This easy strawberry freezer jam comes together quickly, with just 4 simple ingredients, no fruit pectin, and no refined sugar! Perfectly sweet and spreadable, you’ll want to have multiple batches in your freezer.

If you’re like me and have always wanted to be a member of the “I can make jam” club, but seem to be missing the jam gene, THIS is the recipe for you.
My Fruit Butter is delicious, and now I have a jam recipe that officially makes me The Lady That Makes Jam.
Hats off to my mother-in-law, who makes the full-blown real-deal jam and cans it and makes it look easy. This recipe is for the rest of us mere mortals who aren’t quite ready for those extra steps.
If you need an easy recipe for strawberry freezer jam, you’re in the right place!
STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM
This CRAZY easy strawberry freezer jam is amazing because of all of the things you DON’T need:
- No intense cooking. There is a smidge of warming, but we can handle warming.
- Zero canning. No pressure cooker OR water bath canning. Once the jam is in the jars, you’re finished!
- No pectin. Because I normally don’t have it, since I’ve given up on traditional jam…
- Zero refined sugar. Only natural sweeteners here!

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM RECIPE INGREDIENTS
This strawberry freezer jam recipe has just 4 simple ingredients: strawberries, lemon, gelatin, and honey. That’s it!
FRESH STRAWBERRIES
It’s important that you use sweet-tasting ripe strawberries when you’re making jam. Since we aren’t adding sugar, some of the sweetness of the jam will come from the berries themselves (and some from the honey).
To keep your costs down, consider using ”jam berries”, the not-so-pretty but oh-so-delicious berries that you can find at farmer’s markets (check out my Ultimate Guide to Shopping the Farmer’s Market).
I always shop around for the best prices and take advantage of seasonal sales – one of the foundational principles of my eCourse Grocery Budget Bootcamp. Grocery Budget Bootcamp enrollment is currently closed, but you can join my FREE 5-day Crush Inflation Challenge and start saving money on groceries tomorrow!
Strawberry freezer jam lasts up to a year in the freezer, so you can make enough for quite a while when berries are at their lowest price!
LEMON
Don’t let the amount of lemon in this recipe deter you – I promise you won’t notice the flavor.
Remember how this is a no pectin strawberry freezer jam recipe? Well, you do need something to help the strawberry jam actually become jam, and citrus is a good natural source of pectin. Specifically, the zest and the pulp from a lemon.
GELATIN
Aside from the lemon zest and pulp, gelatin is the secret ingredient to making your no-cook strawberry freezer jam without pectin still get that wiggly jiggly texture!
Typically, gelatin is associated with making jello, and I have it in my pantry because it’s a treat to make our own Homemade Gummies, but we’re not making jello this time. When you use a small amount of gelatin AND when you combine the gelatin with lemon juice and lemon zest, it creates the perfect amount of jam-gel.
Gelatin comes from animals, and you should be able to find some brands of gelatin in typical grocery stores, usually in the baking aisle. Ideally though, since it is an animal product, you want to buy the best gelatin you can afford.
This is the gelatin I use and recommend. It’s not the cheapest brand you’ll find, but this one container will make a lot of jam, and it won’t leave any ‘beef’ flavor either.
HONEY
We’re skipping the white sugar in this recipe (one small step towards quitting sugar) and going natural with one of my favorite sweeteners, honey!
Since this is a no-cook freezer strawberry jam recipe, it’s IDEAL for using raw honey!
I recommend contacting the 4-H club in your county for a source of local raw honey. If you don’t have raw honey locally available, this is my recommended go-to raw honey brand.

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING FREEZER STRAWBERRY JAM RECIPE
Zester. I HIGHLY recommend using a zester (a.k.a. microplane), despite my saying it was a kitchen appliance you didn’t need. In this case, it makes life much easier. Add it to your Christmas list, borrow one from a neighbor, or get free 2-day shipping via Amazon Prime (here’s a link to try Amazon Prime FREE for 30 days!) To sign up for the Prime free trial, go to Amazon Prime. Then, select Start your free trial and follow the on-screen instructions if prompted. While you won’t be charged for your free trial, you’ll be upgraded to a paid membership plan automatically at the end of the trial period. – trust me when I say a zester makes your strawberry jamming life wonderful. You can also use the side of a box grater with the smaller holes.
Juicer. You also want to use a cheap juicer like this one. This cheapy doesn’t do any straining, which is good. You actually WANT a little bit of the pulp in your jam, because then you get an extra bit of natural pectin.
Blender. I also used my Blendtec (like this one), but you can use any blender or food processor. I’ve used this small food processor for years and love it.
HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY JAM INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1. Prep all the strawberries. Place 1 cup of strawberries in a blender or food processor and puree until mostly smooth.

