One of my favorite summertime activities is taking the family blueberry picking. We carry our old ice cream buckets or baskets to the blueberry bushes and pick as many as we can gather. We always pick more than we are able to eat fresh, so canning blueberries has become another annual summer activity for us. Surprisingly enough, I never really cared for blueberries, but fresh blueberries taste so much better than store bought ones, especially in blueberry jam and canned blueberry pie filling!
In this blog post, I’m going to show you just two ways I can blueberries. From blueberry jam to canned blueberry pie filling, you’re going to see just how versatile these recipes are!
Canning Blueberries
Blueberries are a delicious “superfood” that you can feel good about feeding to your family! They are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin K. These sweet berries are also a significant source of Manganese and antioxidants.
They can be eaten as raw berries straight off of the bush or turned into delicious blueberry syrup, homemade jam, blueberry pie, or even a Saturday morning blueberry cinnamon roll!
In order to enjoy this fruit year-round, it is important to know how to safely can your blueberries.
Supplies for Canning Blueberries
- Jar Lifter
- Canning Funnel
- Clean Canning Jars
- Canning Lids
- Canning Rings
- Large Spoon or Ladle
- Dish Towel or Cooling Rack
- Water Bath Canner OR Steam Canner
Ingredients for Canning Blueberries
- Berries
- Sugar
- Water
How to Can Blueberries in Syrup: Hot Pack Method
This is the simplest way to can blueberries. All you need to do is cook them with a homemade sugar syrup, put them into canning jars, and process them.
Canned blueberries in syrup are versatile and can be used to make many different recipes when you are ready to use them.
Ingredients for Canning Blueberries in Syrup
- 2 cups of sugar
- 4 cups of water
- Fresh Blueberries
Steps for Canning Blueberries in Syrup
- Make a light syrup to pour over the berries. To do this, add 2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of water in a mixing bowl. You can adjust the sugar:water ratio if you want a lighter or heavier syrup.
- Add your berries to a saucepan and cover with your homemade syrup. Bring them to a boil. You can skip this step if you want and just add the berries to the jars and cover with syrup, but I prefer the other way.
- Pour the berries into your jars and leave a ½ inch of headspace at the top of the jar. If you need to make more syrup, you can. I like to add my berries first, then pour the syrup over them.
- Remove any air bubbles from the jars and clean the jar rims with a cloth.
- Add your lids and rings (finger tight) and place the jars into the hot water in your water bath canner.
- Process the jars for 15, then remove them with a jar lifter and place them on a cooling rack for 24 hours.
Canning Blueberries for Jam & Pie Filling
Canning blueberries with syrup is a great way to preserve the berries if you don’t know exactly what you plan to make with them. If you already know that you plan to use your berries for blueberry jam or pie fillings, use these canning instructions instead.
How to Can Blueberry Jam
This blueberry jam is the best way to top a piece of toast! It truly is so simple, any beginner can accomplish it. But it’s so good that it is literally my staple recipe every single year.
Ingredients for Homemade Blueberry Jam:
- 9 cups blueberries
- 6 cups of sugar
- 2 TBSP Lemon Juice
Steps for Making Blueberry Jam:
- Prepare your water bath canner (or steam canner) and jars for the canning process. Fill the canner with water and start to boil. Wash the jars and the rings in hot soapy water.
- Place clean jars in the canner of boiling water to sanitize them. Leave them in for 15 minutes. You can run them under warm water before placing them in the boiling water to help prevent breakage.
- Wash and sort the fresh blueberries. Remove the stems.
- Put the sorted berries in a large sauce pan. Roughly mash them with a fork or a potato masher.
- Add in the appropriate amount of sugar.
- Add the lemon juice and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Increase the heat to a full rolling boil, but don’t let them boil over. After 3 minutes of boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer and let everything cook down for another 30 minutes, or until it is reduced by at least 1/4.
- Spoon the jam into the sanitized jars and be sure to leave ¼ inch of headspace.
- Clean the rim of the jar with a damp cloth.
- Add a clean lid and a ring. Finger tighten.
- Place the filled and closed jars into the canner. Lower the rack and ensure that jars are covered with 2 inches of water (if using a water bath canner). For a steam canner, simply add the lid, bring it to temp, and start the countdown.
- Process the jars for 15 minutes.
- Use a jar lifter to remove the jars from the canner. Set them on a towel or a cooling rack. Check lids for seal after 12 hours.
Homemade Canned Blueberry Pie Filling
You can use the canned blueberries or blueberry jam recipes above to make your very own homemade blueberry pie filling! It really will be whatever your preference is. For a less processed filling, try using the whole canned blueberries. For a more gooey, sweet filling, use the blueberry jam recipe!
If using canned blueberries, simply strain off most of the syrup, then pour the berries into a bowl. Add a few tbsp of corn starch or flour, mix well, then add to your pie crust to bake.
Use this Homemade Canned Blueberry Pie filling to make these delicious recipes:
- Blueberry Pie with Sourdough Pie Crust
- Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
- Easy Blueberry Cobbler
Print the recipes below!
Canned Blueberries in Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 cups of sugar
- 4 cups of water
- Fresh Blueberries
Instructions
- Make a light syrup to pour over the berries. To do this, add 2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of water in a mixing bowl. You can adjust the sugar:water ratio if you want a lighter or heavier syrup.
- Add your berries to a saucepan and cover with your homemade syrup. Bring them to a boil, then drain. Save the juice if you like.
- Pour the berries into your jars and leave a ½ inch of headspace at the top of the jar.
- Remove any air bubbles from the jars and clean the jar rims with a cloth.
- Add your lids and rings (finger tight) and place the jars into the hot water in your water bath canner.
- Process the jars for 15, then remove them with a jar lifter and place them on a cooling rack for 24 hours.
Canned Blueberry Jam
Ingredients
- 9 cups blueberries
- 6 cups of sugar
- 2 TBSP Lemon Juice
Instructions
Prepare your water bath canner (or steam canner) and jars for the canning process. Fill the canner with water and start to boil. Wash the jars and the rings in hot soapy water.
Place clean jars in the canner of boiling water to sanitize them. Leave them in for 15 minutes. You can run them under warm water before placing them in the boiling water to help prevent breakage.
Wash and sort the fresh blueberries. Remove the stems.
Put the sorted berries in a large sauce pan. Roughly mash them with a fork or a potato masher.
Add in the appropriate amount of sugar.
Add the lemon juice and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to a full rolling boil, but don’t let them boil over. After 3 minutes of boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer and let everything cook down for another 30 minutes, or until it is reduced by at least 1/4.
Spoon the jam into the sanitized jars and be sure to leave ¼ inch of headspace.
Clean the rim of the jar with a damp cloth.
Add a clean lid and a ring. Finger tighten.
Place the filled and closed jars into the canner. Lower the rack and ensure that jars are covered with 2 inches of water (if using a water bath canner). For a steam canner, simply add the lid, bring it to temp, and start the countdown.
Process the jars for 15 minutes.
Use a jar lifter to remove the jars from the canner. Set them on a towel or a cooling rack. Check lids for seal after 12 hours.
Canned Blueberries in Syrup
Canned Blueberries in Syrup
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Ingredients
2 cups of sugar
4 cups of water
Fresh Blueberries <—– this is unclear. How many fresh blueberries??