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One of my favorite things ever is my mom’s homemade strawberry freezer jam. When I started eating sugar free, I needed a replacement. This is it! No sugar! It’s a Fuel Pull for Trim Healthy Mamas so it can be paired with anything.
If you’ve been around my blog for any length of time, you know that I have this thing for PB&J. Natural peanut butter is easy to come by these days (I love Kroger’s store brand!), but what is a classic PB&J without the strawberry jelly? Very dry, that’s what.
My mom has always made the best strawberry freezer jam, but it’s made with sugar and Sure Gel. Yeah, that’s out. This healthier version is made without sugar, thickened with natural thickening agents, and is the perfect way to use fresh strawberries in season. I’ve tried freezing and thawing this strawberry jam and it holds up just fine! Welcome to strawberry freezer jam all year long!
The thickening agents
I knew I didn’t want to rely entirely on glucomannan for thickening this jam because too much glucomannan can be slimy + that’s just not the texture of my mom’s traditional strawberry jam recipe. Enter gelatin. It creates the perfect texture when combined with glucomannan!
Enjoy it with…
- your favorite sprouted or sourdough bread
- Briana’s Basic Bread
- Homemade Bread
- waffles and pancakes
- cottage cheese or Greek yogurt
- homemade on plan granola
- muffins
- over ice cream
- on Light Rye Wasa crackers or rice cakes with low fat cottage cheese, low fat cream cheese, or skim ricotta
This strawberry freezer jam is a THM Fuel Pull so it can be paired with anything! I love it on homemade sourdough bread (as pictured in this post) with butter or natural peanut butter.
Using more than 5 grams of fat with a carb source like sourdough bread will give you a delicious THM Crossover. Stick to just a smear of butter or peanut butter if you want to stay in THM E territory OR pair the jam and toast with peanut butter made from defatted peanut flour to get that peanut butter and jelly vibe going without all the fat from natural peanut butter to turn your meal or snack into a crossover!
Can I make a larger batch?
I’ve made a double batch of this jam and it turned out fine. Much larger batches haven’t been as successful. The longer cook time required to bring an entire Dutch oven of strawberry jam to a boil dulls the color and makes the texture more gloopy. The jam doesn’t taste as fresh, either.
Can I make this jam using a traditional canning method?
I have tried canning this jam and definitely prefer the frozen method. Canning made the color kind of weird and the texture was more gloopy and thin. The flavor was good though! The jam was really runny at room temperature in the jars but set up more in the fridge.
I’m not an expert on canning and I don’t know if this sugar free jam has the needed preservatives to stay bacteria free long term, even if it’s canned properly. I can’t recommend it at this point. I’d love to hear thoughts from those of you who are canning experts!
Click here for a sugar free strawberry jam recipe acceptable for canning!
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STARTING THM
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MY RECIPE INDEX
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RECIPE INDEX BY FUEL TYPE/ALLERGY/THEME
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A strawberry recipe roundup
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Classic Strawberry Ice Cream
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Blueberry Jam
Check out these new sugar free strawberry jam recipes!
You can also find this recipe on page 420 of my first cookbook, Necessary Food.
Strawberry Freezer Jam
- Total Time: 16 mins
- Yield: 2 cups
Description
One of my favorite things ever is my mom’s homemade strawberry freezer jam. When I started eating sugar free, I needed a replacement. This is it! No sugar! It’s a THM Fuel Pull and low carb as well.
Ingredients
- 2 cups strawberry puree (blend strawberries in a blender until smooth, then measure)
- Dash of lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon glucomannan
- ¾ teaspoon Knox gelatin
- 1 tablespoon THM Super Sweet Blend
Instructions
- Bring the strawberry puree and lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan. As it is heating, whisk in the glucomannan and gelatin, adding them a little at a time while whisking so they don’t clump.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, simmer for 3 minutes. Take the mixture off the heat and whisk in the Sweet Blend. Taste and add more sweetener if desired.
