One of the most enticing, bright, beautiful French macaron flavors to line the shelves of French pâtisseries are the raspberry. Filled with perfectly tart, sweet, and simple fresh jam, this raspberry macaron recipe is easy enough to take on and even easier to enjoy!
If this is your first time whipping up a batch of French macarons, I recommend starting with my flagship article, How to Make French Macarons, Seriously. For a more in-depth tutorial on mastering macarons, consider signing up for my series, French Macarons: Simplified.

The Story
As I'm always harping, all French macaron recipes are similar, at least regarding the shells. The flavor power is in the fillings, and that's where recipes will differ (and where I spend the bulk of the word count here).
What gives these raspberry macarons their vibrant color isn't raspberries but red food coloring (sigh). To get a deep-hued red macaron shell, it does take a few healthy dollops of color. Be sure to use a gel-based product (water-based colors can ruin your precious meringue). Artificial food coloring gel can be found online or at your local craft store.
If plant-based coloring is within your budget, I always recommend it. But gel-based, natural brands can be hard to find and expensive. So don't fret as long as you're not eating the artificial stuff straight out of the jar. Humans have survived eating much worse.
The Classic Filling
Classic raspberry macarons are most often filled with fresh raspberry jam. And for great reason. A fresh, scratch-made jam is scrumptiously sweet, the perfect amount of tart if you play your cards right, and has a beautiful deep red hue.
Jam Formula
2 parts ripe fruit + 1 part sugar + Lemon juice + Pectin or Gelatin
*Plan on one teaspoon of both lemon juice and pectin (or gelatin) for every 6 ounces of fruit. This is for a jam that sets and can be easily piped to fill macarons. Pectin is not always necessary when preparing jam for canning, depending on the natural pectin levels in the fruit.
The above jam formula calls for much less sugar than you typically see in recipes.
And for good reason. Check the ingredient list next time you reach for one on the grocery store shelf. Sugar will most likely be listed first (and food labeling regulations require ingredients to be listed by weight, most to least). Even more of a reason, reducing the sugar content allows the flavor of the raspberries to shine through.
Notes on Pectin
As a reference, the natural pectin content of any fruit depends on the variety of fruit itself. Also, how ripe it is. And it's an inverse relationship. So, the riper the fruit, the lower its potential pectin levels. Confused yet? If you really want to grasp the nuances and science of pectin, here's an in-depth article from The Guardian.
Making Jam
Storage
Jams on a sugar high are beneficial for one reason: storage. Sugar concentrations of 65% or more act as a preservative, and these jams can be canned and stored at room temperature (assuming proper processing). The jam recipe here is not formulated for canning or room-temperature storage. Store the finished macarons and any extra jam in the refrigerator or freezer.
📖 Recipe
Raspberry French Macarons
Classic, beautifully red French macaron shells with a fresh, tart, and, most importantly, simple-to-whip-up raspberry jam.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12-14 macarons 1x
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
- 180 grams (1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons) of confectioner's sugar
- 108 grams (1 scant cup) of finely ground almond flour (or blanched, slivered almonds)
- 3 egg whites (about 90g)
- 60 grams (¼ cup) of granulated sugar
- pinch of cream of tartar, optional
- about ¼ to ½ teaspoon red gel food coloring, or a small amount that fits on the tip of a butter knife
Raspberry Jam
- 6 ounces (170 grams) of fresh raspberries (one small container from the grocery store)
- 3 ounces (85 grams or ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar
- zest of one orange
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon of pectin OR 1 teaspoon of gelatin sprinkled evenly into ¼ cup cold water*
Instructions
For Macaron Shells
- Line two baking pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Here are free printable French macaron piping templates to put under the parchment paper.
- If working with whole or slivered almonds: Grind almonds with confectioner's sugar in a food processor for a couple of minutes, until finely ground. Stop the processor once or twice to redistribute the mixture.
- Place the egg whites in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed until foamy.
- Rain in the granulated sugar while continuing to beat.
- Turn the speed up to medium-high (or high on a hand mixer). Beat the whites to a firm peak meringue. The meringue will be shiny and create pointy peaks off the beater or whisk attachment that curve over ever so slightly.
- If using red food coloring, with the mixer off, use the tip of a knife or a toothpick to scrape it onto the bottom of a beater or the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer back on high speed to distribute the coloring.
