Passion fruit jelly is a staple on Hawaii breakfast tables, but it’s easy to make your own! Use fresh juice or juice from the freezer to make this tangy sweet lilikoi jelly. It will bring a tropical flavor to your morning toast, or use it in recipes like shortbread cookie bars in place of lemon.
This lilikoi gingerade is another great way to indulge in the flavor of passion fruit!
What is lilikoi?
Otherwise known as passion fruit, liliko‘i fruit is Mother Nature’s answer to a SweeTart. The first sour bite of a liliko‘i will jangle all the way back to your jawbone.
Stick with it, though, and you’ll catch the tropical sweet undertones if this much-loved fruit. Filled with small black seeds wrapped in a juicy orange membrane, lilikoi grows on a vine that can get rambunctious in this mild climate.
While I’m told there have been attempts to eradicate the vine as a pest, I consider myself lucky to have liliko‘i fruit growing in my backyard.
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There are a number of different varieties of lilikoi here; some have yellow skin, some have purple skin, and one — often called Jamaican lilikoi or peach lilikoi — has light orange skin that’s a bit velvety. It tends to be sweeter than the others.
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Passion fruit jelly or passion fruit jam?
If you’re not sure which one you’re after, go over here to read about the difference between jam and jelly.
Some people make liliko‘i jam, retaining the seeds — or at least some of them — in the final product. Passion fruit seeds are really hard. And they’re not small. They’re about 1/8′ across.
I don’t care for them in my passion fruit spread, but if you like crunchy jam, you may like it this way.
Passion fruit jam is certainly easier to make than passion fruit jelly, as you can skip the juicing step. (Which is really the most time consuming step.)
Before you can make lilikoi jelly (no seeds), you’ll need to juice the fruit. I’ve found that using a blender to break up the membranes and a chinois to remove the seeds is the best way to do this. Go here for more on juicing lilikoi. For this recipe, use the processed juice from the fruit — not the drink recipe.
How to use lilikoi
One can only eat so much lilikoi fruit fresh out of hand, so I find myself juicing much of my bounty to turn into this lilikoi jelly and lilikoi bread.
I like to preserve this passion fruit jelly in small jars so that I can take them with me as gifts when I visit family and friends on the mainland.
This is a lower-sugar option than many of the lilikoi jelly recipes on the ‘net. I use Pomona pectin, since it allows me to use less sugar than other pectin brands.
You can use rapadura whole cane sugar for this recipe, too, but the resulting jelly will be much darker.
This delicious jam is one of my favorites for spreading on toast, but try adding it to a glass of jam seltzer, too!
🍅 Safety First!
Canning is an excellent way to preserve food for the pantry, but there are some important safety considerations to keep in mind. The recipes on this site have been made following safe canning procedures by a certified Master Food Preserver.
- Know the difference between water bath canning and pressure canning. Low acid items must be pressure canned for safety.
- Altering ingredients may change the recipe’s pH, posing a safety issue. I highly recommend investing in pH paper to test your products for acidity level when canning. Note: For safe water bath canning, the Hawaii Master Food Preservers suggest a pH of 4.2 or lower in the tropics. In other regions, the recommended pH is 4.6 or lower.
- Use the proper jars and lids. Never reuse lids, with the exception of the Tattler or Harvest Right hard plastic lids that are intended for such a purpose.
- For more on canning equipment, please go here.
Related: Easy Canning Recipes for the Novice Home Canner
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Passion Fruit Jelly
Liliko‘i -- or passion fruit -- has a delicious tropical flavor. Use the juice from this fruit to make a batch of jelly for the pantry.
Ingredients
- 8 cups liliko‘i juice, (how to juice liliko‘i)
- 4 teaspoons prepared calcium water (from Pomona; see below)
- 4-5 cups granulated organic cane sugar
- 6 teaspoons Pomona's pectin (measured from the large packet)
Instructions
- Prepare calcium water. Put 1/2 teaspoon calcium powder (the small packet) and 1/2 cup water in a small jar with a lid. Shake well before using.
- Fill your water bath canner to a level that will cover your jars. This varies depending upon jar size. Bring to a boil. Proceed with next steps while the water is heating.
- Wash and rinse jars. Bring lids and rings to a low simmer; turn off heat and let stand in hot water.
- Measure passion fruit juice and prepared calcium water into a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Meanwhile, combine sugar and pectin in a bowl. Stir very thoroughly (and I mean thoroughly) to prevent clumping.
- When juice boils, add sugar mixture and stir vigorously to dissolve the pectin. Return to a boil (about 5 minutes) and then turn off heat.
- If you're concerned about your jelly looking pretty, skim off the foam. It's totally edible, but if you're giving jars as gifts or entering in your county fair, it's just not as pretty.
- Fill half-pint jars to within 1/4" of top. Wipe rims clean with a damp cloth. Screw on 2-piece lids/rings, finger tight.
- Use a jar lifter to place jars in boiling water bath. Bring water back to a boil (it doesn't need to be a hard boil) and set the timer for 10 minutes.
- Remove jars to a towel-covered counter top to cool.
- Check seals. Lids should be solid and pulled down tight. (if they flex and pop, the jar didn't seal; put unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use those first).
- Remove rings and wash outside of jars. (You shouldn't store the jars with rings.)
Notes
Makes 9 half-pint jars
*You can use rapadura if you prefer, but the resulting jelly will be darker.
To make passion fruit jam with seeds, use 8 cups of passion fruit pulp. For a less seedy jam, combine four cups of passion fruit pulp with 4 cups of passion fruit juice.
