This amazing bright & fresh recipe for Crock-Pot Strawberry Jam is super easy and a great beginner recipe for anyone new to canning.
Crock-Pot Strawberry Jam
I just ADORE strawberry season. When fresh strawberries are at their juicy sweetness, perfectly ripe and fragrant. Not to mention the best price in the grocery stores and farmers markets. One of our local grocery stores recently has fresh strawberries for 99¢ a lb. which is a stellar deal up here in Wyoming where normally strawberries are $2-$3 a pound. So of course I snatched up a few pounds at that price. Some to eat fresh, some to freeze for smoothies for the kids and some to make some homemade strawberry jam in my slow cooker!
Making your own jam in the crock-pot is SO easy. Seriously even if you are a novice jam maker this has got to be the most easiest recipe ever! You can put up your finished strawberry jam in freezer containers or you can water process jars to make them shelf stable.
Either way, when you crack open a container and spread some of your homemade jam on some toast, English muffin or even on a yummy waffle your mouth will smile for sure as you taste what can only be described as the best of summer berries!
Ingredients Needed:
- Fresh Strawberries – You are going to want to make this jam when the strawberries are in their peak season and taste amazing. Use fruit that is ripe and juicy.
- Lemon Juice – When a canning recipe calls for lemon juice it is best to use bottled lemon juice versus fresh lemon juice so that the acidity is high enough to interact with the fruit pectin and allow your fruit to gel properly. Individual lemons may be more or less acidic when freshly squeezed.
- Granulated Sugar – That is just plain white sugar. This recipe has not been tested using other types of sugar or natural or artificial sweeteners.
- Powdered Fruit Pectin – I just used a 1.75 ounce box of Sure Jel Pectin which is the most commonly available fruit pectin in my area and can be found at all three of my local grocery stores (Walmart, Albertsons and Smith’s).
Directions:
- Before even starting grab 2 or 3 saucer sized plates and put them in the freezer to allow the plates to chill. You are going to test the jell of your jam once cooked on these saucers in a later step.
- Rinse your strawberries, hull them and slice them up and put them in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add the lemon juice, sugar and fruit pectin to the slow cooker and stir everything together.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook for 1 hours on the LOW heat setting. Then stir it.
- Recover and cook another 1 hour on LOW and stir it well once more.
- Now turn your slow cooker to HIGH, recover the slow cooker, and cook for 2 to 4 hours until the jam has jelled.
- Now, this is where your frozen saucers come into play. After 2 hours cooking time grab a cold saucer from the freezer and spoon a teaspoon of the hot jam onto the plate. Place the saucer back in the freezer for 2 minutes. Pull the saucer out of the refrigerator and push the jam with your finger. If the jam wrinkles and feels jam-like your jam is done. If it does not, cover your slow cooker and continue cooking on HIGH for another hour. Retest the jam on another saucer and continue cooking until the jam wrinkles.
- Once your jam is cooked you can then put the jam up for storage. The jam will store in any clean airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 2 months or in your freezer for up to 1 year. If you want to can the jam in mason jars use the water bath canning method and process for 20 minutes (adjusting for elevation).
- Enjoy your homemade strawberry jam on your morning toast or bagel, in a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich or spooned over ice cream or yogurt!
Products Needed:
- 5 Quart Slow Cooker OR 6 Quart Slow Cooker
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Measuring Cups
- Wooden Spoon
- Freezer Containers OR Canning Jars
- Water Bath Canner (If canning)
- Canning Funnel (If canning)
More Canning Recipes:
- Crock-Pot Pizza Sauce (Canning Version)
- Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter
- Crock-Pot Cranberry Applesauce
- Slow Cooker Peach Vanilla Butter
- Crock-Pot Pumpkin Butter
| Rating |
Rate this recipe!
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| Servings | 128Servings |
| Prep Time | 30Minutes |
| Cook Time | 3 - 4Hours |
- 4 Pints Fresh Strawberries
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1.75 Ounces Powdered Fruit Pectin (1 Packet)
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Ingredients
Servings: Servings
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- Rinse strawberries, hull and slice and place in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients (lemon juice, sugar & pectin) and stir everything together.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 1 hour and then stir well.
- Cook an additional 1 hour on LOW and stir well again once more.
- Increase heat to HIGH and cook an additional 2 to 3 hours until the jam is the desired consistency. (See note)
- Store finished jam in refrigerator for up to 2 months, in the freezer for up to 1 year or process in a hot water bath canner for 20 minutes for long term storage.
Before starting your jam place 2-3 saucer size plates in the freezer. To test jam doneness place a spoonful of jam on the cold plate and wait a minute or two. Push the puddle of jam with your finger to see if it is setting yet. If the jam is still runny and saucy cook it longer. Recipe makes approximately 64 ounces of jam. One serving is a tablespoon of jam.
Recipe Collections:
| Canning Crock-Pot Recipes | Strawberry Slow Cooker Recipes |
| 5 Quart Slow Cooker Recipes | 5 Ingredients Or Less Crock-Pot Recipes |
| American Crock-Pot Recipes | Summer Slow Cooker Recipes |
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What a GREAT idea!
Thanks Julia!
