How To Freeze Peaches The Easy Way

How to Freeze Peaches

The next time you see peaches on sale at the store or farmer’s market, or you find them at peak flavor, pick up a few extra to stock the freezer for future use. This is one of my favorite ways to have the best flavor and lowest cost for fresh fruit throughout the year. And I love that it means I have a stash of fruit on hand to use easily, even when we’re out of fresh fruit. I also freeze a few slices here and there when the kids have some left over at meals or snacks. I just stash them into a freezer bag to use in future Peach Smoothies, peach Cottage Cheese Smoothie, Peach Yogurt, Fruit Popsicles, or Peach Sauce. I even sometimes blend them into Ice Pops to work as a yummy beach snack. It’s such an easy way to reduce food waste!

Ingredients You Need

You just need fresh, ripe peaches for this! For the best flavor, use ripe peaches that give just a little to the touch and smell like a peach. Rock-hard peaches won’t have the best flavor. Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent to your inbox. If they are hard when you bring them home, let them sit at room temperature for a few days until they hit that point of just giving slightly to the touch and are fragrant. I like to buy a flat of peaches from the store when local ones are in stock in the summer since they tend to be the best flavor and the lowest cost. (I usually also can peaches once a summer if we find them for a great price.)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s a look at the simple process of freezing peaches so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full information. You don’t have to use a baking sheet to thaw the fruit first if you simply lay it flat in one single layer in the freezer bag. That method ensures that the fruit doesn’t freeze together. And removing the air reduces the potential for freezer burn.

Recipes for Frozen Peaches

You can use them in so many ways. Here are some of my favorite peach recipes to make after I freeze peaches, whether you thaw first or not.

Best Tips for Freezing Peaches

If adding to a Peach Muffin recipe, cut them up (while still frozen) with kitchen shears to make smaller pieces. You don’t have to peel or blanch the peaches, though you could if you want to. Increase or decrease the amount of peaches as desired. Remove as much air from the bag as you can before freezing to limit ice crystals from forming. You can also just freeze a few leftover slices here or there to preserve leftovers from kids’ meals. Use plastic freezer bags, either gallon- or quart-sized, or a reusable silicone freezer bag from Stasher bag. This works with freestone peaches, clingstone peaches, peeled peaches, or leftover peaches. You may prefer to preserve peaches by canning peaches or make Peach Puree Baby Food and freeze it.

I’d love to hear if you try this and have feedback or if you have any questions, so please comment and rate the method below.