Have you ever tried marionberries? Oregon marionberries are also known as the “Cabernet of blackberries,” due to their deliciously complex flavor. In this marionberry jam recipe, I’m mashing these berries into a low sugar chia jam. With its rich flavor and gorgeous purple color, you’ll want to put this fresh jam on EVERYTHING. No pectin is needed to make this easy spreadable fruit!

I love sharing food finds with my email subscribers because I think it is AWESOME to try new foods. Trying to find a new-to-me fruit or veggie to sample each week has been one way I keep my own diet interesting. Believe it or not, I can still find new produce to try, even after several years of this practice.

I tried marionberries for the first time quite recently, and this marionberry jam recipe is one result of that experience. This jam recipe uses no pectin and is rather straightforward. I prefer to keep my recipes really simple when I try a new food so I can really taste the food.

In fact, if I had managed to acquire fresh rather than frozen marionberries, I probably would have snacked on them as is. I’d only consider adding them to more complex recipes (such as a marionberry crumble) after becoming familiar with their flavor.

In short, this simple jam recipe is all about using a bounty of berries! Your results will vary depending on the quality of marionberries that you start with.

I’m going to tell you where to get marionberries in the FAQs below. Even if you don’t live in Oregon (home of the marionberry), you can still enjoy this marionberry jam recipe. With frozen berries, you can enjoy the best part of summer all year long.

❓ What is the difference between a boysenberry and a marionberry?

Boysenberries are larger than marionberries. Boysenberries are a combination of blackberries, raspberries, and loganberries. The marionberry is a combination of blackberry and olallieberry.

⭐ Benefits of Making Marionberry Jam

Berries are so sweet and delicious that they hardly need promotion of their good attributes. Let’s be honest… even those who dislike most fruits and vegetables tend to like berries!

The chia seeds are our secret ingredient to get the jam to thicken well without pectin. Between the marionberry seeds and the chia seeds, this berry spread has a lot of texture! This jam is seedy in the best possible way. Haha

Lemon juice is a common ingredient in jam recipes. However, I prefer orange juice for the touch of sweetness it provides. If you are squeezing oranges for orange juice, it is helpful to have a manual citrus juicer.

Another piece of equipment that I like to have to make marionberry jam is a hand potato masher. A masher will make quick work of mashing up the marionberries while leaving some texture in your jam. Check out my recipe video below to see how it all went down.

I use OXO’s potato masher, and it has held up well through the years. If you don’t have a hand masher, a fork is sufficient to mash the thawed frozen berries. However, using a fork will take a bit longer.

➕ How to Make Marionberry Jam

I experimented with making marionberry jam seedless by straining the fruit through cheesecloth after heating. You could also use a food mill to get a smooth marionberry puree. I don’t recommend making strained jam for several reasons:

• Food waste: You end up wasting a lot of fruit pulp with strained jam. Your overall yield of marionberry jam ends up being much less than unstrained jam.
• Less nutritious: There are phytonutrients and fiber in that fruit that gets strained out. Why not keep your jam more nutrient-dense?
• More work: Making strained marionberry jam (AKA marionberry jelly) is more work. You’ll be dirtying your food mill or reusable cheesecloth, requiring additional clean up. Save time in the kitchen by making jam with whole mashed marionberries.
• Still seedy: Since this is a no pectin marionberry jam thickened with chia seeds, the finished jam will still have seeds. You will likely need to add a lot more chia seeds to thicken strained marionberry juice versus whole mashed fruit.
• Runny jam: The strained jam was far runnier than jam with marionberry pulp. The texture wasn’t as good and it didn’t have a nice spreadable consistency.

I hope I’ve convinced you to skip trying to make marionberry jam seedless. If you do try it and don’t like it, you can always use the marionberry syrup in smoothies or to sweeten yogurt. (That’s what I did!)

But how to use marionberry jam? IMVHO, these seed-packed, richly flavored marionberry preserves would make the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I think a marionberry pb&j would definitely have me looking forward to lunch!

Another idea (and equally simple) is to serve marionberry jam over your favorite yogurt, maybe with some granola and almond butter. Because I try to limit my added sugar intake, I enjoy this jam on plain Greek yogurt or skyr. It would also be great over certain flavored yogurts, such as lemon, orange, or vanilla yogurt.

To incorporate this marionberry jam recipe into a complete breakfast, you could use it in overnight oats. Try these Overnight Oats with Frozen Fruit with marionberry chia jam in place of some of the frozen fruit in the recipe.

For a more dessert-like breakfast, you could use this recipe as a marionberry compote and serve it with waffles or pancakes. Add some whipped cream and maple syrup (use sugar-free versions, if desired) and sprinkle a little orange zest on top. SO GOOD!

What do marionberries taste like?

Marionberries are absolutely DELICIOUS.

I think that marionberries have a more complex, richer flavor than your standard grocery store blackberry. This may be why marionberries have been dubbed both the “King of Blackberries” and the “Cabernet of Blackberries.” They are both tart and sweet and have a slightly firmer texture than regular blackberries.

Where to Buy Marionberries (if you don’t live in Oregon)

You can purchase local marionberries fresh or frozen in some of the mainstream grocery stores in parts of Oregon. If you live outside of the Pacific Northwest, chances are high you’ll have to purchase marionberries online. Unfortunately, shipping the frozen berries will likely cost you much than procuring them locally.

I buy frozen marionberries from Northwest Wild Foods. Keep in mind that the marionberries are a seasonal item, so they are not available for purchase year-round.

Luckily, they also sell many other lesser-known berries, edible mushrooms, nuts, and seafood. I could easily be kept busy trying different foods until marionberry season rolls around again. (A word of warning to the foodies, you might find it a little too easy to spend too much over there!)

Where to Buy Marionberry Jam (if you don’t want to make it)

If you live outside of the Pacific Northwest, it may be a lot easier to obtain marionberry jam than fresh or frozen marionberries. There are lots of berry jam options available online to meet a variety of dietary preferences. Here are a few options for buying marionberry jam if you can’t get it locally:

• Misty Meadows Sugar Free Marionberry Spread The ingredients in this spread are marionberries, pectin, and apple juice. That’s it! This is my top pick for a premade no added sugar marionberry jam (and the crock it comes in is so cute).
• Oregon Growers Marionberry Fruit Spread Here’s an option for those looking for a classic marionberry jam with pectin (i.e., one with sugar). (P.S. This product is Non-GMO project verified, but marionberries and other blackberries are not a GMO crop in the U.S. Your marionberries should be non-GMO whether they have this label or not.)
• Big Foot Toe Jam Oregon Marionberry Jam This jam gets my award for the most amusing name! Marionberries contain a lot of seeds, but this Big Foot Toe Jam is an option for those who want a seedless marionberry jam. This is another classic jam recipe made with sugar, for those who prefer sweetened fruit spreads.