Skip to content 
Oh my gosh, you have to try this! When summer strawberries are perfectly ripe, the absolute last thing I want to do is spend hours over a boiling water bath. If you’ve ever looked at traditional canning recipes and run screaming back to the pantry, I get it—I’ve been there! I used to think cooking was just another chore after my corporate burnout, but finding simple joys, like making this absolutely incredible strawberry freezer jam, changed everything. Trust me, this is the easiest, no-cook method out there. It’s the ultimate no canning jam tutorial that proves you can capture peak summer flavor with minimal stress. This quick freezer jam is delicious and sets up fast! You can read more about my journey finding joy in simple cooking over at Pure Cooking Joy.
- Why This Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe is Your New Go-To (Easy Freezer Jam Recipes)
- Ingredients for the Best Strawberry Freezer Jam
- How To Make Freezer Jam At Home: Step-by-Step No Cook Jam Recipe
- Tips for Success Making Perfect Freezer Jam
- Storage and Reheating Instructions for Your Freezer Jam
- Variations on This Easy Freezer Jam Recipe
- Frequently Asked Questions About Making Freezer Jam
- Serving Suggestions for Your Homemade Fruit Preserves
- Building Confidence: Beyond Freezer Jam
Why This Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe is Your New Go-To (Easy Freezer Jam Recipes)
I promise you, once you try this technique, you absolutely won’t look back at traditional canning—not for jam, anyway! This recipe saves so much time, and that’s why it landed right at the top of my list for super satisfying cooking projects. We are skipping the scary boiling water bath and going straight for delicious flavor.
- Quick Summer Preserve Ideas: Ready in Under 30 Minutes: Seriously, the total active time here is less than 30 minutes! Prep is about 20 minutes, and then we just have that quick 5-minute pectin boil. It’s the best quick freezer jam hack for when strawberry season hits hard and fast.
- Beginner Jam Making: No Canning Required: If you’re intimidated by the boiling water canning process, this is your answer! This is the perfect alternative to canning and it works beautifully as a small batch jam recipe. You just need freezer-safe containers.
- Maximum Fresh Berry Flavor: Because we aren’t subjecting these beautiful strawberries to long cooking times, we lock in that bright, summery flavor we are looking for in homemade fruit preserves. It tastes like you just picked those berries this morning!
For more quick wins in the kitchen that don’t take all day, check out my ideas for effortless weeknight dinners!
Ingredients for the Best Strawberry Freezer Jam
Using great ingredients is non-negotiable here, but thankfully, we only need a few things to make amazing freezer jam! You’ll need those gorgeous fresh strawberries, of course, lots of sugar, and the secret weapon: powdered fruit pectin. That pectin is what lets us skip the long boiling and keeps this recipe a true **no cook jam recipe** that sets up lightning fast.
Pectin Choice: Freezer Jam With Pectin vs. Without Pectin
Now, some folks try to make freezer jam without pectin, and that’s totally fine if you want to simmer your fruit for 20 minutes or more—but we aren’t doing that today! We are sticking to the quick method. The powdered fruit pectin is essential here because it helps that jam set up while it cools, meaning you get that perfect texture without the canning process. It keeps everything fast and simple!
How To Make Freezer Jam At Home: Step-by-Step No Cook Jam Recipe
Alright, time to get our hands messy! Since this is a no cook jam recipe for the most part—we just cook the pectin briefly—the order you do things is really important to get that perfect set. Grab your freshest strawberries and let’s get moving. We need about 25 minutes of action before this freezer jam goes into the freezer to work its magic. Don’t worry about getting too stressed; it’s just jam!
Preparing the Fruit and Pectin Mixture for Your Freezer Jam
First things first: crush those beautiful berries into a coarse pulp. Don’t go too smooth, we want some texture! Next, measure out that huge amount of sugar—yes, it looks like a lot, but that’s holding the flavor and helping it set. In a separate little saucepan, mix your powdered pectin with just a tiny bit of the sugar. Now, add the water and bring that to a full, rolling boil over high heat. Listen to me: you must boil it hard for exactly one minute. Set a timer if you need to! This boiling is what activates that pectin so you don’t have to cook the fruit later.
Combining Fruit, Sugar, and Achieving the Set in This Quick Freezer Jam
Once that pectin boils for 60 seconds, take it off the heat right away. Now go ahead and stir in your crushed strawberries and, here is my little trick for a prettier finish: that optional half teaspoon of butter. It cuts down on foam! Stir until the butter melts. Then, slowly add the rest of the sugar. This is the most crucial part of our no canning jam tutorial: once the sugar is in, do not boil it again. Just stir until everything dissolves. This gentle mixing is what creates those lovely simple fruit spreads rather than turning into hard candy!
