Strawberry Jelly Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Pop quiz! What's the difference between jam and jelly? Alright, we'll tell you: Jelly is made from strained fruit, while jam is made from mashed fruit. What about preserves, you say? Well, preserves are more similar to jam, but contain larger whole fruit pieces. Now that we have that straightened out, what do you typically use these fruit spreads for?

While the first thing you think of may be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and that sure is delicious, jelly can be used for many other dishes. Jelly goes great as a filling between cake layers or in hand pies. It's also excellent spread on toast, waffles or pancakes. We love serving jelly on crepes for a special morning breakfast that feels fancy, but is secretly easy. Additionally, you can top it on ice cream, serve it spread on cream cheese and crackers or even scoop a dollop on your morning bowl of oatmeal.

If you are one to get crafty in the kitchen, you might feel adventurous enough to make strawberry jam from scratch. We're definitely fans of the fresh homemade flavor, and, as it turns out, it's not as challenging as you might think it is to cook up. But if stirring up a batch from home isn't your thing, don't fret. We've put together a list of strawberry jelly brands, ranked from worst to best to inform your grocery shopping purchasing decision fatigue. Keep reading below to find out what strawberry jelly brands stand out among the pack.

Coming in at the bottom of our ranking, Pampa Strawberry Jelly is made from strawberry juice, fructose corn syrup, pectin, citric acid, and sodium citrate. Pampa, which is sold at HEB stores and the like, is manufactured by Miami-based company Transnational, according to the Miami Herald. We find that jellies made from high fructose corn syrup have a way of tasting like packaged foods as opposed to fresh homemade foods. So unfortunately, this contributes to the flavor of this jelly.

While this strawberry jelly is truly a jelly, the texture has its fair share of critics. One Influenster review (via Google Shopping) remarked that it "becomes watery so easily," and another described it as "a little weird, but not a biggie." Flavor-wise, an Influenster poster said it was "delicious and so flavorful," whereas an Amazon user said it "did not taste like strawberry at all." Because of the polarizing taste and consistency, we've placed this one at the bottom of our list.

Polaner is known for their fruit spread varieties. They carry thirty-two flavor varieties, including mint jelly, orange marmalade, preserves, all fruit spreadable fruit, sugar free options, and even seedless options.

While the Polaner All Fruit Seedless Strawberry Spread Spreadable Fruit is not technically labeled as a jelly, the seedless condiment sure quacks like a jelly. Because the term "fruit spread" has no official definition, many of the jam and jelly companies can use it interchangeably. It is up to the consumer to determine whether the spread is a jam or a jelly. If the fruit has been strained and the resulting product is thinner, you've got yourself a jelly; if you have chunks of fruit in your product and it appears it was made without straining the fruit, you've got yourself a jam. In the case of the Polaner Seedless Strawberry Spread, we've determined this one is classified as a jelly. "Forget the seeds," the Polaner website implores, "and enjoy the smooth texture of your favorite spreadable fruit."

This spread contains strawberries, citric acid, water, pectin, natural flavor and juice concentrates from pear, grape, and pineapple. Because this jelly contains juice of other fruits, we find that the flavor comes through a bit confused. This jelly does not taste the most strawberry-forward, but rather very tropical. Because of this, we've moved this product near the bottom of our ranking.

Smucker's is the brand we automatically think of when we think of jelly. Their marketing campaigns have captivated us and our parents since we were children. But when we put aside brand name and judge their strawberry jelly based on flavor alone, we find that it tastes a bit strange.

The Smucker's website calls the kitchen staple a "perfectly balanced" jelly before noting the "deep floral flavors." Yes, floral. After looking at the short and simple list of ingredients (strawberry juice, corn syrup, pectin and citric acid), we aren't quite sure where that floral flavor is coming from. 

This jelly is free of any seeds, which is a welcome sign of a true jelly. However, because this jelly is made from high fructose corn syrup and uses strawberry juice in lieu of strawberries, we feel that this one's taste is a bit fake or overly processed. (As a number of reviewers on the Smucker's website pointed out, high fructose corn syrup can be a bit of a dealbreaker for a lot of people.) Unfortunately, the Smucker's tagline, "With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good" has a lot to live up to.

Signature Select Strawberry Jelly, sold at Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores, is made from strawberry juice, high fructose corn syrup, pectin and citric acid. While we like that this brand's flavor has a great balance of sweet and tart, we do not love the inclusion of high fructose corn syrup. We would much prefer the inclusion of sugar instead.

The high fructose corn syrup has a way of making this jelly taste a bit too fake sweet for our liking. Other than this crucial factor, we find that this jelly is fairly suitable for most of your jelly needs. It spreads well and is thin but not watery. The balance of sweetness and tartness is a key way to regulate the flavor consistency from bite to bite. This is a good jarred option in a pinch, but we think you can set your sights a bit higher.

