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Homemade Healthy Chia Jam uses just 4 ingredients and is ready in 15 minutes. This cranberry chia jam recipe is easy to make, uses NO SUGAR and is perfect for toast, oatmeal, cookies, muffins and more.
Homemade jam is delicious, and requires just 15 minutes and 4 wholesome ingredients.
Cranberry Chia Jam is my favorite, but you can use other fruits or berries in this easy recipe too.
Skip the refined sugars and processed ingredients….this sugar-free jam is simple, delicious and makes an awesome gift.
Ingredients for Cranberry Chia Jam:
- Fresh Cranberries: Rich in fiber and vitamin C.
- Orange: This recipe uses the zest and the juice for an abundance of orange flavor, plus extra vitamins and nutrients. Oranges are heavily sprayed, so buy organic if you can and always wash the outside before zesting.
- Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup helps to counter the tartness of cranberries without having to use added refined sugar.
- Chia Seeds: a nutrient dense and vegan alternative to thicken jam instead of using pectin. Chia seeds are loaded with fiber and are a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
How to make Chia Seed Jam
Pick over cranberries. Discard any bruised of soft berries. Wash cranberries in cool water.
- Zest and juice the orange.
- Wash well and then use a microplane grater to get as much zest off the orange as you can.
- Squeeze as much juice as you can out of the orange. If you don’t get ⅓ cup, use water to make up the difference.
- A citrus squeezer makes this job easy.
Add washed cranberries, orange zest, orange juice and maple syrup to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer and cook for 8 minutes until tender enough to mash with the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and stir in chia seeds. Jam will thicken as it cools. Stir after 5 minutes and then cool completely, stir again.
What can you do with chia seed jam?
- Serve it as part of your Healthy Thanksgiving Feast. Hello Cranberry Sauce that’s better than what’s jiggling in the can!
- It’s the glue that holds the leftover sandwich together…well, that and some Thanksgiving Rolls.
- It’s perfect for Thumbprint Cookies.
- Spread it on toast! It’s amazing on Irish Soda Bread.
- Use it to fill oatmeal muffins.
- Swirl it into your oatmeal.
- PBJ anyone?
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📖 Recipe
Cranberry Chia Jam
Author: Debra Klein
Homemade cranberry jam for the healthy win. Easy recipe with clean ingredients and no sugar.
4.97 from 31 votes
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Prep Time 2 minutes mins
Cook Time 8 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Servings 1 cup jam
Calories 26 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries*
- 1 orange zested and juiced*
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons chia seeds
Instructions
Pick over cranberries, discarding any hat are bruised or soft. Wash under stream of cool water.
Zest and juice the orange. If you don’t have ⅓ cup juice, add enough water to equal ⅓ cup.
Place cranberries, orange zest + juice and maple syrup in small saucepan. Bring to boil and then turn down the heat to keep a low simmer.
Cranberries will start to pop after about 3 minutes. Continue to cook for 5-8 minutes. You should be able to mash those that didn’t pop with the back of a spoon.
Turn off heat. Mash cranberries. You can leave some whole, or you can mash them all, depending on the consistency you desire.
Stir in chia seeds. Mix well. Let sit for about 5 minutes for a perfect jammy consistency.
If you prefer not to see the chia seeds, use an immersion blender to puree the jam.
Notes
Fruit: This recipe will work with other fruits besides cranberries. Blueberries, raspberries, cut up strawberries or peaches will work well. You can also use frozen fruit. You may need to cut back on the amount of maple syrup though. Cranberries tend to be quite tart, so this recipe was tested with that in mind.
CRANBERRIES: 1 (7-oz) bag cranberries is approximately 2 cups.
Orange: one large orange will yield approximately ⅓ cup juice. If your orange yields less juice, use water to make up the difference. If you don’t have a fresh orange, you can use ⅓ cup orange juice. If you’re using berries or peaches, switch up the orange for a lemon.
STORAGE: Chia jam will stay good in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a month.
Nutrition
Serving: 1TablespoonCalories: 26kcalCarbohydrates: 6gSodium: 1mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4g
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach or use hashtag #dkhealtcoach on Instagram so I can see it!!
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