- Sift all the dry ingredients directly into the bowl with the meringue.
- Fold until the batter flows slowly and ribbons off the spatula. Mix slightly vigorous at first, then use classic folding strokes; scraping around the sides of the bowl, then up from underneath the mixture, and over through the top.
- Transfer to a piping bag (or large plastic bag) fitted with a small round pastry tip.
- Pipe 1- to 2-inch rounds of batter onto a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Hold the piping bag vertical, and about a quarter-inch above the pan.
- To help the tops of piped batter settle, lightly tap underneath the pan.
- Optional: Let the piped macarons rest on the counter for 10-20 minutes. The longer the piped batter rests, the less vibrant the color will be after baking.
- Bake at 300° F/150° C for 14-16 minutes, rotating the pan(s) once halfway through baking.
- Cool a few minutes before removing from baking mat or parchment.
- To fill French macarons with the raspberry jam (or any filling), transfer the jam to a piping bag or plastic baggie and snip a small hole in the corner. Pipe jam on the bottom of one macaron shell leaving a small amount of room around the edge. Top with a second macaron shell of similar size. Repeat with remaining shells. Eat any oddballs when no one is looking!
- Store filled French macarons in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks, serve room temperature. French macarons are best after 24 hours, when they've had time to mature with the filling.
Homemade Raspberry Jam
- If using gelatin, "bloom" (or activate) the gelatin by sprinkling it evenly over a small amount of cold water. Use two to three tablespoons of water for every teaspoon of gelatin. Let it bloom for at least five minutes. You will notice the water turns to a gel-like consistency.
- Smash raspberries with a fork or potato masher in a small saucepan or skillet. Cook the berries for a few minutes over low heat to allow the natural pectin to begin weaving its web of sticky fibers.
- Add the sugar, lemon juice, and if using pectin add it now, then bring the jam to a boil over the lowest heat possible. Keeping the heat low helps preserve the flavor and structure of the fruit.
- Cook the jam until the sugar dissolves and it begins to thicken, stirring as little as possible. Pectin-thickened jams are done once the temperature reaches about 220° F, depending on your elevation. For higher elevations, 217-219° F is often high enough. See recipe notes for other ways to know when the jam is thick enough.
- If you're using gelatin, there is no need to track the temperature of the jam. Once the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar dissolves, remove it from the heat and whisk in the gelatin until it is completely dissolved.
- Transfer the finished jam to a heat-proof bowl, and press plastic wrap against the top to prevent a skin from forming.
- Cool in the refrigerator until thick and set. Store chilled if making ahead.
Notes
On baking. I find my oven produces better macarons closer to 290° F, this element of macaron baking requires a bit of trial and error with your own oven. An inexpensive thermometer can help reveal if your oven is lying to you.
For vegan jam. For a plant-based jam, use pectin as a thickener since gelatin is animal-derived.
On Jam Doneness. You can also test the jam for doneness by placing a dollop from the pan on a frozen plate. If it thickens and wrinkles when you push with a fingertip, it's ready. Worse case, if it looks thick and not runny when you let a bit drop from the spoon, chances are it's done.
Jam Storage. Jams on a sugar high are beneficial for one reason, and that's storage. Sugar concentrations of 65% or more act as a preservative, and these jams can be canned and stored at room temperature (assuming proper process).
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Macarons
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One Raspberry Macaron
- Calories: 114
- Sugar: 20.4 g
- Sodium: 17.6 mg
- Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.7 g
- Fiber: 4.6 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: raspberry macaron recipe, raspberry jam, gelatin, pectin
Dawn
These are so beautiful it’s almost a shame to eat. Almost! Can’t let something so delicious sit very long. Thank you for the troubleshooting guide. I always have questions for every recipe and you answered them before I had them. ❤️
Christina
Well done! And always happy to answer questions down here in the French macaron rabbit hole. 🙂
Margaret
Absolutely delightful! Recipe was easy enough to follow for my first time making macarons, and most of them baked up with feet! I think my oven has hot spots because a few cracked, but my granddaughter had fun and they still tasted delicious.
Christina
Well done, Margaret! Glad to hear the recipe helped you enjoy baking with your granddaughter. And I bet you're right about your oven! Many home ovens are inconsistent at best.:)