The 8 Healthiest Jams & Jellies—and 3 To Avoid
Nothing adds a burst of fresh fruit flavors like a spread of jam or jelly, whether you prefer grape, strawberry, or fun and interesting flavors like fig, passion fruit, or mango. And it must be healthy, right? After all, it's made of fruit! Unfortunately, not all jams and jellies are healthy, and some barely even include fruit.
All jam and jelly have sugar on the nutrient label since fruit and fruit juice are naturally sweet, but some have more added sugars, artificial sweeteners, and flavors that can start to add up. The first ingredient in your jam should be fruit, and the first ingredient in your jelly should be fruit juice. (That's the difference between the two). We included all types of fruit preserves and jellies in our list of the healthiest jams and jellies to buy at the grocery store, and a few you may want to limit or avoid.
How we chose the healthiest jams and jellies
- Lower added sugars: Sugar is added to most jams and jellies to help with stabilization, preservation, and overall flavor. While you don't need to avoid all added sugars, choosing jams and jellies with lower amounts is ideal. Whether the sugar comes from table sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup, too much can harm your health. Most of our healthiest jams and jellies have less than 6 grams of added sugar per serving.
- Simple ingredients: A fruit spread is best when it's just that—fruit! We chose jams and jellies that have simple ingredients like fruit, pectin, sugar, or in some cases, natural sweeteners, and we avoided extra unnecessary ingredients like artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colors.
- Delicious flavors: The serving size of jam and jelly is small, usually just a tablespoon. When the flavor is intense and concentrated, that's all you need! We chose jams and jellies that use real fruit and fruit juices to create a variety of concentrated and flavorful fruit spreads so you can easily stick to the serving size without feeling deprived.
