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Blueberry jelly is the smooth berry preserve that your summer’s missing. Packed with blueberry flavor, but without the skins and seeds.
Usually, I’m all about chunky jams and fruit spreads, full of huge pieces of fruit and loads of texture.
My kids though? They love jellies, and they’re slowly converting me. They talked me into making strawberry jelly, and it was unbelievable. More strawberry than strawberry, without the chunky fiber of actual fruit pieces in the preserve.
This blueberry jelly was at their request, and I have to admit they were right. While I absolutely love my homemade blueberry jam, this blueberry jelly really takes it up a notch.
Though they may seem innocent enough, blueberry skins can actually take on a very slight bitter flavor in jams, distracting from the intense blueberry flavor. In blueberry jelly, the skins (and seeds) are strained out, meaning this preserve is all flavor.
Selecting Fruit for Blueberry Jelly
Making blueberry jelly starts with the fruit. Underripe fruit won’t release much juice, and they’ll impart an off-flavor to the finished jam.
Sometimes, jelly recipes suggest using up to 1/3 underripe fruit because underripe fruit contains more pectin than ripe fruit. As the fruit ripen completely, the pectin breaks down, and the fruit becomes softer.
This is only true for “moderate pectin” fruits, like apples, blackberries, sour cherries, chokecherries, grapes, etc. Adding a few underripe fruits when making chokecherry jelly or blackberry jelly can mean the difference between a smoothly jelled preserve and a jar that just won’t set.
The thing is, blueberries are “low pectin” fruits and blueberry jelly is more or less impossible to make without added pectin. You can try a few natural pectin tricks, like using homemade citrus seed pectin or tart apple pectin, but you’ll never get enough pectin out of just straight blueberries (no matter how underripe).
Given that, choose the best quality fruit, picked at the peak of ripeness. That fully ripe fresh flavor will come through in the finished blueberry jelly.
Since blueberry jelly is a particular favorite of my little ones, I never have a problem getting them to volunteer for picking duty in our blueberry patch. Their tiny fingers are perfect for selecting ripe fruit from clusters of berries.
Blueberry Jelly Yield
A quick note on yield…
I’ve sized this blueberry jelly recipe for a single box of standard pectin, and it yields about 5 cups (5 half-pint jars). It’s not a large batch, but blueberries don’t give much juice. You’ll only need 4 cups of blueberry juice, but that means 4 quarts of fresh blueberries.
If you only have a few cups of blueberries, feel free to cut this recipe in half or quarters. Starting with 4 cups (1 quart) of blueberries and using 1/4 box of pectin will yield just over one 8 oz jar of blueberry jelly.
You can also use bottled blueberry juice instead of using the berries yourself.
(Yields are slightly different if you use the low sugar blueberry jelly variation discussed later.)
How to Make Blueberry Jelly
For a single batch of blueberry jelly, start with 4 quarts of fresh blueberries. (As an alternate measure, a single quart mashed yields 2 1/2 cups, so 10 cups mashed blueberries will also work).
Place the blueberries in a saucepan with 4 cups water (one cup for each quart, if you’re reducing the recipe).
Mash the berries if you didn’t already before measuring, as you slowly bring the pot to a simmer.
Simmer the blueberry/water mixture for about 10 minutes until the berries have completely fallen apart and released their juices.
Pour the mixture into a jelly bag and allow it to drain for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
Most jelly recipes will tell you to be patient and resist the urge to squeeze the jelly bag. They say just allow it to drain naturally if you want a clear jelly…
I imagine those people have not made blueberry jelly, because this is by far the slowest draining jelly on the planet. Blueberries are quite dry and dense, and they just don’t give it up easily.
I confess…I squeezed the bag….a lot. You’re going to have to if you want a meaningful amount of juice out of the berries. (Warning, it will of course turn your hands blue.)
Even really working the bag to get every last bit of juice, four quarts of berries made about 4 cups of blueberry juice.
And my blueberry jelly’s not cloudy, so take that no bag squeezing jelly sticklers…
At this point, you should have 4 cups of strained blueberry juice. If you’re just a smidge under, try adding a small amount of water or another fruit juice. (Or even a splash of sweet white wine, though that’ll take the jelly in a slightly boozy direction.)
If for some reason you’re a lot under, consider reducing the recipe.
Pour the strained juice into a clean saucepan and bring it to a full rolling boil. Add the powdered boxed pectin and whisk to completely dissolve the pectin. Maintain a hard boil for a full minute.
