Save money and make your own homemade apricot jam in 30 minutes. All you need is fresh apricots, sugar and lemon juice – no pectin required. Includes easy canning instructions for preservation.
Homemade Apricot Jam
Summer means it’s time to make fresh homemade jams to stock up for the rest of the year. I have a couple favorite jams, raspberry jam, blueberry jam, strawberry peach jam, and this delicious apricot jam.
This apricot jam is made with 4 cups of fresh apricots, but it can easily be adjusted to make more or less depending on how many apricots you have. This recipe makes 3 (1/2 pint) jars. The result is a sweet, tasty jam, perfect for toast (with a little bit of butter too – so good!), waffles, scones, english muffins and so much more.
How to Make Apricot Jam
To make this jam you’ll need 3 simple ingredients: fresh apricots, sugar and lemon juice. That’s it.
Prepare the apricots by peeling, removing the pits and crushing them. A little bit more about peeling and crushing:
To peel or not to peel, that is the question. For smooth apricot recipes (like jams and purees), I recommend peeling them for best results. If you like some texture to your jam, apricot skin is completely edible, so you can leave it on if preferred.
To crush the apricots, you can mash them in the pot with a potato masher, or you can throw in the food processor and give a few pulses.
Bring apricots, sugar and lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan or pot, stirring sugar to dissolve it.
Once boiling, continue to cook (and stir) for about 20-25 minutes, or until a jam consistency has formed.
Once jam has formed, remove from heat and allow to cool before putting it into jars. Remove any foam on top. Tip: To prevent foaming from appearing on top of the jam, add 1/2 teaspoon of butter to the pot, along with apricots, sugar and lemon juice.
If you’re making refrigerator jam, then you can place the jars right in the refrigerator and dive in. For refrigerator jam, I love to reuse old glass jars for this! For long term storage, you will need to can it (directions below).
How to Can Jam
- Prepare (3) 1/2 pint jars by cleaning and sterilizing jars, lids and rings in hot water. You can do this by using a dishwasher or a boiling water bath.
- Pour hot jam into sterilized jars (I love this spoon), leaving about 1/4 inch of space on top. Use a thin butter knife (or spatula) and run around the inside of the jar once jam is inside to make sure to remove any air bubbles. Wipe rims of jars clean and place lids and rings on them.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, lower the jars into pot and process for 15 minutes (water boiling, pot covered). Keep 1-2 inches between each jar in the pot. During this process you want to make sure the water level is no less than 1 inch from the tops of the jars, so keep an eye on the water level as you might need to add more.
- Carefully remove the jars from the pot and let sit until cooled completely. Once cooled down, press the top of each lid down to make sure jar is sealed. Store in a dark cabinet or pantry for up to a year.
Want to make jalapeño pepper jam?
If you want to turn this into apricot jalapeño pepper jam add 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeños to the jam in the pot. This gives a nice savory kick to the jam.
More Fresh Fruit Recipes:
Baked Strawberry Donuts
Mini Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry Overnight Oats
Blueberry Buckle Crumble Cake
Banana Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie
Cherry Clafoutis
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30 Minute Homemade Apricot Jam
PrintIngredients
- 4 cups fresh apricots
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare the apricots by peeling, removing pits and crushing them. You can crush they by hand with a potato masher or throw in a food processor and pulse a couple of times.
- In a pot over medium high heat, mix together crushed apricots, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and continue stirring until sugar completely dissolves.
- Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and turns into a jam. This takes about 20-25 minutes. Once it's thick and jam like, remove any foam from the top and proceed to the next step.
- For refrigerator jam: Remove pot from heat and allow to cool before pouring it into mason jars and placing in the refrigerator for immediate serving.
- For canning jam: Prepare (3) 1/2 pint jars by cleaning and sterilizing jars, lids and rings in hot water (dishwasher or water bath). Pour hot jam into sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of space on top. Use a thin knife and run around the inside of the jar once jam is inside to make sure to remove any air bubbles. Wipe rims of jars clean and place lids and rings on them. Bring a pot of water to a boil, lower the jars into the pot and process for 15 minutes (water boiling, pot covered). During this process, you want to make sure the water level never gets lower than 1 inch from the tops of the jars. Carefully remove the jars from the pot and let sit until cool. Once cooled down, press the top of each lid down to make sure the jar is sealed. Store in cabinet.
Kerry M says
First time ever making jam from homegrown from home grown fruit!!
such an easy recipe, thanks.
Pamela Reed says
Yay!! This makes me so happy to hear Kerry! 🙂
Ellen B says
Awesome recipe! I even followed the directions for canning and discovered it’s not as bad as I was always told it would be! If your of the mind try adding a 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple to the mix. It’s delicious!!!
Pamela Reed says
Oooooh that sounds delicious Ellen! So happy you found it easy to can – thanks for stopping by!
Joe Reinhart says
My apricot tress made their fruits! They are only three years old, I was surprised they made anything so quickly. About four brances produced about 3 cups of prepared fruits. I am glad I read your instructions as I was thinking to only shave the apes, not skin them.
Pamela Reed says
Hey Joe, how great it must be to make homemade apricot jam from your own apricots! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for stopping by!
Joe Reinhart says
No, no…thank YOU!