Homemade apple jam is an easy-to-make recipe with chopped apples cooked with sugar, lemon juice, and cozy spices. This comforting apple jam is the perfect fall recipe and tastes amazing slathered on toast, homemade biscuits, or pound cake.
This apple jam recipe is one of my family's favorite fall recipes and we put it on everything including English muffins, French toast, and grilled cheese sandwiches! This jam is made without added pectin and you can adjust the amount of sugar to your liking to create the perfect, preservative-free fruit spread.
For more tasty apple recipes, check out our Apple Cider Chicken and Homemade Hot Apple Cider recipe next!
Table of Contents
Important Ingredient Notes
A complete list of ingredients with measurements along with detailed recipe instructions can be found in the recipe card located at the bottom of this post.
- Apples. For this recipe, we use Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples for delicious sweet and tart flavors. Feel free to make this jam with different kinds of apples.
- Granulated sugar. Feel free to adjust the amount according to your sweetness preference.
- Lemon juice. I recommend freshly squeezed lemon juice for this recipe for the best texture. The acidity of the lemon juice helps the apple jam thicken without adding pectin.
- Spices. Ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom add warm, spicy, nutty, and citrusy flavors to this apple jam. Feel free to substitute or add your favorite fall spices.
How To Make Homemade Apple Jam
- Cook the apples. Add the apples, apices, and lemon juice to a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook the apple jam for 15-25 minutes until it has thickened.
- Mash the apples. About halfway through the cooking time take your wooden spoon and mash some of the apples against the side of the pot and leave some apple chunks intact for a chunky jam.
- Cool the jam for storage. Once the jam has thickened, remove the pan from the heat and allow the jam to cool slightly. Spoon the jam into clean jars and seal tightly. Allow the jam to cool completely before transferring it to the refrigerator.
Variations of This Recipe
The great thing about this jam recipe is that you can use it as a base for a number of different fruit jams. Many fruits naturally contain a good amount of pectin, which is what helps the jam thicken. You can also add additional pectin to your jam during the cooking process to help it thicken even more.
Try making this jam with some of the following fruit:
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Peaches
- Cranberries
- Grapes
- Sour cherries
Recipe FAQs
Many fruits, including apples, contain a good amount of naturally occurring pectin which helps the jam thicken. The acidity of the lemon juice also aids this process, resulting in a thick, spreadable apple jam.
This homemade apple jam may be used as a spread, topping, or dip for bread, biscuits, cake, sandwiches, and more. You can even use this apple jam to make mocktails and other beverages.
Allow the apple jam to cool slightly then transfer it to a mason or canning jar and seal the lid. Cool the jar of jam completely then transfer it to the refrigerator where it can be stored for up to 3 weeks.
Sure! Fill canning jars with freshly made apple jam, leaving about ½-inch of space at the top, and seal the jars. Wipe any jam from the exterior of the jars and carefully place the jars horizontally in a pot of boiling water with tongs. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least an inch. Allow the water to come back to a full boil and boil the jars of jam for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the water, cool them completely overnight, and store them in a cool, dry place for up to one year. This is an excellent guide to canning jam by The Spruce Eats!
Serving Suggestions for Apple Jam
My favorite way to serve homemade jam is slathered on a warm buttermilk biscuit but there are countless other options as well! A few serving suggestions are:
- Serve apple jam as a spread on sliced cheese with crackers.
- Use jam as a stuffing for French toast.
- Use apple jam to make a delicious mocktail or cocktail.
- Make a sauce for your favorite meat using homemade apple jam.
- Use apple jam as a topping on grilled cheese sandwiches.
- Mix homemade jam with yogurt to create your own fruit-blended yogurt.
More Cozy Fall Recipes You Will Love!
- Easy Pumpkin Snack Cake
- Spiced Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans
- Chewy Spiced Molasses Cookies
- Sweet & Tangy Cranberry Meatballs
- Southern Hot Water Cornbread
- The Best Southern Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble
- Creamy Southern Baked Mac and Cheese (Soul Food Recipe!)
- Moist Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake
- Spiced Bundt Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
- Creamy Eggnog Pie
- Vegan Southern Collard Greens
- Cajun Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
📖 Recipe
Apple Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Honeycrisp apples - rinsed, peeled, cored, and chopped
- 1 Granny Smith apple - rinsed, peeled, cored, a chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Juice of one medium lemon
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Add chopped apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom to a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
- After about 10 minutes, mash some of the apples against the pot with a wooden spoon for a chunky jam, or mash all of the apples with a potato masher for a less chunky jam. Continue to cook the jam for 10-15 more minutes until it has thickened.
- Once the jam has thickened and has reached a slow boil with small, tight bubbles, remove the pan from the heat and allow the jam to cool slightly. Spoon the jam into clean jars and seal tightly. Allow the jam to cool completely before transferring it to the refrigerator.
Notes
- You may grate your apples using a handheld cheese grater or food processor instead of chopping them for a smoother jam.
- Feel free to adjust the amout of sugar in this apple jam to your liking.
- Test your jam to see if it's done by placing a small amount of jam onto a metal spoon that has been placed in the freezer for 10 minutes. Swipe your finger through the jam on the frozen spoon. If there is a clear line through the jam that does not fill in, it is ready to be cooled and stored.
- Apple jam can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Coby
Wow, this is really delicious, and SO easy! I just set some aside to cool, and took a little taste. I love it! I’m going to put it on homemade sourdough English muffins for breakfast. And I saw that you suggested trying this with fresh cranberries- I think I will, as I have some that I need to use up. Great recipe!
Ashley Boyd
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the jam, Coby! Putting it on homemade sourdough English muffins sounds phenomenal! Please let me know how the cranberries turn out. Thank you!
Marianne
This tasted delicious! I wanted to know if you could boiling waterbath it for 10 minutes for long term storage? Instead of refrigerated only? I processed mine but not sure if I should store it in the pantry. Thank you!
Ashley Boyd
Thank you Marianne and I'm happy you enjoyed the jam! I have not tried processing the jam for long-term storage but please let me know how it works out for you.