My mom showed me how to make her famous homemade strawberry preserves! The recipe is old-fashioned with an intense fresh strawberry flavor made from only a few ingredients. Made in a small batch without pectin, these preserves are SO much better than store-bought!
Table of Contents
- Why We Love Homemade Strawberry Preserves
- Ingredients for Strawberry Preserves
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make Strawberry Preserves
- Preserves Vs. Jam
- How to Store Preserves
- How to Use Strawberry Preserves
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love On Tastefully Grace!
- Mom’s Homemade Strawberry Preserves Recipe
Why We Love Homemade Strawberry Preserves
I grew up eating my mom’s strawberry preserves, made from fresh local strawberries that were cooked down to intensify their flavor in just a few easy steps.
Although local spring/summer strawberries can’t be beaten, store-bought strawberries do the job perfectly, too!
With only a few ingredients, you can whip up homemade strawberry preserves in no time and it’ll keep so well in the fridge for weeks to come!
You’ll love having preserves on-hand for so many reasons: on Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, Silver Dollar Pancakes, Parker House Rolls, for the kids with Peanut Butter, etc.! The opportunities are endless.
Ingredients for Strawberry Preserves
You’ll need only a few ingredients to make the best strawberry preserves!
- Fresh strawberries – fresh in-season strawberries can’t be beaten but regular strawberries from the grocery store do the job perfectly too.
- Fresh lemon juice – a dash of lemon juice intensifies the flavor of the strawberries.
- Sugar – sugar (but not too much sugar!) sweetens your jam just enough.
- Cornstarch – a dash of cornstarch is the secret ingredient, helping to thicken your preserves to the perfect consistency.
- Cold water – cold water activates your cornstarch.
- Salt – a dash of salt adds flavor.
Variations & Substitutions
- Substitute 1 cup of blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries for 1 cup of strawberries.
- Substitute potato starch for cornstarch. Follow packaging instructions for quantity!
- Add in a dash of cinnamon for a warm touch!
- Add in a ½ teaspoon lemon zest, orange zest or lime zest for a citrusy undertone.
- Add in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or Grand Marnier to get fancy.
How to Make Strawberry Preserves
The full instructions and step-by-step video are in the recipe card below!
- Mash.
Mash strawberries in a medium pot with a potato masher.
- Add.
Stir in lemon juice, sugar, and salt.
- Cook.
Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn heat to medium and add cornstarch mixed with cold water. Stir. Let simmer over medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring every minute.
- Cool.
Remove from heat, and let preserves cool in a large bowl at room temperature before cooling completely in the refrigerator.
- Store.
Transfer preserves to airtight containers.
Preserves Vs. Jam
The difference between preserves and jam is simple: preserves contain larger pieces of fruit than jam, which contains mashed fruit!
How to Store Preserves
After preserves have cooled completely, store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks for optimal freshness.
How to Use Strawberry Preserves
Oh my! There are SO many uses for homemade strawberries preserves, served warm or cold! Here are some of my favorites…spoon on:
- Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
- Cranberry Orange Scones
- Mini Buttermilk Pancakes
- Buttery Parker House Rolls
- Wheat Beer Bread
- With Homemade Honey Peanut Butter on toast or a sandwich
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Classic French Toast
- Strawberry Muffins
- On ice cream or pound cake with fresh Vanilla Whipped Cream
How do you warm preserves? Place desired amount in a microwave safe dish covered with plastic wrap, and heat in increments of 30 seconds until warm.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
I don’t recommend using frozen strawberries to make homemade preserves!
Cornstarch naturally thickens strawberry preserves to the perfect consistency…it’s so much better than pectin!
Yes…strawberries preserves should be refrigerated, but can be served chilled, room temperature, or warmed in the microwave!
Homemade preserves/jam lasts at optimal freshness in the fridge for 6-8 weeks.
Yes! To thaw frozen preserves, place in the refrigerator.
More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love On Tastefully Grace!
- Strawberry Muffins
- Best Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles
- Strawberry-Rhubarb Coconut Crumble Bars
- Strawberry Mango Bellini
Mom’s Homemade Strawberry Preserves
Equipment
- Potato masher
Ingredients
- 4 packed cups fresh strawberries, hulled & cut in half
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mash strawberries in a medium pot with a potato masher to desired consistency. I like some large pieces of strawberries and others that are completely mashed.
- Stir in lemon juice, sugar, and salt.
- Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn heat to medium and add cornstarch mixed with cold water. Stir. Let simmer over medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring every minute.
- Remove from heat, and let preserves cool in a large bowl at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooling completely in the refrigerator.
- Once cooled, transfer preserves to mason jars or other airtight containers!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do you freeze the preserves? In the jars? Brand new at this 🙂
Hi Jennifer!