- Let the jam cool, then refrigerate it for several hours to set (or put it right in the freezer). Store in the refrigerator (or the freezer for long term storage).
Notes
Gelatin: if using beef gelatin such as Great Lakes beef gelatin or THM Just Gelatin, add an extra 3/16 teaspoon.
Sweetener: feel free to use your favorite low glycemic sweetener to taste in place of the THM Super Sweet Blend.
I haven’t tried making this jam with strawberries that have been frozen and thawed, but that will probably work.
If the jam is too “slimy” for you due to the glucomannan, feel free to decrease the amount slightly. Perhaps add a little extra gelatin to help compensate. Keep in mind that gelatin won’t stay as firm when put on something like warm toast.
Allergy: this recipe is gluten, egg, dairy, and nut free.
This recipe was originally published on May 9, 2016. I’ve updated the pictures, added some new information, and republished it. The basic recipe is the same. You can also find this recipe on page 420 of my first cookbook, Necessary Food.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 6 mins
- Category: condiment
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: THM Fuel Pull, low carb, sugar free
Keywords: Fuel Pull, THM, Trim Healthy Mama, gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free
This recipe was originally published on May 9, 2016. I’ve updated the pictures, added some new information, and republished it. The basic recipe is the same.
My favorite jam!!
★★★★★
Can you use zanthan gum in place of glucomanin?
That’s generally acceptable but I haven’t tried it in this recipe. 🙂
Is xanthum gum a sub for glucce? I don’t have that.
TY,
Lynnita
In general, yes, although I haven’t tried that in this recipe. 🙂
Thanks for posting this jam. I mean to try it soon. I would love to see you blog about sourdough. I am experimenting with that. I would enjoy your insight. God bless you!
I’ve been experimenting with sourdough myself and hope to do a series on it at some point! I feel like I still have a lot to learn though. Maybe this fall or next year some time. 🙂 The two of us don’t go through enough bread to warrant frequent experimentation…haha. It’s a fun process to learn, for sure!
I made this with frozen strawberries, and it turned out great! I did (accidentally, but it turned out to be a good idea) double the other ingredients besides the strawberries and sweetener, just because I measured 2 cups of whole frozen strawberries (in the cookbook, there isn’t the note about pureeing then measuring, great addition! I realized it myself after I added the other ingredients, but I figured it might turn out since they would be more wet from frozen. It produced about 1/2 the yield, so that’s why I’m saying the other ingredients were double, I didn’t actually double anything, just accidentally halved the strawberries, and on purpose halved the sweetener since I thought of it in time.
★★★★★
I’m glad it still worked out for you! The book calls for 2 cups of pureed strawberries, which does indicate strawberries that have already been pureed, but I’m glad you find this wording an improvement! Thanks for trying it!
I just made your delicious Strawberry Freezer Jam. I put 1 cup in the refrigerator and the rest in the freezer. How long will it keep in the refrigerator? Don’t want it to go bad before I finish the container. Thanks
★★★★★
I’m not sure exactly how long it’ll keep, but if it’s in an airtight container I bet it’ll keep a few weeks. 🙂 Just throw it out if it tastes/smells bad.
Can you use xanthum gum instead of the glucomanan?
I haven’t tried that in this particular recipe but that often works. 🙂
I enjoyed your comment about making strawberry jam using Jello and ending up with strawberry Jello, good but not what you were trying to create. Naturally I just had to give it a try. I used too much Jello and ended up with the same thing. Right now there is a jar of it sitting in my freezer. I’m about to run out of jam (your recipe using Knox gelatin and Xzanthan gum which is perfect) and I don’t want to run to the store today for more ingredients to make more. I’d rather use the Jello/jam up. Do you suppose it would work to thaw the frozen Jello/jam, heat it in a saucepan, add some more water and see if it will re-gel to a consistency that I can use?
I’m not sure if that would work or not, but it’s worth a try! Maybe reheating it with the gelatin in it will denature the gelatin to a point where it won’t set up again? I really don’t know, but you won’t be wasting any ingredients if all you’re adding is water so I would personally give it a shot. 🙂 I’d love to hear if it works or not!
