This is a delicious, easy-to-make sweet Guava Jam, made with only three ingredients. This homemade jam is great over a toast. Quick & Easy jam recipe that will be enjoyed by everyone at home.
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What is Guava?
Guavas, or “Guayabas”, are fruits from a tropical tree originating in México and Central America. Guavas are oval in shape with light green or yellow skin and contain edible seeds. What’s more, guava leaves are used as an herbal tea and the leaf extract as a supplement.
Where to find Guavas
Some years ago, finding guavas at local supermarkets was nothing short of a miracle. But nowadays you can find guavas not only in Asian or Latin markets but also at almost any local grocery store. For example, Walmart carries them in a one-pound plastic container. This fruit is aromatic, full of flavor and amazingly rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, which is a great excuse to indulge yourself in this Guava Jam!
When to buy guavas
This delicious sweet and aromatic fruit is available from late October to early March. Guavas sold here in the United States are usually brought from México, and other tropical countries, although they are also grown in Florida and the South Coastal California area.
How to choose guavas?
A guavas skin is very delicate and it can easily blemish, choose the ones that are blemish-free and look firm but slightly soft to the touch. Guavas ripen very quickly and need to be consumed promptly or use in a recipe as soon as they are ripe.
In case they are not ripe when you bring them home from the market, place them in a bowl and let them stay on your kitchen countertop for a couple of days. They will be sweeter and aromatic as they ripen.
How does a Guava taste like?
If you have never tried a Guava, their flavor is a cross between a pear and a strawberry, with a soft creamy texture when they are ripe. There are three main types of guavas, light green, almost yellow, pink, and red.
Recipes using guavas
Guavas can be used for sweet and savory dishes, but mainly in sweet treats, like the following recipes:
You can also eat them raw as a snack or in salads.
You can add a touch of cinnamon to this recipe, either by simmering a cinnamon stick when you cook the guavas or by adding half of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Just enough to give it a little kick of spiciness to the jam.
This recipe is perfect to double or triple the ingredients to make enough to give as a gift to your friends, family, coworkers or neighbors. Don’t forget to have your jars ready to fill with the hot jam!
If you had never made jams, let me tell you that this is very easy to make the recipe. You will be surprised at how simple it is, and soon you will be making more batches of Guava Jam.
My favorite way to enjoy this Guava Jam is on a toast with cream cheese or goat cheese with a cup of hot coffee, a delicious combination in these cold winter mornings!
How to make Guava Jam
DIRECTIONS:
- Place guavas in a medium-size saucepan and cover with the water. Turn heat to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes. The guavas will look soft.
- Remove the seeds using a spoon to scoop them out.
- Place guavas, sugar, and 1 cup of the cooking water in your blender. Process until it looks like a fine pure.
- Return the guava mix to the saucepan and cook again in low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. The jam will be ready when you can see the bottom of the saucepan while stirring the jam.
- Pour the hot jam immediately into clean jars, close the lids tightly and place on your kitchen counter covered with a kitchen napkin or towel.
- After a couple of hours, you will hear a pop sound, is the sound of the lids indicating that the jars are sealed. Wait until they are completely cool and store in your pantry for up to a year. Once you open a jar of your sweet and delicious jam, store in the fridge.
If you enjoy making homemade Jams and Mermelade, check this Easy Orange Marmalade by Masala Herb Blog.
📖 Recipe
Guava Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. guavas cut in half
- 4 cups water
- 1-½ cup sugar
Instructions
- Place guavas in a medium-size saucepan and cover with the water. Turn heat to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes. The guavas will look soft.
- Remove the seeds using a spoon to scoop them out.
- Place guavas, sugar, and 1 cup of the cooking water in your blender. Process until it looks like a fine pure. Remove the rest of the liquid from the saucepan, this liquid can be used to make tea if you want.
- Return the guava mix to the saucepan and cook again in low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. The jam will be ready when you can see the bottom of the saucepan while stirring the jam.
- Pour the hot jam immediately into clean jars, close the lids tightly and place on your kitchen counter covered with a kitchen napkin or towel.
- After a couple of hours, you will hear a pop sound, which is the sound of the lids indicating that the jars are sealed. Wait until they are completely cool and store in your pantry for up to a year. Once you open a jar of your sweet and delicious jam, store in the fridge.
Notes
Guavas are rich in pectin that makes this fruit perfect to make jam and jellies.
A hint of cinnamon can be added to this recipe by adding a cinnamon stick to the saucepan while cooking the guavas; remove it before making the guava puree.
Sheila Nolan
Can you leave the seeds in as they are edible?
Mely Martínez
Hello Sheila,
yes, you can.
Karen
Really good and makes the whole house smell amazing!
Rob
Easy recipe. Turned our a little bitter and grainey. Any suggestions?
Mely Martínez
Hello Rob,
That sounds like the guavas were not ripe enough.
DIANE TAYLOR
I have a Guava tree (now, just appeared about 2 years ago) so I am going to try your recipe BUT I don't have a scale so how many Guavas is one pound? Thank you for your help
Mely Martínez
Hello Diane,
That will depend on what type of guavas you use. Some are bigger than others.
Sandra
Jam turned out delicious, I’m currently working on a second batch. With that said, it’s taken much longer than indicated on the recipe, is it due to using the pink guavas?
Mely Martínez
Hello Sandra,
I wish I have an answer for that. But sometimes, some guavas release a little more of their own juices than others. for example, I just bought 2 pounds of small yellow guavas last week, and they were very dry. I ended up adding more water to get a good consistency.
Marissa
Great recipe and super easy!
Conni
I’m not sure what happened…
It mentioned the jam is done when you can see the bottom of the saucepan. I never did see the bottom. I cooked it for over 30 minutes. Any suggestions what happened? And of course it didn’t jell.
Mely Martínez
Hello Conni, how much water did you add to the final mixture?
Debra Wood
Can I freeze the jam? Thank you.
Mely Martínez
Hello Debra,
I'm not sure if it will affect the texture of it. I usually store the already open jar in the fridge, and it lasts for months. The ones I haven't use, I store them in the pantry.
Delilah Dura
This was my first time making any kind of jam.I don't like jam too sweet so I lessened the sugar I think it turned out quite fine considering the fact that the food I can cook can be counted on my fingers. The recipe was really easy. Thank you
Debra Wood
I made this jam today. I didn't have actual canning jelly jars but used jars that hopefully will seal (they came with horseradish sauce) so if they don't seal I'll keep them in fridge. I only used 1/2 cup sugar, I thought 1 1/2 cups was way too much. Love this recipe, easy! We live in Morelos & have 2 guava (here pronounced "guaba") trees across the street. Delicious. Thank you for posting this recipe!! VIVA MEXICO!! ❤️❤️
Paulguad
Typical good recipe. HOWEVER, it seems criminal to discard the seeds since the pulp around them is so intensely delicious. Cook them well and pass through a strainer to remove the seeds but get the benefit of the flavour.
Linda M. Conley
Delicious. First time I try guava. I like the smell of guava. Thank you for the easy recipe. Mine only took 15 minutes on low.
Mely Martínez
Hello Linda,
SO glad to know you like this recipe for Guava Jam. There are other recipes using Guavas in the blog, I hope you try them.