Refrigerator or Freezer Blackberry Jam
This super-easy Blackberry Jam recipe has so much flavor and it’s not too sweet! Plus, no special equipment or ingredients are necessary for our no-fuss jam.
Blackberries are naturally high in pectin, so it’s fine to make blackberry jam with no added pectin.
You’ll love this fruit-forward jam that’s full of pungent berry flavor.
Notes:
- Because this jam isn’t processed, it must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. It will last several weeks in the fridge, but can be frozen for up to three months.
- It takes longer to cook down the berries than for those recipes with added sugar and a package of pectin. There’s a lot of stirring but it’s worth it!
- This is a low-sugar version. For conventional jam, add equal parts sugar and fruit by weight and follow the same instructions. The jam will set faster and the yield will be much higher but the taste will be candy-sweet.
- Do not double the recipe; it affects the gelling time. Prepare and cook in small batches.
- There’s nothing wrong with pectin. Some people don’t have it on hand for a spontaneous jam-making session. Others don’t like the “jello-like” texture. Jam made without pectin is a little softer and looser than jam made with pectin.
- Lemon juice helps jam gel but with certain berries that are high pectin, it is not necessary. It brings out the flavor of the berries.
- If your blackberry jam doesn’t gel, then you didn’t cook it long enough. Be patient and turn the heat down as it starts to gel to prevent scorching

Sam Jones/Quinn Brein
Photo Credit:
Sam Jones/Quinn Brein
Ingredients
4 cups fresh blackberries (remove stems, wash)
1 cup white sugar (granulated)
Optional: 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- In sauce pan, mix together mashed berries, sugar and lemon juice.
- Bring entire berry mix to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until jam is thickened and reaches gel stage, about 20 minutes.
- Prepare your canning jars by heating them in a pot of simmering water (180°F). Keep them hot until ready to use or wash and dry Ball® plastic jam and jelly jars (8 oz).
- Ladle the hot jam into the hot canning jars leaving ¼ inch headspace.
- Clean the rims and put caps on after jam has cooled, and you can handle the jars. Allow the jam to cool completely before moving the jam to the fridge or freezer
- Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months
Yield:
Makes 2 6-ounce jars.
Preparation Time
30 Minutes
Total Time
90 Minutes
Reader Comments
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QUANTITY?
I think there's an error here; 4 cups of fruit and 1 cup of sugar cannot possibly make 4 pints of jam. A pint is 2 cups hence 4 would be 8 cups of jam. I believe that you mean it makes 4 CUPS of jam. But wouldn't it be great if the fruit doubled in volume? LOL!
easy blackberry jam
Hi, Denise. Thanks for your feedback. You’re right about the yield being off. This recipe will make about two 6-ounce jars of jam.
Boysenberry
My boysenberry seems to be very tart. Is there a way to get them to be sweeter?
I would like to know if you
I would like to know if you have a recipe for strawberry rhubarb jam?
Hi, Mary. You can use our
Hi, Mary. You can use our recipe for blueberry-rhubarb jam as a guideline and substitute strawberries: https://www.almanac.com/recipe/blueberry-rhubarb-jam-0
Hi. I had a pretty easy
Hi. I had a pretty easy Freezer Jam recipe,that made just enough for me.I live alone. But seem to have lost it. Can you help please?
Hi, Barb. We have a recipe
Hi, Barb. We have a recipe for Kiwi Freezer Jam that may interest you: https://www.almanac.com/recipe/kiwi-freezer-jam
I need as much help as I can
I need as much help as I can here. I want to learn how to make blackberry jam. I have never canned anything in my life. In this article it says "Pour into hot sterilized canning jars (leaving headspace), seal, and process for 20 minutes." What does "process" mean here?
In a boiling-water bath, jars
In a boiling-water bath, jars of food (in this case, jam) are completely covered with boiling water and heated for a specific amount of time. This method is used to safely can tomatoes, fruit, jams, jellies, and pickles with high acid content.
what is the benefit of
what is the benefit of pressure cooking? I'm new at canning and bought a really nice pressure cooker, but a lot of the recipes i'm seeing don't call for pressure cookers? thanks!
There are two techniques
There are two techniques typically used for home canning: boiling-water bath canning and pressure canning. For pickles, onions, and carrots, use the pressure canning method.
What about blueberries? How
What about blueberries? How would I use them?
Hi, Eileen. Try our blueberry
Hi, Eileen. Try our blueberry jam recipe: http://www.almanac.com/recipe/blueberry-jam
Can I freeze the jam?
Can I freeze the jam?
Yes! Your homemade jam can be
Yes! Your homemade jam can be frozen for up to 1 year.
My berries and sugar is
My berries and sugar is liquidity. Is it normal?
blackberry jam
1. can i use less sugar ? about 4 cups?
2. Does it not need pectin or lemon juice?
The sugar is needed for the
The sugar is needed for the jam to gel, however, you can use less sugar. For every cup of fruit you use, you can add ¾ cup of sugar. You don’t have to use pectin. It is a natural gelling agent found in ripe fruit. Some fruit has more pectin than others. Blackberries have high pectin levels.
Making Preserves
Can you use this same recipe to make preserves instead of jam? I would assume you just wouldn't mash the berries.
Yes, Ginny. Not mashing the
Yes, Ginny. Not mashing the berries shouldn’t be a problem.
Blackberry Jam
I do not have a food mill - is there another way I could get the seeds out?
no food mill
Hi, Libby- If you don’t have a food mill, you can use a strainer and wooden spoon. Just push the berries through with the spoon as best as you can.
I have 4 day old
I have 4 day old blackberries, are they still good to use for jam?
That's a hard question to
That's a hard question to answer. The fresher, the better. Blackberries usually last up to a week, so they should be OK. Some folks believe in using a quarter of slightly underripe berries when they make jam but that's a personal preference. See how it goes! Jam is easy to make.
Can you use raspberries for
Can you use raspberries for this recipe? Instead of blackberries
Yes!
Yes!
What is a food mill?
What is a food mill?
Here is some information
Here is some information about food mills:
http://www.finecooking.com/art...
I would like to know how many
I would like to know how many cups of blackberries are needed to make one 8 cup batch of cooked jelly?
I did this and it's been a
I did this and it's been a week and it's still runny. Hasn't thickened.
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