breakfast Desserts Fruit

Vanilla Bean Strawberry Jam

Vanilla Bean Strawberry Jam

Strawberries, not sugar, is the star of this fresh strawberry jam–making it the perfect addition to your Mother’s Day breakfast.

I have a confession to make.  I cannot pass up a sale on strawberries.  Last summer, I had 4 boxes of peaches that I picked from a neighbor’s tree.  I was in the middle of canning them in syrup and making peach jam when I ran out of canning lids.  So, I made a quick trip to the store.  As I walked through the front door, there sat a huge stack of strawberry flats selling for $8 a flat.  That is $1 a pound, which I think is a fantastic deal.

I looked at the strawberries and they looked back at me.  I thought about all the peaches waiting for me at home.  I looked back at the strawberries.  I tried to walk away.  Honest, I did.  I think I got about 10 feet away before the cart turned back around and I loaded 3 flats of strawberries in my cart and headed to the checkout (after getting the canning lids of course).  ðŸ™‚

vanilla bean strawberry freezer jam

Now, I’m so excited because it is strawberry season again, and I have a new recipe and a new excuse to buy flats of strawberries.  This strawberry jam was a big hit with the family.  In fact, they devoured 3 batches in two days.  (Luckily, I also stashed a few containers in the freezer.)

I love the chia seeds in the jam.  It thickens up the jam, without you needing to cook the berries. Consequently, your jam has the fresh-picked strawberry taste.  The chia seeds look similar to the strawberry seeds, so nobody really noticed (or complained).

There is just enough vanilla bean to give a subtle hint of complex flavor without overpowering the strawberries.  So, if you don’t have a vanilla bean, just leave it out.  But if you do have a vanilla bean, give it a try.  I think you will agree the taste is amazing.

vanilla bean strawberry jam on spoon

For some of my batches, I used white sugar instead of honey.  I preferred the honey, but the sugar also worked well.

Because there isn’t tons of sugar in this jam to act as a preservative, I would use any jam stored the refrigerator within a week.  Any jam frozen in the freezer should last a few months, or until your family notices it in there.

strawberry jam


Vanilla Bean Strawberry Jam

Makes about 3 cups

1 lb strawberries

2 Tbsp chia seeds

2-4 Tbsp honey (depending on your preferences and the sweetness of the strawberries)

Vanilla bean

Wash strawberries and remove stems.  Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise.  Using just 1/4 of the vanilla bean, scrape the tiny black seeds from the inside of the pod using a knife and use the seeds in the jam.  Place all ingredients in a food processor with the blade attachment.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into a jar or freezer container.  Freeze or keep in fridge.  Wait one day for the jam to set-up (the chia seeds to swell) before using. Or use right away with the jam being a thinner sauce for a delicious strawberry topping.

Toss the rest of the vanilla bean into your sugar bowl for vanilla sugar.

Have a lovely Mother’s Day!

You may also like...

5 Comments

  1. Mmm yum! Thank God, I have chia seeds and strawberry on my hands, guess I know what I’ll do with them 🙂 but I will probably add agave nectar instead of honey, hopefully it will turns out good

    1. Yes, I hope it turns out great. I’ve never tried agave nectar, but I hear great things about it.

  2. I’ve been wanting to try making chia jam! Your’s looks perfect!

    1. Thank you!

  3. I absolutely love the flavor vanilla beans bring to the table. Adding chia seeds is very clever!

Comments are closed.