Sugar-Free Blueberry Jam & Blueberry Jam Filled Muffins

One could have thought that after developing recipes for sugar-free raspberry jam and strawberry jam creating a recipe for blueberry jam would have been easy as pie. But no, that would have been too simple. Achieving the right taste was easy, though, but the perfect texture needed some research and development.

Because a mere jam recipe would have been a bit too plain, I’ve included a recipe for magnificent blueberry jam filled muffins in the end of the post as a bonus recipe. Enjoy!

 

 

Tips for making the blueberry jam

This sugar-free blueberry jam is very easy and quick to make. You just have to use low enough heat not to burn your jam. Actually, I have used high heat in some of my experiments, and the jam was fine. I just had to mix it carefully all the time. However, if you want to play it safe, use medium or even low heat and more time.

It might be a good idea to add the xanthan just before you have reached the preferred chunkiness. After adding the xanthan the blueberries will still break down and the texture of the jam will be smoother.

The best result you get if you sprinkle the xanthan as evenly as you can. Then there is no danger that it forms lumps or the fluid will separate.

Adjusting the sweetness is easy. You can start with 30 drops vanilla stevia. Add more if you would like to get more sweetness. The beauty of liquid stevia lies in its versatility: you can add it in the very beginning, and add some more to the ready jam if needed. Liquid stevia doesn’t have any problems in dissolving.

So, here we go. Put all the ingredients except xanthan in a medium saucepan.

 

Start heating over medium heat. Stir constantly.

 

…cook and mix…

 

Add the xanthan when the consistency is right, or actually just before.

 

Ready!

 

Sugar-Free Blueberry Jam 1 lb = 450 g fresh (wild) blueberries OR frozen (wild) blueberries, thawed 1/4 cup = 60 ml Confectioner’s Style Swerve OR powdered erythritol 30–40 drops vanilla stevia 4 pinches = 4 ml xanthan   Directions Combine the blueberries, sweetener and the vanilla stevia in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan on stove top and turn on the heat to medium. Stir constantly along the bottom of the saucepan while the mixture is heating. Cook the mixture for a few minutes, until you have reached the preferred chunkiness. Sprinkle the xanthan little by little on top of the mixture, mixing carefully all the time while sprinkling. Continue mixing and let the mixture simmer until the thickness is to your liking. Sprinkle more xanthan to thicken if needed. Turn off the heat. Put the saucepan aside, cover and let the jam cool down completely. Store the jam tightly covered in the fridge and consume within a few days.

Nutrition information	Protein	Fat	Net carbs	kcal
In total:	2.3 g	2.7 g	28.8 g	153 kcal
Per tablespoon (0.5 oz = 15 g):	0.1 g	0.1 g	1.0 g	5 kcal
Per teaspoon (0.18 oz = 5 g):	0.0 g	0.0 g	0.3 g	2 kcal

 

 

My experiments with the sugar-free blueberry jam

I had picked some wild blueberries from my forest for this blueberry jam experiment. My son ate handfuls of blueberries, but I still had plenty of blueberries left for making some jam.

I took my raspberry and strawberry jam recipes to get some ideas for my blueberry jam. Mainly I was pondering how much xanthan to add and whether to add it in the very beginning or later, after some cooking. I wanted to use powdered Zsweet and vanilla stevia for sweetening — a combination which works extremely well. Moreover, vanilla and blueberry are an unbeatable combination. Later, I switched to Swerve sweetener when I finally managed to get some.

Because 1 pinch xanthan was enough for my sugar-free raspberry and strawberry jams, I added 1 pinch xanthan to my first blueberry jam experiment as well. I added all the ingredients — including that 1 pinch xanthan — to saucepan and heated the mixture over medium heat, stirring every now and then.

When I had reached the right consistency, I took the saucepan off the heat and left it to cool covered on the stove top. After it had reached room temperature, I checked how it looked.

I was rather disappointed. The fluid had separated, and what was even worse was that there were lumps in the jam. Xanthan, my favorite thickener, obviously had something to do with those lumps. I started to despair and I was thinking whether xanthan was the right thickener for the blueberry jam after all. I was thinking of other options — psyllium husk powder, guar gum or chia seeds. None of those sounded attractive.

I decided to continue my blueberry jam experiments with xanthan as thickener anyway. Maybe I just had to add more xanthan to get the perfect texture?

For my next experiment I added 2 pinches xanthan, after that 3 pinches and finally 4 pinches. The last experiment with 4 pinches xanthan brought the best result. The jam was almost as thick as marmalade and there was no fluid separation of any kind. I also noticed that sprinkling the xanthan after cooking brought the best result.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, sweetness was easy to adjust. I started with 1/4 cup (60 ml) powdered Zsweet and 40 drops vanilla stevia. After a couple of rounds I reduced the amount of vanilla stevia to 35 drops. That seemed to be enough for me and my family. In every experiment I used wild blueberries.

 

 

 

Blueberry jam filled muffins

These muffins are a perfect way to use that sugar-free blueberry jam. Actually, I developed this muffin recipe especially for the jam. When I first made these muffins, I put a spoonful of blueberry jam on top of each muffin before I put them in the oven. The result didn’t look nice and the jam looked a bit exploded and dry. Then I got the idea to place the jam in each muffin cup before adding the batter. That made the muffins tasty and moist. Surprise your family and guests with these delicious muffins with hidden blueberry treasure!

 

Blueberry Jam Filled Muffins 4 extra large organic eggs 1/3 cup = 80 ml organic heavy cream 1/3 cup = 80 ml erythritol crystals 1/3 cup = 80 ml organic coconut flour 8 tablespoons sugar-free blueberry jam   Directions Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Combine eggs, cream and erythritol in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add the coconut flour while constantly mixing. Let the batter stand for 5 minutes so that it gets thicker. While the batter is standing, line a muffin pan with 8 medium size paper liners. Scoop 1 tablespoon blueberry jam to each muffin cup. Fill the muffin cups with the batter. The liners can be almost full. Bake for 25–30 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Nutrition information	Protein	Fat	Net carbs	kcal
The whole batch:	41.3 g	60.0 g	19.4 g	792 kcal
Per muffin if 8 muffins in a batch:	5.2 g	7.5 g	2.4 g	99 kcal

 

 

If you don’t mind adding a sixth ingredient, you can season the batter with 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract, although these muffins are also delicious without anything extra.

 

 

 

Next week I’m going to publish a bunch of refreshing sugar-free summer cocktail recipes, both alcoholic and alcohol-free. Stay tuned!

P.S. Don’t forget to check my other recipe for easy one-bowl blueberry muffins!