Step 2. Pour the lemon juice into a medium-sized stockpot. Sprinkle gelatin on top of the lemon juice. Let it sit for 2 minutes.
Step 3. Pour the pureed strawberries into the pot and turn the stove on medium-low. (You are NOT cooking the mixture. This is merely to warm the gelatin so it is not lumpy and will dissolve evenly among the jam.)
Step 4. Warm the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.
Step 5. If you want a smooth jam, pulse the remaining strawberries in a food processor or blender until the desired consistency is reached. If you want chunky jam, add the remaining strawberries to the pot and mash them with a potato masher or the bottom of a glass.

Step 6. Add the lemon zest and honey and stir well to combine.
Step 7. Carefully pour the strawberry mixture into pint glass jars, leaving a bit of room at the top for expansion in the freezer, let it cool, and place it in the refrigerator overnight. Keep it in the fridge to use right away or move it to the freezer for longer storage.
Strawberry freezer jam is good for at least a week in the fridge, and up to a year in the freezer.

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM RECIPE TIPS
If the name “easy no-cook strawberry freezer jam” didn’t give it away, this is NOT a shelf-stable recipe. This is a cold storage recipe…which comes with a few perks.
Perk #1: You can reuse old jars.
If you were canning strawberry jam like you would can Homemade Applesauce or Homemade Canned Diced Tomatoes, I’d recommend using new lids to ensure your jam jars actually seal properly.
But since you’re NOT canning, you can use any jar you want (as long as it has a lid). Here’s my easy method for taking old labels off of jars.
I still used these cute pint canning jars for one of the batches I made, because I’m giving the kids’ teachers jam as a gift. However, the batches going in my own freezer I put in reused coconut oil jars!
If you’re going to freeze this strawberry jam, this post on how to freeze in glass jars without breaking them is a MUST-read.
Perk #2: You’re not heating up the house in the summer.
Your jam will be good in your fridge for at least a week, and probably longer.
In the freezer, your strawberry jam is good for up to a year. To thaw, move one jar from the freezer to the fridge and let it slowly warm (from freezing to cold) overnight.
TO SERVE STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM
The most obvious way to enjoy this no pectin strawberry freezer jam is on a PB&J sandwich, but it’s also yummy:
- Spread on toast: Sourdough Bread or Biscuits
- On Pancakes or Waffles
- Mixed into Yogurt
- Stirred into Oatmeal
- Added to a batch of Vanilla Ice Cream to make a strawberry-flavored treat!
- In a batch of Jam Oatmeal Bars or on top of Chocolate Chip Scones

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM FAQS
Should I use pectin in my strawberry freezer jam?
This is a no pectin strawberry freezer jam! The naturally occurring pectin in the lemon, along with gelatin, helps this jam to gel for the perfect spreadable treat!
Why do you put lemon juice in strawberry jam?
While tart lemon juice is a common ingredient in strawberry jam, it’s actually the zest and pulp in lemons that are the important element of this freezer jam, because they have naturally occurring pectin that helps your jam to gel.
Can strawberry jam be frozen?
This strawberry jam is perfect for freezing, and because it’s specifically a freezer jam, it doesn’t require any special canning processes or fancy sealing jars. Any jar will do, and it keeps well in the freezer so you can enjoy your jam for up to a year!
Can I use other fresh fruit besides strawberries to make delicious freezer jam no pectin?
Absolutely! Feel free to make raspberry jam, homemade peach jam, or any other various fruit jams you like!
Can I use frozen strawberries for strawberry freezer jam?
You can try it, but let the frozen berries thaw first, and chop them into smaller pieces if necessary.
OTHER YUMMY WAYS TO ENJOY STRAWBERRIES
- Dehydrate Strawberries for snacks
- How to Freeze Strawberries for smoothies
- Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Strawberry Chocolate Granola
- Homemade Ice Pops
- Strawberry Pancakes

