This sweet-tart strawberry rhubarb jam is set with chia seed instead of loads of sugar or pectin, for a light, fresh taste that you'll love! Made with 4 ingredients in less than 30 minutes. If you don't have rhubarb, make the variation using strawberries (or blueberries) only.
Serve this easy jam up with gluten-free cream scones, layered into gluten-free Victoria sponge with mascarpone cream, or spread between almond flour crepes.
I can never get enough of strawberries and rhubarb together. Whether it's in the form of strawberry-rhubarb crumble, gluten-free strawberry rhubarb galettes, or this easy preserve, the sweet-tart combo ends up greater than the sum of its parts. The uniquely floral taste of tangy rhubarb melds perfectly with ripe red berries, turning a luscious shade of crimson.
I've been capturing these alluring flavors in a quick, small-batch jam gently set with chia seeds to minimize cooking and subtly sweetened with maple syrup. It keeps in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks, or in the freezer for up to several months. Sometimes I throw in raspberries if I have some hanging around.
Serve this easy jam up with gluten-free cream scones, layered into gluten-free Victoria sponge with mascarpone cream, or spread between almond flour crepes.
However you use it, I hope you love it!
Ingredients
This low-sugar strawberry rhubarb jam recipe uses just 4 ingredients, and each plays a vital roll.
- Strawberries and rhubarb are the stars of this show. You can absolutely use frozen fruit if that's what you've got. Feel free to swap some or all of the strawberries for another berry such as raspberries.
- Chia seed gives the jam a soft set.
- Maple syrup adds gentle sweetness and extra flavor.
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
This jam is quite simple to make in 30 minutes or less. You could probably just throw all the ingredients in a pot, but I like to add them in stages for the best results.
This makes a small batch of jam, about 2 cups; feel free to increase the recipe for more jam!
Maple-Sweetened: Low-Sugar Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Most jam recipes are sugary AF, which is part of the reason I avoid making and eating them. Sugar helps set jam; you can also add pectin to help it set with less sugar.
This recipe skips the sugar entirely in favor of maple syrup. This refined sugar-free strawberry rhubarb jam recipe is on the tangy side, so feel free to add more sweetener if you like. Rhubarb's tartness means that it does want some sweetener to make it palatable.
Chia Seed Jam = Strawberry Rhubarb Jam with no Pectin
Chia seeds have an outer coating with the ability to absorb ten times its weight in water. This quality causes them to form a gel-like consistency when combined with liquid.
Here chia seed replaces pectin as a gelling agent, helping the jam thicken as it sets in the fridge. This further reduces the need for sugar, which, as I said before, is what sets more traditional jams.
How to Enjoy Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
This low-sugar strawberry rhubarb jam recipe is balanced enough to devour straight from the jar with a spoon. But here are some other ways to dress it up:
- Pile it on gluten-free scones
- Spread it between layers of sponge cake for Victoria Sponge
- Slather it on multi-grain bread, sourdough, or gluten-free nut and seed bread
- Layer it into tahini chia pudding cups
- Dollop it on sorghum buttermilk pancakes, lemon ricotta pancakes, or almond flour crepes
- Bake it into crumble bars or gluten-free linzer cookies
- Swirl it into gluten-free ricotta tart
- Use it to top a cheesecake or mascarpone tart
- Gussy it up in an Eton mess or fools
And you can layer this tangy strawberry rhubarb compote with tahini chia pudding for "pbj" chia pudding vibes. Get the recipe here!
How do you like to use jam? Let me know in the comments below!
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this strawberry rhubarb chia jam recipe, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
4-Ingredient Strawberry Rhubarb Chia Jam
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups (230 g) rhubarb in ½-inch lengths
- ⅓ cup (90 ml) maple syrup more if needed, to taste
- 3 cups (370 g) stemmed, quartered strawberries or halved if small
- 1 tablespoon chia seed or more for a firmer set
Instructions
- Combine the rhubarb and maple syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the rhubarb is tender and just starting to break down, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the strawberries and simmer until the jam is reduced by about a third, 10 - 15 minutes. The berries should be very soft and falling apart but not completely disintegrated; I like them to hold a bit of a shape in the finished jam.
- Stir in the chia seeds and cook 1 minute more. Remove from the heat. Transfer the jam into jars and chill until set, at least a few hours and up to 2 weeks, or freeze for longer storage.
Notes
- You can make this with frozen fruit if you like. Just increase the cooking time if needed.
- Feel free to trade some or all of the strawberries for other berries – raspberries, tayberries, blackberries, blueberries, or any others.
