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This homemade easy fig jam with orange and lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, vanilla, and a splash of sherry is bright, rich, and flavorful. No need to fuss with peeling or scooping seeds, just trim the stems, give the figs a quick chop, and let them gently simmer in citrus, sugar, and vanilla. In less than an hour, you’ll have a luscious fig jam that’s truly better than any store bought version.

Chunky fig jam in a bowl with a spoon and sliced fig.

Key Ingredients
How to Make Fig Jam
When is homemade jam set?
To sterilize or not?
Ways to Enjoy Fresh Fig Jam
Easy Fig Jam Recipe

Key Ingredients

Fresh Figs, either purple or green that are ripe or even slightly overripe are best for making jam.
Test Note: Figs are often low in natural pectin, so adding lemon juice to the mixture helps the jam set without adding additional pectin.
Granulated Sugar adds sweetness and structure to the jam, as it heats it works to thicken the fruit mixture as it figs breaks down into a jammy consistency.
Test Note: As a general rule, I like to weigh the fruit first and then add sugar equal to about half its weight when making jam. Since figs are naturally quite sweet on their own, this recipe uses a touch less than half the amount of sugar.
Orange & Citrus Zest blend nicely with the figs for a more summer flavored fruit jam.
Test Note: Leave out the citrus zest and mix in a teaspoon or two of cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves for a fall forward fig jam.
Fresh Ginger adds a bit of warmth and zing.
Lemon Juice reacts with the sugar to breakdown the fruit and release its pectin for thickening and preserving the jam.
Water helps to create a simmering liquid for the figs to breakdown, while also balancing out the richness of the fruit.
Vanilla Bean Paste or a scraped vanilla bean to enhance the overall flavor profile.
Sherry with its caramel and dried fruit notes creates a more rounded and layered jam.
Test Note: Mix it in early with the sugar to cook off the alcohol.

Sliced purple figs with bright pink centers layered on top of each other to cover a cuttingboard.

How to Make Fig Jam

Large cooking pot filled with sliced figs.

Place fig quarters or 1/2-inch chunks into a large pot with sugar to macerate for about 20 minutes.

Large pot filled with figs and sugar boiling.

Add the citrus zest, lemon juice, water, vanilla, ginger, and sherry. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25-30 minutes until thickened.

Fig jam spread onto a cold plate with a line through it to test for doneness.

Once jam thickens, spoon a small amount onto a frozen plate and swipe your finger through it. If the jam runs back together, cook for another 3 minutes and test again. If it stay separate and starts to wrinkle, then it’s ready.

If jam is ready, remove the pot from heat. Either leave the texture chunky or carefully blend it a bit with an immersion blender to smooth. Careful not to splatter any hot jam on yourself. Spoon hot jam into prepared jars, cover tightly with lid and let cool.

When is homemade jam set?

There’s a couple methods for determining whether or not your jam is ready. Most importantly, stay close to the pot and monitor the jam with an occasional stir.

The frozen plate test: Set a plate in the freezer before you begin making the jam. When the jam has thickened, spoon a little onto the cold plate. Draw a line through the jam with your finger, if its runs back together cook for 3 minutes and test again. If it stays separated and begins to set, it’s good to go!
Thermometer: Place a candy thermometer into the hot jam, when it reads around 218-220ºF (103-104ºC) remove it from the heat. However, this method sometimes lies to me. I’ve used a few thermometers in the past that told me the jam wasn’t ready and I ended up over cooking it. Trust your senses instead, if the jam looks thick and separates on a cold plate you’ll preserve the fruity flavors by not cooking it into a gel.

Slice of bread covered in fig jam on a cutting board next to a jar of fig jam and a cup of coffee.

To sterilize or not?

For small batches like this, I usually don’t worry about the full sterilization canning method. The jam disappears quickly, between sharing with friends and eating it on toast every morning, it rarely lasts long enough to need a long shelf life. I just use the inversion method and keep mine in the fridge.

Use clean heat proof, glass jars made for canning. I have a bunch of leftover Bonne-Maman jars set aside that work perfectly.

If you’re making just a couple jars that will be eaten within the next week or so, I wouldn’t stress about intense sterilization. Just spoon the jam into the clean jars, let it cool and refrigerate.
Inversion Method: After washing jars and lids on high in the dishwasher, fill them to the top with hot jam. Tightly close the canning lid and turn the jars upside down until cool. This method creates a contraction to seal the lid and the hot jam sterilizes any air left in the jar. Store at room temperature until opened. Jam should last several months.
Oven method: Place the jars and lids (as long as there’s no rubber seal) on a baking sheet and heat at 180°C/350°F for 10–15 minutes.
Dishwasher method: If your jars have rubber seals, run the jars, lids, and seals through a hot dishwasher cycle—the heat will do the sterilizing for you.
Consult the National Center for Home Food Preservation for long term sterilization storage.

Ways to Enjoy Fresh Fig Jam

After you’ve made a batch I suggest treating yourself to a smear of fig jam on some fresh bread. Try baking my Dutch Oven Garlic and Herb Bread, cover a slice with a layer of mascarpone and top generously with fig jam. I love the playfulness of the bold figs with the herbs.

Or if you’d rather have plain bread maybe Classic Sandwich Bread or my personal favorite recipe for homemade bread, Artisan Country Bread may tickle your fancy.

Other suggestions for using your Fresh Fig Jam: