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.
Lee
Hu, NZ here. Made with red guava, added 2 X finely diced preserved ginger for extra kick. I sieves my guavas to get seeds out. (Like grape jam) Beautiful colour. Thanks for sharing.
Mely Martínez
Hello Lee,
I love the idea of using red guavas!
Maria A Garcia
Hello. I am a bit confused because in your instructions thou say to use 1 cup of guava water but in the actual recipe you stated 4 cups.
Mely Martínez
Hello Maria,
The four cups of water are only to cook the guavas.
Patricia Helberg
Hi,
I’m confused, do I use the skins and remove the seeds? Or just use the inside pulp of the fruit?
Thanks
Patty
Mely Martínez
Hello Patricia,
I have always made the jam as I wrote the recipe above.
I'm not sure if the reader will come back and answer your question.
Caroline
Delicious and super easy! Thanks for sharing.
Prajna
I've been cooking this for an hour and it's still the consistency of applesauce! I followed all the directions. Help!
Mely Martínez
Hello Prajna,
You will need to keep simmering. I have found that some types of guavas from other countries are more juice.
Sarai L.
Thank you for the easy Guava Jam recipe. My husband came back from the market with 3 pounds of pink guavas, I didn’t know what to do and search online for a recipe. It came out really good.
Drew
Aloha Mely from Hawaii. I see you kept the skin on the guavas in your recipe. Would the jam have the same consistency if you were to remove the skin? Or is that where the natural pectin is? I have an Indonesian white guava in my yard, and I can’t eat them fast enough. Mahalo y Gracias!
Mely Martínez
Hello Drew,
I haven't tried making it without the skins. I wish, I knew if the pectin is on the skins, but is you want you can add 1/2 tbsp of pectin to be on the safe side.
Ness
If I double the amount of fruit do I double the amount of water
Mely Martínez
Hello Ness,
Yes, if you want the texture to be more watery maybe just add a 50% more.
Sister Su
In most fruits with good pectin levels such as apple, pear, quince, citrus and guava, most of the pectin is found in or just under the skin as well as in the seeds. This is one of the reasons it helps to keep seeds in the fruit at least during the first cooking. If reading old jam, jelly and marmalade recipes, you sometimes see seeds collected and boiled with the fruit but in a separate small bag such as a spice bag. This is one way pectin could be increased and the end product made thicker, without having to put it through a sieve and remove seeds later.
Annie
Would this work as a filling for a vanilla cake? Like in between layers?
Mely Martínez
Hello Annie,
Yes, it can be a great filling for your vanilla cake.
RUQAYYA JABIN
I tried this super easy recipe and it turned out super delectable 😋 Loved guava jam. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Beth
How long will the jam last in the refrigerator? I want to make it ahead of time and give it as a gift, but I'm not using "canning lids".
Mely Martínez
Hello Beth,
Mine usually last 3 up to 4 months in the fridge.
Mary
Hi Mely,
This recipe is so easy to follow and the jam is simply delectable. My kids love it on their toast. Truly amazing!!
I’m on my second batch 🙂
I just have one question. I don’t remember my first batch of jam popping the lid. Do you think it’s because it didn’t fill the jar completely?? I used a larger mason jar but the jam was not enough to fill the container to the top. Is this necessary? We finished the jam inna month so it definitely did not go bad. It was a hit in my house. I’m making more for family!
Thank you for sharing your recipe,
Mary
Mely Martínez
Hello, Mary,
I had that happening to me before with some leftover jam in a big jar. It didn't get spoil at all.
Thank you for trying the recipe.
Cindy Koruschak
Can I use a different sweetener than white sugar, like stevia. Xylitol or erythritol and it still turn out?
Thank you
Mely Martínez
Hello Cindy,
I have never tried making it with sugar substitutes. If you try it please let us know the results.
Christine
You scoop 1cup of the 4 cups you cooked the guavas in to help make the puree in the blender. Then you pour it all back into the pot and cook it down more
Mely Martínez
You will only use one cup of the cooking water, the rest of the cooking water can be used to make a tea or to give flavor to atole. But you are only using one cup on step four.
Debra Wood
I live in Mexico & can't find pectin or Sure Jell. Is pectin the same word in Spanish? My translator doesn't work. Can I use something else? Love this recipe!
Mely Martínez
Hello Debra,
This recipe doesn't need pectic. This recipe doesn't need pectin, Guavas have a good amount of pectin.
Debra Wood
Thank you so much. However if I want to make jam with a different fruit, do you know the word for pectin in Spanish? Today is the 4th time I've used your recipe, it is fabulous & so easy!
Mely Martínez
EN español es "pectina"
Nasima Karim
My mother used to make guava jelly & jam without using pectin, back in Bangladesh. I had some ideas about how to make it. I just finished making it with white color ripe guavas. The recipe worked really well, though I had to stir it longer to bring the desired consistency, I poured it hot in a glass jar & closed the lid, covered the jar with a towel. Not even one hour waiting to hear the popping sound. Thanks for sharing such an easy recipe.
Annette Iturbe
Good Morning Mely, years ago my mother in law brought a white Mexican Guava home to California from Jungapeo, we now have two wonderful trees that give enough fruit to make gallons and gallons of jam and I cannot wait to try your recipe. I would like to freeze them so I don’t lose so many, do I need to Blanche? Cut the ends first? Or are they not a good freezing fruit.
Thank You and have a great day. Annette
Mely Martínez
Hello Annette,
If you want to make fruit jam with them, the fruit jam will last for months in the jars. I don't have experience freezing guavas, but I have seen them at the Latin store sold frozen cut in half, seeds removed.
Doreen Scully
Just made guava jam with yellow ones followed your recipe but added half tsp of chilli powder and 1oz of crystalized ginger which I chopped up very finely yummy. This is my second batch in the last 2 weeks Had very positive remarks from family Thanks
Mely Martínez
Hello Doreen,
Love the additions, especially the ginger.
AshleyE
Oh my stars! I searched for several days to find the best recipe for Guava jam. And this is IT! I just finished making a batch and I can’t stop eating it! First thing I did was make toast with a little cream cheese and then slathered this all over it! I can’t wait to make more!! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Mely Martínez
Hello Ashley,
Yes, this guava jam on a toast with cream cheese is delish! Thank you for visiting!
Melissa
This is so lovely! The recipe was easy to follow and the jam is just wonderful - it filled my whole house with the most beautiful fragrance while it was cooking, too!
Mely Martínez
Hello Melissa,
Yes, the aroma is an added bonus! Thank you for trying the Guava Jam Recipe.
A
It worked very well however I missed the lemony sour Flavour from previous recipes I have used. Will experiment with adding lemon juice
sha
Hello could I use guava paste instead of fresh guava
Mely Martínez
Hello Sha,
No, you cannot do that.
Akiko
Thank you so much for this recipe! My neighbor gave me so many guavas and my family and I didn't want to eat them raw (the seeds are too annoying...). The recipe was easy to follow and the jam is tasty.
Irene
I made this with about 3/4 lb guavas and 2/3 cup sugar instead. Came out great!
Diane
Easy and delicious! We just moved into a house with a large guava tree and other than smoothies I didn’t know what to do with all the fruit. My husband and I thought you could also use this recipe before the second cooking as a delicious marinade and glaze for chicken or pork tenderloin.
Mely Martínez
Hello Diane,
Yes, it can be used to cook pork or chicken. Also, to make a warm drink we call Atole. There are other recipes using Guavas here on the website.
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.
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.
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!! ❤️❤️
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
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.
Marissa
Great recipe and super easy!
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.
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.