After a minute at a hard boil with the pectin/juice mixture, add the sugar and stir to dissolve. (This is important, don’t add the sugar at the start or the mixture won’t gel.)
Return the juice/pectin/sugar mixture to a full rolling boil and cook for 1 minute more.
Turn off the heat and ladle the mixture into prepared jars. A full “batch” should make 4-5 jars of blueberry jelly (8 oz).
Low Sugar Blueberry Jelly
The ratio of sugar to juice in this recipe is 1:1, which is required to get standard boxed pectin to gel properly. If you’re used to full-sugar jams and jellies then that’s likely to your taste.
If that sounds like a lot, no worries, you can reduce the sugar in this recipe provided you use low sugar pectin.
I used to use Pomona’s Pectin for making low sugar jellies, and it’s incredibly versatile. Everything’s done in teaspoon measurements, which allows you a good bit of flexibility in batch sizes (instead of full 1 box batches as with Sure-Jell).
The problem with Pomona’s is that the set is a bit more like jello gelatin than a true “jelly” in my opinion.
Recently I’ve started using Sure-Jell Low Sugar Pectin, and I much prefer the results. You can use this exact same recipe, substituting a whole box of the low sugar pectin in place of the standard pectin.
At that point, you can reduce the sugar as much as you’d like (or use honey/maple instead). I’d suggest trying 2 cups sugar to 4 cups juice for a totally reasonable sweetness level. You can go as low as 1 cup sugar for a very low sugar jelly if you like too.
(Note that if you do choose to use Pomona’s pectin, the directions are a bit more involved and you’ll need to add ingredients in a different order. Follow the directions on Pomona’s package, or read through this recipe on Pomona’s website which walks you through it.
Blueberry Jelly with Liquid Pectin
Just to provide all the options, I’ll cover blueberry jelly with liquid pectin. I don’t like this option, because liquid pectin requires ABSURD amounts of sugar to properly gel. You’ll need 7 cups of sugar to 4 cups of juice.
If using liquid pectin, go ahead and add the juice and sugar into a pan together. Liquid pectin is added last, as opposed to boxed pectin which must be added before the sugar.
After the juice/sugar come to a full boil, add in the liquid pectin and return to a boil for 1 minute before pouring into prepared jars.
Canning Blueberry Jelly
This recipe works perfectly fine as a refrigerator or freezer jelly. It will last several weeks in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Canning is completely optional.
I personally prefer canning my preserves, as it frees up freezer/refrigerator space, and allows me to enjoy the tastes of summer in the middle of our long Vermont winter.
If you are canning blueberry jelly, be sure to use canning approved jars and 2 part canning lids. Prepare a water bath canner before you start making the jelly (after you’ve juiced the blueberries, but before cooking the jelly).
Fill the jars with the hot jelly, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Cap with 2 part canning lids and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
If you’re not familiar with canning, I’d suggest reading my beginner’s guide to water bath canning getting started.
Ways to Preserve Blueberries
Looking for more ways to preserve blueberries?
- Freezing Blueberries
- Drying Blueberries
- Canning Whole Blueberries ~ Coming Soon
- Canning Blueberry Pie Filling ~ Coming Soon
Blueberry Jelly
Blueberry jelly is a silky smooth homemade preserve bursting with fresh blueberry flavor.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups blueberry juice, purchased, or extracted from 4 quarts of fruit
- 4 cups sugar, see notes for low sugar variation
- 1 box Powdered Pectin, 1.75 oz, such as Sure Jel
- Lemon Juice, optional, see notes
Instructions
Extracting Blueberry Juice
- To extract blueberry juice from fresh blueberries, place them in a saucepan with 1 cup of water per quart of fruit. (This recipe requires 4 quarts of berries and 4 cups water.)
- Slowly bring the mixture up to a simmer, mashing the berries as they cook.
- Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, until the berries have completely fallen apart and released their juices.
- Strain the fruit through a jelly bag or a colander lined with a double-thick layer of cheesecloth. Allow the bag to drain for at least 2 hours, squeezing if necessary to extract more juice.
- This should yield 4 cups juice. If you have extra, save it for other uses. If you're short, make up the difference with another fruit juice (ie. apple, cranberry, etc) or reduce the recipe.
Making Blueberry Jelly
- Prepare jars & lids. If canning, preheat a water bath canner.
- Place 4 cups of strained blueberry juice into a jam pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and add one box of powdered pectin. Whisk to incorporate and fully dissolve the pectin.
