A slow cooker is the easiest way to cook this peach butter recipe. You need low temperatures for a long time without scorching. It can also be cooked on a stovetop at a very low temperature, stirring often. Remember the without scorching part!
Other Fruit Butter Recipes
I’ve made apple, pear, and peach butter recipes, but other fruit can be used as well. Apricots, plums, grapes, and even crabapples can be used for fruit butter. Some fruits benefit from the addition of apple juice or cider.
Can you make fruit butter in quarts?
I talk here about doing apple butter in quarts. So if you are thinking of doing big jars… Read this first. Apple Butter in Quarts. Also remember, this processing instruction for this recipe is only for pints or half-pints.
What about White Peaches?
One thing to note, this recipe is for regular yellow-fleshed peaches. White peaches are one of the rare fruits that are actually low acid. They can not be safely preserved by a boiling water bath.
Can you Freeze Fruit Butter?
Yes, you can freeze fruit butter. It is a great way to preserve this quickly and easily. A good option for when you make just a little. I’ve frozen small batches before. Any freezer container works but I like to use freezer bags for this. Simply let your fruit butter cool, add it to the freezer bag, squeeze out any air, seal, mark your bags with contents and date, and put it in the freezer. Freezer bags lay flat and take up little room.
If you want to make fruit butter from white peaches you could use these directions to make the butter… then freeze it. Do not process it for storage on the shelf.
How to make peach butter.
Use ripe fruit. Wash, remove any bruises or bad spots, and prepare according to these directions.
- Using 4-4.5 pounds of peaches yields about 4 pints of peach butter.
- Wash and blanch peaches to peel. Remove pits.
- Combine peaches and 1/2 cup water. Simmer until fruit is soft. (see below for slow cooker or pot directions)
- Measure out 2 quarts of pulp.
After you have your pulp, combine fruit pulp, sugar, and desired spices.
Now I’ll be honest…. I rarely measure out the precise amounts of pulp and sugar. However, I wanted to include it because that is the way the NCFHFP instructs. And if you think about it …. it really makes sense to do it this way. If you measure your pulp and sugar, you’ll know just the exact amount of sugar you used and can replicate it next time.
Spices like cinnamon or cloves are often used. It enhances the flavor. You can use whole spices if you want, but place them in a cheesecloth bag and remove them when you fill your jars.
Optional Spices for Peach Butter – not required but Oh So Good!
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. salt
3 Options for Cooking the Peach Butter
A slow cooker is my go-to method for cooking fruit butter. Simply place your fruit and a bit of water in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or so. This gets things cooking faster. Stir and set on low. Add sugar, and spice mixture to the cooker. At this point, I leave the lid ajar to allow moisture to escape. The butter thickens sooner this way. Allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally as the fruit gets softer. Finish off with a whisk for a smooth product. This can cook overnight if you have a cooker that will not heat up too much. In my experience, new slow cookers cook too high to be left that long and will end up scorching.
On the stovetop, cook on very low and stir often. The fruit may scorch if you are not careful. This would be the least efficient way to do this, in my opinion.
If you want to cook it in the oven, use a wide pan and bake on low at 275°F. A glass baking dish works well. I would avoid aluminum as you may end up with that flavor in your butter. Check often, stirring occasionally. This might be anywhere from 2-3 hours…or more. It varies a lot according to your fruit and how juicy it is.
Peach Butter Not Thickening
I have used a recipe online for peach butter. However I can not get it to thicken. I remember apple butter as a kid and this is very thin compared.
-db222 (Spokane)
One possibility is too cook it longer. I know apple butter thickens as it cooks; I would think peach butter would be the same. It is also possible that peach butter will be thinner by nature. Peaches are much more juicy than apples.
Reader Tips on Thickening Peach Butter
Peach Butter
by: The Frugal Fraulein
I did nectarine butter this year, and it was very runny to begin with. I put it in a strainer with cheesecloth and let some of the juice drain out and it did thicken up for me by cooking it slowly and stirring a lot. Hope that helps. (Ha, it isn’t runny peach butter. It is simply delicious peach sauce for pound cake!)
My Peach Butter
by: Jaime
My peach butter was a little thinner than my apple butter, but I had to cook for a really long time to get it to thicken up.
Peach Butter
by: Brianchef
I make peach butter each year, adding different “flavorings” each year to experiment. That said, my peach butter is either cooked to the right thickness in the oven at 250 degrees for 6 hours plus, or in the Crockpot overnight with no lid (8 to 12 hours). This works for most fruit butters I make. When it is the right consistency, I can, refrigerate, freeze, or package for immediate gift giving.
Peach Butter
by: Hope
I made peach butter for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t find a recipe I liked online. I finally chose one but didn’t quite like having to put apples in it. I wanted peach butter, not apple peach butter.
I since learned that adding the apples was for the pectin, because the riper the fruit, the less pectin, and peaches very much so.
The recipe called for the same amount of diced apples as it did peaches. I made it but omitted the lemon juice, since it stank so bad when I added it. I felt like it would not taste right.