Kroger Strawberry Jelly, sold at Fry's grocery stores and the like, is made of strawberry juice, high fructose corn syrup, pectin, citric acid, and sodium citrate. This jelly contains quite a few ingredients for a jelly, with most brands topping out at four or five ingredients. We wouldn't get too worked up over the extra few preservatives and stabilizers added to this jelly, as they help to contribute to the extra smooth texture of this jelly. 

In terms of flavor, we find that this brand errs on the side of far too sweet. This particular jelly is yet another brand that includes the use of high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar, leading to the extra sweetness and odd flavor. While this strawberry jelly brand is not awful, if another option is available, we'd probably recommend that other option. Sorry, Kroger!

The d'arbo All Natural Fruit Spread in Garden Strawberry is another fruit spread variety, not technically termed a jelly. Based on an evaluation of these ingredients and a texture test, we've determined that this one is in fact a jelly, made from strained fruit.

This fruit spread contains strawberries, sugar, fruit pectin, and lemon juice concentrate. We find that the addition of lemon juice concentrate helps to brighten up the flavor a bit. However, overall, this strawberry jelly is sweet. A bit less sweetness would have led to a picture perfect strawberry jelly. (While we are glad that this strawberry jelly brand chose to opt for sugar to aid in sweetness instead of high fructose corn syrup, one may argue there's a pinch too much sugar in this one.) If you end up with a jar of this particular spread, we recommend pairing it with a bit more savory foods such as crunchy peanut butter or salty shortbread. As one Amazon reviewer noted, putting this on a slice of bread is "like fresh strawberries on your toast."

Good & Gather, the Target line, also carries a strawberry jelly, er, Strawberry Fruit Spread. This one is made from organic ingredients including strawberries, lemon juice, sugar and pectin. This impressively minimal ingredient list contributes to the overall healthiness of this fruit spread. We love that Good & Gather does not add a bunch of other preservatives, fillers, or stabilizers. This means, however, that this brand will expire quickly. Be sure to use it up fairly shortly after opening to ensure freshness.

The simple ingredient list also contributes to this brand tasting like true homemade jelly. The strawberry flavor really comes through as it is not struggling to make its debut behind other flavors. Additionally, this fruit spread is very spreadable. While not super thin or runny, it is the perfect texture to spread on toast. However, because it is not especially thin, we think this one might be more jam-like in consistency. This is why we had to place this one near the middle of the ranks.

Did you know that the HEB grocery store name is an acronym for Here Everything's Better? We didn't, but they sure do live up to the full name. This Texas grocery store institution carries many HEB generic store brand products, including HEB Organics Strawberry Fruit Spread. This particular item contains organic ingredients, such as strawberries, sugar, apple pectin, ascorbic acid and citric acid. If organic food products are important to you, this brand might be your favorite.

This fruit spread, while thicker in consistency than most jellies, contains fairly "clean" ingredients, just strawberries, sugar, pectin, and two simple types of preservatives. We believe that these clean ingredients contribute to the fresh, bright taste of this fruit spread. However, for jelly purists, the HEB Organics Strawberry Fruit Spread may be just a bit too thick for your liking. In that case, keep reading for some stellar strawberry jelly brands at the top of our ranking.

Welch's is a classic household name in the jams and jelly department, a tried-and-true pick for PB&Js and more. According to a 2021 report by Statista, Welch's is one of the most popular brands, second only to Smucker's. 

The Welch's brand has evolved a bit over the years, providing more "natural" and healthy options for the rising population of consumers that are concerned with their health. The Welch's Natural Strawberry Spread does not contain any high fructose corn syrup. Rather, it is made from sugar, strawberries, lemon juice and pectin. This simple list of ingredients, especially the exclusion of high fructose corn syrup, appeals to many health-minded folks, according to the reviews on Amazon.

While Welch's Natural Strawberry Spread is labeled as a fruit spread, after review of the ingredients and a texture test, we believe it to be a jelly due to its thin texture lacking any lumps of fruit.

The Walmart generic store brand, Great Value, is known for their incredible low prices and their exceptional value. It is right there in their name, after all. Great Value manufactures a range of affordable products in all food categories including this Strawberry Fruit Spread. This particular condiment contains remarkably simple ingredients, just strawberries, sugar, pectin, and citric acid. Due to this great ingredient list including sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, we find that this spread is rather fresh tasting. You don't have to take our word for it: As one Walmart reviewer wrote (via Google Shopping), "This takes me back 30 years or so, my Grandma used to make the best jelly, with the same ingredients!"

