This 4-ingredient Cherry + Almond Chia Seed Jam is full of flavor without using refined-sugar or any fancy canning equipment! Get ready, it’s so good you will be spooning it onto everything you eat this week!

Someone asked me recently how and when do I write my posts while I watch Parker (and Ellie if she isn’t in school) all day?

The answer is that I write most of the posts on this blog in an extremely frantic manner in the 2 precious hours that Parker takes an afternoon nap. First I eat lunch at mach-speed, then I pour myself my afternoon cup of coffee and enjoy a whole 3 minutes of Pinterest or Instagram scrolling before I hustle to my desk to write up a post <——- and yes, I am going to blame this fast pace writing for all of my spelling and grammatical errors;)

That is on a good day, when Parker actually naps!

Other days, I sit and listen to her talk the big talk for an hour before giving up and getting her from her room. Nothing gets done on those days.

And boy, does that girl know how to talk.

It’s more of a jibber-jabber right now, but it is still loud, emotional and full of demands. She is going to start talking our ears off in a couple of months – which I am not at all ready for yet!

Since today is going to be a no-nap kind of day in this house (please send help my way for the breakdown that is bond to happen around 5 this evening), I will get right to the point.

This Cherry + Almond Chia Seed Jam is so flavorful and healthy you will be using it on or in everything you make –

Toast
Yogurt
Waffles
English Muffins
Pancakes
Cream Cheese Sandwiches
Spooned on Bananas
In Muffins
On top of Ice Cream
Crossiants
Cottage Cheese

Don’t let the fact that we are making JAM scare you!

We are making this jam on the stove in less then 20 minutes and it only involves 4 ingredients – all of which I am pretty sure you have in your house right now.

Also, there is NO fancy canning equipment needed!

All you need for this recipe is a medium saucepan, a blender (nice to have but not required), frozen cherries, chia seeds, maple syrup and almond extract.

If you don’t have almond extract, then vanilla extract works just as well.

If you don’t have maple syrup, then honey works just as well.

If you don’t have cherries, then blueberries, strawberries or blackberries work just as well.

Get where I am going with this? This recipe is super easy to make using what you have on hand. The only key being that because of the chia seeds, using darker color fruit works best so you don’t get a brownish tone of jam.

Now, it’s time to get to work.

In a medium saucepan, we bring the cherries to a slight simmer for 10 minutes.

Then we add in the maple syrup and chia seeds and let simmer for 5 more minutes.

Drizzle in the almond (or vanilla) extract, remove from heat and then we give it for a quick trip in the blender to break up any large cherry chunks and cut the chia seeds down in size so the jam doesn’t have so many seeds in it.

Then we let it cool, spoon it into an air-tight container and POOF, we are done!

Such and easy way to have fresh, healthy jam at your beck-and-call!

Now, if only my little one would sleep, I would snack on some crackers spread with cream cheese topped with dollop of this Cherry + Almond jam while sitting on my front porch watching the world go by. Guess I’ll have to settle for a cute yet messy toddler to join me in my snack time fun!

Cherry almond chia jam on a spoon and in a glass jar.

Get the recipe: Cherry + Almond Chia Seed Jam

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This 4-ingredient Cherry + Almond Chia Seed Jam is full of flavor without using refined-sugar or any fancy canning equipment! Get ready, it’s so good you will be spooning it onto everything you eat this week!

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound pitted frozen or fresh cherries
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 3 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions 

  • In a medium saucepan, add the cherries and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Stir in maple syrup and chia seeds and heat over low for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the almond extract and stir.
  • Transfer cherry mixture to a blender or food processor and pulse until ingredients are incorporated but still slightly chunky – roughly 10 1-second pulses. If you prefer to completely smooth jam, let the blender run for 30 seconds.
  • Pour into glass jar, let cool completely and seal with a tight lid.

Notes

Yield – 2 cups
Storage – lasts 2 weeks in fridge
Calories: 57kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 111mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 24IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 31mg, Iron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe?

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