Blueberry Preserves (Canning Recipe)
This is a classic recipe with pectin and sugar. Easy for your first summer of canning, and good enough to earn its spot every year thereafter.
What You’ll Need
Ingredients
- 4 cups blueberries, about 1 ½ quarts (if using frozen, thaw and drain them well)
- 1 (1.75-ounce) package powdered pectin
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
A note about substitutions: in general, canning recipes should be followed exactly if you are a beginner; adding or subtracting ingredients can change the acidity of your final product and make it no longer safe to can. However, lime juice instead of lemon is okay, and honey instead of sugar is safe, but it is tricky to work with because pectin needs real sugar to set up. You’ll want to use low-sugar pectin if that’s what you choose.
Equipment
If this is your first time canning, this looks like a lot of stuff. But don’t worry, you can get all of it in a beginner canning set.
- potato masher (or fork)
- 8-quart pot
- water bath canner and accessories
Instructions
Remember that preserves, in general, have more texture than jam. This is why we’re leaving half of the berries whole and mashing the other half. (We use a similar method for strawberry preserves.)
Step One: Prep
Before we start, your jars, lids, and rings need to be super clean. They don’t need to be sterilized, though!
Wash the jars in hot, soapy water, then warm them up. They need to be hot so that they don’t crack when the hot preserves are ladled in.
You can heat them in hot water in your canner, or you can put them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes.
The lids and rings can go into a small saucepan full of water. They can simmer or just be in hot water.
Step Two: Mash Half The Blueberries
Measure 2 cups of the blueberries in a bowl or large measuring cup.
Mash them (just half!) with a fork or potato masher.
Step Three: heat all the berries
Now, we starting mixing and heating things up.
You’ll want a large pot for this (8-quart is perfect). Pour in the mashed blueberries and whole blueberries together.
Set on medium-high.
Step Four: Add Pectin And Lemon Juice
Pour in the full package of pectin, add the lemon juice, and stir.
Bring the mixture up to a rolling boil, stirring to make sure it doesn’t scorch.
Step Five: Add Sugar
Once it’s boiling, pour in all the sugar.
Give it a stir to combine.
Step Six: Boil For 1 Minute
Keep stirring and let the preserves come back up to a full boil. Once it’s boiling, set a timer for one minute.
When the timer is up, take the pot off the heat.
Step Seven: Fill
Remember those jars staying hot in the canner? Time to fill ’em up!
Using a canning funnel, ladle the hot preserves into the hot jars, leaving ¼” headspace. Use a debubbler to remove any air bubbles.
Step Eight: Wipe And Fasten
Wipe the rims of the jar with a clean, damp towel.
Add the lids and rings, then tighten them until they are fingertip-tight.
Step Nine: Process
Now we process! Make sure the jars are fully submerged, with an inch of more of water covering them.
Bring the water in your canner to a full rolling boil, and start your timer then. Process for 10 minutes.
Step Ten: Rest
After the processing time is up, cut the heat, remove the lid, and let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes. (This helps them cool down ever-so-slightly before being exposed to room temperature.)
Transfer to a heat-proof countertop or cutting board.
Step Eleven: Cool And Check Seals
Let them cool there, undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You’ll hear the lids seal shut as they cool. After the time is up, make sure all your jars have sealed by pressing on the tops of the lids: they should not flex in any way.
Remove the rings and store in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months. You did it!
If any didn’t seal, no biggie. Just pop in the fridge and use those first.
Using It up
Preserves are, of course, perfect on homemade biscuits, spread of toast, or served with scones.
But you can also use them as a topping for French toast or pancakes, pour over a fully baked cheesecake, or mix into homemade 4th of July ice cream.e.
More For Blueberry Season
- Blueberry lemon sourdough bread is a reader favorite that uses fresh berries.
- If you have tons of berries and have already made preserves, try blueberry syrup.
- Make some blueberry pie filling to have on hand to make blueberry cobbler or a fried blueberry hand pie.
