Stewed peaches are a quick and easy-to-make topping for ice cream, waffles, pancakes, and more! All you need to make this recipe for stewed peaches is a few basic ingredients and about 20 minutes.
Do you have a ton of summer peaches all ripening at once? This always happens to me - they all go from rock hard to almost too ripe in a matter of seconds it seems! If you need a quick, low-effort and easy recipe to make with all your ripe peaches, this stewed peaches recipe is just what you need.
Stewed peaches are simple to make, but that's what great about them - the beautiful flavor of the peaches is front and center! The peaches are simply cooked on the stove top with sugar, cinnamon and a bit of lemon, until they are tender and the juices from the peaches release, creating a delicious syrup.
Ingredients
As I mentioned, you only need a few ingredients to make this stewed peaches recipe:
- Peaches: any kind will do, but I do have some tips on choosing peaches in the next section. However, they should be ripe for the very best flavor!
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice
- Cinnamon
- Water
Looking for more delicious and easy fruit desserts? Try my recipes for Mango Trifle and Crazy Crust Apple Pie!
FAQ
You can use any type of peach you like. I used yellow peaches this time, but white peaches are also lovely (they have almost a honey-like flavor that is really nice).
The most important part is that the peaches are ripe. I tried making this recipe with underripe peaches to see if cooking them longer would help transform them, but I just couldn't achieve the soft, tender texture I was looking for.
In addition to using ripe peaches, I also recommend buying freestone peaches, rather than clingstone. Freestone peaches are the kind where the flesh of the peach releases fully from the pit when you open it up. This makes it much easier to cut into neat wedges! (Fortunately, most of the peaches you can find in the grocery store will be freestone.)
For this stewed peaches recipe, you will first need to peel the peaches. There are a couple different ways you can peel peaches, including blanching them in water to loosen the skins.
For me, I like going the low-effort route, and I found it pretty simple to just peel the peaches with a paring knife, like how you would peel an apple or potato. You can also use a peeler, but I found this tugged a little bit on the flesh of very ripe peaches. 
Stewed peaches taste wonderful on so many different things! Try it on vanilla (or peach!) ice cream, pound or angel food cake, waffles, pancakes, and even oatmeal! Or, eat it all by itself, warm with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon. Yum!
Step by step photos
Here's a quick rundown on how to make this stewed peaches recipe, with step by step photos. (For the full directions, please check out the recipe card down below!)
- Peel the peaches and cut them into wedges.
- Place them in a saucepan with sugar, water, lemon juice and cinnamon.
- Boil gently, stirring occasionally with a silicone spatula (which does a better job than a wooden spoon of not mushing the soft peaches!).
- Stop the cooking when the peaches are very tender and the liquid has thickened. (The juices will thicken more as it cools.) Add it to your favorite dessert or enjoy as-is!
If you’ve tried this Stewed Peaches recipe, please let me know what you thought about it in the comments down below, I would love to hear from you! And, you can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious recipes from Nibble and Dine!
📖 Recipe
Stewed Peaches
An easy preparation for ripe peaches. Peaches are peeled, sliced, and boiled in their own juices to create a delectable topping for just about any dessert!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 - 5 ripe peaches (to equal 4 cups when cut into wedges)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- pinch of cinnamon
Instructions
- Peel the peaches* and cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the pit, then cut each half into 3 wedges (for 6 total wedges per peach). Measure out 4 cups of the peach wedges.
- Place the peach wedges, along with the sugar, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon into a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture up to a boil, stirring gently with a silicone spatula to help the sugar begin to dissolve in the liquid.
- Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Cook for 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the peaches are very soft but still hold their shape, and the liquid released from the peaches has begun to thicken.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow the stewed peaches to cool slightly before serving. The syrup from the peaches will continue to thicken as it cools.
Notes
*I like to use a sharp paring knife to peel the peaches, but feel free to use your favorite method.
Debra
This was great will be making this again. So easy and fast to make.
Kate
Thank you Debra I'm really glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Roni Hold
What if I want to use the peaches in a slice and how do you peel them ..
Kate
Hi Roni, thank you for your question! When you say peaches in a slice, do you mean can you slice them first and then peel them? Or do you mean canned or fresh peaches that are already sliced?
For whole peaches, I would peel them first with a paring knife and then slice them. Or, if you want to use canned peaches I think those are usually already peeled. Canned peaches are also already cooked I believe, so they will get very soft when stewing so you may want to cook them for less time.
If you happen to find peaches that are already sliced and you want to peel them, I think you can still use a paring knife and just carefully peel each piece. Worst case scenario, you can stew the peach slices with the peels on. The peels will loosen as they cook and you can either leave the peels or pick them out of the finished dish. I hope this answers your question, and if not, please write back and I will try to provide an answer for you!
Michelle Fuller
What happens if you were to cook it longer than the suggested cooking time?
Kate
Hi Michelle, thank you for your question! The cook time will depend on how ripe the peaches are and your personal preference on how soft you want the stewed peaches to be. If you want to cook them a little longer, they will just become more tender and eventually will start to break apart. You may not mind that - they would still be delicious, and nice and saucy! If you try the recipe please let me know how you liked it!
Rikki
Delicious and simple. My children loved this!
Kate
I'm so glad Rikki that your kids enjoyed the stewed peaches. When I make something my kids are excited to eat it makes me feel so good! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Karen
Thank you for sharing. I picked up fresh peaches today and was wishing I had paid attention to how mom use to cook them on the stove. This sounds exactly right, except she didn't use cinnamon, and can't wait to try it. Will bring back great memories of mom.
Kate
Aw Karen this is so nice, thank you for sharing. I hope when you make the recipe it does give you warm memories of spending time with your mom. And I hope the recipe lives up to your expectations and memories of how your mom used to do it. I'm thinking now I need to go call my mom and let her know how much I love her! <3
Barb
I tried this recipe but cut the sugar to 1 fourth of a cup. After they were cooked I pulverized further with a potato masher and poured them into popsicle molds and froze. Absolutely delicious.
Kate
Ooo Barb that sounds really delicious!! I will have to try it, thank you for sharing 🙂
Ray Breen
I have 3 young peach trees and picked the remaing last ones the other day. I needed to do something as the peaches were getting good and ripe on the kitchen counter. I had enough to do a triple batch and your recipe looked very good. The stewed peaches are great even without any other dessert. It was a nice way to use up my peaches. Thanks for sharing your recipe Kate!
Ray Breen
Kate
Thank you Ray I hope that you enjoy the recipe! I would love to have peach trees that sounds really nice 🙂