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Strawberry Freezer Jam
This easy strawberry freezer jam comes together quickly, with just 4 simple ingredients, no fruit pectin, and no refined sugar! Perfectly sweet and spreadable, you’ll want to have multiple batches in your freezer.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 ½ pints 1x
- Category: Sauces/Condiments
- Method: Warm on Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prep all the strawberries. Place 1 cup of strawberries in a blender or food processor and puree until mostly smooth.
- Pour lemon juice into a medium-sized stockpot. Sprinkle gelatin on top of the lemon juice. Set the timer for 2 minutes.
- Pour the pureed strawberries into the pot and turn the stove on medium-low. (You are NOT cooking the mixture. This is merely to warm the gelatin so it is not lumpy and will dissolve evenly among the jam.)
- Warm the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring often until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
- Remove from the heat.
- If you want a smooth jam, pulse the remaining strawberries in a food processor or blender until desired texture. If you want a chunky jam, add the remaining strawberries to the pot and mash with a potato masher or the bottom of a glass.
- Add the lemon zest and honey and stir well to combine.
- Carefully pour the jam into pint glass jars and place in the fridge overnight. Jam is good for at least a week in the fridge. Store in the freezer for long-term storage.
Notes
- Make sure to pick flavor-packed strawberries for your jam. They don’t have to look beautiful, but they should taste sweet!
- This jam freezes for up to a year! This post on how to freeze in glass jars without breaking them is a MUST READ if you want to freeze your jam.
- Not all gelatin is created equal. I recommend this grass-fed gelatin.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Tbsp
- Calories: 10
- Sugar: 1.6 g
Quick Question_ I clicked the link to buy the gelatin, but its like $35. I dont mind spending that much, my only concern is it will expire before I can use alot of it. Do you know how long it is good for?
Hi Emily, Mine had an expiration date of just under 2 years. It’s easy to use in a lot of healthy recipes. 🙂
Can I make this with frozen strawberries?
Hi Janina, It might work with frozen berries, but you’d want to thaw and drain them. Jam is typically made with fresh so it may affect the texture. Be sure to report back and let us know how it goes if you try it.
Jam was a bit lemony but good. I’m interested in how will the jam hold up if shipping to my family. What is the life span of this jam, 6 month to a year or less. Will definitely make again.
We’re still eating our jam from last year, Scottie! If kept in the freezer, you have some time. I don’t know about shipping though, as it wouldn’t keep cold enough.
I was inspired to try this today after looking at the cost of Smucker’s fruit spread I have been buying for years, and also for a great deal on strawberries. I added a bit more honey after tasting to cut the tart from the lemon. I’m excited to try this with blueberries next…after buying more jars and lemons. 😆
Thanks, Tiffany!
Yay! I’m so glad you’ve switched over Lisa. Your family is going to love the homemade version!
Thank you for this recipes – and will explore your site more fully – I posted this on fb with the following I made this today, with a couple of alterations – I couldn’t use lemon juice and no lemon zest – allergies, so I used balsamic strawberry vinegar (you can use vinegar to sub out the lemon juice)- half the amount of lemon juice and because I didn’t read all directions carefully, I crushed all the berries and added them and the honey to the pot – and It all Worked out – very good and just the honey – Delicious
I’m glad you enjoyed this Anna! Great substitution with the balsamic strawberry vinegar, too!
Wow, I am so impressed by this recipe! My husband and I have eliminated sugar from our diet and have not had a good jam until now. I substituted 1/2 cup of truvia for honey and it turned out perfect! thank you so much Tiffany.
You’re very welcome Susan! Thanks for sharing the substitution idea!
So can you do this with frozen berries? Are does it make it too juicy and soupy?
It might work with frozen berries, but you’d want to thaw and drain them. Jam is typically made with fresh so it might take a little experimenting.
Do you think this would freeze well? I love making freezer jam and would love to try this, but we just don’t eat it enough and I know we wouldn’t get it eaten before is spoiled if I can’t freeze it.
Yes and no… It freezes great, but I thought that the jam lost it’s “gel” factor quicker when it thawed compared to the freshly made batch. I’d flash freeze the strawberries instead to make a smaller batch up front. 🙂
I found this recipe to be very disappointing. While it turned out thick, it was so tart and lacking in flavor and sweetness, we ended up throwing the entire batch away.
I’m sorry you feel this way, Jessica. I intentionally made this jam to be less sweet than store-bought jam, and if you have a batch of berries that aren’t fully ripe or aren’t sweet, your jam won’t be nearly as sweet as you’re used to. I’d encourage you to try the recipe again, with either sweeter berries, or by adding a bit of sugar (to taste, while warm).
Just got a great deal on blueberries and was wondering if I could use them instead of strawberries and if I should be revising anything in the recipe to accommodate the change
Thanks so much
Ree
You can use blueberries, but blueberries contain more pectin than strawberries so it will likely come out much thicker.
Awesome! I tried to make this same thing last week, but without your recipe, so I left out the lemon and probably used different proportions of the other ingredients.
