Paleo Strawberry and Honey Jam is one of my favorite kinds of jam. It is quick and easy to make in an Instant Pot and since it is made with honey instead of sugar, it is sweet and delicious without as much guilt.
We love strawberry jam at our house, especially mixed into homemade yogurt or served on top of drop biscuits. I like that it is sweetened by honey – I love any reason to combine fresh produce and local honey!
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- strawberries (freshly picked if possible)
- raw honey (I like to try to find local, wildflower honey – if I can’t find any, I like Nature Nate’s or Amazon’s Wildflower Honey.)
- lemon juice
- orange zest
- arrowroot powder
- water
🍽 Equipment Needed
- an Instant Pot
- a cutting board
- a sharp knife
- a small grater or zester
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- a rubber spatula or spoon
- a potato masher, immersion blender, or large fork
🥣 How to Make It
Making paleo strawberry jam in an Instant Pot is super easy.
First, wash your strawberries, then slice them up into quarters and add them to your Instant Pot. (You can just cut them in half, but you will have to mash or blend them more later on so just start out small.) (Pictures 1 – 3 ) Then add your orange zest, lemon juice, and honey. Mix this all together and cover your Instant Pot, but do not turn it on. Let this mixture sit for 30 minutes. (Picture 4) This will allow the strawberries to release some of their juices. (Picture 5)
When 30 minutes have elapsed, give the mixture a stir, then close and seal your Instant Pot. (Picture 6)
Set the Instant Pot for 1 minute on Manual Mode/High Pressure. It will take 5 – 10 minutes to come to pressure, then it will cook for 1 minute. (Picture 7)
When one minute is up, let the Instant Pot sit and naturally release for 15 minutes. (If you have a “Keep Warm” setting, you can just leave that on and use it as a timer!) While 15 minutes is counting down, mix your arrowroot and water together to form a slurry. (If you just add dry arrowroot to your strawberries, it will get boogery and gross!) (Picture 9)
After 15 minutes, release any remaining pressure manually, then open your Instant Pot and set it to the “Sauté” function. (Your jam will look really watery – this is okay!) (Picture 8) When the mixture starts to bubble, mix in your arrowroot slurry. (I like to add a touch of liquid from the jam to the slurry, but I don’t think it actually does anything 😉 ) Let this all bubble together for a few minutes then turn off your Instant Pot.
Now, you can either mash up your strawberries or blend them with an immersion blender to the consistency that you desire. Since I started out with pretty small strawberries, I just gave them a light mash. (Picture 10)
Let the mixture cool, then serve or transfer to jars – it will seem a little thin right now, but it will thicken as it cools.
Instant Pot Disclaimer
I have a 6 quart Instant Pot Duo and a 3 quart Instant Pot Duo. I have made all of my recipes in both of these and they always come out great. I have never gotten a “burn” message on either of these pots and I have been using the 6 quart Instant Pot since I got it in 2016.
I have not ever had to put chicken breasts on a trivet or had to cook rice pot-in-pot – I just throw everything in and let it cook. I have always loved my Instant Pots because of this feature. I believe the newer models have a tendency to get a bit warmer on the bottom and burn things, so if you have a Nova, Lux, or another brand of pressure cooker – use your best judgment when making my recipes. If you know your Instant Pot has a tendency to burn things, place a trivet under your meat after sauteing and deglaze the pot with plenty of water or chicken broth.
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I have made this using 1/2 to 1 cup of cane sugar in place of honey, but you can also just use regular white sugar.
This recipe makes about one and a half pints of jam – it filled three small jelly jars.
You can, but be sure to let the pressure release naturally for 10 – 15 extra minutes. Release the remaining pressure carefully in short bursts to avoid a hot jelly explosion. Also, be sure that you do not fill your Instant Pot past the “Max Fill” line.
Yes! Once it cools, I like to keep one jar out, then put the remainder of it in small ziplock bags and defrost them as needed.
No, this recipe is not a safe recipe for canning. While delicious, it has not been tested for its shelf stability.
Nope! This recipe is thickened with arrowroot powder. You can substitute (not Paleo) cornstarch for arrowroot powder if you do not have any.
🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses
We love to use this jam on drop biscuits or mixed into homemade yogurt for breakfast. It is also really good on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as filling in a pop tart, or heated up and drizzled on top of pancakes!
Our new favorite way to serve this jam is on toasted beer bread – it is a savory bread with a sweet topping and it is so good!
🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating
This recipe will last in the refrigerator for a little over a week. I like to make the whole batch, then freeze 2/3 of it, leaving one jar out. There are only two of us in our house so we can’t eat it that fast!
I like to freeze the jam in a small ziplock bag that is flattened or in a pint jar with some room for the jam to expand. Mix it well after defrosting – the jam can separate in the freezer!
This recipe has not been tested, so it is not safe for canning.
✏️ Helpful Tips
- Cut your strawberries up into small pieces, so that you don’t have to spend too much time blending or mashing them later on.
- Use this jam as filling in homemade pop tarts or on homemade biscuits – it is super yummy and not too sweet.
- Make double or triple the jam recipe, so that you can store some in the freezer for fall when strawberries are out of season!
- If you don’t have arrowroot powder, you can use cornstarch.
- If you don’t like honey, you can substitute 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar, though the taste will change significantly.
🥞 Other Tasty Breakfast Recipes
- Paleo Pancakes
- Paleo Sweet Potato Pancakes and Waffles
- Homemade Granola
- Baking Soda Drop Biscuits
- Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Paleo Strawberry and Honey Jam – Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries cut in quarters or smaller
- ½ cup raw honey
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 – 2 tsp orange zest the zest of a whole orange
- 3 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
- First, wash your strawberries, then slice them up into quarters and add them to your Instant Pot. (You can just cut them in half, but you will have to mash or blend them more later on so just start out small.)
- Then add your orange zest, lemon juice, and honey. Mix this all together and cover your Instant Pot, but do not turn it on. Let this mixture sit for 30 minutes. This will allow the strawberries to release some of their juices.
- When 30 minutes have elapsed, give the mixture a stir, then close and seal your Instant Pot.
- Set the Instant Pot for 1 minute on Manual Mode/High Pressure. It will take 5 – 10 minutes to come to pressure, then it will cook for 1 minute.
- When one minute is up, let the Instant Pot sit and naturally release for 15 minutes. (If you have a "Keep Warm" setting, you can just leave that on and use it as a timer!) While 15 minutes is counting down, mix your arrowroot and water together to form a slurry. (If you just add dry arrowroot to your strawberries, it will get boogery and gross!)
- After 15 minutes, release any remaining pressure manually, then open your Instant Pot and set it to the "Sauté" function. (Your jam will look really watery – this is okay!)
- When the mixture starts to bubble, mix in your arrowroot slurry. (I like to add a touch of liquid from the jam to the slurry, but I don't think it actually does anything 😉 ) Let this all bubble together for a few minutes then turn off your Instant Pot.
- Now, you can either mash up your strawberries or blend them with an immersion blender to the consistency that you desire. Since I started out with pretty small strawberries, I just gave them a light mash.
- Let the mixture cool, then serve or transfer to jars – it will seem a little thin right now, but it will thicken as it cools.
Notes
- Can you make this without honey?
- Yes! I have made this using 1/2 to 1 cup of cane sugar in place of honey, but you can also just use regular white sugar.
- How much jam does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes about one and a half pints of jam – it filled three small jelly jars.
- Can you double or triple this recipe?
- You can, but be sure to let the pressure release naturally for 10 – 15 extra minutes. Release the remaining pressure carefully in short bursts to avoid a hot jelly explosion. Also, be sure that you do not fill your Instant Pot past the “Max Fill” line.
- Can you freeze this jam if you aren’t going to eat it fast enough?
- Yes! Once it cools, I like to keep one jar out, then put the remainder of it in small ziplock bags and defrost them as needed.
- Can you can this strawberry jam to make it shelf stable?
- No, this recipe is not a safe recipe for canning. While delicious, it has not been tested for its shelf stability.
- Does this recipe use pectin?
- Nope! This recipe is thickened with arrowroot powder. You can substitute (not Paleo) cornstarch for arrowroot powder if you do not have any.
- Cut your strawberries up into small pieces, so that you don’t have to spend too much time blending or mashing them later on.
- Use this jam as filling in homemade pop tarts or on homemade biscuits – it is super yummy and not too sweet.
- Make double or triple the jam recipe, so that you can store some in the freezer for fall when strawberries are out of season!
- If you don’t have arrowroot powder, you can use cornstarch.
- If you don’t like honey, you can substitute 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar, though the taste will change significantly.
Special Equipment Needeed
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.