Before we left for our trip, I found myself with a couple pints of blueberries and a few spotted bananas to use up. I’ve been meaning to make my strawberry chia seed jam for a while now, so I ended up adapting my recipe using blueberries, all-natural sweetener, and a touch of vanilla. It turned out lovely and was ready in 20 minutes flat!
This is the strawberry chia seed jam that I made a couple years ago:
Chia seeds are magic. I love using them as thickeners in all kinds of foods from homemade jam to vegan overnight oats to pasta sauces.
This strawberry chia seed “jam” is a tasty filling for my Healthy Strawberry Oat Squares! You can use any kind of filling that you like in these oat squares. They remind me a lot of a healthy nutri-grain bar.
This is not a traditional jam recipe by any means, but then again I’m not one for following traditions all that often when it comes to food. Instead of using white sugar, I used maple syrup to lightly sweeten the berries. The maple and vanilla extract do a great job of bringing out the flavours in the blueberries without overpowering them. Chia seeds thicken the mixture nicely while adding a tasteless burst of nutrition in every bite.
If you’ve got 20 minutes, you can make this jam. It’s a snap. All you do is add blueberries and a touch of maple syrup into a pot. Bring it to a low boil and then reduce it to simmer for about 5 minutes or so. Then stir in the chia seeds and simmer it for another 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently until it’s as thick as you desire.
Before adding the chia seeds, the blueberries will be quite watery.
Have no fear chia is here!
After adding in the chia seeds and cooking the mixture down, it thickens up beautifully! Hence, the name – magical jam. You won’t believe your eyes how thick this gets. Thanks to the chia seeds, we’re also pumping up the jam with all kinds of healthy omega fats, iron, fibre, protein, magnesium, and calcium. Who knew jam could be so healthy?
Enjoy this on toast, oatmeal, vegan overnight oats, thumbprint cookies, tarts, in smoothies, and so much more. Also, feel free to try this out with any seasonal fruit you wish.
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Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam
Yield
1 cup
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Adapted from my strawberry chia seed jam.
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh blueberries
- 3-4 tbsp pure maple syrup, to taste (or other liquid sweetener)
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
- In a medium-sized non-stick pot, bring the blueberries and 3 tbsp of maple syrup to a low boil. Stir frequently, and reduce heat to low-medium to simmer for about 5 minutes. Lightly mash the blueberries with a potato masher or fork, leaving some for texture.
- Stir in the chia seeds until thoroughly combined and cook the mixture down until it thickens to your desired consistency, or about 15 minutes. Stir frequently so it doesn’t stick to the pot.
- Once the jam is thick, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Add more maple syrup to taste if desired. Enjoy on toast, English muffins, oatmeal, vegan overnight oats, oat bars, tarts, cookies, banana soft serve, smoothies, and more. The jam should keep for at least a week in an air-tight container in the fridge.
A breakfast sandwich sounded like a good idea.
Banana slices, sunflower seed butter, and blueberry jam all sandwiched in a toasted English muffin….I couldn’t wait a second longer.
*Poof*…it was gone just like a magic trick.
~~~
We’re off for our flight back home this morning! I think my first meal back will be banana bread oatmeal with blueberry jam & sunbutter to top it all off…yum. And then about a week’s worth of salads because I kinda got off track with the salad-a-day challenge a bit. Whoops.. This last week of June is going to be a leafy one…
Can this be made using other berries? Say raspberries? Would you follow the same steps?
Since chia seeds picking on their own, I’m wondering… do they need to be cooked?
This jam was a joy to make and to eat! Thank you Angela :)
Hey Angela,
I’ve made this jam a few times now with a few variations and it’s worked great each time. I have a plum tree that is about to give me ton of plums and was hoping to make up some batches and can the jam for holiday gifts… Do you think it would work? Any modifications I should consider?
Thanks!
Michelle
Great jam- just made some with raspberries we picked yesterday! Wondering if you’ve tried using ground chia seeds? Saw them at Bulk Barn and wasn’t quite sure if it thickens the same. The jam tasted great but had a very seedy texture due to the seeds & chia- would ground chia soften the texture at all? Thanks! Oh and did you try freezing it yet? Others had said it would work but wasnt sure how long for! THanks!!
It IS magical! I left it cooking longer – almost 25 minutes – because I like my jam real thick, but I found it also thickens a little when you put it in the fridge after. My boyfriend loved it and I adored it on my toasts this morning. Soooo good, the taste is just perfect.
I have a question! Do you think I could combine the same ingredients into a good processor instead of putting heat on it? Thank you!
Think I’m gonna do these for our company outing next week. :)
Oops, wrong page. :) I meant the Raspberry Chia Seed Jam Oat Crumble Squares. This happens when you have to many OSG tabs open…
Hello! Love your blog, and your cookbook! Thanks so much for sharing your journey online.
I’m wondering, do you think this jam could be sealed in a mason jar? Do you think it would last? Thinking about Christmas gifts.
Hi Melissa,
I’m glad you are liking the recipes. Unfotunately the jam will not can well, maybe only a couple weeks in the fridge.
Do you think I would be able to “can” this jam?
Hi Ann,
Unfotunately these won’t can well. The high amount of sugar in regular jam is what makes it shelf stable.
i am about 2 years too late with this recipe, but could it be canned (processed in a water bath) & kept out on a shelf? it looks so good!
I’m giving this away for christmas! Although I made strawberry as that was what my mother had most of at home :p
But really excited to whip up another batch for just the family to enjoy, my mum for some reason have a ton of waffle mix at home!
Thanks for great healthy recipes!
Excellent flavor! Most jam recipes call for so much sugar but this is decently healthy with the small amount of sweetener in it. Also gave this as a gift and the recipients loved it too.
Did not work was a waste of my berries
Hello, we are a blueberry nursery looking to share blueberry recipes with the readers of our blog! May we share a photo and link to this recipe? Let me know, thank you!
What a great recipe! I have eliminated jam from my life (mostly!) Sometimes I really miss it, like when I’m enjoying some homemade almond butter. So nice to have a more healthful jam now that is delicious too! Thanks much!
Hi,
I am just wandering how long this jam will keep in the fridge for?
Thanks
Hi Angela, I really love all of your recipes, but I just made this one and it has got to be, hands down, my absolute favourite! I don`t really eat a lot of jam, but when I want some, I never have it because I just don`t eat enough to warrant making or buying a jar. Now I can make some when I want it and it`s so quick and easy and I LOVE blueberries (made it with frozen ones). So thank you once again for a recipe that works every day and makes life just that much easier. :-)
Angela, I love your blog and your cookbook- your recipes are delicious, really healthy and always reliable. I am relatively new to vegan cooking, so am delighted to see the abundance of really fine recipes out there!
I have a question regarding chia seeds. In the blueberry jam recipe I used whole seeds, but the jam is ‘seedy’. Should I have ground them first, or is this the texture of the jam? In recipes that call for chia, it is assumed it is the whole seed unless stated? Thanks so much. Nancy