One of my favorite things to do is make homemade jams and jellies. I make all kinds of them, but strawberry jam holds a special place in my heart. In my opinion, strawberries, hands down, just make the best jam ever.
In general, I steer away from adding extra pectin to my homemade strawberry jam. I find that with a long enough cook time, the natural juices from the strawberries combine with the added sugar to thicken the jam up perfectly.
I used to add a bit of lemon juice to strawberry jam to offset all of its sticky sweetness with a little bit of acidity, but lately I prefer to use balsamic vinegar instead. By mixing in just a tablespoon or two of that flavorful, dark vinegar, the jam benefits from a richer, red color and a bit of tangy zip.
This strawberry jam is an honest-to-goodness staple here in my kitchen, and it’s been a popular request among my family and friends too. This recipe is for a small batch of this jam. So, if you need more than a cup or two of jam, you should double the recipe.
When it comes to jams and jellies I make for my business, I always properly process my jams and jellies using the guidelines set out by the folks over at the Ball mason jar website. When it comes to making these jars of deliciousness for my family, however, I usually pack my homemade jam in sanitized jars and keep them in the refrigerator because they don’t normally last long enough to go bad.
I’m excited to share this recipe with you all for a couple of reasons, the first of which is that I know so many of you will enjoy it and hopefully use it. However, I’m also excited because this recipe is the subject of my very first ever Youtube video, which I’ve shared below. If you have minute, please subscribe to my You Tube page! I’m sure looking forward to making the next short video.
Of course, I’ve also shared the written recipe and instructions here in this post.
*This is not a sponsored post. All websites I’ve mentioned are honestly resources I use and products mentioned or pictured are products I personally purchased because I like them!
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Blog post and recipe originally published May 20, 2016. Post was updated and recipe instructions clarified on November 24, 2025.
Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Adding a small measure of bold, flavorful balsamic vinegar to freshly prepared, sweet strawberry jam adds both richness of flavor and color to the mixture. This simple Strawberry Balsamic Jam is a family favorite recipe; we prepare this often, just because we can. We hope you enjoy it too!
2
cups35
minutes1.25
hoursKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1 pound (16 oz) fresh strawberries or 1 pound frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Directions
- Rinse and hull the whole strawberries. Place strawberries in a heavy-bottom Dutch oven. Pour the sugar over the strawberries.
- Stir and evenly coat strawberries with sugar (there will be excess sugar in the pot). Cover the pot and allow the sugar-covered berries to sit at room temperature for one hour. The sugar will macerate the berries (draw the juices from them).
- After an hour, there should be enough liquid present in the pot with the berries to begin simmering the fruit. Bring the berries and liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow them to gently simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
- At this point, remove the pot from the burner. Use a potato masher to mash the fruit slightly (and gently…no need to pull this hot pot off of the stovetop!)
- Move the pot back to the burner and bring the strawberry mixture just back to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for another 15-20 minutes (stirring regularly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom). Once the jam looks to be thickening up, turn off the heat. Transfer the pot to a cooling rack.
- Add in the balsamic vinegar, and stir well to combine the ingredients. Use a ladle and food funnel to transfer the hot jam to sanitized mason jars, or another type of air tight container, mason jars are just my fave!
- At this point you can cover the jars of jam and process them for storage (refer to the link above for helpful hints if you need them), or simply allow the jam to go to room temperature. You can serve the balsamic strawberry jam right away after it cools, or store it in the fridge for up to one month.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- This flavorful strawberry jam is fantastic for topping waffles, pancakes, toast, bagels, oatmeal, and ice cream.
- Recipe as published on A Little Fish in the Kitchen at www.alittlefishinthekitchen.com. All content is owned by Marcelle G. Bolton. Please contact the author for permission to republish.
Love strawberries and balsamic together, what a great jam!
Hi Grace! Thank you 🙂 We eat lots of this stuff, love it!
delicious! i resisted trying such a weird combination for a long time, and i'm sorry i wasted that time–strawberries with balsamic is amazing and your jam is perfect!
Thank you, John!
Love the combo of strawberries and balsamic vinegar! Never made jam with the pairing, though — brilliant idea. Really wonderful stuff — thanks.
Hi Andrea! Thank you!! 🙂
Hi there! They are definitely a great match. Thank you for the comment! 🙂
Marcelle, the aceto balsamico must add a nice depth of flavor to your homemade strawberry jam. Quite an intriguing idea! And congratulations of your very first you tube video!
ANdrea
Hi Beth, it's good stuff! Thank you 🙂
David, we seriously eat this all the time! I hope you like it! Thank you 🙂
Hi Cheri! We love this jam and thank you!
Love making jams and jellies and I know how good strawberries and balsamic are together.
Your jam looks wonderful! Balsamic vinegar is perfect for adding a little extra flavour.
Great recipe, Marcelle! I, too,make my strawberry jam without pectin, but have never used balsamic vinegar. I really need to try this!
HI Marcelle, congratulations on your first video, it was great. Love strawberries too, the addition of balsamic is a clever idea.
Hi Karen, thank you! 🙂
I like that your recipe makes just a small amount of jam, perfect for just two people to enjoy.
Good morning, Angie! Thank you 🙂
I love the use of balsamic in strawberry jam. It looks very tasty! Great video too!