Peach Filling

Easy, homemade peach pie filling that comes together in just 10 minutes. Use fresh, frozen, or canned peaches and cook them ahead of time to avoid soggy crusts and uncooked filling. Use it for pies, hand pies, or on top of cheesecakes! You don't need to buy those super-sweet canned peaches ever again. 

One of my favorite fruits is peaches. When I was growing up we had one singular peach tree in our backyard, and we were NEVER allowed to pick those fruits. We rarely got more than a dozen peaches, but every now and then, we'd get more, and my sisters and I MIGHT be lucky enough to get one.

In my mind, a sun-ripened peach is nature's ultimate candy. Now that I'm an adult with adult money, I love to visit local farms and pick as many peaches as I can, and freeze them so I can make my own peach filling so I can enjoy fresh peaches any time of the year.

Ingredients needed

You can use any kind of peaches you want, fresh, frozen, or even canned (just drain the liquid and use it for the water measurement). I'm using ClearGel as the thickening agent because it stays very clear, is super shiny, and freezes well. You can also use cornstarch! Jump to recipe below for all of the steps!

Peaches - You can use fresh or frozen peaches to make your own filling. Ideally, fresh, in-season peaches are best. If you can visit a local farm and get some, even better. Make sure you're getting peaches that are no-cling so the pit is easily removed. Avoid out-of-season, grocery store peaches. They taste like nothing. If it's off-season, get frozen peaches, which are picked at the peak of freshness and flash frozen.

ClearJel is used in this recipe because I prefer how the finished filling looks. It's clear and glossy. You can use cornstarch, but the finished product will be cloudy.

How to make the peach filling

Step 1 – Peel, core, and chop the peaches into small, ½" cubes or thin slices, depending on what you're using the filling for. I like small pieces for things like hand pies and larger pieces for peach pie or for use as a topping. Make sure you remove the skins, or they will taste chewy and not have a great texture. You can also use frozen peaches, which makes this even easier! 

Step 2 – Add your sliced peaches to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar.

Step 3 – Cook the mixture until the peaches are as soft as you like them. Fresh peaches will take the longest to cook.

Step 4 – Combine your ClearGel (or cornstarch) with the cool water and whisk together to make a slurry.

Pro-tip - ClearGel is not as strong as cornstarch. For every 1 ounce (28 g) of ClearGel, use ½ ounce of cornstarch.

Step 6 – Pour the slurry into your hot peach mixture and cook until the peach filling is nice and thick and turns clear. 3-5 minutes. Cook for one more minute to make sure the ClearGel is thoroughly cooked.

Pro-tip – Cornstarch doesn't like acid, so it's best to add the lemon after your cornstarch has cooked out a bit. 

Step 7 – Remove the mixture from the heat and add in your lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

How to store peach filling

Now you can pour the hot filling into jars and store your peach filling! Check out this blog post on canning peach pie filling for more detailed info. Storing in the fridge will work, but I prefer to let the filling cool down and freeze peach pie filling. The peach filling is good in the fridge for up to a week or 6 months in the freezer. 

This peach filling can be used in pies, on top of cheesecakes, in between cake layers, or even served warm on top of vanilla ice cream with a little bit of sugar-cinnamon mixture. Make sure your filling is room temperature or cooler before using it as a cake filling so it doesn't melt your frosting.

What peaches are best?

Did you know there are more than 300 varieties of peaches? They're classified into 3 categories: freestone, clingstone, and semi-freestone. All are determined by how the flesh clings to the peach.

Freestone peaches are best for baking because they're usually larger and less juicy than clingstone peaches. If you have to pit a ton of fruit, you'll be thankful that the pits come out easily. 

I actually prefer to use local Oregon frozen peaches. The skin is removed, the pits are removed, and they are already sliced and picked at the peak of freshness! So, unless you happen to visit the farmers' market and score a big bushel of fresh, juicy peaches, frozen is the most reliable. 

You can also use canned peaches! If you go this route, you won't need to cook them very much because they are already cooked. Opt for peaches in juice instead of syrup to avoid the filling getting too sickly sweet. 

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