This sweet strawberry freezer jam recipe is the easiest way to enjoy fresh berries in 30 minutes with just four ingredients!
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If you’re looking for even more easy recipes with strawberries, don’t miss this strawberry tres leches cake, a strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting, and this strawberry cream cheese icebox cake, too!
Delicious and super easy!!
– Shari
It’s highly predictable — I take the kids up to our neighbor’s farm to pick strawberries for a couple of hours and we inevitably come home with more fresh fruit than we could ever possibly eat at once. When this happened again last week, I turned to my favorite strawberry freezer jam recipe as a simple way to preserve our bounty. After all, we can only consume so many batches of strawberry crisp or slices of strawberry pie in one week!
Strawberry Freezer Jam is an Easy Way to Preserve Fresh Fruit
I’ve spent plenty of hours over the years putting up many, many jars of preserved fruits and vegetables. There’s a lot to be said for the ability to open up a jar of preserves in the middle of winter and instantly be transported back to the ripe summer berries. That said, proper canning is a time consuming process, and it’s not always necessary.
Strawberry freezer Jam tastes exactly like any other jar of your favorite homemade strawberry jam. There are just two main differences between a traditional strawberry jam recipe and a strawberry freezer jam recipe:
- In traditional jam recipes, the fruit is cooked on the stovetop with sugar and pectin. By contrast, the berries are not cooked for freezer jam, and therefore keep their fresh taste and beautiful color.
- Freezer jam does not go through the traditional canning process to kill all of the bacteria and make the product shelf-stable. Instead, freezer jam must be stored in the refrigerator or in the freezer.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Make sure that you’re using powdered fruit pectin (not liquid pectin) for this recipe.
- Stick with regular granulated sugar (instead of sugar substitutes like Splenda or stevia) and do not decrease the quantity called for in the recipe. Jam making is an exact science, so measuring the correct quantities of fruit, sugar and pectin are essential to a successful batch of jam.
- You won’t actually taste the lemon in the jam. Instead, the lemon juice serves a very specific purpose. The lemon juice lowers the pH of the jam, which neutralizes negative charges on the strands of pectin and helps your jam set. No runny jam!
- You’ll need 6 sterilized half-pint freezer-safe jars and lids (such as mason jars) or other freezer-safe containers. A sterilized funnel makes it easier to get the jam inside the jar without spilling
- It’s a good practice to sterilize the jars and lids before canning in order to kill any bacteria, fungi or yeasts before filling. There are a variety of ways to sterilize the jars (here’s a helpful article with different options), but for freezer jam I typically just run them through the dishwasher, making sure that the dishwasher will be done at about the same time that I want to fill the jars.
- Since the freezer jam isn’t cooked like traditional jam, it can be difficult to dissolve all of the sugar in the fruit. When the sugar isn’t completely dissolved, you may end up with a finished jam that has a “gritty” or “grainy” consistency. To properly dissolve the sugar, be sure to follow the recipe instructions exactly and set a timer to make sure that you’re giving the jam mixture plenty of time to come together. Stir it frequently, and let it sit as instructed.
How to Make Strawberry Freezer Jam
This recipe may be easy, but you certainly don’t sacrifice any flavor! Get your ingredients and supplies ready, because the process moves quickly. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Combine the crushed strawberries and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. I use a potato masher to crush my fruit, but you can also use a pastry blender.
- In a saucepan, bring the water and pectin to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for exactly 1 minute.
- Pour the hot pectin, along with the lemon juice, into the strawberry mixture.
- Stir constantly for 3 minutes.
- Use a funnel (or a spoon) to fill the jars, cover with the lids, and allow the jam to rest on the counter for 24 hours.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this strawberry jam recipe on toast, flaky biscuits, baked pancakes with pancake mix, Bisquick waffles, sour cream muffins. It’s also tasty stirred into yogurt or oatmeal, or drizzled over ice cream.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make sure that you leave about ½-inch of headspace in each jar. This will allow the jam to expand when it freezes and will prevent your jars or containers from shattering.
- The jam will not set immediately, so it’s important to allow the jars to rest without interruption at room temperature for 24 hours.
- How to Store: Once the jam has rested for 24 hours, store the jars in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 12 months.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed strawberries (about 4-5 cups whole berries before crushing)
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 ounces (about 6 tablespoons) powdered fruit pectin
Instructions
- Combine strawberries and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- In a saucepan, bring water and pectin to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.
- Stir hot pectin and lemon juice into strawberry mixture.
- Stir constantly for 3 minutes.
- Fill sterilized freezer-safe jars or other containers, leaving about ½-inch of headspace. Quickly cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Freeze for up to 12 months or refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Thaw frozen jam in the refrigerator and stir before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
More Ways to Use Fresh Picked Strawberries
Strawberry Chicken Salad
15 minutes mins
Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pie Recipe
2 hours hrs 42 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in May, 2020. It was updated in May, 2025.
wow looks so natural and yummy…love to try this.
that’s looks yummy, very curious about it’s taste.
Question: How long will jam last in the refrigerator after thawing?
Hi, Angela! It’s generally recommended that you use the jam within 3 weeks once it’s refrigerated. Enjoy!
Delicious, but lot of sugar.. any way to make abatch with much less sugar
Hi, Carol! Jam-making is an exact science, so altering the amount of sugar with respect to the other ingredients may result in a jam that doesn’t set. That said, you can feel free to experiment. If it doesn’t fully set, then you have a strawberry sauce to spoon over vanilla ice cream! 🙂
Delicious and super easy!!
Thank you, Shari!
Hi Blair,
It’s strawberry season here in North Carolina so I was thinking of making a batch of your freezer jam. This may seem like a silly question, but what’s the best way to crush the whole strawberries? Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi, Deb! It’s not a silly question at all! I usually use a potato masher but a pastry blender also works. Hope you enjoy the jam!
Hi Blair, just came across this recipe and definately want to make some. Would you please tell me where to get the freezer safe jars? Thanks so much and can’t wait for fresh strawberry jam!
Hi Hally! You can find mason jars on Amazon here or in most grocery stores.
I just made your strawberry freezer jam recipe and it turned out terrible. I followed your directions and ingredients and wound up throwing it away because the sugar wouldn’t dissolve. Way too much sugar, so I wasted $3.50 on sure-gel, 4. Cups of sugar and a container of fresh strawberry’s. What a waste of time and money.
Now I have to go purchase the ingredients again.
This looks good! I’m going to do this with my berries from here on instead of canning. I do love your containers too, they’re so pretty! Would you share where you got them please?
Hi Daniela! We use these jars.
We hope you enjoy!
Love this recipe! Can you substitute any fruit with this recipe?
Hi Christy! We haven’t tested this recipe with other fruits, but it should work just fine. We hope you enjoy!