This is the best blackberry freezer jam you’ll ever have… It’s made without pectin, very little sugar, no cooking, so it’s loaded with fresh blackberry flavor… And so easy to make!
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Blackberry Freezer Jam
Get ready for the best blackberry freezer jam you’ll ever taste! This recipe is a game-changer: it’s made without pectin, uses very little sugar, requires no cooking, and is bursting with fresh blackberry flavor. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to make, taking just about 10 minutes from start to finish.
It’s blackberry season, and you’re going to love this homemade jam! Perfectly sweet and ready in a flash, it lasts for an entire year in the freezer. Here on our homestead, we grow a ton of raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, and this no-cook method is our absolute favorite way to preserve them to enjoy all winter long.
Just like my popular strawberry freezer jam, this blackberry version is made without pectin. It’s a fantastic recipe that works beautifully with both fresh and frozen blackberries!
Growing up, my mother made almost everything from scratch… except for jam. The first time I tried freezer jam, I was in shock at how incredibly good it was! Now, I’m a bit of a jam “snob.” If it’s cooked, over-processed, overly sugared, and not mostly fruit, I just don’t care for it.
Freezer jam is exceptional because it’s fresh, not cooked, meaning it tastes most like ripe berries. It’s also the easiest way to make jam and uses way less sugar than traditional jams. While traditional jams are often mostly sugar, freezer jam is primarily fruit, with just a touch of sweetener if desired.
We love this homemade freezer jam on everything from ice cream and biscuits to fluffy sourdough pancakes, sourdough waffles, English muffins, yogurt, and sourdough bread! In my humble opinion, there’s no better way to preserve ripe blackberries.
How to Make No-Cook Blackberry Freezer Jam
This easy blackberry freezer jam recipe is ridiculously simple and only uses four key ingredients! You’ll simply combine fresh (or thawed frozen) blackberries, lemon juice, a little bit of sugar (or substitute), and a thickener, then blend until smooth. If you prefer a chunkier jam, you can easily crush the blackberries with a potato masher instead.
Blend to your desired texture and taste test. Once you’re happy with the consistency, it’s done—easy peasy! Fill your clean freezer-safe jars, leaving about an inch of headspace at the top for expansion when it freezes. You can enjoy it immediately or freeze it for later. It lasts for a year in the freezer if there’s any left!
Key Ingredients & Essential Tools
Ingredients:
- 4 cups Blackberries: Use fresh or frozen. If using frozen, ensure they are fully thawed before proceeding with the recipe.
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar: (Traditional jam recipes often call for multiple cups of sugar; this recipe uses much less sugar and more fruit for a vibrant berry flavor!)
- Optional: If you prefer less sugar or a sugar-free option, you can reduce this to 1/4 cup sugar or use a sugar substitute like erythritol (see notes below).
- 1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice or Lemon Juice Concentrate: Lemon juice complements the blackberry flavor beautifully and helps preserve the jam’s vibrant color.
- 1/3 cup Ultra Gel or EZ Gel Thickener: These thickeners are modified food starches (from potato or cornstarch). They use an enzyme to change the starch, allowing you to thicken the jam without cooking.
Tools:
- Blender, Food Processor, or Potato Masher: To blend or crush blackberries and other ingredients to your desired texture.
- Measuring Cups: For accurate ingredient measurements.
- Large Mixing Bowl: To combine all your ingredients.
- Freezer-Safe Jars: Essential for storing your jam in the freezer without cracking or leaching chemicals into your food. I prefer small glass jars as they’re perfect for a single family breakfast topping.
- Optional: Reusable Freezer Lids: A great eco-friendly option!
Sugar-Free Blackberry Freezer Jam? Yes, You Can!
If you want to make sugar-free blackberry freezer jam, I highly recommend using erythritol. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol produced by fermenting the sugar in corn and wheat starch. It has significantly fewer calories than regular sugar and other sugar alcohols, making it an excellent choice for a healthier treat.
You May Also Enjoy These Other Freezer Jam Recipes!
I love freezer jam so much that I’ve created several recipes featuring my favorite berries and fruits. If you enjoyed this blackberry jam recipe, you might also like these:
- Sugar-Free Strawberry Freezer Jam: I’m always looking for healthier ways to enjoy treats, and this sugar-free strawberry freezer jam truly hits the spot!
