How to Can Peaches

A step by step tutorial for Canning Peaches with a water bath canner.  All you need is ripe peaches, jars, sugar, and water!

I love canning peaches and using them to make homemade peach cobbler all year round!

My kids LOVE helping me can peaches!  If you love preserving delicious things, check out my canned Applesauce, canned tomatoes, and blackberry jam or raspberry, strawberry, and peach freezer jam.

Growing up, my mom taught us how to can, and it’s a little piece of my childhood that I hope to pass on to my children. It’s a great way to preserve fruits and this step by step tutorial will allow you to enjoy fresh peaches all year round!

Equipment for Canning Peaches:

To make 7 quarts of peaches (1 batch):

• 7 sterilized quart jars with lids and rings
• Waterbath canner
• Jar grabber, or some sort of tongs to lift the hot jars
• Peaches (about 17 lbs fresh, ripe peaches) 
• Sugar, honey, or juice

Which peaches are best?

Freestone peaches are the best and easiest to use for canning because unlike “cling” stone peaces, the pit comes out very easily. Cling peaches stick to the pit and are very difficult to separate so you’ll likely loose a lot of good peach flesh in the process of trying to remove the pit.

Avoid white peaches for canning as they are thought to not have a high enough acidic content to withstand canning safely. Choose peaches that are large and ripe, but not overly ripe.  Make sure they are still slightly firm when you squeeze them.

Simple Syrup for Canning:

One of the great things about canning your own peaches is you can choose what type of syrup to use and how much sugar to use. My recipes uses the light sugar syrup.

How to Can Peaches:

*Find the printable recipe in greater detail at the bottom of the post.

Prep your jars: Sterilize jars and rings (I wash mine on the “bottle” cycle in my dishwasher) and purchase new un-used lids, for a proper seal.

Prep water bath: Fill your water bath canner with enough water to cover about 2 inches above the jars. Bring the water to a boil. You want to keep the water hot until you are ready to add the jars.

Peel peaches and add to jars!  Follow my tutorial for how to peel peaches by blanching them in hot water, then putting them in an ice bath so the skin peels off really easily. Then fill your jars with fresh peach slices as you slice them.

Add simple syrup:  Mix sugar with very hot water, stir and pour into each peach jar. Tap the jars gently on the counter to remove air bubbles. Wipe the rims and sides of the jars clean before applying the lids.

Place jars in prepared canner: Place a hot lid securely on top of each of the jars, secure with the rings, then lower them into water bath. Bring the water to a boil, then process them for 25 minutes (longer if at high altitude).

Remove jars and let rest.  Place a large towel or dishrag on your countertop. After the 25 minutes is up, turn the burner off and remove the lid. Allow the jars to rest for 5 more minutes, then use tongs or jar lifters to move the jars onto the towel to rest. Allow the jars to cool completely before storing them in a dry place.

Test and Store. After several hours you can check the seals by tapping the top of the jars to make sure they all sealed properly before you store them. If the center pops up and down at all, they did not seal properly (stick the jar in the fridge and eat within a week).

Storing Tips:

How long? When you are finished canning peaches, be sure to store them properly. They will store for 12-18 months (at best quality), and are often safe eating even longer after that.

Did they seal properly? Check if your peaches are safe to eat by looking for signs of leaking or rusting on the mason jars. Press down on the center of the lid: it should not pop back. If it sits flat it is safe, but if it pops back, it has not sealed properly. Also make sure there is still liquid covering the peaches and that the peaches look like a nice bright color.

What if they didn’t seal? If your peaches haven’t sealed properly, you have a couple options. You can eat them now, put them in the fridge and eat them within in a few days, or reprocess them. If reprocessing in the water bath canner, first check there there weren’t any cracks in the jar and then use a new lid to reseal.

If your peaches start to develop a foul odor, become discolored, or if you see signs of mold, these are signs of spoilage and you should discard them!

Hot pack vs. Raw pack:

This recipe uses the raw pack canning method where jars are filled with raw peaches as opposed to filling them with hot, cooked peaches in the hot pack method. Both methods involve adding a hot syrup to jars once peaches have been added. Raw packing is simpler and faster, but may result in floating fruit (fruit that floats to the top of the jar after processing). Hot pack canning is thought to result in fruit that is more brightly colored and may have a longer shelf life. Hot packed canning takes a little longer as you have to handle hot peaches and liquid, and they need to process for 5 additional minutes. To use the hot pack method, see recipe variations below.

If you can the peaches without additional sugar (adding only water, without a simple syrup, honey or juice), you must hot pack the fruit.

Recipe Variations:

• Hot pack canning: To use the hot pack method, in step 7 of the recipe card, use a large pot to heat the 6 cups of water and slowly stir in the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn to a simmer and add the sliced peaces. Simmer the peaches for about 5 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to fill the jars with the hot peaches. Fill with hot syrup and continue with remaining directions.
• No water bath canner? If you don’t have a water bath canner, check out this resource for canning peaches with a regular stock pot.
• Freeze peaches: another great option for preserving fresh peaches is to freeze them. Peel and cut peaches and store them in a freezer safe bag or container for 5-6 months. Use them to make peach frozen yogurt, or in smoothies.
• Add cinnamon: for a yummy cinnamon flavor, place one cinnamon stick in the bottom of each jar before adding the peaches.
• Add vanilla: for a yummy vanilla flavor, add a vanilla bean pod (slit and seeds removed), to the simple syrup when you heat it. Remove it before pouring liquid on peaches.
• Substitute sugar for honey or juice: see graphic above for ratios to use when substituting honey or juice in this recipe.

Looking for more PEACH recipes?

• Peach Cobbler
• Peach Scones
• Baked Peaches
• Fresh Peach Pie
• Peach Crisp

FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!

HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

I originally shared this recipe August 2015. Updated July 2021.

This post contains affiliate links.