Love and Olive Oil

Blueberry Basil Preserves

Blueberry Basil Jam

Is there such as thing as canning withdrawal? Because I think I have it. Bad.

I missed strawberry season. Whoosh. It completely passed me by. And I was bummed. I didn’t start canning until after strawberry season last year, and it was one of the things I was most looking forward to this spring. Unfortunately, I was busy doing other things, things that didn’t involve fruit or canning. And I just didn’t have the time.

But when I finally had a weekend, a free weekend, I hoped I hadn’t missed blueberry season too. So began the hunt for a local berry farm that still had berries. I probably called a dozen places. Only two had berries available for picking. So off we went.

Less than four hours later, a gallon of the beautiful, late summer blueberries became eight jars of gorgeous, deeply violet jam.

Making Blueberry Jam Recipe

Why yes, I did ruin that tea towel, thanks for asking.

Blueberry Basil Jam

I made half a batch of good old, plain blueberry jam per Taylor’s request (“Don’t put anything weird in it.”) But the second batch, I had visions of blueberries and herbs dancing in my head. Basil, to be precise, but you could use thyme or lavender or lemon verbena. I think blueberries lend themselves very well to herbal infusions.

Blueberry Basil Preserves

Did you make this recipe?

Ingredients:

10 cups whole blueberries (about 3 1/2 pounds)
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 package no/low sugar powdered pectin
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely torn
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup filtered water

Directions:

Prepare canner and wash/sterilize 8 half-pint mason jars. Keep jars in hot (not boiling) water until ready to use.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of sugar and pectin. In a separate bowl, measure out remaining 4 1/4 cups of sugar and set aside.

Wash blueberries and discard stems. Place in a blender or food processor. Cover and pulse to evenly chop. Do not liquefy. Transfer all but 1/4 cup of blueberries into an 8-quart saucepan.

Add basil, lemon juice, and water to remaining berries in food processor. Pulse until well blended and no large chunks of berries or basil remain. Add to blueberries in saucepan.

Stir pectin mixture into blueberries, and cook over medium-high heat until mixture reaches a full roiling boil that cannot be stirred down. Quickly stir in remaining sugar. Return to a boil, and boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam.

Ladle hot jam into jars, leaving 1/8-inch of headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Screw on lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from water and let cool completely, 12 to 24 hours. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

Did you make this recipe?

Let us know what you think!
Leave a Comment below or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #loveandoliveoil.

Bonus! Due to popular demand, I’ve got some free printable canning labels just for you! View and download by clicking the thumbnails below. You have three choices, the berry fabulous blueberry labels I designed for this special batch of jam (blueberry basil and plain blueberry jam varieties), as well as my label design from last year. Both a blank version and a version filled in with some of the more popular canned goods (apricot, strawberry, dill pickles, blackberry, and blueberry).

To use: simply print out the labels onto full-sheet sticker paper. Cut out and adhere to your jar lids. They are perfectly sized for standard narrow-mouth canning jars. Need label paper? Try here or here.

Free Printable Canning Labels - Blueberry Jam Free Printable Canning Jar Labels Printable Canning Jam Labels - Blank

Disclaimer: Copyright Love & Olive Oil. For personal use only. If you post about or share these labels, please credit appropriately and do not link directly to the downloadable file but rather to this post. Please do not distribute these downloadable files. Thank you much!

There may be affiliate links in this post. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

43 Comments

  1. Loved the recipe and would love to have your labels

  2. This is the BEST recipe! My late daughter’s favorite and when I make it I think of her! She was an amazing gardener and cook! Delicious blueberry basil jam! 

  3. I found this recipe while looking for something to do with my overabundance of blueberries and I’ve made 3 (maybe 4, I lost track) batches of it as well as your blueberry blackberry jam. Both are delicious, but this one is my favorite!

  4. Amazing flavor! Worked out beautifully!

  5. Hello. I just found this recipe and LOVE it. I made this today and ended up with 10 half pint jars! I also love the labels that you made for it. However, they’re a little out of date. Is there a way that I can change the date to reflect the current year? Thanks for a perfect recipe!

    • You’re totally right, sorry about that! Just uploaded an updated version of the blueberry labels without dates. :) Enjoy!

  6. a PERFECT recipe!!!! Exactly what I was looking for and came out fantastic!!! Thank you!!!

  7. what a wonderful recipe!  I canned a batch of the preserve last night, though I doubled the basil (it’s such a mild flavor).  It was a huge hit!  Thanks so much for sharing!!!

  8. I have just found this recipe and would like to try it. My pectin isi n a jar, not a package. How much pectin in tbsps is needed for this recipe?

    • Your jar should have a conversion equivalent on it, I would assume. I know Ball’s FlexBatch pectin says 6 tablespoons equal 1 package, but it likely varies depending on the brand. You could also start with a basic blueberry jam recipe that came with your pectin, and add the basil flavoring to that. Then you’d definitely have the right proportions of fruit to sugar to pectin. Good luck!