My daughter doesn’t care for strawberry chia seed jam that I make, so I was hoping gelatin would work. I can’t wait to try your jam!
I hope you like it as much as we do Rachel!
I made this jam it’s delicious, a little lemony but my family liked it! I was wondering could I use coconut sugar instead of honey? Have you tried it?
I haven’t tried it Stephanie, but I bet it would be good!
My husband has to go on the FODMAP elimination diet, which eliminates store bought jam, so I’m going to try this but I’ll have to sub out the honey with regular sugar, since honey is high FODMAP. Hoping it still turns out ok 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!
You’re very welcome!
Could I use this recipe with other fruit? Also could I use other sweeteners like Stevia?
I see that the recipe calls for gelatin. could I use KNORR Unflavored gelatin?
Hi Linda – I’m sure you can use the same premise for other fruits and sweeteners, but I haven’t tested anything other than this particular recipe. For gelatin, the KNORR brand should work – but again – I haven’t tested it myself.
Does this thicken as it cools? Wondering if I should add more gelatin? Mines soupy.
Katrina, it does thicken as it cools and as it’s in the fridge. I don’t remember mine being soupy, but it wasn’t super thick on the stove. Once it cools and is in the fridge/freezer, it’s perfect spreading consistency.
I tried this jam and my kids love it! I love that it has no sugar and no Pectin. It looks and smells great! I like it, but I kinda felt that you could taste the lemon a little too much. Didnt have a very strong strawberry flavor, like the lemon kinda masked that. But still, I definitely want to make it again!
Same here. Very lemony! We liked it, but heads up to anyone who might not.
Yep, very lemony! I was trying to be super careful to with measuring my strawberries
Do you know if it’s possible to use coconut sugar instead of honey? Or half-and-half?
Yes to both ideas!
Really enjoy the taste of this jam.
Do you have a similar recipe for raspberries? I loved the ease of your strawberry jam recipe and that I could use honey. My husband is a diabetic and honey is better for him than sugar.
Hi Debbie! I completely missed raspberry season here in Georgia, so I haven’t tested that yet. With that said, you could swap raspberries for strawberries in this recipe and come out with something pretty good! Taste before you’re done, since raspberries can vary significantly in sweet/tart flavor. The lemon would stay the same (since it’s for pectin, not flavor). Let me know if you give this a shot!
Tried this recipe. While it’s good, the lemons mask the flavor of the strawberries. It’s more like a strawberry lemonade jam instead of strawberry. Kind of disappointed in flavor however most of my kids give it a thumbs up. So all in all I’m glad I tried it because it’s something new and different and healthy 🙂
Hi Amber! I appreciate your thoughts on this recipe! I’m thinking our palates may be different, or perhaps your berries weren’t very sweet in the first place? I tried this a couple times to ensure the lemon wasn’t overpowering, and I didn’t think it was. In either case, I’m glad the kids enjoyed it!
Would the recipe still work if you did the lemon juice but omitted the zest? I love the lemon but for those who don’t really like it.
The zest has the most pectin and I haven’t made this without it, so it may or may not work. Worst case though, you have delicious strawberry syrup. 🙂
I thought the same thing. It gelled really nicely though. Just wondering if you could use more gelatin and less to no lemon and still get jam results.
LOL – I love your philosophy on this! 🙂
Hi! I’m curious…do you think I could do this with frozen berries somehow?
You probably could, Tasha, however I think it will come out as a better texture when made from fresh strawberries and then frozen as a jam.
Is the gelatin the same as the boxes of unflavored gelatin in the Jello aisle?
Yes it is Victoria, except the quality of grass-fed gelatin is better. Use what you have and what you can afford!
I just made this, I love it! I think this will be my go-to recipe for strawberry jam 🙂
I did bring my strawberries to boiling temperature first since they weren’t the freshest thinking it’ll help a jar last longer in the fridge, and it didn’t affect the consistency at all.
Also, as I was juicing my lemons I went ahead and juiced oranges and thought, Why not use orange zest? It has a really nice flavor and pairs well with the strawberry 😉
Wonderful news Brittany! I’m so glad you like it. It is super easy, isn’t it? I love the idea of adding orange zest too. I bet it has a super “fresh” taste, right?
Hi there! Is is possible to use (thawed) previously frozen strawberries to make this?
Thanks!!
I think you can!
Delicious and easy! We made the mistake of measuring after we puréed the strawberries but, still turned out awesome! But we measure before we purée, correct? Also, what type of gelatin did you use and where did you get it? Thank you!!
TB, I always say if it works don’t fix it! If you liked how it turned out keep measuring that way, but in the recipe video it seems to be measured before it is puréed. https://www.perfectsupplements.com/Perfect-Bovine-Gelatin-p/ps-gelatin.htm?Click=92958
Hi ,
Thank you for all your homemade recipes. I really appreciate the effort 😀😀. I wanted to ask if there are any plant based sources of gelatin or from fish?
You’re very welcome! Here’s a post on vegan alternatives for gelatin. I haven’t experimented with any of them, but you’re welcome to!
http://www.thekitchn.com/vegetarian-and-vegan-substitutes-for-gelatin-tips-from-the-kitchn-189478
Hi Tiffany! You may want to check out something I switched to a couple of summers ago! It’s called chilling powder and it’s all plant based gelatin from Mary Jane Farms. Really great sub for animal based.
Thanks Susan!