This seedless blackberry jam is a silky-smooth homemade jam made with just 3 ingredients - blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and absolutely no pectin. Ready in 30 minutes, it's perfect for spreading on toast, swirling into oatmeal, drizzling over ice cream, or filling granola bars. One extra step - blending and straining the berries - removes the seeds for a smooth texture that you will love.
📋A quick look at the recipe
- ⏱️ Total Time: 30 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 50 tablespoons
- 🌱 Diet: Vegan, Gluten-free
- 📅 Perfect with: toast and bagels, pancakes, oatmeal, ice cream
- ⭐Why You'll love this dal: seedless and silky-smooth, no pectin required, works with fresh or frozen blackberries
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☀️My summer garden
I love to grow a garden, which, for us Kansans, is a short-lived pleasure. It does bring me great joy, though. A friend once said that working in the garden is like therapy, and I cannot agree more. I would rather spend my time and money in my garden.
For the past few years, we have been growing tons of tomatoes in our garden and making recipes like this sweet and savory tomato jam, this tomato and dates chutney, and enjoying this marinated tomato salad and tomato and cheese pie. One of our aspirations for our garden is to eventually develop it into an edible landscape. Which, given our coordinates, can be a little challenging. But what is life without some challenges in it. So, we shall see.
One of my work friends brought us a blackberry bush from his garden, and we have had good luck with it. I have been thinking of making jam-filled granola bars for a long time, and those gorgeous blackberries made me think that maybe this was a sign. So, as a first step in making those jam bars, I set out to make the jam.
💡How to remove seeds from Blackberry Jam?
One thing that no one in our family is particularly fond of is the blackberry seeds. The seeds can sometimes be quite large and difficult to chew. To make the jam seedless, there are just two extra steps. The secret is to blend and strain the blackberries before cooking. Here are two best methods:
Method 1 - Blender + Fine Mesh Sieve (recommended)
Blend your washed, raw blackberries in a blender until you have a completely smooth puree, then press the puree through a fine-mesh sieve using the back of a large spoon. This method gives you the most pulp and the silkiest final jam. Discard the seeds in the sieve and use the pulp to make the jam.
Method 2 - Food Mill (best for large batches)
If you have a bountiful harvest and are preparing to can the jam, use this method. Briefly cook the washed blackberries to soften them. Run the slightly broken-down blackberries through a food mill into a large stainless-steel mixing bowl, then transfer them to a pan to cook.
🫙Recipe Run down
After blending and straining the blackberries, take the seedless blackberry puree and add it to a heavy bottomed sauce pan along with the sugar. Add any spices or flavorings if you wish to. A little bit of cinnamon and allspice really go well in this jam. But this is entirely your choice. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and cook for 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer reads 220 degrees F. You can add a corn starch slurry to thicken the jam if you like.
Why this jam sets without pectin
I conducted research on this topic and found that blackberries are among the highest-pectin fruits. When blackberry juice and pulp are cooked with sugar to 220°F, the natural pectin activates, thickening the jam to a spreadable consistency. Lemon juice is essential: its acidity lowers the pH, which helps the natural pectin perform more effectively. No store-bought pectin required.
Multiple uses
You can use it as a jam or a sauce, depending on how thick you boil it. Since this recipe contains no pectin, the jam is thicker and more flowy. You can call it a sauce and drizzle it over ice cream. We drizzle it over ice cream, and also spread it on toast, eat it with cheese and crackers, and make jam granola bars with it.
🫙Storage, Freezing and Canning instructions
| Method | Container | Shelf Life | Notes |
| Refrigerator | Glass Mason Jar | 2-3 months | Best small batch taste |
| Freezer | Freezer-safe Jar | Up to 12 months | Leave 1 inch headspace |
| Water-bath Can | Sterilized Mason Jar | Up to 12 months | Process 10 minutes |
Quick Canning Note: Blackberries are high-acid fruit, making this jam completely safe for water-bath canning without a pressure canner. Fill hot sterilized jars, leave ¼" headspace, wipe rims, and process in boiling water for 10 minutes.
❓FAQs
Stored in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator, homemade blackberry jam lasts 2–3 months. In the freezer, it keeps well for up to 12 months. If water-bath canned in sterilized jars, sealed jars are shelf-stable for up to 12 months in a cool, dark pantry.
The most common reasons are: the jam didn't reach 220°F (use a thermometer or the cold-plate test), not enough lemon juice was added (lemon activates natural pectin), or the berries were very overripe and low in natural pectin. If it's still runny after cooling, return to the stove and boil in 2-minute intervals until it sets.
