Quick Freezer Jam Recipe | Make Homemade Jam (No Canning Needed!)

Ingredient Notes

Fruit: We like frozen fruit for this recipe because it releases more liquid as it pressure cooks. You can make this jam straight from fresh fruit, but you may need to add a few tablespoons of water to compensate for the difference.

We tested this jam with a frozen berry blend (raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries) as well as frozen strawberries and frozen peaches that we picked up at the grocery store. (In my experience, this process has worked for *every* type of fruit that I’ve tried.) Just make sure that the frozen fruit is pre-washed and that larger fruits are chopped before pressure cooking. 

For the peach jam, I removed the skin and sliced the peaches before freezing. Using a pre-prepped bag of frozen fruit works well. 

For fresh berries, I washed and removed stems and leaves before freezing. My blueberries and raspberries were frozen whole, while I chopped my fresh strawberries in quarters before freezing.   

Sugar: Unlike many traditional recipes, our recipe only calls for 2/3 cups of sugar. We really like this lower sugar option: it’s more complex than traditional over-sweet jams. Using less sugar really lets the tartness of the berries and the freshness of the peaches come through, so you get a really fresh flavor. 

However, if you’re a fan of sweeter jams and jellies, you can increase the sugar content of this recipe with no change to the cook time. Just taste a little bit of the jam after pressure cooking. 

If you want to add more sugar, dissolve it in as little water as you can get away with. I like to pop the water in the microwave to heat it near boiling before adding the sugar. (About 1/8 cup boiling water will dissolve about 1/2 cup sugar. Add a little bit of lemon juice to the dissolved sugar mixture to keep it from crystallizing  your jam.)

Thickener: I wanted to keep this recipe easy—I always have cornstarch on-hand, but I don’t often have freezer pectin, Sure-Jell, or Certo in my pantry. Therefore, I stuck with cornstarch as the thickener in this recipe.

Make sure your slurry is nice and smooth before you add it to the cooking pot. 

Should I Process My Freezer Jam

In our testing, with the berry jam, all of the berries were fall-apart tender, so I we didn’t need to do additional processing. 

With the peach jam, the peach slices were also very tender; however, we wanted them even smoother. You can pulse it in a food processor, food mill, or even just a potato masher to break up the fruit in the jam. 

How to Know Your Jam Has Set

The only somewhat tricky part of this freezer jam recipe is figuring out if your jam has set.

To test, when I start I’ll place a small plate in my freezer and allow it to freeze. After pressure cooking, I’ll thicken the jam: simmer 5 minutes for lower-moisture fruits like peaches or apricots and closer to 7 minutes for higher-moisture fruits like berries.

After that, remove the cooking pot from the Instant Pot housing and place a small amount jam (around 2 teaspoons) on the chilled plate and pop it in the freezer for about 2 minutes.

When you pull it out of the freezer, you should see a thin skin formed over the jam. Press it gently with your finger, and if it wrinkles, your jam is ready. 

If it doesn’t, you can return the cooking pot to housing, select Sauté, and cook for a few minutes more. Then repeat the test. 

Safe Storage for Freezer Jam

This method relies on storing the finished jam in your fridge or freezer. It will last up to 3 weeks in the fridge or up to 1 year in the freezer.

I used to store the jam in a freezer-safe jam jar. However, lately, I’ve been using my SouperCubes 2-tablespoon trays. Each week, I’ll pop a few frozen cubes into a jar and store in my refrigerator to use in lunchboxes at school or to top waffles or oatmeal at home. 

I’ve found that less jam goes to waste that way!

Looking for more Fresh Fruit recipes?

Check out our Instant Pot Blueberry Jam, thickened with chia seeds and maple or agave. 

Other favorite fruit recipes to top toast, pancakes, cheesecakes, or ice cream:

• Cherry Compote
• Triple Berry Rhubarb Sauce
• Applesauce
• Raspberry Curd
• Fresh Berry Compote

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Why don’t you have a traditional canning recipe?

Unfortunately (for us), we live in an area that is above the altitude recommendation for canning in an Instant Pot. 

Some models, like the Instant Pot Max, are able to cook up to 15 psi. However, most pressure cookers cook around 12 psi. At my altitude, since the exact psi fluctuates in the pot, so I can’t guarantee that the food inside will be safe to sit on the shelf.

This makes it tricky for us to develop canning recipes that we know will work at lower altitudes as well. 

Since we’re proud of testing my recipes thoroughly, I’ve opted to skip traditional canning in an Instant Pot until there are official FDA guidelines posted about how to safely can across altitudes. 

If you’d like to know more about water bath canning in an Instant Pot, our friend Frieda has an excellent in-depth post for you.