You guys, I just made my own jam! And it’s not the traditional jam with the whole canning process. It’s Strawberry Chia Jam that I made in a saucepan and took me only 15 minutes! I made this recipe from the Pretty Simple Cooking Cookbook written by Sonja and Alex from A Couple Cooks! The cookbook is full of 100 vegetarian recipes that are so pretty and so simple – hence pretty simple cooking!
I was so excited to dig in because I absolutely love vegetarian recipes that are easy to make and have accessible ingredients. So the first thing I decided to make was this strawberry chia jam. I know what you’re thinking, you said easy. But this is totally easy, I promise. There’s no canning and waiting process involved!
How to make strawberry chia jam
To start, you basically use fresh or frozen strawberries, throw in some lime juice, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and simmer it all together.
Next, you’ll add in some chia seeds. What happens is when the chia seeds get heated, those tiny seeds naturally thicken the strawberries into a jelly-like spread.
And what you get, as Sonja and Alex call, it is “supremely simple homemade preserves.”
You can take this basic idea of the strawberry chia jam, and do it it with blueberries, raspberries, cherries or whatever fruit you’d like. I love that they used lime in there because it gives it a nice tangy punch.
And the cool thing is, you can literally eat it within 15 minutes of starting the recipe. If you store it in the fridge though, it will settle even more when it gets cold. But who can actually wait for that when you smell those strawberries simmering for 15 minutes! I spread it on toast with peanut butter STAT. But you an also use it as a topping for pancakes or waffles, or swirl it on yogurt.
I’m borderline obsessed with this strawberry chia jam fabulousness, and can’t wait to make more recipes from the Pretty Simple Cooking Cookbook!
Strawberry Chia Jam Recipe Excerpted from A Couple Cooks | Pretty Simple Cooking: 100 Delicious Vegetarian Recipes to Make You Fall in Love with Real Food by Sonja Overhiser and Alex Overhiser. Copyright © 2018. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Strawberry Chia Jam recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
For more toast recipes:
- 2 cups frozen strawberries*
- 2 Tbsp lime juice plus zest 1 large lime
- 6 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp chia seeds
- In a small skillet, add the strawberries, lime juice and 2 Tbsp water. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. About halfway through the simmering time, begin breaking down the berries by smashing them with a fork into a chunky but uniform texture.
- Once the berries are broken down, stir in the maple syrup, vanilla extract, chia seeds, and lime zest until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat. Let the skillet sit for about 5-7 minutes until the chia seeds thicken the jam.
- Transfer to a jar and refrigerate; the texture will set even further when chilled.
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- Storage: Stores refrigerated for up to 2 weeks (chia jam is not shelf stable)
- Frozen vs. fresh*: One pound of fresh strawberries can be substituted for 2 cups frozen strawberries, which cuts the simmering time to around half
