This is the sort of recipe that takes away all the end of summer blues, at least temporarily.
I recently discovered that I can make chia seed jam without the need for any sweetener at all. A natural, no added sugar jam recipe? Yes, it’s totally possible!
My little secret? Apples. They are perfectly sweet enough. Unlike berries which can be tart, apples really don’t need anything extra.
If you’ve had my other chia seed jam recipes (see my Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam and Strawberry Chia Seed Jam), you may know by now that this isn’t your grandma’s jam. Not even by a long shot. It’s always worth repeating this because I always get a comment about it not being an authentic or traditional jam recipe. You would be correct. Sometimes we just have to break the rules!
[Note: I used white chia seeds in this jam recipe because I had a bag to use up, but rest assured you can use white or black chia seeds.]
Apple peel is the new party streamer.
Much like my other chia seed jam recipes, you cook down the fruit along with chia seeds and any desired spices. Instead of using maple syrup to sweeten, I took a note from my Homemade Pumpkin Butter recipe and used 100% apple juice. It worked like a charm. I made a fairly small batch just to see how it would turn out, but next time I would probably double the recipe because it disappeared quickly! And by disappeared quickly I mean that I ate the whole batch in less than 12 hours. Can you blame me?
After about 15-20 minutes of cooking down the apples, they will be nice and soft and the mixture will have thickened up thanks to the chia seeds. I took a potato masher and mashed about 50% of the apple mixture to get a nice, thick consistency. You can mash all of it if you want, but I liked leaving lots of apple chunks for texture.
Next came the building blocks of breakfast – or more specifically, Vegan Overnight Oats.
Then, this parfait happened. It was quite possibly the greatest breakfast moment in a very long time.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Sugar-Free Apple Pie Chia Seed Jam + Parfait
Yield
2 parfaits
Soak time
1-2 hours or overnight
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This nontraditional jam is thickened with omega-3 fatty acid rich chia seeds and is free from added sugar. Enjoy it on toast, layered in parfaits, or on top of oatmeal.
Ingredients
For the jam (makes 1-1.5 cups)
- 3 large apples, peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup 100% pure apple juice
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 3/4-1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
- pinch of fine grain sea salt (optional)
For the parfait:
- 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 + 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought almond milk
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- sweetener, to taste (optional)
- Apple Pie Jam (from above)
- Chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
Directions
- For the jam: Add all jam ingredients into a medium pot and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. When the apples are fork tender, remove from heat and mash 50% of the mixture to thicken. Set aside to cool.
- For the vegan overnight oats: Combine the oats, chia seeds, almond milk, vanilla, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Place in the fridge overnight, or for at least 1-2 hours to thicken. Once the oats are softened and the liquid is mostly absorbed, it's ready. You can thin it out with more milk if needed or thicken it with more chia seeds.
- To make each parfait: Layer the vegan overnight oats with the apple pie jam, a few spoonfuls of each per layer. Add toasted chopped walnuts on top of each layer if desired.
- Store leftover jam in an air-tight container or jar in the fridge. Should last for at least 1-2 weeks.
Tip:
Note: For a homemade milk option, see my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk Recipe.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
I’m making a kumquat version of this apple jam right now!
This is amazing with pears and ginger. I’ve made a double batch every week for the last 2 months. We can’t get enough of it. Thank You!
First off I am amazed by your blog!! It is so inspirational! I recently went vegan for health reasons while recovering from a stress fracture due to running. No fun at all but I like to look on the bright side of life and out of this injury came many good things for me (adopting a vegan plant based diet, biking, pilates etc.)
Anyway I was wondering if you could substitute flax seeds for chia seed in this recipe. I am not familiar really with using either to cook but I do have flax seeds at home.
Keep up the amazing blog! You have a new avid follower.
Hey Karissa,
I was just about to leave a comment about substituting chia seeds with flax seeds… in my town i couldn’t find chia seeds. I was dying to try this healthier jam-like recipe so I tried with flax. And it works though I put more than 2 tbsp.
Before using, I grounded the flax seeds. I put about 2 tbsp at the start and it didn’t seem to work much. So I waited till apple have the right consistency and then added about 3 to 4 spoons. And after some time I think it is about the same consistency as the pictures.
So my advice with apple is maybe to put only at the end and just try for how much you need. Btw I did the same for the blueberry jam and it worked great.
Good luck !
Just wondering if you have any idea how many calories are in a serving? Thanks so much! It looks delicious!
what could you use instead of apple juice? would a mixture of water and honey or maple syrup work?
I’m definitely going to try this. I wonder if using milled chia seeds would work in apple jam- just for a more traditional finished look. Has anyone tried that?
Do you ever use ground chia seeds for jam? The whole-seediness thing is putting me off a bit.
I love this jam recipe! It’s fantastic on top of Chocolate Covered Katie’s Oatmeal Pancakes and on top of cinnamon raisin toast.
Hey,
I was just wondering… can quick cooking oats be used in place of the rolled oats??
Thanks!!
Dear Angela,
by now I must have made this exact breakfast a dozen times and I loved every single bite of it. This was the breakfast I treated myself with before each of my four final exams and they all went well – I’m thinking it must be this parfait! Thank you SO much for sharing this extraordinary recipe, it was a gamechanger in my vegan journey!
Best wishes from the other side of the ocean,
Doro
Can you preserve this? I’d like to seal it in a jar, do you know if it would keep?
I did, and it works wonderfully!!!
My husband and I love this chia seed jam and make it often for our overnight oats. I often leave the skin on because its healthy (meaning I can’t be bothered to peel the apples) and it works out fine. You need to make this. Right away. Go on!
I honestly can’t deal with how delicious this is. Breakfast, snack, dessert.
I just made this for my 2 yr old. I pulse blended the apple mixture and heated the overnight oats in the microwave to soften a couple of minutes. I then stirred everything together, added almond butter for protein, and he said it was “yummy!” It was. I made a double recipe (4 servings or more for an adult) and portioned it all out and froze for easy breakfasts for my son. It’s a winner, for sure! Yummay!
I also want to add that I ground the chia (I used Salba) seeds first in the coffee grinder. I like the texture better this way for chia seeds in parfaits, puddings and cereals.
I love this recipe! Was introduced to your website by a friend and I am so grateful! Can’t wait to try more delicious recipes!
I just tried this out, it works out great! I don’t have apple juice in my fridge so I went for tomato juice, which I love, instead. I also substituted almond milk with soy milk. This is good and healthy choice. Thanks for the simple delicious recipe ;-)
Wow! Thanks! I made a huge batch of this, added some dried currants, and canned a whole bunch, on top of using it fresh for the parfaits. My guy loves it on his “ice cream”. I also made the oat mixture with coconut milk for a twist, and it was amazing as well. Gotta LOVE chia seeds! Thanks again! You made using up a bunch of apples delicious and fun!
This turned out great! It was super easy and super quick to make. Leaving it in the refrigerator for 24 hours worked perfectly!
Looks yummy and totally caught my eye! I love the health benefits of chia seeds! Needs a different name though. It’s not sugar free. Apples and apple juice both have sugar, and when you cook apples you release more sugar.
are the chia seeds hard and stick in your teeth like raspberry seeds, i sure hope not.