Strawberry Chia Seed Jelly
Satisfy your sweet tooth in no time. I’m a huge fan of putting jelly in my oatmeal and toast in the mornings, and I practically have it every morning for breakfast.
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When I was younger, I would always have either oatmeal or toast for breakfast. I would add a big scoop of peanut butter and jelly to my oatmeal. My favorite jelly was grape jelly, but I also had strawberry jelly from time to time–mostly when we ran out of grape jelly. Those were my two go-to jellies that I had almost everyday for breakfast.
The jelly always tasted really sweet and sugary, but I didn’t think anything of it. While I thought that it was a healthy and nutritious breakfast, it really wasn’t because of how much added sugar was in the jelly I was eating.
I prefer sweet over savory breakfasts, so I often gravitate towards jelly because it’s super sweet and delicious. However, I recently realized that traditional jelly you can buy from the grocery store has a TON of added sugar. I mistakenly believed that it was made with fruit alone and that it was healthy.
One serving of jelly can have 10 or more grams of added sugar, which is almost half of the recommended amount of table sugar you are supposed to have daily. I decided that it was not best for my health to continue eating so much sugar from jelly alone. Thus, I decided to play around with some ingredients in my kitchen to come up with the perfect strawberry chia seed jelly.
It’s crazy to me how much added sugar is in foods you wouldn’t expect. Since it was jelly, I figured that it was just made out of fruit. That’s why it’s important to be mindful of the ingredients list on nutrition labels.
Homemade jelly
I’ve been craving jelly recently, but I didn’t want one with added sugar. So, I decided to make a homemade strawberry chia seed jelly that had no added sugar in it. The jelly is made with fruit alone, so it only has natural sugar from the fruit.
I made it a priority to make a strawberry jelly with absolutely no added sugar in it. My goal was to make jelly that was 100% refined sugar-free with no harmful chemicals or additives. I also don’t like using artificial sweaters such as stevia because there are numerous studies that suggest that they aren’t any better for you than traditional table sugar.
The best route to go is to simply use no table sugar or artificial sweeteners at all. Trust me on this. This recipe has only three ingredients, and takes less than five minutes to make. it’s super easy and simple.
What can you use this jelly with?
Some of my favorite breakfast foods to have are oatmeal with peanut butter and jelly, as well as toast or an English muffin. Sometimes I’ll even put peanut butter and jelly on pancakes instead of maple syrup. It’s a great alternative to maple syrup if you want your pancakes to still taste sweet.
Try making my vegan pancake recipes:
1. Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes
How long does it take to make?
The great thing about this jelly is that it takes no time at all to make. It takes less than five minutes to make the jelly. All you have to do is let it chill overnight.
I usually make a jar of jelly on the weekends so it’s prepped and ready to go throughout the week. You can put it in a mason jar or any sealed container so that it can stiffen up and form more of a jelly-like consistency.
Ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
1. Strawberries
For this strawberry chia seed jelly recipe, the first ingredient you’ll need is strawberries. You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries. The jelly will come out the same either way.
Strawberries are super nutritious and have numerous health benefits. I use to buy strawberry jam from the store, but I stopped buying it after I found out how much added sugar was in it.
Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits to eat. I never used to like them when I was younger, but lately I’ve been eating them a lot. They really grew on me over time. This past summer I was making a lot of strawberry banana smoothies because it was so hot outside.
I also like to add strawberries to my cereal in the mornings. I typically buy the whole grain cheerios and add chopped strawberries and almond milk to give it a bit more flavor since the cereal is pretty bland by itself.
2. Chia Seeds
Up next is chia seeds. I love using chia seeds in my recipes because they’re super nutritious and have numerous health benefits. I use them to make chia seed pudding, smoothies, as well as my homemade jellies.
3. Cinnamon
The last ingredient you’ll need is cinnamon. It’s one of those spices that I put in pretty much every sweet food I make. I put cinnamon in my oatmeal, smoothies, toast, and sometimes in my cereal. It’s really good for you, so I like to add a hint of cinnamon to my breakfasts and dessert whenever I can.
Here’s the recipe!
Strawberry Chia Seed Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped strawberries
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Microwave strawberries for 2 minutes or boil on stove
- Mash strawberries in a bowl
- Add chia seeds and cinnamon to strawberry mixture
- Place strawberry chia seed jam in a mason jar and leave in fridge overnight
- Spread jam on toast or other bread
- Enjoy!
Notes
Here’s some of my favorite vegan alternatives:
1. Orgain Creamy Chocolate Fudge Protein Powder
2. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip No Cow Bar
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking to make a jelly that has few ingredients, I highly recommend trying this strawberry chia seed jelly out. If you’re not a fan of strawberry jelly, feel free to check out my blueberry chia seed jelly. It’s a similar recipe, you just use blueberries instead of strawberries.