Containerizing and Storing Your Homemade Fruit Preserves
Once everything is just barely warm, ladle your homemade fruit preserves into freezer-safe jars or containers. You must leave about half an inch of space at the top—this is called headspace—because things expand when they freeze! Seal those lids on tight. Then, just let them sit on the counter to cool down for about 30 minutes. After that, pop them in the freezer. They aren’t ready on day one, though! You need to wait a full 24 hours before you crack one open so it has time to set up properly. This simple step is key for creating Long Lasting Freezer Recipes.
If you want some more solid cooking guides, I put tons of testing into making sure every recipe shared on my blog works perfectly the first time!
Tips for Success Making Perfect Freezer Jam
Look, even the easiest **freezer jam** recipe can wobble if you skip a tiny detail. Since we aren’t cooking this down for ages, the chemistry of the ingredients matters a ton. I learned early on that getting the fruit quality right delivers that amazing fresh flavor we are after. Don’t cheat on the measuring jars!
Ingredient Quality for Seasonal Fruit Freezer Jams
For the best strawberry freezer jam, you really need beautiful, firm, ripe berries. If they look tired or mushy, they won’t release the right juices, and your jam will suffer. Taste them before you crush them—if they taste amazing on their own, they’ll make amazing jam. That’s the key to great seasonal fruit freezer jams.
Accurate Measurement for Jam Setting
I know I keep saying this, but precision is everything when you’re relying on pectin to do its job fast. Measure that powdered pectin exactly as the package tells you to. Since this is a **no cook jam recipe**, we don’t have time to correct errors by simmering it longer. A little too much sugar or too little pectin, and you’ll have a very sweet fruit syrup, not jam!
If you are looking for ways to use up that extra time you saved by not canning, you should really check out my recipe for easy breakfast cookies—perfect for packing!
Storage and Reheating Instructions for Your Freezer Jam
The best part about making a batch of this delicious freezer jam is knowing you can save that incredible summer flavor to enjoy weeks or months later! Because we skipped the high heat of canning, this jam is truly optimized for the freezer. If you follow the steps, you can expect this jam to keep its bright flavor and fantastic texture for up to a whole year in the freezer. Isn’t that better than constantly reheating things for dinner?
Freezer Jam Storage Tips
Getting it into the freezer is easy, but knowing how to bring it back is the real question. When you’re ready to use a jar, just pull it out of the freezer and pop it straight into the refrigerator. It usually takes about 24 hours to fully thaw, but sometimes it’s faster depending on the size of your container. Now, here’s my little secret: sometimes, especially if your fruit was really juicy, the jam might be a little runnier than you expect right out of the fridge. Don’t panic!
If it seems a bit runny—more like a thick sauce than a scoopable jam—it is still perfectly safe to eat! That just means the pectin didn’t set 100% when it froze. Just stir it up really well, and it will be amazing spooned over ice cream or mixed into yogurt. If you want it thicker for spreading on toast, you can always just pop that slightly runny jar back into the freezer for a few more hours to firm up a touch more.
Variations on This Easy Freezer Jam Recipe
I love that this base recipe for freezer jam is so ridiculously flexible. Once you trust the pectin, you realize you can swap out almost any soft fruit! It opens up a whole new world of preserving those beautiful harvests throughout the year. Honestly, if you master this strawberry version, you are set for life. You’ll be making seasonal fruit freezer jams every time something looks perfect at the market.
Making Peach or Mixed Berry Freezer Jam
The best news is that the process for **peach or mixed berry freezer jam** is virtually identical to what we just did with strawberries. Since we are using powdered pectin, it’s set up to handle those substitutions really well. If you chop up your peaches nice and small instead of crushing them, or toss a mix of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries together for a custom blend, you use the exact same amounts of sugar and pectin ratio! It’s cheating, but in the best, easiest way possible.
This really turns it into an incredibly versatile **Easy Freezer Jam Recipe**. Just make sure whatever fruit you pick is ripe, because that fresh flavor is what we are trying to capture! If you’re looking for other easy ways to use up those summer fruits without breaking out the canner, you should definitely check out my easy berry cobbler recipe. And hey, if you want to share your jam successes, come say hello over on my Facebook page!
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Freezer Jam
I get so many questions about this freezer jam method because it feels a little too easy to be true! It’s fantastic that so many people are trying their hand at homemade fruit preserves now that they know they don’t need all that complicated canning equipment. Here are the real concerns I hear most often when people are trying to make these yummy, delicious no cook spreads for the first time.
Can I use less sugar in my freezer jam?
This is a big one! Sugar isn’t just for sweetness here; it actually plays a huge role chemically in helping the pectin set the jam correctly. You can certainly try to use slightly less sugar—maybe cut it by half a cup or so—but I’d warn you. If you cut back too much in this no cook jam recipe, you might end up with a very sweet syrup instead of spreadable jam. If you absolutely have to reduce sugar, you might need to bump up the pectin slightly or let it sit a bit longer after freezing to see if it tightens up.