Could I use xanthan gum instead of the glucomannan? …and if so, how much to replace the
¾ tsp. glucomannan?
You’re welcome to try. 🙂 Xanthan gum and glucomannan are generally interchangeable in the same amount.
Do you have a recipe for strawberry jam that could be made using the traditional canning method?
No, this is the only one I have right now. I hope to delve into canning in the future, though!
Where do you get glucomannan?
Hi Donna! I purchase mine here (affiliate link) >> https://www.briana-thomas.com/recommends/glucomannan/
Hi Briana,
I might have overlooked the answer to my question but how many fresh strawberries (cup wise) will make two cups of purée?
Hi Sarah! I’m sorry – I didn’t measure them before pureeing so I don’t know the answer to your question. I’m guessing 3-4 cups?
This might help https://strawberryplants.org/strawberry-conversions-substitutions-and-equivalents/
Hello have you tried making it without or with less gluccie. I tried it today and it seems to turn out ok but not like your picutre. I think the gluccie dulled the color of the strawberries. It also was very thick there was no simmering it was thickening in the pot as I stirred it that normal?
★★★★
Hi Carrie! I’ve only ever tried it like this, and I don’t recommend omitting the gluccie entirely as the jam will melt when used on hot toast. It sounds like your gluccie may be stronger than mine; I would try using only half as much next time and see if that works better. 🙂
Just made this with grape juice (I was steaming grapes & canning the juice) so I used 2 cups of juice, 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin, and 3-4 T. sweetener and 1T. lemon juice; same amount of glucomannan. Super grape jelly!
I’d like to know if you are able to can this jam? Or is it strictly for the freezer! Looks so good!!
I’ve never tried canning it so I don’t know, but it would be worth a try! I’d do a small test batch first.
Hi Briana,
I made the strawberry jam and I really like it. I was wondering if this recipe would also work for other berries, like saskatoons? What do you think?
★★★★★
Hi Carol! I haven’t tried it with any other berries, but I’m sure it would work well for most (although I’m not familiar with saskatoons). I would try a small test batch first to make sure the gelatin strength is OK.
Would it work to make this in a large batch? I’d like enough for the whole year.
I don’t see why not. 🙂 Just multiply the recipe to fit the amount of berry puree that you have.
Have you had a chance yet to try with the THM Just Gelatin? I’m getting 2 flats of strawberries tomorrow and want to try to make a batch that is THM friendly instead of the usual freezer jam with sugar and Sure Jell. I could go buy the Knox but I already have the THM Just Gelatin.
No, I’m afraid I haven’t. You’ll need more of the Just Gelatin than the Knox called for. I would make a small test batch to experiment first before using your Just Gelatin. 🙂
I am so glad you posted this! I was missing the gelatin in the one I made with glucomannan only and didn’t know how much to put in! Thank you!
I made this earlier. It is still a bit slimy for my taste. I am finding that I have texture issues with many THM friendly recipes. I do have a question. I am not a kitchen expert so this might be a silly question. Why do we not use pectin tho thicken the jam? Is it because of the sweetener?
Hi Stacy! You can always try experimenting with using more gelatin in the place of the glucomannan. That would probably help. 🙂 As far as pectin goes, some of them have funky ingredients, so I haven’t gotten a clear answer about whether they’re on plan or not. Therefore, I decided to just make it without using ingredients I already had on hand. You’d definitely have to use a sugar free pectin because you have no sugar in the recipe to help it set up, but I’m not sure if the sugar free pectin is on plan or not.
Thanks. I will try it with more gelatin.
Pomona’s pectin (http://www.pomonapectin.com) should be on plan because it uses calcium water rather than dextrose or sugar to set the jam. Ball’s and Sure Jell have dextrose in their low sugar/no added sugar formulas.
Have you tried this pectin? I was wondering how it turns out? Does it measure the same as regular pectin?
