Instant Pot Strawberry Chia Jam

An Instant Pot recipe to make a yummy Strawberry Chia Jam. This easy to make jam takes only 3 minutes to cook and needs only four ingredients!

Summer season and strawberry season is back! The short lived berry season is my favorite as I totally love farm fresh berries. And when I bring home a BIG bucket full of strawberries, I like to make fresh jam.

From Summer parties to grilling and drinks of various kinds, it is the time to bring out the swimwear and barbecue tools. These parties are amazing with homemade dishes. And it is perfect to have some delicious jams, jellies, dips and more!

What is Strawberry Chia Jam?

An easy dip that is amazing with toasted bread, on cereal and milk or over yogurt. This jam is SO easy to make and I have a bottle in my refrigerator all the time.

This jam is slightly different from the commercial version as it does not have pectin, preservatives, color or flavoring agent.

And if we remove all these from the jam, we will only be left with sugar, strawberries and water! And that is definitely not jam.

So we add a secret ingredient in it to make this a jam; CHIA SEEDS. With properties to thicken anything that it is added to, these seeds help us bind berries with sugar and water to make a delicious textured jam.

Plus, we ALL know how healthy the tiny seeds are and this is a great way to sneak in a few each morning!

This Recipe of Instant Pot Strawberry Chai Jam

• Comes together in under 30 minutes from end to end. The rest of the time is actually just resting time.
• Is made in the Instant Pot so there is no stirring, mixing or processing. It is totally hands-free and makes a bottle full of jam while you are busy with something else in the kitchen!
• Needs only FOUR ingredients to come together and can be flavored in so many ways! Add vanilla extract, cinnamon, other berries and so on!
• Uses chia seeds to thicken it up instead of excess sugar. That way it is SO much better than store bought!
• The same recipe can be used for fresh or frozen berries. They both work wonderfully well here!
• Can be made with other berries, a mix of berries, peach, apricot, pineapple etc! It is the exact same method with a new fruit each week!
• Does not need any complex ingredient or canning. It is a refrigerator jam and keeps well refrigerated for a week or so.

Video Recipe

Using the Instant Pot for this strawberry jam

The easiest way to make a jam to to use an Instant Pot. All you need to do is add all the ingredients to the pot, mix, cook and cool. And with a 6 or 8 qt machine, you can easily make jam using over 3-4 pounds of fruits. 

If you are a strawberry lover like me, this jam is for you. If not, you can add any berries of your choice or mix and match them. You can even make a yummy peach or nectarine jam. The method is the same and the result is always delicious! 

Ingredients

Strawberries: The main ingredient here is strawberries. When in season, I like to use fresh berries. However, using frozen berries is a great option too.

To prepare the berries for the jam, I like to wash them, air dry and cut the leaves and hardy stem off. Then the berries are all ready to make this strawberry chia jam.

Chia Seeds: The other key ingredient here is chia seeds. The thickener in the recipe it would NOT be okay to leave it out.

Without chia seeds the jam will only be a strawberry syrup!

These seeds are really healthy and it helps to have them in the pantry all the time! I like to make this chia seed pudding using them. And this breakfast bowl is AMAZING I promise!

Sugar: Though we do not use sugar as a thickener here, we do add some sugar to the jam. The sweetest strawberries will need some sugar for sure.

Step it up or down based on how sweet the berries are and how sweet you like the jam!

Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is great to balance out the sweetness and brings in so much flavor to the otherwise sweet jam. I like to add that to all my jams. Skip it only if there are allergies. Otherwise I strongly recommend using it!

Some other ingredients like vanilla extract, spices like cinnamon, cloves or star anise etc are great to add to the jam. It brings a lot of flavor into the jam and gives it a great taste.

Step by Step Instructions to make 

1- Wash and dice the strawberries. In the base of the Instant Pot add the berries and sprinkle sugar over it.

2- Let the sugar rest for 10 minutes. 

3- After 10 minutes add water. Close the lid of the Instant pot and set the mode to pressure cook, time to 3 minutes and pressure to high. Set the vent to sealing.

4- Let the berries cook till the end of the cooking time. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick release. 

5- Open the lid and add in lemon juice and chia seeds. Mix well and let the jam cool to room temperature.

6- As it cools, it will become thick as well. Transfer to and airtight jar and refrigerate. Use as required for up to a week.

7- You can freeze the jam for months! I like to divide it into silicone molds and freeze in single serve portions. Just pop one and use as you like! 

Tips and Notes

• Use fresh or frozen berries for the recipe. However, the method remains the same for both.
• Any juicy fruit like berries, kiwi, pineapple, peach etc will work with chia seeds. Mix them up or use them just one at a time, the option is yours!
• If you like the jam to be smooth, blend it with an immersion blender after it is made. it does help getting a super smooth jam!
• The jam keeps well for a week in the refrigerator. As it is not canned and does not use preservatives, it will have to be frozen to keep it longer.

This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in 2018.