries. Drain them in a collander.
Then use a paring knife to trim the stems.
Add the prepared berries to a large mixing bowl and crush them with a potato masher.
Press slowly as you start to avoid big splatters of fruit juice. The strawberries will get easier to crush as the juices collect in the bowl.
Continue to mash the berries until you achieve a texture you like. Remember that large pieces of berry will still be in your jam after you’re done.
If you prefer a chunky jam you can leave the larger pieces. If you prefer a smoother jam, be sure to keep mashing until the strawberries are smooth.
Once the strawberries are mashed to your liking, spoon them into a measuring cup to ensure you have the right ratio of fruit to sugar or your jam won’t set properly.
How to Make Freezer Jam
Pour the measured strawberries into a clean mixing bowl. Add the sugar and stir.
Let the mixture rest while you prepare the pectin.
Add the pectin and cold water to a small saucepan. Stir until it has dissolved.
Bring the mixture to a boil over HIGH heat and simmer for 1 minute.
Scrape the pectin into the bowl of strawberries and stir until the sugar in the mixture has dissolved, about 3 minutes.
The jam will feel significantly smoother and less grainy once the sugar has dissolved.
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Let the Jam Set
To finish my jam, I always use these small jelly jars but you can use any freezer-safe container you prefer.
I recommend dividing the recipe into smaller portions for freezing so you don’t have to thaw and use one giant portion all at once.
This recipe will fill 5 small jelly jars. I always wash and dry them thoroughly before prepping the jam. That way they’re ready to be filled as soon as the jam has been prepped.
Pour the jam into the jars, leaving a 1/2-inch space at the top for the jam to expand when it freezes. Wipe the edges clean and then place the lids on top.
Let the filled jars set at room temperature for 24 hours before long term storage.
Freezing Instructions
Once the jam has rested on your counter for 24 hours, it is ready to be stored in the freezer.
Once frozen, you can thaw a jar right in the fridge. I leave mine in there overnight before using.
It will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge so just thaw one jar at a time.
The frozen jam can be kept for up to 12 months.
Serving Suggestions
If you make a batch of strawberry jam this summer, you can then use your frozen jars all year long to make so many treats even more deliicous!
Try layering it into homemade bread machine white bread for the best PB&J’s you will EVER have.
Use it to make strawberry filled cupcakes or layer cakes with cream cheese frosting.
Serve it for a tea party with mock clotted cream and fresh strawberry scones.
Use it as a strawberry syrup for spreading over buttermilk pancakes or a fun topping for peanut butter waffles.
Spoon it over pretty bowls of vanilla ice cream to make homemade strawberry ice cream sundaes.
Or, if you buy a copy of The Ultimate Kids’ Baking Book, you’ll find a recipe that uses the strawberry jam to make amazing chocolate covered strawberry brownies that are just adorable for Valentine’s Day or Christmas!
And if you love traditional baked goodies, you could use this as a filling for strawberry jelly donuts using this paczki recipe (or Polish donuts!) or make a batch of these peanut butter and jelly Hawaiian roll cheese danish.
More Freezer Jam Recipes
We just love homemade freezer jam recipes. Once you’ve tried them, you’re ruined for store-bought jelly forever!
If you want to branch out from this delicious strawberry jam, you could try a strawberry rhubarb jam or one of our other favorite freezer jam flavors:
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed strawberries from 1 qt. fully ripe strawberries
- 4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 (1.75 oz) box Original SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin
Instructions Start Cooking
- Prepare 5 1-cup containers to hold your jam. Wash them in hot soapy water and dry thoroughly with a clean towel.
- Wash and drain the strawberries. Remove the stems and crush the strawberries with a potato masher. It might be easier to work in smaller 1-cup batches of berries at a time rather than try to mash the whole batch at once.
- Measure exactly 2 cups prepared mashed fruit and juices into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and let stand for 10 min., stirring occasionally.2 cups crushed strawberries, 4 cups sugar
- Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring for 1 min until the pectin is completely disolved. Add the pectin and water to the fruit mixture and stir for 3 min. or until sugar is mostly dissolved. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)3/4 cup water, 1 (1.75 oz) box Original SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin
- Fill all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops, be sure to leave that extra space since the jam will expand as it freezes. Clean up any splashes of jam from the top edges of the containers with a damp paper towel or clean cloth. Immediately cover the containers with their lids.
- Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Jam will then be ready to use. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 1 year. You’ll need to thaw it in the refrigerator before using to make it spreadable again.
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About Tiffany
Tiffany is a home-cooking enthusiast, three-time cookbook author, and creator of the sites Peanut Blossom, Peanut Blossom Book Club, and Don’t Just Fly. She believes that family dinner can be manageable, fun, and — most importantly — tasty. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and two daughters and can often be found baking a loaf of bread with her beloved bread machine, reading a good book, or planning her family’s next adventure.
I have made the freezer method of strawberry jam for years. In the last few years, I have swapped over from Sure Jel to the Ball brand and I love the taste. It has much less sugar; therefore, you can really taste the strawberries. My family loves it!
My mother-in-law and I make jam every year together but these last several years the jam is more runny than it was before. We are trying to figure out why that is when we came across your Ball vs. Sure Jell (what we have always used). We are considering trying Ball now but want to know how many cups each batch comparatively makes. Do you know? Thank you.
How funny, Jenna. I was just thinking that this year’s batch was the thickest I’d ever made before, usually it is much more runny just as you described. The only thing I did differently was to cook the jam a bit longer than normal. I actually used Sure Jell for the gelatin.
I’m so sad I didn’t go strawberry picking this year — I just couldn’t do it with getting the house ready for showings etc. Strawberry freezer jam is by far my favorite thing in the world. I use it for making pies, syrup on pancakes, etc. There are so many uses beyond Jam for it!!