Easy, homemade peach pie filling that comes together in just 10 minutes. Use fresh, frozen, or canned peaches and cook it 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.
PEACH FILLING INGREDIENTS
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!
PEACH FILLING STEP-BY-STEP
Step 1 – Peel, core, and chop peaches into small, 1/2″ 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 – Place peaches in a large pan over medium heat. Add butter and stir until butter is melted. About 1 minute.
Step 3 – Add water (or peach juice), cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt. Then stir to combine.
Step 4 – Whisk (cool) water (or juice) and GlearGel (or cornstarch) together in a separate cup to make a slurry, then add to peaches while gently stirring over medium-high heat.
Pro-tip – ClearGel is not as strong as cornstarch. For every 1 ounce (28 g) of ClearGel, use 1/2 ounce of cornstarch.
Step 5 – Cook on medium-high and stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken.
Step 6 – Reduce the heat to medium, add in the lemon juice. Cook for 1 more minute to make sure the ClearGel/cornstarch is fully 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. Now you can pour the hot filling into jars and can your peach filling! Check out this blog post on canning peach pie filling for more detailed info. I usually just let the filling cool down and put it into a freezer bag to use later. The peach filling is good in the fridge for up to a week or 6 months in the freezer.
WHAT PEACHES ARE BEST FOR FILLING?
Did you know there are more than 300 varieties of peaches? They’re classified into 3 categories: freestone, clingstone, and semi-freestone. All 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 frozen peaches. The skin is removed, the pits are removed, 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.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A PEACH PIE NOT RUNNY?
ClearGel or Cornstarch – If you haven’t made many fillings then you’ve probably never heard of ClearGel. It’s basically a type of cornstarch but it stays really clear and super shiny so your filling will look more like canned cherry filling.
Cornstarch works great too but the color is a little cloudier and the filling doesn’t stay as smooth. If you plan on making a lot of fruit fillings, you should order some ClearGel and give it a try! I just love how beautiful and shiny the cherry filling looks. *note the difference in measurement in the recipe for ClearGel and cornstarch.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
Peach Filling
Ingredients
- 32 ounces (907 g) peaches fresh or frozen, peeled and sliced
- 8 ounces (227 g) water or peach juice
- 6 ounces (170 g) white sugar
- 2 ounces (56 g) brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces (56 g) ClearJel or 1.5 ounces cornstarch
- 2 ounces (56 g) cool water
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add your peaches, water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar to a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Cook the mixture until the peaches are as soft as you like them. Fresh peaches will take the longest to cook.
- Combine your ClearGel (or cornstarch) with the cool water and whisk together to make a slurry
- 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.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and add in your lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Let your mixture cool before you use it!
