Easy Peach Butter ~ you’ll kick yourself if you don’t make a big batch of silky butter before the peaches are all gone for the year. This small batch fruit spread is sheer heaven on a piece of toast, a warm biscuit, or just by the glorious spoonful!
When life gives you peaches, whether fresh, or frozen, make peach butter!
You can’t go wrong with this recipe, it takes a boatload of peaches and transforms them into something silky and spreadable. Your morning toast will never be the same.
what you’ll need
- peaches ~ you can use fresh or frozen, but use good ripe summer peaches for best flavor.
- sugar
- lemon juice adds a little acidity and balances out the sweetness of the butter.
Fruit butter is a thicker, more luxurious version of jam.
If you love apple butter, you’re going to flip for this next generation fruit butter. Peaches lend themselves to this treatment with their meaty flesh and sweet tangy flavor. Fruit butter gets it’s distinctive consistency because the fruit is cooked, then pureed, and then cooked down again into a spreadable ‘butter’. But of course there’s no dairy in it at all, just pure fruit.
small batch peach butter can be refrigerated, or canned
This recipe makes a small batch that doesn’t require canning, but I’ve included canning instructions in the recipe if you want to set yourself up for the year, or want to get a head start on holiday gifts.
When you get your first taste of this peach butter you’ll feel like you’ve died and gone to peach heaven!
I like the real fruit flavor to shine through in all my preserves, so I used relatively little sugar, and some lemon juice to make the peach flavor pop. Because I was after a pure fresh peach essence, I didn’t add any spices, but you certainly can if you like. Cinnamon, or vanilla bean would be nice in this recipe. Nobody’s stopping you from adding a touch of almond extract either.
let’s make it!
You can make fruit butter with almost any type of fruit. Apple butter is the classic, but I’ve made rhubab butter, and a wonderful cranberry butter that you’ll want to have around this fall. You can make pumpkin butter (made in the crock pot!) which is amazing with biscuits and cornbread. Would you believe I’ve even made banana butter with a touch of bourbon?? Here’s the basic method for making fruit butters:
- Chop your fruit and add it to a pan with the sugar and some water.
- Heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar, until the mixture comes to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the fruit is completely softened and juicy.
- Puree the cooked fruit until smooth.
- Strain your puree, if necessary, to remove seeds, bits of peel, or any lumps.
- Put the smooth puree back into a clean pan, add lemon juice, and continue to cook, stirring often, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Cool and then refrigerate. It will thicken further as it chills.
how to use peach butter
Fruit butters aren’t only for spreading on toast, or biscuits. They can be an ingredient in baked goods, too. They add flavor and moisture, and can help you cut down on added fat and sugar. My spiced apple cake, which is one of my current favorite cakes, is made with a cup of apple butter. I’m thinking of making a peach version with, oh, I don’t know, maybe a Bourbon glaze? Stay tuned 😉 You might also use some of your peach butter as a filling for these Jack Daniels peach pie bars… just saying.
If you love to make small batch butters, jellies and jams be sure to check out my ultimate guide to freezer jam!
“Oh my goodness, this is amazing!! It’s going on our sourdough pancakes this weekend!!!”
~ LINDZ
Peach Butter
Ingredients
- 4 lbs fresh peaches, (about 10 good sized peaches)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water, (if your peaches are juicy omit the water)
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Peel and rough chop the peaches. Note: I love my serrated vegetable peeler for this job. The fine teeth make quick work of the soft peach skin.
- Add the peaches to a heavy pot along with the water and sugar. Heat on medium, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat slightly and cook for about 20 minutes until the peaches are completely tender. Stir occasionally.
- Add the lemon juice to the peaches, and then, working in batches, puree the fruit until it is completely smooth. Don’t rush this step, let the processor or blender run long enough to get all of the lumps.
- At this point I strain the puree through a mesh strainer just to make sure it is completely smooth. Push it firmly with the back of a spoon to get all the puree through. Discard any lumps. If your puree is smooth enough, you can skip this step.
- Put the puree back into the (rinsed out) pan and bring back up to a boil. Lower the heat and cook gently until it is greatly reduced and thickened. This will take about 25-30 minutes or so, depending on the size of your pan. Stir very frequently during this step so the fruit doesn't scorch. I like to use a splatter screen because it does splatter. Note: the longer you cook the peach puree, the thicker the butter will be. You know it's ready when it starts to darken slightly, and your stirring starts to leave trails in the mixture. Test it by dipping a spoon in, and then run your finger down the spoon, if the butter doesn't fill in the strip, it's ready.
- Ladle the hot peach butter into a clean jar or jars and let cool before capping and refrigerating. The peach butter will thicken as it cools. Consume within a couple of weeks. You can also freeze the butter for up to 6 months, just put the cooled butter into a freezer safe container, leaving 1/2 inch at the top to allow for expansion.
If you would like to can this recipe
- Follow safe canning practices and ladle hot peach mixture into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims with a clean cloth. Close lids to fingertip-tight.
- Place jars in boiling-water canner and process jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat; remove lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.
Notes
Hello! I am in the process of making this recipe and it smells so delicious that I already want to make more – my question is can I double the recipe and will it freeze well? I’ve frozen other peach butters I’ve made but wanted to check with you. Thank you!!
You can double the recipe, Jessica, and you can freeze it, just be sure to leave room in your jars for expansion as the butter freezes. It will last about 3 months.
Do you recommend canning it? I’ve canned pear butter in small jars…I guess it would along the same idea. Can’t wait to try it.
If you’ve done pear butter then I think you can follow the same process for this, Sandee. (I’ve updated this recipe with canning instructions.)
Oh my goodness, this is amazing!! It’s going on our sourdough pancakes this weekend!!!
Now THAT sounds delicious!
Hi,
Can you make this in a crock pot? Also, have you ever left skins on the peaches?
I haven’t tried this one in a crockpot, but I’ve done it with other fruit butters successfully, so I don’t see why you couldn’t. And I haven’t left the skins on but I’m sure you could, you would still strain them out at the end, and be aware that you would probably get a much darker color in that case.
Can u use frozen peaches
I don’t see why not, Kathleen, but I always think fresh has better flavor.
Have just made a batch of this and it’s delicious! Your recipe was very easy to follow. Thank you.
Glad you like it 🙂
This will be my first time making peach butter.
I be been making Spiced Bourbon peach jam. And
So far it’s been amazing. Excited to make this!
Oh your spiced bourbon peach jam sounds amazing, leave the recipe for us here if you get a chance!
If you want to make a lot to keep it stored, what would be the best way to go about it?
I think you could can it in a hot water bath, Lisa. I’ve updated the recipe with canning instructions.
Can you freeze this would freezer jam? I just don’t can much anymore, I freeze or dry almost everything. Thanks, Debi
Yes, fruit butter freezes well!
Made this last summer and it turned out amazingly!! I have a nice big box of peaches for this year, but would love to be able to can some for winter and gifts-any instructions would be so helpful as I am new to canning!
I’ve recently updated the recipe with canning instructions Tiffany.
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I just finished making a batch, and it came out wonderfully. Your instructions were quite easy to follow and everything was rather simple.
I used a bit less sugar, but only minus a couple of tablespoons. I am actually going to can some of the peach butter, as it made 2.5 cups worth. Thank you again!
Enjoy!
Love peach everything and peach butter is a wonderful addition to the many different peach recipes I love, thank you for sharing, I can’t wait to try it ?