Great Value Strawberry Fruit Spread is likely going to be the most affordable strawberry jelly you can find, going for about $2.50 a jar. This jelly is a great budget option that is available nationwide, as there are Walmarts in almost every city.

While this is marketed as a fruit spread, after review of these ingredients and a thorough taste and texture test, we've determined the Great Value Strawberry Fruit Spread to be a true jelly.

Costco brand Kirkland carries an Organic Strawberry Spread made out of — you guessed it — organic strawberries. The condiment also contains organic sugar, pectin, and citric acid. Are you noticing a trend here yet? Most of these jellies and spreads do not require many more ingredients than this to result in a great-tasting, spreadable jelly. We tend to prefer when these jellies are more minimalist in terms of ingredients. Don't go throwing in unnecessary ingredients where they are not needed. Just stick to the basics.

These simple, yet organic, ingredients contribute to the fresh taste of this spread. We love that this strawberry fruit spread contains a high level of pectin, supplying the necessary properties to create the very gelatinous sticky texture that we love in a jelly. Because of all of this, we feel that the Kirkland Organic Strawberry Spread falls naturally at our number five ranking position. Alright, next up, we have our top four strawberry jelly brands.

As we are self-proclaimed ingredient snobs, it might not be surprising to hear that we are fans of Whole Foods' 365 Organics Strawberry Fruit Spread. Whole Foods is known for their high quality ingredients, most of which are organic. They are the prototypical health food grocery store.

This 365 Organic Strawberry Fruit Spread contains simple ingredients including organic strawberries, organic cane sugar, fruit pectin, ascorbic acid, and citric acid, similar to many other brands. This fruit spread has a very thin consistency, so we are classifying it as a jelly. This consistency falls in line with the consistency you'd expect from a jelly, but it is not overly soggy or liquid-y. As one Amazon reviewer wrote, "It's sweet and spreads a lot easier than most jellies which I like. I hate jellies that are thick and sticky and don't spread easily but this one is very easy." If you have a Whole Foods near you, you won't be disappointed with the balanced flavor of this strawberry fruit spread.

Stonewall Kitchen is known for their specialty food products. As you can see on their online store, they carry a range of products including baking mixes, jams, jellies, sauces, beverages, drink mixes, marinades, cocktail cherries, dessert sauces, toppings, dips, condiments, oils, soups, salsas, snacks, spices, and vinegars. You name it, they likely have it.

We love their Strawberry Lemonade Jelly. How unique is that flavor? This jelly contains pure cane sugar, strawberry puree, fruit pectin, lemon juice, natural flavor, and citric acid. While this brand is more expensive than other varieties, we find that it is worth it. This jelly is very tart and tastes just divine in between cake layers. Or, as Stonewall Kitchen describes, "Because few things are more refreshing than freshly squeezed strawberry lemonade on a hot summer's day, we set out to recreate those flavors in a jelly." We love that the simple list of pure ingredients contribute to the fresh taste of this jelly. If you don't like the taste of tart things, you may want to skip this one. If you want a bit more chunky texture, Stonewall Kitchen also carries a classic strawberry jam.

Crofter's Organic offers many fruit spread varieties, such as — takes deep breath — apricot, berry harvest, blackberry seedless, blueberry blast, concord grape, four fruit, mango, morello cherry, peach, pomegranate power, seedless raspberry, strawberry, seville orange, strawberry banana, black currant, superfruit, and wild blueberry. Isn't that remarkable? We love the creative and unique flavor offerings this brand carries and are making a note to try them all.

The Crofter's brand relies on high quality, organic fruit ingredients. The Crofter's Organic Just Fruit Strawberry Spread contains strawberries, sugar, pectin, and citric acid. These minimal ingredients contribute to the fresh taste of this bright and acidic spread, making this spread the perfect compliment to a peanut butter sandwich. After conducting a thorough taste and texture test, we've determined that this fruit spread is thinner in texture similar to a jelly. If you see Crofter's Organic, you must purchase it. You will not be disappointed. We are making a vow to always keep some stocked on hand.

Our number one strawberry jelly brand goes to Mrs. Miller's Homemade Strawberry Jelly, which can go for as much as over $8 a jar on the company's online shop. This jelly, while pricy, is the ultimate best tasting strawberry jelly you will ever consume. With ingredients including sugar, strawberries, water, pectin, lemon juice, and citric acid, this jelly is all natural and contains no high fructose corn syrup.

In addition to the "clean" ingredients this jelly is so flavorful. The taste is second to none, bursting with freshness and acidity. We find that while this jelly is very sweet, it is perfectly balanced in terms of sweetness and tartness. This jelly brand is the all time best. Mark our words. You will not be disappointed. If you are superfans like us, you can even stock up on a twelve pack for a pretty darn good deal on their website. You never want to risk running out of this stuff. Trust us!