Blueberry Jam. Hashtag YUM. But, the added sugar in the off-the-shelf brands is a waistline destroyer. Surprise, surprise… My Instant Pot came to the rescue again when I decided I wanted to attempt my own homemade jam to add to my Greek Yogurt parfait. I knew maple syrup would be a healthy substitute for white sugar, but I was still left with a quandary about how in the world I would get it to be nice and thick like a jam.

Thank goodness for the world wide web and ingenious food blogger chefs! I stumbled across this recipe for Oh She Glows Blueberry Jam and found that she used Chia Seeds in her recipe. Not only would this give a boost of nutrition with the addition of healthy seeds, but it would also act as a thickening agent for the broken down berries. (Side note: If you haven’t checked out Angela from Oh She Glows, finish reading this post and then RUN over to that site. What a talented chef, blogger and photographer she is, and her blog is filled of plant-based goodness!) You can also translate Angela’s exact recipe (which has several additional ingredients) to my Instant Pot instructions below.

Now that I had the missing ingredient, I was ready to give this a shot in my Instant Pot. In mere minutes, I had a beautiful thick jam to spread on toast or layer into my parfait. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much I do!

First, I washed and dried a pint of beautiful blueberries.

I added the berries to my pot and stirred in one Tablespoon of 100% Maple Syrup. (You can add more later, if desired.) I put on the lid and set my Instant Pot to 2 Minutes High Pressure. I allowed the pressure to release naturally (NPR).

When I opened the pot, the berries had broken down and started to gel.

At this point, I stirred in one TBSP of chia seeds.

I poured the jam into a mason jar.

At this point, I decided to take a portion of the jam and smooth it in the blender. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of seeded jams so I wanted to smooth some of the “seediness” out. This step is completely optional.

I added the blended portion back in and mixed well. I refrigerated for one hour until it was completely chilled. It spread beautifully on my rice crackers.

I also used some of the jam to layer into my Greek Yogurt Parfait. And, yes, I absolutely made the yogurt in my Instant Pot as well!

Instant Pot Sugar-Free Blueberry Jam

INGREDIENTS:

One pint blueberries

1-2 TBSP Maple Syrup (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 TBSP Chia Seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Wash and dry blueberries, and add them to your Instant Pot. Stir in maple syrup. Set Instant Pot on High Pressure for 2 minutes and allow a NPR. When the steam is released, open the pot and stir in chia seeds. Mix well. If you desire a smoother jam, blend all or a portion of the jam in your blender until desired consistency. Transfer into a glass jar and refrigerate for at least an hour or until completely chilled. Enjoy on toast, as a filling for your yogurt, or anywhere you’d normally use jam!

Questions I am anticipating:

Can I make this without chia seeds? Yes, but the consistency will be different and it probably won’t be as thick.

Can I make this with other berries? Yes, just keep in mind if you use berries that have seeds (like blackberries), you will have a LOT of seeds! If that doesn’t bother you, go for it.

Can I use another kind of sweetener? You can definitely use honey instead. I would use honey, maple, or agave syrup for the recipe. If you are wanting to use artificial sweeteners for additional sweetness, add that after you sample the finished product. The consistency of the syrups are needed for this recipe. Also, you can certainly add more maple or honey at the end if additional sweetness is desired.

xo Jaime