To freeze strawberry preserves, let them cool completely, then transfer them into freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags, leaving about 1/2 inch of space for expansion. Seal tightly, label with the date, and place them in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight when needed. Frozen strawberry preserves maintain their quality for up to one year, though using them within six months is ideal. You might notice a slight change in texture of the preserves but they do freeze pretty well! I hope this helps 🙂
Grace
Hello, may I say holy Toledo batman. So good and so easy. This is the very first thing that I have every canned and they came out great.
They were a little thinner than I think they should be BUT I think it’s only because I’m not use to homemade. I made a triple batch and got 4 honey mason jars full plus a little extra for tasting on our toast this morning. I have to say I feel like canning everything now. Pickling cukes for bread and butter pickles here I come.
Hi Heather,
Thanks so much for your review! I”m so happy the preserves came out well. Best of luck with all of your canning plans!
Grace
Can I ask how you canned these?! 😄. I want to as well!
Hi Summer,
I’m not a canning expert so here’s a great article from the Almanac to help you out! Almanac
Grace
My husband bought too many strawberries at the farmer’s market, and I didn’t want them to go to waste. This is the easiest and quickest recipe ever! Love how you use lemon juice and less sugar then most recipes. Delicious! Thank you!
Hi Sue,
Yay! I appreciate your review and I’m so glad you love the preserves!
Grace
Thanks Grace, for this recipe—what a joy!
It was the second one that I brought up when my neighbor brought me a kilo & a half freshly-picked strawberries. The first recipe was for jam and called for 4 cups of sugar & 4 cups of strawberries . I “jumped for joy” when I saw half a cup of sugar for about the same amount of strawberries and I had one last 🍋. I let it simmer a little longer as I covered my pot to bring it to a boil, which was daft of me. I know the cornstarch/cold water mix that’s in there thickens it more as it cools. My kitchen smells amazing and the preserves are “plenty sweet”. I can’t wait to bring my neighbor one of the two jars your recipe yields. She’ll protest that I didn’t have to, and I’ll sincerely tell her, “It’s my pleasure!” 😃👋
Hi Susan,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! I truly appreciate it! I love your story. Please do let me know if you try any other recipes!
Grace
Hello Grace.
I am a “First Timer” with a very happy and bountiful strawberry crop this year. I have lemons of various sizes. How much lemon juice would you expect for this recipe?
Thank you
Karen
Hi Karen,
I am jealous of your strawberry crop! I would expect to use 1/2 a lemon or about 1 tablespoon or so of juice!
I hope this helps.
Grace
First time making preserves tomorrow..strawberries are plentiful now. Wondering if anyone has subbed honey for the sugar?
This recipe looks so yummy and easy.
Hi Alison!
I would stay away from honey, since honey is not only sweeter but since it is a sticky liquid, the texture of the preserves will be stickier and thicker. Honey also has a distinct taste instead of a neutral taste like regular sugar.
I hope this helps!
Grace
Hi. Curious about a hot water bath after canning to allow a longer shelf life? and if so, length of time to hot water bath?
Hi there!
Unfortunately I am not a canning expert but here’s a link to a website that can help! https://www.almanac.com/how-make-jam-refrigerator-jam-or-water-bath-canning Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Grace
Hi Grace! I’m about to make a big batch of these to give as favors for my Berry Sweet baby shower. How many ounces would you say your standard recipe makes? I’ll probably put them in 2oz or 4oz jars depending on how much the recipe yields. Thanks in advance!
Hi Stephanie,
First off, congrats!! The recipe makes roughly 2 cups of preserves or roughly 16 ounces. I hope this helps!
Grace
As a follow up to Stephanie’s, do you have any words of wisdom for those of us that want to take advantage of this year’s excellent crop of strawberries and make enough preserves for the year and for gifting at Christmas time? I am thinking of making enough for 12 to 15 1-cup mason jars.
Hi Maggie!
The original recipe yields about 2 cups, so you will need to multiply the recipe by 6 to 7.5 times to get the desired quantity. In the comments below, I’ve linked a site talking about canning best practices if that helps too 🙂
Grace
Thanks for the recipe! Maybe this has already been answered, but can I freeze strawberries to make this later?
Hi Anna,
Thanks for your question! When you freeze strawberries, it changes their texture and increases their water content, which can lead to to a runnier consistency and flavor alterations. So I don’t recommend it if at all possible!
I hope this helps.
Grace
Love this recipe! I made preserves years ago and hadn’t in a really long time and ended up with a flat of strawberries from a fundraiser. We ate as many as we could prior to this recipe…🙃 that said, I sprinkled mine with onion powder and chili powder, and they came out amazing with a bit of a kick! Thank you, Grace!
Hi Wendy,
Love your chili powder idea! How fun! Thanks for your note.
Grace