Hold on to your hats! This Easy Refrigerator Strawberry Jam Recipe is freaking delicious! Just 3 ingredients AND it's pectin-free. You can choose just how much sugar you wish to add and, in my opinion, this is so simple your kids can make it!
You know how couples can go to "war" over silly things like putting the lid on the toothpaste, which direction the toilet paper faces and if the seat is left up?? In my house, one such battle involves jam. Grape vs Strawberry actually.
He only will eat grape jam....that's it. Not another smidge of jam will he try, grrrr. He also ONLY wants cheesecake plain...plain!!!
That man won't even eat cooked fruit other than apples and my Rotisserie Bourbon & Brown Sugar Glazed Pineapple (its to-die-for). He says the pineapple doesn't count as "cooked" since it's not cooked down. That man!!
Meanwhile, I want nothing to do with grape jelly, nope...not gonna do it. If that was all the jelly left on earth...I still wouldn't eat it. Well, maybe if the much-anticipated zombie apocalypse happened and there was no food left and I desperately needed something sweet...Then I am pretty sure I'd eat it. BUT that's the only way.
This Easy Refrigerator Strawberry Jam Recipe came about after NOT having any strawberry jam in the house and being too lazy to go to the store for some. Since I had limes on-hand and not the traditional lemons, I went with making a strawberry lime jam and it was glorious!
This strawberry jam recipe is eat it off the spoon delicious!
Table of Contents
Strawberry Jam Ingredients
- Fresh Strawberries
- Fresh Lime
- Sugar
Variations
I have made variations of this Easy Refrigerator Strawberry Jam Recipe. Using lemons, limes, adding mint (daughters idea), adding cinnamon and once adding vanilla. My favorite way is strawberries + limes. Yummmm-O!
Give this jam a try. Let the kids help or let them take the reigns.
If you research no-pectin jams, you will see that many of them call for 2-4 cups of sugar. That's just plain crazy to me. I DO understand that the more sugar you use the thicker it will be, however, if you cook it down enough, you still get a nice jam consistency after its chilled. I just don't see the need for all of that sugar. I want to taste the strawberry and the lime, not sugar. If however you berry's are not very sweet, feel free to add a few more TBS of sugar.
This Easy Refrigerator Strawberry Jam Recipe makes a thoughtful & fantastic food gift! Pair it with some homemade scones or biscuits and tuck them into a cute lil' basket...A-dorable (and delicious)!
This recipe is in one of the cookbooks I wrote! I love that both young home cooks and adults can both make this tasty jam recipe easily.
DIY recipes you'll love!
Enjoy! XO Colleen
Recipe originally published August 2018. Updated June 2024.
Easy Refrigerator Strawberry Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries
- 3 TBS fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 TBS lime zest
Instructions
- Wash strawberries well. Remove stems and dice. Combine all ingredients in a medium sized pot. Mash mixture with a potato masher to help break strawberries down.
- Bring mixture to a boil in a pot at least twice the size of the mixture and stir s occasionally. Lower heat to medium-high and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Do not leave this on the stove unattended.
- The mixture will foam up and then as it is getting reduced, calm down and thicken up a little. The best way to tell if it is close to ready is to dip a spoon or spatula in every so often. First, the jam will begin to lightly coat the spoon, later it will drip/slide off in sections. That’s when you know it is ready.
- Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool completely. Store in a mason jar or glass bowl with lid and refrigerate until ready to use. Stays good for 2 weeks in your refrigerator.
- Tips: Use a larger pot than you need to prevent splatter. If the jam is not as thick as you would like it after it has been completely chilled, simply return it to a pot and allow it to boil again for 7-10 minutes. Repeat cooling process. It may take a couple of times making this until you “see” when the jam reaches the right consistency
Colleen says
Hi Roy! Yes you can. That is what I do. However, I literally can't stop eating it lol! I have had it last 3 weeks.
Whitney says
How much jam does this make?
Colleen says
Hi Violet (beautiful name) and thanks so much for the comment! Adding pineapple sounds delicious! I agree, I have kept it for over 2 weeks and it has always been fine. I think many of us err on the side of caution. I'd love to hear some of your cooking stories!!
Cindy says
Hi! This jam is AMAZING!! I halved the recipe and subbed 2T of honey for 2T of the sugar. I only had one lime so ended up with about a teaspoon of zest. I could still taste lime in the finished product. I didn't want to cook it down too much. I did that with my last jam (different recipe) and didn't like the color or viscosity so this time I didn't cook it the whole 15 minutes, only about 10 minutes. To make it thick enough, I added about a teaspoon of ground chia seeds. It worked and turned out so well! It's the best strawberry jam I've ever had! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Thomas says
yes hi can you tell me which kind of strawberries work best for this recipe
Colleen says
Traditional Strawberries found in your grocery store or hand-picked.
Autumn says
Looking forward to making this recipe this week.. I'm wondering, have you tried freezing it? Thanks!
Colleen says
I have not frozen it however I think it would freeze just fine once it's fully cooled. I actually just froze 10 pounds of strawberries yesterday (and a few pounds of lemon, lime and orange wedges), some of which I may use to make jam. Enjoy!
CLM in Maryland says
I mqde a half recipe to use up some strawberries that had frozen in the fridge and got all mushy when they thawed. It supposedly lasts two weeks, but I don't think it's going to make it.
Colleen says
Not lasting because you are eating it up or maybe because of the mushy berries (which should be fine I would think)?
Cassie says
Made this on a whim late tonight because I found some strawberries sitting on my counter that I’d forgotten about and didn’t want to trash them. Only had 1 lime though and decided to toss 2 kiwis in there, but it turned out great!
Colleen says
So good to hear and love the addition of the kiwi's! Thanks Cassie!
Flora Valentine says
I just made the Easy Refrigerator Strawberry Jam. It is wonderful!!!! I used lemon and lime in it since my lime yielded very little zest or juice. I also had 3 peaches which had to be used up and so I peeled and chopped them into it. Absolutely delicious. My husband and I cannot stop eating it! Thanks for this recipe!
Colleen says
Fantastic to hear Flora! Love the addition of peaces as well, yum!
Patricia Allen says
Domino Pure Cane sugar makes clear jelly and jams because it doesn't contain soy. This also applies to making iced tea. I accidentally learned this because of having an allergic reaction everytime I had tea at resaurants. They use cheap bulk sugar that has soy as a filler which makes it cloudy. For making jelly to win a blue ribbon in state fairs it must be clear- soy free!!! P S on the ingredients list of sugars soy isn't listed (?) My body tells me it's there! So the only one I can find that is soy free is Domino, label says Pure Cane Sugar.
KEITH KEDRO says
Patricia Allen or anyone who might know, will Turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) work for this recipe?
Colleen says
Hi Keith, I can't see why it wouldn't work for this, you will just end up with a slightly different taste due to the molasses content. I have not tried it but my gut thinks it should be fine.
Patricia Allen says
Thanks for the Refrigerator Strawberry Jam recipe
Colleen says
YW!! Hope you enjoyed it!
Marsha says
How many cups is 2 pounds of strawberries?
Colleen says
Approximately 4 heaping cups
Mary Lou says
cooling now first time making any kind of jam. Looks good.
Colleen says
I hope you enjoyed!! I wanted to make a batch this weekend but the strawberries at the market were awful sadly! Soon!!
Jamie says
Made this easy recipe after stopping at a road side stay d and ending up with a ton of berries. My family loves it and it's made for some great thank you gifts as well. everyone is a fan. Thank you for sharing!
Colleen says
So glad to hear!! Love this a lot myself!!