When fig trees start bearing fruit, you end up with a LOT of fresh figs all at once. Making fresh fig jam is one of the best ways to preserve this sweet summer bounty to enjoy all year long. This fig jam recipe is classic, easy, and the perfect way to preserve figs.

Jar of homemade fig jam surrounded by fresh figs, some cut in half, with text overlay reading "How to Make Fig Jam."

The house we bought came with a mature fig tree! And our neighbors have several fig trees! This means that in the summertime, over about a two week period, we have a LOT of fresh figs available to use. Fig season is pretty brief, but prolific. I eat as many fresh figs as I can. At breakfast, on a cheese board, sliced to make fig, mascarpone, and prosciutto crostini--you name it, I've tried it (and loved it). But ripe figs don't last long, and making homemade jam is one of the easiest ways to preserve lots of figs when they're ready.

Bowl of fresh figs and lemons on a white wooden table.

Ingredients for Fig Jam:

This easy fig jam recipe is done by weight, so you'll need a kitchen scale. But the good thing is, it doesn't matter how many or how few figs you have--you can make this jam with whatever quantities you happen to have! The amount of sugar you need is just half the weight of however much fruit you have.

2 parts sliced figs (by weight)
1 part sugar (by weight)
1 lemon per each pound of fresh figs

You don't need commercial pectin to make this homemade fig jam recipe. Figs aren't especially high in pectin, but they do have a very high sugar content, and that paired with the natural pectin in the lemon juice and lemon zest used in the recipe makes this jam set beautifully without having to buy any special ingredients.

lemon being zested to make fresh fig jam.

Start by slicing the stems off of your figs. The skins are so soft that there's no need to peel the figs. Weigh to figure out how much you have. For our example, we'll say we have two pounds of fresh figs. You can use any kind of figs for this recipe. I don't even know the kind I have growing in our front garden!

Weigh out one pound of sugar (one part to the two parts of fruit).

Zest and juice one medium lemon for each pound of fresh figs you're turning into these fig preserves.

Lemon being juiced to make fresh fig jam.

The lemon juice and lemon zest has some natural pectin, and with the high sugar content of the fresh figs, helps the fig jam to set. The acidity from the lemon juice also helps the balance the sweetness of the fresh figs, and makes the fig spread safer for canning and preservation at room temperature.

Fresh figs being sliced in quarters and put in a saucepan to make homemade fig jam.

Slice the figs into quarters. You can blend them up in a food processor, immersion blender, or use a potato masher to mash the fruit into smaller pieces if you want a smoother spread, but the pieces of fig break down a lot while it's cooking and I don't bother.

Fresh figs in a saucepan ready to make fresh fig jam.

Place the quartered figs, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar in a large saucepan. I will note that I over-filled this saucepan, and ended up dividing it into two pots to cook. It does bubble up as it boils and threatened to boil over! But it looked so pretty in this picture I left it, even though I knew I was going to have to adjust the volume for cooking. Sorry for being visually misleading.

Some recipes call for a little extra water, but I find that fresh figs have plenty of water on their own. Sugar is hygroscopic, so when you mix in the sugar, it will draw out the liquid and you won't need to add any additional water.

Fig jam cooking on the stovetop with a candy thermometer in the pot to measure the temperature.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches the jam-set stage (220 Fahrenheit, or 105 Celsius) on a candy thermometer. You can also use the time-honored tradition of putting a plate in the freezer, and dropping a bit of jam on the cold plate to check if it has reached the setting temperature. If you don't have a candy thermometer, check out my blackberry jam recipe for a hack that works even better than a cold plate. But I like the absolute reliability of cooking the jam to what I know is the perfect temperature using a thermometer. I think it's the easiest way to get reliable results.

Jar of homemade fig jam surrounded by fresh figs, both whole and cut in half.

When the fig jam comes to temperature, ladle into sterile canning jars. Leave a half-inch of headspace in the clean jars and clean any drips on the edge of the jars with a clean rag dipped in vinegar. Place the two-part lid on and tighten the ring with your fingertips. I use the easy (and more risky) method for sealing my jam and creating the vacuum, and turn the filled jars upside down while they're still freshly-filled and piping hot. So far, I've never had a jar fail to create a vacuum and seal properly, but I generally make small batches of jams that I'm not trying to preserve for long times at room temperature.

You can use the jam immediately (well--as soon as it cools!). You can place the jam in your freezer to store it. Or you can prepare the jam for longer storage by water-bathing. Follow the instructions of the experts at Ball Canning for details on water bath canning your jams. If you're making a bunch, be safe, and do it properly by doing a proper water-bath canning for your jars of fig jam.

Butter knife coated in homemade fig jam resting on top of a jar full of fig jam, surrounded by fresh figs.

How do you use fig spread? So many ways! It pairs beautifully with so many kinds of cheese (goat cheese is my favorite) and is the perfect accompaniment for a charcuterie board or cheese plate. Fig, Brie, and apple crostini might be my favorite combo--an easy fancy party appetizer or quick dinner! It's perfect for making homemade fig bars (like homemade fig newtons, only better). How do you like to use fig jam?

Printable Fig Jam Recipe:

Want a one page, printable, PDF version of this easy fig jam recipe? Click on the image below to download a PDF to your device or print out the recipe (including a picture) on one page.