16 Sweet and Savory Jam Recipes (2024)

Jam is one of our favorite spreads, and it's oh so versatile — from simple seasonal fruit and sugar to sweet-and-meaty bacon jam. Not only is it heavenly on warm toast in the morning, but it also pairs beautifully with cheese and adds a punch of flavor to cookies and other desserts. In this collection, we call out some of our favorite jam recipes, from triple ginger nectarine jam to pear jam with green cardamom to savory bacon jam, a dynamite addition to grilled cheese and crostini. Tempted? Read on for more jelly, marmalade, and jam recipes we love.

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Strawberry-Vanilla-Rhubarb Jam

This easy homemade jam replicates the classic sweet-tart pie filling of rhubarb and strawberries with an extra boost of flavor and aroma from grated orange zest and real vanilla beans. To amp up that vanilla, leave the halved pod in the jam overnight. Serve the jam on buttery biscuits or drizzle it over sundaes.

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Valencia Orange Marmalade

This delicious marmalade takes three days to make, but the end result is worth it: a batch of perfectly balanced sweet, bitter, and tart marmalade.

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Tamarind-Chile Jam

"Move over tomato ketchup, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise," says cookbook author and recipe developer Lara Lee. "There's a new condiment-that-goes-with-everything in town!" Meet Tamarind-Chile Jam, a one-pot wonder that is sweet, spicy, sour, sharp, tangy, and pungent all at once.

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Carrot Cake Marmalade with Yogurt and Fresh Fruit

At Molly's Rise and Shine in New Orleans, diners rave about the yogurt bowl topped with sunny roasted carrot marmalade. This take on chef Mason Hereford's marmalade gets big flavor from stewing carrots and apple with cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise for a warmly spiced result.

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Pesto and Cheese-Stuffed Brioche Scrolls with Bacon-Tomato Jam

These savory cousins to cinnamon rolls feature buttery brioche scrolls filled with nutty pesto and salty Asiago cheese. After baking, top the still-warm scrolls with a dollop of homemade tomato-bacon jam.The jam will melt over the warm scrolls, adding a touch of smoky, syrupy sweetness that's balanced by the acid from the cherry tomatoes.

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Triple Ginger Nectarine Jam

Ernest Miller uses three types of ginger ⁠— dried, candied, and fresh ⁠— to add the deepest flavor to this nectarine jam.

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Blue-Barb Jam

Instead of strawberries, fresh blueberries are paired with rhubarb in this incredibly simple and delicious sweet-tart jam from chef Jessica Koslow of Sqirl in Los Angeles.

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Cherry and Cream Cheese Kolaches

For the filling in these kolaches, a quick jam of summer's fresh sweet cherries is dolloped over lemon-scented cream cheese.

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Pear Jam with Green Cardamom

Cookbook author Rachel Saunders has developed hundreds of recipes over the years simply by flavoring her jams with different herbs and spices. To vary the pear jam here, for example, add a split vanilla bean or a cinnamon stick in place of the cardamom.

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Onion Jam and Goat Cheese Rugelach

These crescent-shaped cookies are typically layered with sweet jam and chopped nuts and topped with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, but the dough makes a surprisingly compatible home for savory fillings. Here, we spread them with a thick homemade onion jam flavored with balsamic vinegar, sumac, and coriander.

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Fig Jam

A variation of this jam calls for substituting white port for a portion of the water and adding a sprig of rosemary.

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Grilled Ham and Cheese with Strawberry-Red Wine Jam

The secret to burger chef Chris Kronner's delectable sandwiches is his Pinot Noir-spiked jam. Kronner got the idea when he was helping Tartine's Elisabeth Prueitt test jam recipes while they drank wine.

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Doughnut Holes with Raspberry Jam

Chef Ginevra Iverson serves her light, crisp, sugared doughnut holes with sweet-tart raspberry jam.

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Bacon Jam

Brightened by apple cider vinegar and tomatoes, our bacon jam adds sweet, tart, and smoky flavors to countless dishes. We like this condiment spread on toast and served with an egg, layered into a grilled cheese sandwich, or spooned on goat cheese-topped crostini.

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Carrot Jam

This recipe is adapted fromPutting Food By,one of food journalist Eugenia Bone's favorite preserving books. Try spooning some of the jam on top of ricotta as an hors d'oeuvre — unexpected and delicious.

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Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Food writer Emily Kaiser Thelin devised this simple, fail-safe recipe while living in Oakland, California, with two excessively productive Meyer lemon trees. Likely a cross between an orange and a lemon, the Meyer lemon gives this sweet-tart marmalade a bright citrus flavor.

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