  9. These labels are adorable! Love them!

  10. I found this recipe and I thought it would be delicious. The only problem is that I feel like there is way too much sugar in the recipe…I can’t get much of the delicate basil flavor over the cavity inducing sweetness.

  11. I made Blueberry Violet today using Violet extract. Just enough extract that you can tell something is there but can’t quite put your finger on what it is. The violet brings the blueberry flavor to new heights.

  12. What size of labels did you use? The lid measures 2″ -and it is just a little smaller.
    Would love to print some of these!

    Thanks!

  13. I saw the towel and thought, “that’s a goner.” Then I read your note…ha!

    I made carrot puree this weekend and stained everything in my kitchen orange. Just another thing I’ll miss about summer…all the beautiful colors (even if they do wreak havoc)!

  14. Those have to be the best canning labels I’ve ever seen. Love them! Oh, and sorry about the tea towel. Nigella Lawson buys kitchen towels instead of trinkets when she’s on vacation. I’ve started doing the same. Which was good cause for us this year, mangoes did the towel-ruining.

  15. Oh this jam looks amazing! I just bought a lot of blueberries to freeze and this would be a great way to use some of them especially since I am so blessed to have a lot of fresh basil in the garden.

  16. I love the stickers for on top! How cute!!

  17. Looks amazing – you are so lucky you are able to go and pick your own blueberries!

  18. Happy you found berries; sorry you stained that perfectly good towel. was it all in the interest of a pretty photo?
    Lovely jam.

  19. Yummmm I love basil! I can also totally relate to a husband who says “Don’t put anything weird in it!”

    I love how you combine sweet and savory. I am drawn to the same type of thing… spices in chocolate, unexpected flavor combinations.
    Lovely website!

  20. Beautiful pictures and I was wondering whether you ruined the tea towel; you read my mind! I love the addition of basil.

  21. Gorgeous labels and absolutely love the blueberry basil preserves. I’m definitely making some of these to savor during the winter months.

  22. Yum!!!

    I just love the shots of the blueberry goodness dripping and smeared!! Beautiful post, and I can only imagine the wonderful results!

  23. As I was reading through this beautiful post on blueberry jam, I couldn’t help but paying most of my attention to the adorable and so hard to find jar labels. You can’t imagine my happiness when I saw the print outs! You just made my day. Cheers!!!

  24. I have to admit that three cooking things scare me, canning, using a pressure cooking, and deep frying.

    One day I will have to put my big girl panties on and learn to can.

  25. well…i MUST take a little bow here…im the one that asked for the blank labels on facebook!

    but i MUST thank you for making them available! THANK YOU! these are so amazing!

  26. That happens rather often at my house too. “Just don’t put anything weird in it.” Where’s their sense of adventure?

    Looks lovely!

  27. Pretty cool labels, thanks for sharing them!
    The pairing sounds great too, never tried blueberries with basil – goes on my list for tomorrow’s market visit.

  28. I’ve never made jam before — this seems super-simple and delicious! Would love to see a video tutorial, too (just in case I mess up) :)

  29. your labels are awesome!

    and i hear you on the canning withdrawal. i haven’t done any jam this year yet, either! i’m hoping to pick some berries this weekend.

    but i have canned green beans and tomatoes will be happening soon :)

  30. Thank you for the post and canning labels! They are so cute!

  31. is it sad that the second thing I thought was oh no – not blueberries on the white napkin!
    The first was that the combo of basil and blueberry must be amazing. I have been a junkie for both this summer and these preserves sound amazing. My boyfriend is a strawberry jam fanatic, hopefully I can get him to try something new.

  32. these pics are beautiful! the recipe sounds amazing, weekend project possibly :)

  33. I’ve been toying with the idea of making fig jam this weekend – thanks for the extra incentive! Looks delicious. And how sweet and gracious of you to share those adorable labels with everyone!

  34. I love making jam! And blueberry-basil sounds like a delightful combination of flavors. I have added making this to my to-do list! Thanks!! (And as always, I love your beautiful photos and blog.)

  35. Delish. Can I make freezer jam rather than canning with this recipe? It sounds wonderful.

    • I’m sure you could! Maybe try following the freezer jam recipe on your pectin packet… then just add in the basil as specified above. Good luck! :)

  36. You can’t can and not make a mess. Or I can’t anyway. I have LOADS of blueberries that I have frozen because I have not had time to make jam. This a good. Blueberry Basil jam it will be! Thanks!

  37. Blueberry is my FAVOURITE jam! I’ve never made it though because blueberries always seem to be quite expensive, I guess I’ve never ventured out to buy them from a local farm… something for me to think about I guess. And yep, soon as I saw that tea towel I thought the same thing!

  38. I was JUST thinking, “oh no. I wonder if that stained that perfectly white towel.” My heart goes out to you.

    That said: I LOVE THIS. I’ve not canned anything this year and probably won’t. I’ve dehydrated though! (not ME silly.) Peppers and tomatoes.

    Does that count?

Did you make this recipe? Leave a Review »