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Home › Recipe

Published: Jul 28, 2020 by Elizabeth Marek · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

Peach Filling for Pies, Cheesecakes, Fruit Toppings and More!

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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. 

peach pie filling in a glass jar

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! Jump to recipe below for all of the steps!

peach filling ingredients

PEACH FILLING STEP-BY-STEP

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! 

bowl of frozen peaches in clear glass bowl

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.

peach filling in a stainless steel pan

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.

adding cornstarch slurry to peach filling

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.

peach pie filling in a glass jar

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.

STORING AND SERVING PEACH FILLING

Now you can pour the hot filling into jars and can 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 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 filling looks. *note the difference in measurement in the recipe for ClearGel and cornstarch.

More Delicious Recipes To Try

Fresh Blueberry Filling

Apple Filling

Easy Vanilla Cake (One Bowl)

Mealy Pie Dough

Recipe

peach pie filling in a glass jar

Peach Filling

How to make your own homemade peach filling using fresh, frozen, or canned peaches! This peach filling is great for pie, hand pies, cake filling, or fruit topping! Takes less than 10 minutes to make.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cooling Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 cups
Calories: 264kcal
Author: Elizabeth Marek

Ingredients

  • 32 ounces peaches fresh or frozen, peeled and sliced
  • 8 ounces water or peach juice
  • 6 ounces white sugar
  • 2 ounces brown sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ounces ClearJel or 1.5 ounces cornstarch
  • 2 ounces cool water
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 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! 
  • Add your sliced peaches to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar.
  • 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.
  • Now you can pour the hot filling into jars and can 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 filling is good in the fridge for up to a week or 6 months in the freezer.

Video

Notes

You can use fresh, frozen, or canned peaches. Just make sure the skins are removed. 
ClearGel is not as strong as cornstarch. For every one ounce of ClearGel, use .75 ounces of cornstarch. 
ClearGel is shinier and holds up better to high heat and freezing without breaking down. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 66g | Vitamin A: 370IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather Waugh says

    July 30, 2020 at 10:56 am

    More clear gel or more cornstarch? The recipe says 2 oz clear or 1.5 oz cornstarch but the note says 1oz clear or 1.5 oz cornstarch
    Thanks Liz

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      July 31, 2020 at 9:51 am

      It should be more cleargel, I will update the note.

      Reply
  2. Sharon says

    August 08, 2020 at 5:36 am

    I prefer to use raw peaches that are not previously cooked. I bake my pies for 45 minutes. The peaches are cooked to perfection and still hold a decent shape. Using already cooked peaches and then cooking them in the oven for another 45 minutes results in a mushy filling.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      August 17, 2020 at 2:46 pm

      I disagree but to each their own 🙂

      Reply
  3. Christina says

    August 12, 2020 at 10:01 am

    5 stars
    So delicious! Thank you for the recipe, I made the BEST peach pie this year and finally didn't have a soggy crust!!

    Reply
  4. Tammy Roberts says

    May 05, 2021 at 4:00 am

    4 stars
    I made it with frozen peaches and it was quite tasty!

    Reply
4.82 from 11 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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