Printable Recipe
Blueberry Preserves Canning Recipe
Equipment
- potato masher or fork
- 8-quart pot
- watebath canner and accessories
Ingredients
- 4 cups blueberries about 1 ½ quarts, see notes for frozen berries
- 1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered pectin
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
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Instructions
- Prep. Prepare your jars by washing them in hot, soapy water. Place them in your water bath canner and fill the canner up so the jars are fully submerged in water. Place over medium heat. Place the lids and rings in a saucepan filled with water and place them over medium-low heat. Do not boil.
- Mash half the blueberries. Measure out 2 cups of the blueberries. Using a potato masher, mash the blueberries.
- Combine and heat. In an 8-quart pot, add the crushed and the rest of the whole blueberries. Place over a burner and set the heat to medium-high.
- Add pectin and lemon juice. Add the package of pectin and lemon juice and stir to combine. Bring the mixture up to a rolling boil.
- Add sugar. Once the mixture hits a full rolling boil, add the sugar all at once. Stir to fully combine.
- Stir and boil for 1 minute. Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Once it hits this stage, set a timer for 1 minute. After a full minute, remove the mixture from the heat.
- Fill. Remove the jars from the water bath canner. Place the canning funnel over a jar and ladle the hot mixture into the jars, leaving a ¼” headspace. Using a debubbler, remove any air bubbles in the mixture.
- Wipe and fasten. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp towel. You can add some white vinegar to the towel to make sure the rims are clear of any residue. Add the lids and rings to the jars, and tighten the rings until they are fingertip-tight.
- Process. Transfer the jars back into the water bath canner. Make sure the jars are fully submerged in the water with at least 1 inch of water over the jars. Bring the water to a boil. Once it hits a boil, set your timer for 10 minutes.
- Rest. After 10 minutes of boiling, remove the water bath canner from the heat, remove the lid, and let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes. Transfer the jars to a heat-proof surface.
- Cool and check seals. Let the jars cool completely for 12-24 hours. After they’ve cooled completely, check the seal of the lids. You’ll do this by pressing the middle of the lid. If it doesn’t snap up, you have a seal. Remove the rings and store the jars in a cool dark place for up to 18 months or per your lids manufacturer’s recommendations.
Notes
Could I use 3 1-pint jars instead of 6 half-pint jars? If so, would there be any modifications to the canning process?
yes, add 15 min to processing time! honestly i STRONGLY prefer in half pint, feels like a pint takes me ages to use up 🙂
Am I able to substitute honey for the sugar? If so do you know how much honey to use.
I made the original recipe and loved it, but my daughter’s house is a no added sugar house. Thank you
you can use honey, sure, but i find that the sugar helps it set up better so you might need to boil a little longer thna the recipe says. its safe though. same volume to sub.
Hi Katie; FYI I didn’t have lemon juice on hand so I used lime juice. This is outstanding blueberry jam!! Thank you for this recipe.
im am so glad you like the flavor! thnak you for telling me!
Is it really 11.75oz for 6 jelly jars?? The surejell package is 1.75oz… just double checking?
no, there’s a space there. it’s 1 (1.75 oz) package
This was an excellent recipe ! Thanks so much for sharing
thank you jennifer! glad you enjoyed it!
There are 2 different kinds of pectin. Original or the kind for less or no sugar needed recipes. Not sure which to use
original!
Absolutely delicious! I made the recipe exactly as written, it yielded 6 jelly jars of preserves and the consistency was perfect, thanks for sharing!
wonderful! thank you so much for letting me know. happy jam season! 🙂
hi, wondering if I can use the same recipe but with strawberries. I have liquid pectin.
hey Krista! I have a strawberry preserves recipe here: https://heartscontentfarmhouse.com/strawberry-preserves/#recipe and yes its super similar 🙂
How much lemon juice do I use?
Hey Kim, you’ll need 2 tablespoons of lemon juice for this recipe. It helps balance the sweetness and ensures the preserves set properly. Hope that helps, and happy canning!