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.
I have made peach butter in the past and it was a big hit. I no longer have fresh peaches and thought about buying canned peaches. What do you think?
Technically it should work, I would think.
Oh and I’ve made my jams so far with honey from our hives. Seriously changes the flavor. And you could probably only need a quarter cup of Honey. Our peaches are super sweet and juicy. I add pumpkin spice and a bit of salt. Don’t forget about a half cup of good Bourbon and vanilla and almond extracts.
I’ve never experimented with using honey in my preserves, I need to try that, I bet the flavor is really good.
Thanks for the recipe. I had some peaches that were over ripe because I thought the whole lug was mealy, but not all so looked for something to do with them. I wished I had read to the bottom as I almost always 1/2 the amount of sugar so used a scant 1/2 cup for 5 cups of diced peaches. 1/2 cup would be perfect. Looked at the original recipe and it used 2 cups of sugar? WOWZA. I like it! Thanks!
Currently making this a lovely recipe and my house smells yummy! I added cinnamon and nutmeg. A couple notes: if you are at altitude, allow extra time to reduce the liquid (I’m at 8300 feet and it is taking about double the time). Also, if you are canning, I would suggest doubling or tripling the recipe. It’s a good amount of work and you’ll want to have enough cans to pass along to family and friends!
Thanks for the tips Deb!
I am making this now. Did I read that this can be frozen, say in freezer bags? Thx!!
Yes, you can definitely freeze it, in containers or bags.
I’ve died and gone to peach heaven! Absolutely delicious. I’ll be canning mine for gifts…. maybe… lol! IDK if I’ll be able to give it away. This might replace the peach preserves that I make every year-so much less sugar yet still all that bright wonderful flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
If there is a peach heaven, this is surely it 🙂 It’s interesting because preserves have traditionally been made with so much sugar, but it’s been discovered that sugar isn’t necessary for safe canning, so that opens the door to so many healthier recipes.
Sue, your recipe says it makes 1 pint+, is there a more accurate quantity you can provide? I can for gifts and I’m looking to add a spiced Peach Butter to my Pumpkin Butter and Apple Butter assortment in gifts. I’ll likely double to recipe but I don’t want to have too little or too much. I’m sorry, I know I’m being picky.
No that’s understandable Kele, it makes just over a pint in this case. But it could vary depending on how much you cook it down. And a spiced peach butter sounds so amazing, I should have done that!
Am making a second half batch to give to my daughter. This is delicious and very easy! I made the first batch in half quantity in case we didn’t like it,as fresh peaches are expensive. We liked it so much that my daughter asked for a jar! We grow blueberries and have a ton in our freezer so maybe I will try this with those. Thanks for the super recipe, 5 thumbs up!
How much cinnamon would you put in a batch like this
Cinnamon is pretty strong, so I might start with a little less than a teaspoon and taste it.
Can I use apples instead? What type works best?
My grandmother used to make apple butter but unfortu I never got her recipe.
Thank you
Absolutely! There’s no hard and fast rule for which apples you should use, but I like to use apples with strong apple flavor, and there’s no reason you can’t mix apple varieties, either. Go for a tart and a sweet apple for a good balance.