I have quite a few of those canned and it tastes fine with the apples. I don’t even taste those. I wanted my peach preserves (that’s what I really wanted to can) with the apples and didn’t want it to darken in color. So I didn’t cook it as long.
It came out kind of thin, but once cooled in the fridge, I decided I was okay with the outcome. It wasn’t just going to run off my toast. I really liked the chunks of peach too! And the color seemed just perfect to me!
Then I talked to my mom. She said it was tedious. Time consuming. Be patient, that I couldn’t rush it. I just needed to cook it down, slowly.
It takes her cooking down her apples to apple butter two evenings on the stove. I did my peaches that way. Wah-lah! Peach butter!
I had 11 peeled, pitted, and diced peaches. Cooked down on setting 3 of 10 on my stove burner, stirring constantly so it doesn’t scorch.
About 3 hrs. It was very thick. The next evening, I cooked it more. It turned slightly darker this time around. I added a cup and a half of sugar.
Stir every couple of minutes. Literally! The sugar burns faster. I had my stove on setting 1 this time and still had bubbles coming through!
I cooked it until it was real thick again, this time around about 3 hrs total again. I had 3 half pints and a 4 oz jam jar. Just my experience.
Peach Butter
by: Kim
Be very careful to not liquify the peaches if you use a blender or food processor. It takes forever to cook down and will lose all flavor and turn to dark before it gets thick enough.
Repurposed Thin Peach Butter
by: Nancy
If you feel that your peach preserves or butter are too thin, I’ve found that it makes an excellent glaze for roast pork!
Thin Peach Butter
by: Anonymous
The probable reason for peach butter being thinner than apple butter is the fact that peaches have a lower natural pectin concentration so therefore do not thicken the same. Fruit pectin can be purchased separately and added if you really desire that same thick consistency.
Peach Butter
by: Vicki
I just made peach butter. Late morning I had put my peaches through my Victorio until I had just under 2 quarts. I then pitted, peeled and diced a couple more peaches and added that to make 2 quarts.
I put into the Crockpot and added 4 cups of sugar. I set on high. By 8pm it was beginning to thicken. I decided to transfer it to the stove and I cooked it, stirring constantly on med. high and it thickened some more and was a beautiful color. I used a hand held blender that can go into a hot pan and smoothed out any chunks.
Since it was 10pm I decided to finish it this morning. I cooked it for another hour and it did thicken up but not as thick as apple butter. I canned it but I had little bit left over and as it sat and cooled it did thicken up beautifully. As long as it’s hot it will be thinner.
Next time I may do the same process but allow for it to be in the Crockpot for a full 2 days or I may peel and dice all the peaches and just cook slowly on the stove, being patient that I will have to babysit the pan and continually stir it to keep from scorching.
Nothing worse than having all that hard work go to waste by having a burned taste! The end result is worth all the work.
BTW the way…the Lancaster, PA peaches were BEYOND EXCELLENT this year.
Peach Butter
by: Anonymous
My recipe says to cook it for 3 hrs, which I did. It was a perfect consistency by that time. You have to put it on low simmer; otherwise it bubbles & pops out of the pan. Stir it every 15 to 20 min.
Processing Times for Pints or Half Pints in Water Bath Canner
- 0-1,000 – 10 minutes
- 1,001-3,000 – 15 minutes
- 3,001-6,000 -20 minutes
- 6,001-8,000 – 25 minutes
- 8,001-10,000 – 30 minutes
Peach butter recipe card
Peach Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- 4.5 pounds Peaches
- 4 cups sugar
- Spices to taste, cinnamon, cloves, salt
Instructions
- Once the fruit butter is made, you will need to start by preparing jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed. See full water bath canning instructions here.
- Wash and blanch your peaches to peel and remove the pits.
- Add to the crockpot with 1/2 cup water to prevent sticking.
- Cook on high approximately 3 hours.
- Stir and cook on low. Cook stirring occasionally until peaches are soft.
- Add sugar to taste. Suggestion is 4 cups sugar to 1 quart pulp.
- Optional – Add spices to taste. A suggestion is 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp salt.
- Stir well and continue to cook on low stirring occasionally until sauce is the consistency you like. Butter will round up on spoon. Leave lid off or ajar to alow steam to escape.
For a Hot Pack
- Fill hot jars with peach butter. Leave a 1/4 inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles, wipe rim clean, and place seal and ring.
- Place jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars.
- Process according to the chart below.
Processing Time
- 0-1,000 – 10 minutes
- 1,001-3,000 – 15 minutes
- 3,001-6,000 – 20 minutes
- 6,001-8,000 – 25 minutes
- 8,001-10,000 – 30 minutes
Adapted from: The National Center for Home Food Preservation and the Ball Blue Book.
Last Updated: 2-7-2021
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Page last updated: 2/21/2020
Sharon Peterson is a wife, mom of 4 sons, home gardener and home food preservation fanatic! Click here to find out more.
