Homemade Watermelon Rind Jam recipe a delicious jam made with watermelon rind, apple, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. So easy to make and it comes together without pectin! After eating the juicy red watermelon pulp, use the peeled rind to make this sweet, vanilla-flavored jam.
As summer turns to fall for us in Florida in the next few months, we will be exploring other recipes that use up waste to make some creative recipes. It's a project we have wanted to share here for a while and will do so little by little.
I had come across this recipe in Sale e Pepe magazine this summer in Italy. They called it Confettura di Bucce di Anguria (Watermelon Rind Jam). Their recipe used double the amount of watermelon rind and even more than double the amount of sugar. I followed pretty much their same process, although they give detailed instructions on how to store it for up to one year.
Our instructions are to store it in the fridge. Also, their recipe states it makes 4 250 ML jars. Ours made one small (8 oz) Ball jar. Since we really loved this jam, next time we will double the recipe to make more!! One of the ways we used it was to mix it with a spicy pepper jam and served it on crackers with different cheeses and olives for a perfect aperitivo!
What ingredients are in watermelon rind jam?
- watermelon rind
- apple
- sugar
- lemon
- vanilla extract
Is watermelon a fruit or vegetable?
Here is some news for you in case you were wondering: Watermelon is a fruit that grows from a seed. It's also a vegetable as it is a part of the pumpkin family. Watermelon is also harvested in fields like other vegetables!
How do you make homemade watermelon rind jam?
This is a really easy and delicious jam recipe. You don't even need pectin and it just goes in the fridge when it's ready.
Similar to the prep for our easy pickled watermelon rind: The first step is to peel off the tough green skin, chop up the white remains with some of the pink still on it. Next step is to add this to a large sauce pan with apple pieces, sugar, lemon juice and a little bit of vanilla. It all cooks down to a sticky and lovely mixture.
You could even leave it as it is in the sticky and delicious pieces or with an emulsifier carefully blend it all to a jam (you could also carefully add it to a blender and blend to a jam). It's safest to allow the mixture to completely cool down before emulsifying.
I, of course, did not have the patience to wait. I decided to emulsify while it was still too hot and I will warn you, it will burn you if it splatters on your hands. It's best to wait until it completely cools down.
The first step is to cut the watermelon rind pieces.
Next cut the apple into small pieces and you add them to a large saucepan with sugar, watermelon, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Let it come to a boil and you lower the heat to a simmer and stir constantly. It all comes together without pectin (the apple provides natural pectin)! Such an easy jam to make and it is just delicious!
The next time I make this I will cut smaller pieces and not even bother to emulsify it. I think it would be just perfect with the larger pieces and it's also so pretty!! A perfect jam to spread on toast or to have even with plain yogurt (I love coconut yogurt!).
We give instructions to store this jam in the refrigerator. We don't have a truly cool room where we could store things for a many months. We just love to make jams and can! We store most of what we can in the refrigerator. For more detailed info on canning instructions or directions, follow the USDA guidelines.
Some other easy summer recipes to enjoy:
Originally published August 2019 and updated on July 2021
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Your comments mean the world to me….and I really SMILE when I read them. Thank you so much! XX
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Watermelon Rind Jam
Ingredients
- 4 cups watermelon rind cut into small pieces
- 1 large apple peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup sugar
- juice of one lemon *use 2 lemons if doubling recipe
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- The first step is to peel off the tough green skin, chop up the white remains with some of the pink still on it.
- In a stainless steel saucepan (or Dutch oven), add the rinds, apple pieces, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Lower heat and stir until the rind is tender and translucent (could take up 60-120 minutes…mine took about 1 hour).
- When it is translucent, remove from heat. Let cool down and carefully emulsify.
- Carefully spoon the jam into sterilized jars. Apply lids jars.
- Wipe rims with a clean, damp towel and screw lids on securely but not too tightly.
- Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove jars using tongs. Use potholders to tighten the lids. Place jars on a rack upside-down and let them cool. When they’ve cooled down, store them in the refrigerator. The jam should keep unopened for several months.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
I've had watermelon rind pickles but not watermelon rind jam! This was sweet and delicious and I loved it. Great recipe!
My kids have been going through lots of watermelon this summer, and I hate throwing out all of that rind! This was such a tasty way to use it up, thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much for the recipe, I made this jam when I was young in Ecuador and I was thinking of doing again, because it is delicious. Love the recipe
Hi Roger-Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the watermelon rind jam recipe. ENJOY!
yummy!
