Crockpot Mixed Berry Jam Recipe (With Pectin)
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This crockpot mixed berry jam is a delicious combination of strawberries and raspberries that’s ready in a few hours. Enjoy it with toast, pastries, and more! The easy mixed berry jam recipe proves that making your own jam is a breeze.
Easy recipes are our favorites — did you know you can freeze milk?
I’m over going to the grocery store and buying things off the shelf that I can make in my own kitchen.
This is what I love about this homemade jam recipe. It’s one of my go-to recipes when I want to use fresh seasonal fruit and enjoy it in a variety of ways.
Sometimes, I’ll find myself with a bounty of fresh fruit, wondering what I should do with it all.
This easy jam recipe is a great way to use fresh berries with simple ingredients, giving me flavor and happiness on top of toast, biscuits, and more.
Mixed Berry Jam Recipe
Crockpot jam is especially convenient during the summer months when standing over a hot stove isn’t ideal.
While it does come out a bit thinner than stovetop versions, slow cooker jam still gels and has a thicker consistency than standard freezer varieties.
I have a plain strawberry version that you can try. It is cooked on the stovetop, but all you need to make it is regular sugar instead of pectin.
Or, add some heat with fresh habanero peppers and spread it on dishes both savory and sweet!
How To Make Homemade Berry Jam
Rinse all of the berries in cool water and remove all of the leaves.
This recipe works best when the fruit pieces are as small as possible, so chop up the strawberries and mash them before adding them to your slow cooker.
Add in the raspberries, sugar, and pectin. Cook on High for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so to ensure that the sugars are fully and evenly dissolved.
Once it’s done, transfer to sterilized jars and process based on storage preference.
Slow Cooker Jam Tips and Tricks
- Measure correctly. Regular pectin requires just the right amount of sugar to gel properly, so it’s important not to eyeball the fruit.
If you need a low sugar recipe, use pectin that is labeled “reduced sugar.” - Leave space in your jars. It’s important to leave about ¼-inch of headspace when filling each jar to allow for the mixed berry jam to expand, either during processing or when frozen.
- Check your lids! They have to be properly sealed and secured before storing or all of your jam will spoil.
Any jars that aren’t fully sealed need to be kept in the refrigerator, not on the shelf. - Storage: Crockpot jam will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks and on the shelf for up to 1 year.
If the jars are not processed in a water bath, store them in the freezer for up to 3 months instead.
Mixed Berry Jam FAQs
The ideal temperature for sugars and pectin to bind together is 220°F. While slow cookers may vary, my batches never reached this temperature even after testing one for 6-8 hours.
After so much time, the sugars start to caramelize and the slow cooker jam starts to turn brown. Not only is it unpleasant to look at, but it doesn’t taste very good either!
For best results, cook for 2-3 hours while stirring regularly — this helps distribute the sugar and ensures that it dissolves completely.
You will need to follow the proper water bath canning instructions given for your jars. You can find helpful information here if you are new to the process.
It’s not recommended to reduce the amount of sugar because that is needed for the pectin to set in. If you don’t want to add too much sugar, you can look at options for artificial sweetener instead and see if that might work.
Why not? You can add blueberries and turn this into a triple berry jam! As the jam cooks, just add in the blueberries as you would the rest of the fresh fruit. You should still get that jam-like consistency easily enough. Plus, the combination of berries sounds yummy!
You can use any type of fruit that you want to make a batch of jam. This is also a fun way to change the color of the jam as well.
A little bit of jam goes a long way on so many foods. You can add this to toast, on top of vanilla ice cream, with overnight oats, and more. The first time that I made a large batch of this, I served it at a holiday dinner with family and friends.
You choose the best time and place to serve it and then make it happen. Keep in mind that this does make a lovely gift idea as well. Choose the best berries or whole fruit, grab your jam jars, and get started with this easy hot jam recipe today.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Sweet Crockpot Recipes
Crockpot Mixed Berry Jam Recipe (With Pectin)
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
- 2 cups raspberries, whole is fine
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 tablespoons classic pectin
Instructions
- Prepare mason jars and lids by washing and sterilizing in boiling water or running through the sterilization cycle on the dishwasher.
- Prepare the strawberries and raspberries. Rinse with cool water. Slice strawberries into halves or quarters and then crush them with a potato masher. Crockpot jam cooks best the smaller the pieces are broken down beforehand.
- Add sugar, pectin, strawberries and raspberries to the crockpot.
- Set the crockpot on high and cook for 2-3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
- When the sugar is completely dissolved throughout the entire mixture, the jam is done. ● Ladle jam into prepared jars, secure lids, and leave the jars to set for 24 hours before storing in the freezer.
- If, instead of storing in the freezer, you’d like to process the jars in a boiling water bath, they can be stored on the shelf for up to 1 year.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published August 2021, updated and republished April 2024
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Really great idea. Thank you.
I never knew it was this simple! I will be making this frequently!
Hi Donna,
Another Donna here. Two questions for you. Can you use all strawberries? I’m getting a flat of them from the school kids & need to do some with them, so I’d like to try & use just strawberries! And could I use Splenda Blend? I know you use 1/2 the amount of regular sugar, we are glucose intolerant & need to cut out real sugar. Thank you so much! Hugs! Donna King. Tennessee.
Hi looks yummy! Can you use Steva in place of auger 🙏. Thank you
I am a diabetic what can I use instead of all that sugar?
I didn’t see the answers to any of the above questions regarding replacing sugar. Can the sugar be replaced with spendla or other sugar substitute?
I am new to jam-making so my question is probably one everyone but me knows the answer. Is the measurement for the strawberries with them just being cut or after they are mashed or does it make a difference? Thanks in advance for clearing this up for me.