17 Homemade Jam Recipes for Beginners

updated Nov 29, 2023

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Credit: Joe Lingeman

If you’re never made jam before, the process may seem daunting. But homemade jam is surprisingly simple — and the results will blow any store-bought jar out of the water. Here are 17 of our easiest recipes to start with.

Jam Recipes

1 / 17

Basic Fruit Jam

This recipe will teach you how to make an easy berry jam — no canning required. In four simple steps you'll be closer to a delicious homemade treat.

2 / 17

Apricot Vanilla Bean Jam

Vanilla not only lends its signature aroma to this orange-hued jam, but it also contributes flecks of vanilla bean that make it extra eye-catching.

3 / 17

If you’re lucky enough to have access to wild plums, this is exactly what to do with them. However, any variety of plums will do.

4 / 17

Using the gelling power of tiny chia seeds, you can transform a few cups of ripe fruit into a low-sugar, spreadable, spoonable jam in about 20 minutes.

5 / 17

Quick Mission Fig Jam

This deeply flavored jam calls for dried figs rather than fresh, which means you can make it all year long.

6 / 17

Turn your summer tomatoes into an easy, sweet-and-savory tomato jam perfect for marinades, dips, or toast. Here's how to do it.

7 / 17

Triple Berry Quick Jam

This triple berry combo of raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries is the perfect choice if you’re indecisive and can’t pick which summer berry to use.

8 / 17

Onion-Thyme Jam

Thyme lends an earthy, lightly floral note to this savory jam. Try it on a crostini or spooned over grilled chicken.

9 / 17

Quick Cherry Jam

In case you needed an excuse to bring home a big bundle of cherries from the farmers market, this simple summery jam is it.

10 / 17

Freezer Peach Jam

Learn the basics of pectin and peaches for freezer jam.

11 / 17

Single Jar of Fruit Jam

Learn how to make a single jar of jam, a weekly ritual that will make the most of your fruit purchases.

12 / 17

Strawberry Thyme Jam

I attended a party at which the dessert was an enormous tray of ripe, local strawberries. The berries were artfully arranged around a jar of honey from nearby hives. And though the berries were plenty sweet all on their own, our host encouraged us to dip the strawberries in the honey before taking a bite. The combination of strawberries and honey was a revelation.

13 / 17

Blackberry Chia Jam

A low-sugar, all-natural jam that takes only minutes to prepare? Yes, there is such a thing! All you need is fresh fruit, lemon juice, chia seeds, and honey, and you can have a batch of homemade jam that is not only quick but quite low in sugar, too.

14 / 17

Easy No-Cook Freezer Jam

Regular jam-making and canning are old favorites of mine, but freezer jam is freedom from those times when the hours of boiling fruit and water baths are not only arduous, but also impractical. No-cook freezer jam is the answer for anyone who wants to make jam, but doesn’t have the time, space, or patience required for traditional jam-making. The fact that it turns stunning fruit into an impeccable jam will make you fall in love with it.

15 / 17

Boozy Bourbon Bacon Jam

Learn how to make bourbon bacon jam for gifting or for just improving your breakfasts and dinners.

16 / 17

Small Batch Spiced Plum Jam

This recipe uses a smart, easy technique for making a small batch of fruit jam.

17 / 17

Sweet & Savory Bacon Jam

If you haven’t already discovered bacon jam for yourself, here’s your chance. Every single bite is full of rich, savory, oh-so-sweet goodness. There are a lot of variations floating around the internet, including ones using coffee, brown sugar, garlic, bourbon, and peppers.

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