The 12 Best Substitutes For Apricot Jam

If your recipe calls for apricot jam, but you find yourself without any, worry not! We’ve got you covered. Keep reading to discover twelve excellent alternatives to apricot jam that can save the day.

What is Apricot Jam?

Making apricot jam is easy. It lends the fresh taste of summer to every dish, with sourness and sweetness.

Store-bought apricot marmalade often contains three primary ingredients, namely Armenian plum, fructose, and pectin.

The condiment’s sweet-tart flavor blends extraordinarily well with creamy ingredients on toast, like ricotta or cream cheese.

People like to spread this jam on sandwiches, cookies, toast, or even on top of their ice cream. We can also use it as a glazing agent on cakes.

What Can You Use As A Substitute For Apricot Jam?

The top 12 apricot jam substitute are:

• canned fruit
• ginger jelly
• apple jelly
• dried apricots
• orange marmalade
• honey
• duck sauce
• gelatin
• raspberry and strawberry jam
• red currant jelly
• peach jam
• cherry almond jam

Canned Fruit

Canned fruit is the quickest solution if you don’t have any fresh fruits in your kitchen.

Simply add the syrup and a tbsp of cornstarch to a saucepan and heat it until the mixture thickens.

When it begins to boil, crush the fruits using a fork and add the smashed fruit to the saucepan. Cook it for 3-5 minutes, then turn off the heat source.

You can use this alternative for pancakes, savory dishes, or desserts.

Orange Marmalade

Our go-to substitute for apricot jam glaze in this list is orange marmalade.

Store-bought products often use Seville oranges, which gives them a bittersweet flavor.

Orange marmalade’s texture and color are pretty similar to apricot jam. Thus, it can blend well with almost any recipe that calls for this condiment.

Just to note that orange sauce tastes slightly more bitter than Armenian plum sauce.

This bitterness will be less apparent if you use it as a glaze or cook it into the savory fare, but it turns noticeable on pastries’ fillings or toast.

Ginger Jelly

Another apricot jam alternative is ginger marmalade or jelly, particularly for malva pudding.

Despite ginger’s spicy, overwhelming base flavor, ginger jelly won’t be an overpowering addition.

Notably, this option scores a plus point for how beautifully it intertwines with sherry and brandy for those wishing to have them in malva pudding.

Add ginger jelly to insipid recipes if you look to have a spicy-sweet twist.

Apple Jelly

Apply jelly calls for pretty similar ingredients to Armenian plum marmalade, namely fructose, citric acid, corn syrup, and pectin.

This substitute applies best to muffins, toast, and other baked foods. Notably, it can be a fantastic pork glaze paired with cloves and cinnamon.

Of course, apple jelly doesn’t deliver the exact flavor of apricot preserves. Thus, it may not be a perfect addition to chicken or pudding.

Yet, we strongly recommend it for pastries as a glaze. Though the flavor may slightly change, apple jelly will extraordinarily foster the taste.

The flavor can be different, yet the sweetness is nearly the same.

Raspberry and Strawberry Jam

Raspberry and strawberry preserves tie up so well with each other in meatloaf.

Raspberries and strawberries are among the most savory fruits, so they will significantly accelerate the meatloaf’s original flavor.

Plus, they will deter your meatloaf from drying, maintain its moisture, and yield a mouth-watering dish.

If your pantry runs out of fresh strawberries, it’s possible to use strawberry extract or strawberry extract substitute instead.

Duck Sauce

Can I substitute duck sauce for apricot jam? Though duck sauce is not ideal for sweet recipes, it’s a wonderful presence in savory ones.

It often uses apricots as the primary ingredient, applying to basting chicken, pork, or ribs.

Duck sauce doesn’t taste pure like orange marmalade as it contains a certain spice level.

Extra spices are a beautiful addition to many dishes, lending savory food depth of flavors.

This alternative is low in sugar but can be high in sodium, depending on which brand you choose.

Cherry Almond Jam

The primary elements in cherry almond marmalade are sugar, fruit pectin, almond extract, and cherries.

Almond extract’s mildness combined with cherries’ unique sharp sweetness will provide your malva pudding with an appealing flavor.

Technically, people make cherry almond preserves by boiling sugar and sour cherries and mixing them with liquid pectin.

Fruit pectin plays a vital role in holding all the ingredients together, while the sour fruits yield the desired sharp sweetness to the preserves.

If you wish to taste something different, this replacement hits the spot.

Peach Jam

This list will be incomplete without mentioning peach preserve – a sweet, tangy alternative to apricot marmalade.

It features thick consistency, a pleasing smell, and a beautifully sweet flavor. If you intend to have bread, muffins, or pancakes, peach marmalade will treat you right.

Red Currant Jelly

Another name of this English-rooted condiment is red currant sauce, which uses rosemary, sugar, and red currant as main ingredients.

Some brands even flavor it with mustard, orange zest, port wine, white wine, and red wine.

This sauce gives a lovely tangy flavor, shouting out to the combination between rosemary and red currants.

Red currant sauce is a famous glaze agent for holiday dishes like Ham. It’s also a finger-licking substitute for apricot jam in glazing sauce for chicken, turkey, and lamb.

Gelatin

Are you looking to cover your dish with a shiny, smooth coating? Go for gelatin. The remarkable thing about this condiment is that it won’t add any unwanted flavor.

Below, we’ll walk through the quick instructions on making a glaze with gelatin:

• Add water and granulated sugar in the 1:1 ratio to a saucepan. Heat the mix until the sugar starts dissolving, move it to another container, and wait for it to cool down.
• Combine a tbsp of gelatin with a cup of water, then leave the mixture there for about eight minutes.
• Next, heat your gelatin and stir often until it dissolves.
• Mix the gelatin with the cool sugar mixture, then use the sauce as a glaze before it stops being runny.

If you can’t find gelatin at nearby grocery stores, consider using a gelatin substitute like tapioca starch.

Honey

When it comes to alternatives to any kind of jam, honey is usually the first option that comes to mind.

We suggest mixing honey with apple preserves to add extra flavor to your dish, mainly baked goods.

This condiment does a great job pairing with toast, cakes, and cookies, but it also lends savory dishes a touch of sweetness.

You can also use honey substitutes for some recipes, like maple syrup or agave nectar, but that’s not always the case.

Dried Apricots

Many people don’t think of dried apricots as a replacement for apricot jam. But, they’re easy to find in any grocery store, so they are a good choice.

We think they’re not too sweet, but they’re sweet enough.