- See the post above for serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Jody Foote says
What do you suggest as a replacement for maple syrup in your recipes? I do not like the taste of it which is why I ask. I have gone through enough of your recipes to seem to be your go to.
Alanna says
Hi Jody, in this recipe you could use any sweetener you like! Just add it to your taste. For baked recipes, you could try agave, which has a similar consistency but might be sweeter, I'm not sure. You could also try thinning another liquid sweetener with water, or making simple syrup by dissolving sugar in hot water.
Most of my recipes prior to last year just use sugar, and so do the ones in my book, so you might prefer those!
Trish says
Hi Alanna, just wondering something. I want to try your rhubarb roulade from your cookbook and am wondering if it would work well to use this instead of the rhubarb purée ? I just today finally found fresh rhubarb but don’t have the amount called for in the purée recipe. Looking forward to your response & trying it!
Alanna says
Ooh yes, I bet that would be divine! Please let me know how it turns out!
Trish says
This worked perfectly, Alanna! The jam complemented the creme fraiche filling in the roulade and just made the flavor and moistness in the cake even better the next day. It makes for a pretty presentation too which is always a plus. The tartness of the rhubarb is offset nicely by the strawberries. It has received very positive reviews from my taste testers :-) It will be on the farmer’s market table this weekend!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you all liked it! I can imagine how delicious these flavors must all taste together. Wish I could come pick up a slice!
Tahnee says
Made this today, absolutely delicious! I added a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and used 2 Tablespoons of chia as I like a nice firm jam. I mixed it into some Greek yoghurt to try some out and it was so good. I wouldn't usually give my 10 month old jam because of the sugar content, but happy to let her try this one with the yoghurt, we ended up sharing the bowl because she couldn't get enough!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Awww I'm so glad that this was a hit with you and your kiddo! Vanilla bean paste sounds totally dreamy here, and I'm glad that the extra chia seed worked well. Thanks so much for the sweet note!
Jacqueline says
I use pure maple syrup to sweeten many things but it gives this jam an odd after taste. Next time I’ll use a different sweetener but I did like the texture and love rhubarb strawberry anything.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Sorry to hear this wasn't to your taste! Did you use a very dark maple syrup? Please let me know if you try it again with a different sweetener. The recipe is very forgiving!
Rose Hooper says
I had an abundance of rhubarb from the garden and decided pies were too much for most of us wanting to keep weight off...printed out 3 recipes for the strawberry rhubarb jam but after using yours first, I stuck with this one...it was fabulous! First batch, added an extra half tablespoon and it turned out perfectly. Then made a double batch of blackberry jam without the rhubarb (also good). The another double batch of strawberry-rhubarb. And finally, the last batch (a triple) I also added a good dose of genuine Mexican vanilla...yummy all the way around. Loved the chia as a thickener! So simple to make and no need for any other recipe!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe and that it worked well with other berries too! Now I'm itching to make this with blackberries and vanilla - yum!!
Rose Hooper says
Also, much to my surprise, I didn't find the maple syrup (from local farmer) overwhelming at all...it ended up being very pleasant. (I used to hate maple syrup because the "fake" chemically one is disgusting...using the real thing was perfect. I can offer it to people battling cancer as a way to avoid sugar.
I also did what my mom used to do: boiled the jars, added the jam and then sealed with paraffin...with this allow the jam to last on the shelf for Christmas gifts? (Our jellies lasted all year, but I don't know if Mom officially canned them...don't think she had a pressure cooker. My concern about using the freezer is 1) lack of room and 2) the jars breaking like the last time I used a glass jar to freeze food. Any thoughts?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw I'm so glad you like the jam and enjoy the subtle maple flavor too.
Great question about canning the jams. This is not my area of expertise and I'm not sure whether there's enough sugar and/or acidity in the jam to keep it safe at room temp. I read through some other recipes for similar jams, and some say they're unsafe for canning. And at this point, you're right; the jars could certainly break in the freezer.
If you have room in the refrigerator, you could try storing them in there, though you may want to open a jar to test every month or two to make sure they're ok. All the precautions you've taken should help them last longer in the fridge, though I'm not sure for how long.
Personally I'm pretty skittish about home canning, so if it were me, I wouldn't store them for longer than a month or two in the fridge, to be on the safe side.
Alternatively you could freeze jars that are only 2/3 full to allow for expansion in the freezer. Or you could freeze the jam in larger plastic containers, then thaw and re-can in December. That's a lot of work though, ugh!
Please keep me posted on what you try as I'm sure other readers will be interested to know how it goes!