Why is my strawberry freezer jam runny after thawing?
Oh man, I’ve definitely had a jar turn out a little soupy before. It almost always comes down to one of two things when you’re dealing with beginner jam making: either you didn’t let that pectin mixture boil hard for the full minute before taking it off the heat, or the sugar wasn’t fully dissolved before you called it done. If the sugar is still dissolving as it tries to set in the cold, it gets confused! But don’t throw it out! Just stir it really well, and it’s perfect for drizzling over waffles or yogurt.
Do I need to sterilize the containers for freezer jam?
Nope! And this is one of the biggest reasons I love this method so much. Since this is not a shelf-stable canning recipe—it lives in the freezer—you don’t have to obsess over sterilizing your jars in boiling water. Just give your freezer-safe containers a really good wash with hot, soapy water, rinse them well, and dry them off. Clean is good; sterile isn’t necessary for freezer jam. That keeps the process incredibly simple and fast!
If you have any other questions at all about getting the perfect batch, don’t hesitate to reach out over on my contact page!
Serving Suggestions for Your Homemade Fruit Preserves
Now that you’ve got jars of gorgeous, bright homemade fruit preserves sitting in your freezer, the best part begins: eating it! See, this is why I believe cooking should bring joy, not stress. You don’t need a fancy occasion for this jam; it works perfectly any day of the week. It’s just pure, simple flavor that makes routine meals feel special.
Of course, the most classic way to use this freezer jam is exactly how you’d expect: as easy fruit spreads for toast. A thick slice of artisanal bread, maybe lightly toasted, and a generous slather of this strawberry sweetness? Perfection. It melts slightly and those fresh berry chunks just sing against the crunchy bread.
But don’t stop there! This is where maximizing your flavor payoff comes in. Try stirring a spoonful into plain yogurt or cottage cheese—it instantly transforms breakfast. It’s also just heavenly swirled into vanilla ice cream right before serving. For a super quick dessert, warm up just a dollop in the microwave for ten seconds until it flows nicely, and pour it over pancakes or waffles. Seriously, my kids love it mixed into oatmeal too! It’s all about keeping it simple. If you’re looking for another quick treat that pairs well with simple spreads, you should absolutely check out my recipe for easy breakfast cookies!
Building Confidence: Beyond Freezer Jam
It truly makes me so happy when I hear from you all that making something simple, like this freezer jam, gave you that little boost of confidence in the kitchen you’ve been needing. That’s the whole goal here at Pure Cooking Joy—showing you that you do not need to spend hours slaving over complicated techniques or fancy equipment to make something incredibly delicious.
If you enjoyed how fast and low-stress this preserve process was, I have so many other recipes that follow that same simple philosophy. We’re all about making food that brings people together without sacrificing your entire evening!
If you’re looking for ways to simplify those demanding weeknights, check out my selection of effortless weeknight dinners. They are designed to get great food on the table fast. For those times when even dinner feels like too much pressure, I have some honest thoughts on how a little organization can help, so take a peek at my post on meal planning strategies. It’s about making things easier, not harder!
PrintEasy Strawberry Freezer Jam (No Canning Required)
Make delicious homemade strawberry freezer jam quickly. This no-cook recipe is simple for beginners and captures fresh berry flavor without the hassle of traditional canning.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Total Time: 25 min
- Yield: About 6 half-pint jars 1x
- Category: Preserves
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh strawberries, crushed
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- 1 package (1.75 oz) powdered fruit pectin
- 1/2 teaspoon butter (optional, to reduce foam)
Instructions
- Prepare the fruit: Wash and hull the strawberries. Crush them using a potato masher or food processor until you have a coarse pulp.
- Measure the sugar: Measure 7 cups of sugar into a separate bowl. Set aside.
- Mix pectin: In a medium saucepan, combine the powdered pectin with 1/4 cup of the measured sugar. Stir well.
- Cook pectin mixture: Add 3/4 cup of water to the pectin-sugar mixture. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil hard for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat immediately.
- Combine with fruit: Stir in the crushed strawberries and the optional butter into the hot pectin mixture. Stir until the butter melts.
- Add remaining sugar: Gradually add the remaining sugar, stirring until it is completely dissolved. Do not boil the mixture after adding the sugar.
- Fill containers: Ladle the jam into clean, freezer-safe containers, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace in each jar or container.
- Cool and freeze: Let the jam cool to room temperature on the counter for about 30 minutes. Seal the containers and place them in the freezer. The jam will be ready to use after 24 hours in the freezer.
Notes
- This freezer jam keeps well in the freezer for up to one year.
- For a no-pectin version, you will need to cook the fruit and sugar down significantly, which increases prep time. This recipe uses pectin for a quick set.
- If you are looking for alternatives to making preserves, consider using meal planning services for weeknight dinners.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 100
- Sugar: 26g
- Sodium: 0mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