- Easy Homemade Bread Recipe: This bread is the absolute best with any freezer jam—it might be gone before it even has a chance to cool!
- Raspberry Freezer Jam: Raspberries pair perfectly with lime, creating a tantalizing flavor in this raspberry freezer jam recipe that you might just end up eating with a spoon!
Please let me know what YOU think!
If you try this recipe, I’d love if you give it a review on the recipe card, and let me know how it turned out in the comments or review! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouse_harvest with your delicious creation!
Low Sugar Blackberry Freezer Jam – No Pectin, No Cook
Ingredients
- 4 cups blackberries fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice fresh or Concentrate
- 1/3 cup Ultra Gel or EZ Gel thickener
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar or sugar substitute like erythritol
Instructions
- Combine the fresh (or thawed frozen) blackberries and lemon juice in a food processor, blender, or large mixing bowl. Process or mash until your desired texture is reached. For chunkier jam, use a potato masher.
- Add the granulated sugar (or sugar substitute) and the Ultra Gel or EZ Gel thickener. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are well combined.
- Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes to allow it to thicken to the desired consistency.
- Once you're happy with your freezer jam consistency, it's done! Pour the jam into clean, freezer-safe jars, leaving about 1 inch of headspace at the top to allow for expansion during freezing.
- Enjoy immediately or store in the freezer for up to one year.
Notes
Nutrition
About Juliea
Juliea Huffaker is the creator of Farmhouse Harvest, and dedicated to teaching from-scratch cooking, sourdough baking, gardening, and food preservation. With over 25 years of hands-on experience she has preserved hundreds of jars of produce, mastered the art of meats and sourdough baking, and nurtured a thriving organic garden. Her recipes and articles have been featured across the web. And she’s passionate about inspiring others to embrace a simpler, self-sufficient life style.
12 comments
Chris
Can I use a pouch of certo or some pectin as a thickener?
Juliea Huffaker
Hi Chris!
That’s a great question about using Certo or pectin in your no-cook freezer jam! Certo (which is a brand of pectin) is a standard thickener for most traditional and freezer jam recipes, BUT how it works in a “no-cook” context is important to understand.
For a jam to truly be “no-cook” like this one (meaning, no heat is applied to anything), you generally can’t use Certo or other pectins, because pectin requires some boiling or heating in with sugar and acid to get that gelled consistency.
Several “no-cook freezer jam” recipes that do use Certo, you have dissolve the Certo (liquid or powdered) in a small amount of liquid or water first, and heat, or at least very vigorous stirring to ensure it fully dissolves and can later react with the fruit and sugar to set. The “no-cook” part usually refers to the fruit itself not being cooked down, preserving its fresh flavor and color.
This no cook freezer jam involves zero heat, you could try alternative thickeners like chia seeds, which absorb liquid and swell to get that jam-like texture without any cooking or special activation. I hope this helps!
Phyllis
The Ultra Gel seems to be out of stock everywhere. What other brand name would be a good substitute?
juliea
Hi Phyllis! You can also use the EZ Gel brand… Same stuff!
Stephanie
We love blackberry jam in our house! This is sure to be a hit!
Anja
This is great and I love that you’re not boiling the blackberries (one of my favorite summer fruits)!
Leslie
This looks simple enough to do with my 4 yo. She’ll be so happy because she loves jam.
Sharon
This looks delicious, I’ll have to try it with our boysenberries!!
Sheena
Keeping this for upcoming blackberry season!
Jenn
Oh my goodness this sounds soooo good!
We grow many types of berries. I know I will be trying the blackberry for sure, might this work with blueberry as well?
I need to try that Raspberry Lime one, too. I am a sucker for anything with lime in it, lol! YUM!
Diane Gail
This is the first I’ve heard of freezer jam! How fun! I’m going to have to give this a try this summer when those blackberries start rolling in 😉
juliea
Good Morning Diane, Thanks for stopping by! Really? I didn’t know about it till I was an adult either, but it’s a life changer… Once you have freezer jam, you’ll wont want the old stuff anymore!