For this recipe, use the processed juice from the fruit -- not the drink recipe linked above.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 40 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 414Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 31mgCarbohydrates: 107gFiber: 0gSugar: 106gProtein: 0g
Originally published in August, 2011; this post has been updated.
What would the portion of regular pectin and sugar for the recipe? Thanks.
I don’t know; I don’t make it this way – sorry!
Do you have a pH paper recommendation? (Several suggested links are not working for me.) I’d love to know if you have a guava jelly recipe, too! And POG!
Hi Kris.
Do you have any experience canning coconut milk?
Sorry, no I don’t.
What do you think about using honey instead of sugar. Love Pomona pectin
I think it would be great.
I have passion fruit pulp I bought to make jam. I’ve never heard of calcium water. Is this something I need to make my jam turn out. And if so where do you get it ?
Thank you
This recipe calls for a specific brand of pectin that uses calcium water (it’s in the packet). I get it at my health food store, but it’s available online, too. I prefer this brand because it allows me to use less sugar, but you could also use other brands of pectin. I’m not sure on measurements of those, though.
Hi! I’m going to try this soon- how long do you think the jelly will safely last in the fridge once you open a jar?
Thank you!
I’d say 4-6 weeks or so.
KRISS. 40 servings means? How many ounces would I get?
Sorry! This recipe ‘form’ I use asks for *servings. This will make 4-5 pints.
I finally found some passion fruit puree abd made this. Yumm!
Love your recipe. I love it without so much sugar as the regular jelly recipe. I really like the fresh lilikoi taste. So to add even more fresh flavor to your jelly recipe, I reserve 1 cup of lilikoi juice and add it immediatly after the second boiling. Thanks for sharing.
Our vines give lots of juice, which I package in a zip-lock freezer bag, and freeze in our freezer until I want to use it. I’ve made quite a few lilikoi cheesecakes, which we love, and make nice presents for others. I’m planning to can some jelly today, so I have the required amount thawed and ready to go. I have found that the less heat the juice is subjected to the stronger the flavour. So, I’ll probably try adding the juice after boiling, and hope it sets up well. I’ll also be using regular pectin (I have liquid and powder versions), so I’ll let you all know how it works out.
I tried going to site “recipes from Brazil.com” but found it was no longer an active site. It appears to be trying to sell the domain website.
Do you share your Lilikoi cheesecake recipe would love to try it pleaae
My children were born and raised in Brazil, and their favorite fruit is still passion fruit, aka maracuja. It was in season pretty much all year. My youngest loved mousse de maracuja so much that I used to make it for him instead of birthday cake.
I also used to make passion fruit jelly. I couldn’t get commercial pectin, so I just “made do”, which wasn’t hard since the seeds and skin of passion fruit have a lot of natural pectin in them. I used to just chop the whole fruit up, soak in over night, simmer for a couple of hours, drain in a jelly bag, add a cup of sugar to a cup of juice, and boil it until it set. It worked just fine.
Interesting. Never thought to use the whole fruit and then drain it in a jelly bag….Thanks!
Adapted your recipe to make liliko’i ginger jelly today. I’m a canning virgin no more! Thank you for making my first experience easy! Now I’m starting another batch of liliko’i wine… yum!
I had my first taste og lilikoi ginger jam and now want to make it. I have my passionfruit and ginge, what is your recipe an why the calcium water and will any pectin work.
I’d just juice the ginger and replace a portion of the liliko‘i juice. Just guessing – maybe a quarter cup? (I guess it depends how gingery you like it!)
I use Pomona brand pectin because it allows me to use less sugar than the standard brands. The calcium powder comes with the Pomona pectin.
Hope it turns out great!
Thank you so much, I will let you know how it goes!
I found two. They are similar. The second has a good picture. So delicious
https://www.maria-brazil.org/mousse_de_maracuja2.htm
https://recipesfrombrazil.com/passion-fruit-mousse-mousse-de-maracuja/
I planted a passion fruit vine for Frugal Man this past summer-a black one though, not a yellow one. It is establishing well and we should get some fruit off of it this coming summer. Not sure it will be enough to can extra, but I’ll keep this in mind!
Have never tasted this. Now I’m curious. Will I find it ever at the local supermarket?
I suspect not, unless you have access to a high end gourmet store. It IS available on Amazon, though – search for Hawaiian Sun Passion Fruit Jelly.
Oh, I love passion fruit. I haven’t had it since I lived in Brazil. They make a wonderful passion fruit mousse there that is just the perfect sweet tart combo (in Portuguese it’s called creme de maracuja). And the juice, so delicious! Although, it always made me so sleepy. I had to be careful not to drink it at lunch (which is the main meal of the day there). If you are interested, I might be able to dig up that mousse recipe, or translate one from the net. I can taste that mousse right now. Those were two of my favorite things there. I miss all those tropical fruits.
That sounds *fabulous! Why did it make you sleepy? I’d certainly give it a whirl if you were to share a recipe…
I love liliko’i and am also lucky to have a couple of vines that grow wild on our property! I’ve never attempted to make the plain liliko’i jelly, but I do make liliko’i syrup quite often and from that, I can also make liliko’i vinaigrette, and passion fruit hot pepper jelly, which we love!…I also have made a liliko’i flavored rice pudding (TDF) and a fantastic chocolate cake with liliko’i and cream cheese icing….
https://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977417898
https://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977432020
I find I don’t use the liliko‘i/hot pepper jelly as much as the regular jelly! Thanks for sharing these links.