HI Carlyn-Thank you for taking the time to let me know you like the watermelon rind jam...it is super yummy!!
cam I add the rind to my crockpot and cook over night on low? I have two large watermellons to use and I want to kinda set it and go and can it tomorrow
Hi Misty-Be sure to cook the diced watermelon rind pieces. Place the diced watermelon rind in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the rind pieces are tender. Drain and transfer to the slow cooker. Continue on to cook on low and stir it occasionally while it's cooking. It will be ready when the jam thickens and the rinds should become translucent.Hope that helps!
I wonder if 2 cinnamon sticks to be removed after the rinds turn translucent would give it an extra yummy taste!
Hi Bev-sure, why not! If you love the cinnamon flavor, go ahead and add. ENJOY!
Hi my name is Donna, I made this for the first time last year 2022. I really enjoyed it. I only made a small amount, and wanted more lol. So I brought a really good watermelon this time and decided to give it a try again. I'll let you know how it came out. Thanks for the recipe. ☺
Hi Donna-That is wonderful! Happy you are making it again this year. ENJOY!
I cooked mine in my large crockpot for several hours. I did use my emulsifier and it turned out well though a sauce consistency. I made a double batch and ended up canning 7 4-oz jelly jars.
Hi Helen-It's nice to find out you used your Crockpot to make the watermelon rind jam. I have to try mine next like that. It may thicken up. Mine was very thick (I did not emulsify). Thank you for taking the time to let me know. ENJOY!
Can I blend my fruit before cooking it down?
It's safer to blend when it cools a little.
Hi Lora,
I made 4x the recipe and got 6 pints and water bath canned them. I did reduce the Sugar by 1/2 cup. It took a little longer to thicken bc of the volume but it tastes delicious and made the house smell amazing! Mine turned out more like an apple butter color/texture probably bc I didn't have much melon left on the rind. I'm going to make it again and leave more melon next time to see if I can get a more fruity jam color and texture. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Carol
Thank you for letting me know how much it yielded with that amount and that you reduced sugar a bit! Yes, it will look more pink if you if leave a little more fruit on the rind.I hope you enjoy it all winter long!
I made this using the rind of half of a watermelon yielding a stock pot of 10 cups of diced rind. Got 8 jars of jelly!. After cutting off the green peel, the rind was very easy to dice. After 2 hours on the stove and not thickening, I added 3 Tbs of corn starch to thicken. I used 2 pears instead of apples. I had kept the lid on the pot (unknowingly) preventing the moisture from escaping. The corn starch solved it and so it actually produced more volume because it couldn’t cook down. Very delicious jelly. I lightly puréed before canning keeping half of the pieces in tact for texture. Will make again and again each summer. Thank you!
Hi Jennifer-Thank you for letting me know how many jars you yielded and for the corn starch tip. Also, great to know you used pears instead of apples!Really happy you enjoyed the recipe and made it your way!
I’m going to make this right now. It sounds like a wonderful recipe. Thank you.
Hi Evelyn-Thanks for taking the time to leave a kind comment...you're going to LOVE it!
Love this recipe! I used coconut sugar and 2 tablespoons of honey and it turned out delicious!
I got 4 1/2 - 8 oz jars. I had my rinds & apples cut really small. I didn't emulsify so it was more of a preserve than jam. I also didn't have large apples so I used 6 small apples. That may be why I got more "jam". My apples were really sweet so I could have used less sugar. But the results were delicious! The vanilla really added a nice flavor. Oh, and I water bath canned mine.
This would be a great filling for sweet rolls!
Hi -That sounds absolutely perfect to have it as a preserve. Really great idea to use it as a filling for sweet rolls! You could use this dough if you wanted to try it: https://www.savoringitaly.com/blackberry-buns-twelveloaves/
Let me know if you do! Thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment.
Can't wait to try this! Will let you know how it turns out!
hi Juliet-GREAT...let me know how you like it! XX
I hesitantly tried this (hearing about using the rind and not composting it) and the jam was so good! Even my picky husband liked it!
I might just back off on the sugar some next time- that would be my only suggestion.
Thanks for sharing this!
Hi Really happy you enjoyed it...please let me know if you decrease the sugar next time, and how it turns out!! XX
If I water bath then, why do they have to be stored in the fridge?
If you water bath them, you don't have to store in the fridge. We opened ours right away and stored in the fridge.
Where did you buy your pot you cooked the watermelon rinds in. I am in the process of making some now but I love your pot.
Hi Jane-I'm really not sure where it's from! My mom got it for me a long time ago...it's a Wearever 3 quart pot (hope that helps!). XX
Thank You
I'm making this today. But I don't have real lemons, I have bottle of real lemon juice. Is this ok? If so, how much? Thank you. My daddy said his mom used to make it. But we couldn't find her recipe
Hi Christina-If you use a high quality bottled lemon juice, it should turn out fine. One regular-sized lemon contains about 2-3 tablespoons of juice. So you could try 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. Hope that helps!