This strawberry jelly is one of my favorites, and one of the easiest canning recipes I’ve ever used! It’s a great recipe for beginning canners and can be completed in less than an hour, and with only four ingredients!

I have realized I’m an old soul. I love sewing and cooking and crafting, but I really really love canning.

Is that weird? That’s okay. I embrace it.

There are a few things I love about canning: 1. I love making my food as opposed to buying it, 2. I love figuring out ways to stretch my budget, 3. I love the satisfaction of having food stored for a later date.

I started canning jelly a couple years ago, and the investment in each batch of this strawberry jelly is very minimal. There are some upfront costs to jelly-making and canning, but after purchasing the supplies initially, I’ve been able to use them over and over again. Here’s the supplies I use every time I can:

These are the supplies that help me be efficient when I’m canning--whether it’s jelly, or pickling cucumbers or green beans, or canning tomatoes, I always use these items. The total investment in these supplies is about $100, HOWEVER, I have used them over and over and over again, and it’s definitely been worth the money.

What I love about this jelly recipe is that I was able to make 10 jars of strawberry jelly for TEN DOLLARS! I looked up the cost of jelly at Walmart, and it was $3 a jar. This may not seem like much, but every penny I’m able to save on my food is a penny I can use for something else (like paying down debt or adding to my savings).

I didn’t grow these strawberries--I watched my grocery store ad for a sale on strawberries, and they went on sale a couple weeks ago for $1.50 a container. This recipe calls for four containers (eight cups), and I bought a new box of small rubber seal lids. This jelly will last me about a year--perfect timing to make another batch next spring.

📖 Recipe

Up close view of a small mason jar of homemade strawberry jelly

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Strawberry Jelly Recipe

Quick, easy strawberry jelly recipe! Learn to can jelly at home in under an hour with just 4 ingredients.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword jelly recipe

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 25

Servings 10 jars

Cost 20

Equipment

10 half pint jars with rubber seal lids and metal bands
Dutch Oven
large stockpot and canning rack
medium sauce pot (to boil rings and lids)
funnel
canning jar lifter/grabber

Ingredients

8 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned & sliced (4, 16 oz containers)
7 cups sugar
½ tbsp butter
1 package Sure-Jell Pectin

Instructions

Wash jars, bands and lids, in the dishwasher with the sanitize cycle, or by hand with hot soapy water. Set aside.
Remove stems of strawberries and slice up. Use a potato masher to mash strawberries. Add pectin and stir.
Add jars to stock pot with water completely covering with water. Bring to boil and keep hot until use.
Add strawberry and pectin mixture to dutch oven on stove over medium-high heat. Bring to boil and add sugar and butter. Stir constantly for five minutes.
As jelly boils, skim off foam.
Remove jars from water one-by-one and fill jars with strawberry mixture leaving a quarter-inch of space in the top of the jar. Place rubber lids and metal rings on jars. Fill all the jars, then return to the boiling water, and place the lid on the stock pot. Make sure there is at least one inch of water above jars.
Boiling time varies based on elevation where you live: 0-1,000 feet above sea level: boil ten minutes, 1,001-3,000 feet above sea level: boil 15 minutes, 3,001-6,000 feet above sea level: boil 20 minutes, 6,001-8,000 feet above sea level: boil 25 minutes, 8,000+ feet above sea level: boil 30 minutes.
Turn off burner and remove jars from water with canning jar lifter/grabber and place on cookie rack or towel to cool. Listen for jars to pop (seal).
If jars do not seal, place in refrigerator and use in next two weeks. Shelf life of this recipe is up to 18 months if sealed.