Yes! Thaw the berries completely and keep every drop of the released juice — it's full of flavor and natural pectin. Jam made from frozen blackberries may take a few extra minutes to reach setting point since frozen fruit releases more water, but the finished jam tastes just as delicious.
Seedless Blackberry Jam (No Pectin)
Ingredients
- 6 cups blackberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon lime juice optional
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon all spice powder optional
Instructions
- Blend/puree the blackberries in a blender and strain them using a steel sieve. You should have about 4 cups of strained seedless blackberry puree.
- Set a heavy bottomed sauce pan on medium high heat with 4 cups of seedless fruit puree and 2 cups of sugar in it.
- Stir until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Lower the heat and stir every few minutes to prevent scorching.
- Cook for 20 minutes, add the spices and lime juice and check the consistency. If you have a thermometer, the jam temperature should be close to 220 degrees F. Stir well and then turn off the heat.
- Let cool and store in clean, air-tight glass jars in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Next up are the jam bars! Until then, try this recipe and enjoy it on toast, ice cream, with crackers and cream cheese or straight up! And always, if you make this recipe, please let me know, share a picture or tag us on social media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest etc. etc.
Love - Vaishali.
BONNIE BARKER says
HOW MANY 8 0Z JARS ????
Vaishali says
Hi Bonnie, It will be 1- 8 oz jar.
Lucy says
I love the idea of using the blender, -do any of the seeds get blended or did you notice if there was a texture from any of the blended seeds that were too small for the sieve?
Vaishali says
Thanks, Lucy. If you're using a high speed blender the seeds might get blended. But I still think the sieve gets most of them.
Heather Helmburg says
Curious- has anyone canned this recipe or froze this recipe? If so, what did you do differently? Thanks!
Peg says
Can you can this with water bath? I have a lot of berries and would like to put up for the winter.
Vaishali says
You sure can!!
Tianna Willard says
looks like a great jam
Vaishali says
Thanks Tiana
Tricia says
I have black berry bushes. I just made this today and love it. I didn’t put the spices or lime juice in, but added a small pinch of salt in. It is delicious! My husband compared it to the snickers berry syrup but thicker lol.
Vaishali says
Hi Tricia. Love it. My blackberry bush has not started producing fruit yet but can't wait. I agree with the berry syrup comment.
Amanda says
I have very fond memories of blackberries. I used to pick them wild on the vines at my grandparents farm. Thanks for sharing, I will have to make this 🙂
Vaishali says
Thanks, Amanda. Yeah...they have grown into decent size bushes in our yard. I hope you give this jam a shot and enjoy it!!
Rich93 says
Do you heat the jars or just fill the jars whilst the jam is hot? Never made Jam before!
Vaishali says
Hi Rick93. I let the jam come to room temperature and then add to jars that have been washed and dried. And then put the lid on and store in a refrigerator. I hope this helps.
lisa says
water bath canning requires that your jars be sterile, not just washed and dried. I would hate to see someone lose all their hard work by not using sterile jars
Jodi says
I'm loving this!! I can't stand the seeds in blackberries (they're soooo huge lol) so this jam is a perfect way for me to still enjoy their flavour!
Jodi says
I'm loving this!! I can't stand the seeds in blackberries (they feel so big LOL) so this jam is a perfect way for me to still enjoy their flavour without all the crunchy huge seeds 😛
Vaishali says
Yes!!! me too...those darn seeds! I hope you give this a try!
Patrick says
We love making jams and jellies. We also love blackberries! ...and blackberry jam? Well, that's hands down a household favorite! We'll have to try your recipe! Thank you for sharing!!
Vaishali says
Thanks Patrick. They grow like crazy...I had no idea when I first planted them...lol
Phaneth says
I tried this recipe last night and it came out great. Here was my mods: Instead of lime juice I used about 1 tsp lemon juice since I had that. I added a dash of cinnamon. I did do the 2 TB of corn starch slurry at the 20 min mark, but I ended up cooking it a bit longer to get to the temperature point, I got to about 216 degrees and turned off the heat to cool. The texture was perfect, the jelly/jam was sweet with a tartness (not sure if that was from our berries or the lemon juice). Great recipe!
Kevin Foodie says
Love a good homemade jam. This blackberry preserve looks delicious. Can't remember having this type jam but would love to try it. Great tip on making a slurry using cornstarch.
Vaishali says
Thanks, Kevin. Homemade goodies are the best!