I just put a batch of this in the fridge. I used some frozen strawberries since I didn’t have quite enough fresh ones but I thawed them and drained them as much as possible. I used Great Lakes gelatin — about 1 1/4 tsp and used xanthan gum instead of gluccie. It’s cooling now … I hope it turns out with my substitutions because I’m excited about this recipe!!
If you reduce them in the saucepan a little longer you won’t need to drain them. That’s what I do, anyway. Something for next time.
★★★★★
Did you try doubling or tripling this recipe all at once?
Yes, I’ve made multiple batches at a time. 🙂 Just see how much strawberry puree you have and adjust the other ingredients accordingly.
This looks soooo awesome!!! 😀
Oh my gosh…. this looks AMAZING!!! I’ll be trying it this weekend. I bet I could eat it up so fast lol.
★★★★★
I’m new to THM. Last year I made a regular sugar batch of strawberry jam. Can this recipe by canned and processed like the sugar recipes?
I’ve only tried freezing this jam, so I can’t vouch for canning. I honestly do not have much canning experience, and this recipe doesn’t rely on the normal Sure Gel for thickening, so I’m not sure if it would work or not.
Looks great! Any thoughts on how xylitol would work?
I don’t have much experience using xylitol, but I doubt that would be a problem.
Make that defatted peanut flour. Ha.
Haha…sounds awesome!
You should try PB&J overnight oats with defeated peanut flour and fresh strawberries. Yum!
I really miss pb&j, so I’m eager to try this recipe! My question is about the Nuke Queen Bread, though. I just don’t know how to portion it for FP. Please advise.
I believe 2-3 slices is the recommended FP serving size.
ok, but roughly speaking, how many slices should i be able to get from a loaf? Or about how thick should the slices be?( i hope this isn’t a stupid question)
Since all the ingredients in the bread are FP ingredients, I don’t think it’s an exact science, but I usually get about 14 slices from a regular sized loaf of any kind of bread. I would just cut them in regular sized slices. 🙂
Thanks!
Think this would work the same with other berries or will ratios need to change? I have some blackberries in the freezer that need used up and I never did make jam with them and this would be perfect. Also, my mom used to make a strawberry rhubarb jam that was actually just rhubarb and strawberry jello (can’t remember other ingredients) I might try that too. Also for Peanut butter, My favorite is Adams No Stir. I find it nice and creamy just like off plan PB but without the sugar.
I haven’t tested it with any other berries, so I’m not sure on the answer to your question. I would definitely test a small batch first to make sure it sets up properly. Thanks for the pb tip!
Thanks, Briana – just in time for strawberry season, though it’ll be a month or more yet till strawberries are ready here in Massachusetts. I’m curious what brand of natural peanut butter you use. It looks so nice and creamy on the picture. So far my experiences with natural peanut butter have been that its gritty and dry – not at all like the lovely creaminess I used to love, and I miss it! Yours looks like the “off limits” stuff. 🙂
That’s because it is. 😛 I think that was actually the natural peanut butter from Aldi, but it’s not strictly on plan. In small amounts, I’m fine with using it, but I can’t endorse it as being on plan.
Ok, thanks! Good to hear that even THM bloggers cheat sometimes. 🙂 Maybe with such yummy jam to pair it with, I won’t mind the truly on-plan PB so much!
Brianna Ohhh this looks amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing all of your recipes. I’m afraid I will want to just grab a spoon and eat it straight!! How much can we eat to keep it a FP??
There aren’t any S or E fuels included, so as long as you stay under your 1 cup strawberry limit in an S or FP setting, you’ll be fine.
Thank you Briana! Cannot wait to try this when our strawberries are ready..any idea how much more great lakes gelatin to add..and is bulk gelatin always pork gelatin?
Bulk gelatin has always been pork gelatin in my experience, but I can’t speak for everywhere. The store you got it at should be able to let you know for sure. In this recipe, I would probably do a test batch with 1 tsp. of Great Lakes gelatin instead of the 3/4 tsp. Knox called for, then adjust from there once you see what the results are.