- Boil the pectin/juice mixture for 1 minute before adding sugar.
- Add the sugar, stirring to dissolve.
- Return to a boil and cook 1 minute before lading into prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
- If canning, process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- For a refrigerator or freezer jelly, allow the mixture to cool completely on the counter before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
Lemon Juice - Adding lemon juice is optional, as blueberries are acidic enough on their own for jelly. The added acidity will help balance the sweetness of the sugar, and lemon goes nicely with blueberry anyway. If you choose to add lemon juice, I'd recommend somewhere between 1 tablespoon and 1/4 cup. Add the lemon juice in with the blueberry juice during the jelly making phase.
Low Sugar Variation - For a low sugar blueberry jelly, substitute low sugar pectin such as Sure-Jell Low Sugar, Mrs. Wages Low Sugar or Ball Low Sugar powdered pectin. The sugar can then be reduced but I'd suggest adding at least 1 cup to 4 cups juice. (You can also substitute honey or maple, though they'll really compete with the fresh blueberry flavor.)
If using Pomona's Low Sugar pectin, follow their directions on the package, as there are 2 parts to that pectin and the order of addition is different than with standard powdered pectin.
Liquid Pectin Variation - I don't recommend liquid pectin because it requires exorbitant amounts of sugar to gel properly. That said, if you'd like to make this recipe with liquid pectin use 2 pouches of pectin and increase the sugar to 7 cups (with 4 cups juice).
This recipe can be made with purchased blueberry juice, or with juice extracted from fresh fruit.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Jelly Recipes
Looking for more tasty jelly recipes? I’ve got you covered…
Can a juicer be used to take out the seeds & skins before cooking? Just wondering
Yup, you could use a juicer. Most of the flavor of blueberries is in the skins though, so a juicer would yield a less intensely flavored jelly. When you make it by cooking then straining, you’re actually making more of a blueberry skin tea that really gets great flavor into the finished jelly.
The seeds and skins often have lots of pectin in them that is necessary for the gelling process.
I am hoping to use your recipe for the jelly but all I have are frozen blueberries. Will it still work?
Yes, that will still work.
I made this with some of my older frozen blueberries and this recipe is so so good!!!!! I’m thinking about buying some blueberry juice so I can make some more to give as gifts to some of my friends for the holidays!!!!
That’s great! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I have blueberry juice from a blueberry farm. I would like to make blueberry vanilla syrup. What would suggest I use to make a syrup instead of a jelly? how much vanilla do you think I should add?
Thank you for any suggestions you can give me.
Diane
You can just follow the recipe omitting the pectin. As far as the vanilla, you could start with 1 tsp and just taste it before canning.
Great recipe! I have canned for many years, and usually made jam from my blueberries, but my son now cannot have the seeds or skins due to diverticulitis, so made jelly. I used my steam juice extractor (about 45 years old and makes juicing SO easy! I put in the berries, steam for one hour and let the juice drip into the pot in the extractor, and drain in the morning. I put in a measured 16 cups of berries, and this morning drained off a little over 8 cups of clear blueberry juice! I made a double batch using all the juice, 8 cups of suger and 2 packages of Sure-Jel. I yielded 7 PINTS of jelly! It is still cooling, but all sealed and definitely will be a great jelly based on sampling the little bit left in the pot after canning. Great color, consistency and flavor. Made in rural northeaster Vermont! So glad I found your page! Thanks
That’s great! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi, thanks for this recipe. It worked great for me and I say that with much happiness, as I’ve tried many recipes, following them to a “T”, and received less than ok results. Either syrupy or lately, some “gluey” tasting stuff,uck.
I used the powdered pectin full sugar method, and added 1 TBSP of lemon juice. Wonderful!
A note though, I was thinking that 4 cups of juice and 4 cups of sugar would definitely make more than 4 cups of jelly, and probably more than 5 cups. My yield was exactly 6 cups. Most recipes I’ve used come out the same, meaning, if you add the cups of juice and the cups of sugar together, your yield will be pretty close to 3/4s of that total. (4C + 4C = 8C X .75 = 6C) Helps me to better figure out how many jars to prepare.
This holds true for powdered pectin recipes, liquid pectin should work similarly, but no added pectin recipes will be different.
As I had extra other fruit after using this recipe, I followed it to make another batch using blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, probably close to an equal amount of each. They’re all low pectin fruits so I figured it might work ok. It came out great too.
So thank you again for the recipe, it’s definitely a keeper.
That’s great! Thanks so much for sharing.