Easy Plum Jam Recipe (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Pectin-Free)

An easy plum jam recipe that only requires 4 simple ingredients, is ready in an hour, and is bursting with the flavor of sweet ripe plums. Perfect for spreading on toast, spooning over homemade yogurt, filling your pie crust, or even eating it by the spoonful! Totally gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and pectin-free, but it’s so good no one would notice!

Jump to:

• Summer Means Stone Fruit Season
• My Love for Homemade Jams & Marmalades
• Why This Recipe Works:
• Ingredients You’ll Need:
• Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
• How to Make Homemade Plum Jam (Step by Step):
• Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• Favorite Breads to Eat This Jam with:
• Other Homemade Jam Recipes You’ll Also Love:
• Spring/Summer Recipes to Enjoy:
• Easy Plum Jam Recipe (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Pectin-Free)

Summer Means Stone Fruit Season

The best part of summer, apart from the longer days of golden sunshine and warmth, is really stone fruit season.

From peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums, I’m a big fan of all kinds of delicious stone fruit. And during the summer time of year, I often buy many pounds of fruit so we’re never short of them.

In my house, we eat stone fruit every occasion we can – fresh if possible, or baked into a peach cobbler or pie. Another great way of using up the fresh fruit is making jams.

My Love for Homemade Jams & Marmalades

One of the first things I did when I first started learning how to cook was making homemade jams and marmalades.

Along with baking homemade bread, making homemade jams has always been a form of therapy for me, and I’ve made strawberry jam, kumquat marmalade, mixed berry chia seed jam, fig jam, and even this easy apricot jam.

This summer, after we got our hands on a large bag of gorgeous, ripe juicy plums, and they had been sitting on the counter for a couple of days, I decided it was high time to make plum jam.

Why This Recipe Works:

• Simple and Foolproof: This easy plum jam recipe only requires 4 simple ingredients – and the steps are simple and foolproof. Even if it’s your first time making homemade plum jam, don’t worry. It’s so easy that you’ll be enjoying this delicious jam in no time at all!

• No Pectin Required: While some jam recipes call for pectin to bind the jams and help them set properly so as to prevent them from having a runny texture, no pectin is required to make this easy recipe. In this case, the lemon juice is the secret ingredient and acts as a natural pectin in binding the ingredients and creating the perfect gel-like consistency we associate with jam.

• Naturally Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan: Best of all, this plum jam recipe is totally gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan too, which means even those with Celiac disease or gluten or lactose intolerances can enjoy it too!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Here’s a visual overview of the ingredients required for this homemade plum jam recipe without pectin.

(For exact measurements and quantities, please scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)

Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:

• Plums: You can use different types of plums for this recipe (whether red plums, black plums or yellow plums). I like cutting the plums into small pieces which helps the fruit to disintegrate better as they cook, as I prefer not to have large pieces of fruit in my jam. However, if you like having pieces of fruit in the jam, you can cut the plums into large pieces.

• Sugar: I used granulated white sugar, however you can also use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar if you prefer. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I highly recommend that you use Lakanto monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that is zero glycemic index and will not raise your blood sugar). If you prefer your jam with less sugar, you can reduce the amount of sugar.

• Lemon Juice: I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice for the best flavor, but if you only have bottled lemon juice, that will work too. Don’t skip adding lemon juice because the acidity of the lemon juice helps to set the jam and prevents it from becoming runny.

How to Make Homemade Plum Jam (Step by Step):

1. Wash, Dry and Cut the Plums

Wash the plums well and dry them (no need to remove the plum skins, you can leave them on).

Slice the plums into halves to remove the stones before cutting the flesh into smaller pieces.

2. Combine Plums and Water

Place the cut plums and water in a large non-stick skillet, large saucepan or large pot.

3. Simmer

Bring the ingredients to a full rolling boil before reducing to a simmer over medium heat, making sure to stir the plum mixture occasionally, until the pieces of fruit are soft and are start to disintegrate (approximately 15 to 20 minutes).

4. Add Juice and Sugar

Add the fresh lemon juice and sugar, stirring continuously so the sugar dissolves.

5. Bring to a Low Boil

Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil for approximately 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent the jam from burning at the bottom of the skillet. Use a spatula, the back of a slotted spoon, or a potato masher to mash any large pieces of fruit as the jam cooks to a jelling point.

Once the jam coats the back of a spoon (or use a candy thermometer to check that temperature has reached 220F), the jam is ready.

6. Let Cool and Transfer to Sterilized Jars

Allow the hot jam to stand for at least 10 minutes in the skillet until it has cooled to room temperature before transferring the plum jam to sterilized glass jars. Make sure to wipe rims of jars clean before sealing tight.

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:

• Don’t Skip the Lemon Juice: Since we are not using added pectin to set the jam, make sure you don’t skip the lemon juice, which is required because the acidity of the lemon juice helps to bind the ingredients and create the gel-like consistency we love about jam.

• Add Extra Flavor: If you like, you may also add in a few cinnamon sticks to the skillet or pot as the jam cooks to add extra flavor.

• Extra Smooth Jam: If you want a smoother jam, you can either use an immersion blender to blend the final product to the consistency that you like.

• Use Sterilized Glass Jars: Make sure to sterilize your glass jars before storing your jam to prevent any bacteria or mold from growing (which will cause the jam to spoil).

• Swap Out the Plums for Other Stone Fruit: If you don’t have fresh plums on hand, but would like to make this jam recipe anyway, simply use the same amount of other stone fruits instead, such as apricots, peaches, or nectarines! Or better yet, you could use a mix of all the stone fruits available!

Recipe FAQs:

Favorite Breads to Eat This Jam with:

We love starting our mornings with a hot cup of tea and a crunchy piece of toast slathered with this delicious plum jam.

Here are a few of our favorite bread recipes that you’ll enjoy:

• Soft Fluffy Gluten-Free Bread (Dairy-Free)
• Fluffy Buckwheat Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Soft Brown Rice Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Sorghum Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Teff Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Quinoa Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Low Carb Coconut Flour Bread (Gluten-Free, Paleo, Keto)
• Low Carb Almond Flour Bread (Gluten-Free, Paleo, Keto)
• Easy Honey Oat Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Option)

Other Homemade Jam Recipes You’ll Also Love:

• Easy Apricot Jam (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
• Mixed Berry Chia Seed Jam (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
• Easy Kumquat Marmalade (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
• Strawberry Chia Seed Jam (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
• Homemade Fig Jam (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Spring/Summer Recipes to Enjoy:

P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!

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