Cherry Chia Jam
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Homemade chia jam is an obsessions of mine. It's delicious, so easy to customize, and provides great dairy-free nutrition. We enjoy it on dairy-free, gluten-free toast, like Canyon Bakehouse as is, or on the Breakfast Toast in the post above.
Author:
Serves: ¾ cup
Ingredients
  • 2 cups frozen dark sweet pitted cherries (see Cherry Note below)
  • 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (for strict vegan)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds (see Chia Note below)
Instructions
  1. Place the cherries in a blender or food processor and pulse 3 to 5 times to break them up.
  2. Scrape the frozen cherries into a saucepan. Add the honey and place the pan over medium heat.
  3. Bring the cherries to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. It should thicken just a bit and start to look syrupy.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla.
  5. Stir in the chia seeds until well coated.
  6. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
Notes
Cherry Note: Dark sweet cherries are a type of cherry that is often sold frozen. Despite the name, they don't contain any added sweeteners. A 12-ounce bag will provide close to 2½ cups of frozen cherries, and a 16-ounce bag will provide a little over 3 cups. If you opt to use other cherries, you might need to adjust the sweetener and lemon juice, to taste. And if you use fresh cherries, you might need to adjust the chia see amount, too.

Chia Note: You can easily adjust the thickness of this jam. Simply add more chia seeds if it doesn't set up enough. They will absorb moisture even if the mixture is chilled. But if you add a few too many chia seeds and it sets up too much, just add a splash of juice or water.
Recipe by Go Dairy Free at https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/cherry-chia-jam