Jam is definitely on my to-make list! Thanks for sharing on Two Cup Tuesday. Pinned it!
Have you tried substituting powdered Stevia for some of the sugar in this recipe? My teenage daughter only takes peanut butter and strawberry jam (or honey) in her school lunches. I am trying to make a more economical and lower sugar option for her. I am looking forward to making this tomorrow.
Joy,
I have not made this recipe but I have used stevia for almost 20 years. In a normal baking recipe that calls for regular sugar, I substitute 1/2 the sugar for stevia.
If the recipe calls for 2 cups sugar, I use 1 cup sugar and 1t powdered stevia.
You cannot tell the differece!! and I have teenagers.. my daughter is super picky and she cant tell… (1tsp stevia = 1 c sugar)
p.s. i started using 100% stevia and it does not taste good, .. after trial and error, this 1/2 sugar and 1/2 stevia works very well.
living overseas so no pectin. any substitions for that?
I am not sure on that one Nancy, I did not realize that pectin was not available in other countries. You could perhaps order it online or make your own perhaps?
jello powder?
No, this recipe does not use Jell-O powder. It uses powdered fruit pectin (found in the grocery store by the canning supplies).
Their point was that there is pectin in jello. In the past I have done recipes without pectin by finding a recipe that has apples in it. Try to find one like that.
Hi Melanie, This recipe does not contain Jello it contains pectin. Jello contain gelatin not pectin and would not work for this recipe at all. Store bought pectin that you use in normal canning recipes is what I used in this recipe.
Chia seeds work well! 2-3 Tablespoons per 2 cups of fruit
Thanks for the tips on using Chia seeds Annette. I have not had the chance to try that yet!
Can I make this with splenda or artificial sweetness?
While I have not made this with Splenda myself I don’t see why you couldn’t.
I cooked mine for the full time but doesn’t seem to be setting up. Did I do something wrong or how long does it normally take
Did you do the plate test to check for jellying on your jam? It set up after 4-5 hours.
Cooked mine for the full time and exactly the way the recipe says. After the 5 hours my strawberries are burnt and did not set up at all. Very upset that I just wasted 4 pints of strawberries and all that sugar. Will continue making jam the old fashioned way.
Sorry to hear that Shoshana. Perhaps your crock-pot cooks at a higher temp.
Tried strawberry jam recipe-followed recipe- but my jam is ‘SOUPY’. Cooked it on low x 1hr-stirred-REPEATED- THEN 3HR ON HI. Not sure where I went wrong? Can I FIX this or is it a FAIL?
If you jam has not set (and you tested it on a cold plate) then you may just need to cook it longer. Each slow cooker cooks at a different temperature.
Mine didn’t set up either. Great idea, I love crock pots, but it doesn’t thicken up.
I made strawberry jam as instructed in crock pot and even waiting overnight it has not thickened..help!
Hi Sue,
I am not sure why it has not thickened for you. I have made this recipe several times over and it always comes out just fine. Did you test your jam on a cold plate from the freezer to see if it has jelled? In the crock-pot it is going to be runny while hot. It thickens as it cools.
Do you let it cool before canning in hot water bath?
Great questions Lindsay! You do not let the jars of jam cool before canning in the hot water bath. In fact your jam should be hot going in.
Never have I been so upset with a recipe not turning out than I am right now. I wasted 5 hours of my time today and 4 pints of strawberries that were hand picked by me. I want to cry. I tried the plate thing and everything. Still runny and did not set. I was really excited to try this today too because I have never tried old fashioned canning before. I guess I am now!!! Very disappointed!!!
Amy, I am so sorry your jam did not come out. I don’t know what else to say except that I am sorry. I have made this recipe several times now and it always comes out for me. I am not sure if it is the type of pectin folks are using or if their crock-pots cook at a lower temperature or what.
We have had several readers say it works for them and a handful that it didn’t. You could always try putting your not thickened jam in a heavy bottomed pot and simmering it on the stove top until it thickens and then can it. Otherwise the runny jam can always be used as a strawberry syrup or ice cream topping.
I guess I have to agree with the rest of the people who commented on this. It didn’t work and spent 5 hours and did the frozen dish test and gave up. Now I have 5 containers that are liquid.
Something has to be wrong with the recipe, there is no way with something that simple and many have said it doesn’t work.
I am sorry it did not work out for you. I will test the recipe again in the next few weeks and see if I can pinpoint what the issue might be. As I have stated before in other comments I have made this several times now and have never had an issue.
I’m with you very up set it didn’t set up
I made this recipe yesterday and it did not work very runny more like a syrup consistency even after it has set 12 hours. I am upset it didn’t work. I did not throw it away will use it ,
I am sorry the recipe did not work out for you Deb. Did you test the jam on a frozen plate to make sure it had gelled?
After reading all this I will stick to freezer strawberry jam!
This was a total flop…..wasted money and time….never jelled!
I am sorry that this recipe did not work out for you Nancy. What brand of pectin did you use? How long did you cook it?
I can’t imagine that the jam would thicken in a covered crock pot. The old fashioned way you boil the jam and you see it cook down a bit. In the covered crock pot there is no where for the moisture to go. I would try it uncovered