Overhead of open freezer bag filled with individually frozen peach slices.

There are certain fruits that just arenโ€™t worth purchasing out of season, and peaches are one of them. Off-season peaches are mealy and flavorless, which is a shame, because a perfectly ripe peach in season is one of the most delectable, sweet, and flavorful fruits on the planet. So whatโ€™s a peach-loving person to do? Freeze them while theyโ€™re in season!

Peaches freeze beautifully, and they retain their color and flavor well. Frozen peaches work wonderfully in smoothies, crisps and crumbles, oatmeal, and even jam! Letโ€™s show you how to freeze fresh peaches.

Overhead of whole and halved fresh peaches on kitchen linen and a wooden cutting board.

How do I freeze fresh peaches without them turning brown?

Like apples and avocados, peaches tend to turn brown when they are exposed to air. To prevent this, itโ€™s as easy as treating the peaches with either a lemon juice and water mixture, an ascorbic acid and water mix, or a produce protector like Fruit Fresh.

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Overhead of fresh peach slices in a bowl filled with water and lemon juice to prevent browning.

Can I freeze peaches without sugar?

Yepโ€”in fact, unsweetened is my preferred way to freeze peaches!

Do I need to peel peaches first? How do I do that?

You absolutely do not need to peel peaches before freezingโ€”I almost never do! The peels just slip right off the peaches once theyโ€™ve defrosted, so I just freeze them with the skin on. But if you prefer to peel them before freezing, hereโ€™s how:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
  2. Drop ripe peaches into the boiling water a few at a time, and let blanch for 1-2 minutes, or until the skins start to peel off.
  3. Using a slotted spoon or sieve, fish out the peaches and immediately plunge into the bowl of ice water.
  4. Once the peaches have cooled, peel off the skins.

Overhead of fresh peach slices on a wooden cutting board with two whole peaches and a knife.

Can you freeze fresh peaches with the skin on?

You sure can! In fact, itโ€™s my preferred way. The skin on frozen peaches is fine to eatโ€”I like to keep it on for smoothies. And if you want peeled peaches, just run the frozen peaches under water for a few seconds, and the skin should slip right off.

Are there different kinds of peaches?

Sure are! There are two main types of peachesโ€”freestone and clingstone. This refers to how much the flesh of the peach โ€œclingsโ€ to the pit. When youโ€™re eating them fresh, it doesnโ€™t much matter what kind you get, but if you are processing peaches for freezing, you want to look for freestone peaches. This makes it easy to remove the pit from the peaches and will make quick work for you! If you ask the farmer, market, or orchard, they should know what kind of peaches they have.

Wholefully Protip

For preserving, youโ€™ll want to track down freestone peaches, which will make your processing go much more quickly!

Overhead of whole, fresh peaches in a bowl and halved peaches on kitchen linen.

How do you remove pits from peaches?

With freestone peaches, itโ€™s a breeze to remove the pits! Hereโ€™s how:

  1. Use a knife and slice into the peach along the peach line.
  2. Work the knife all the way around, following the line.
  3. Twist the two peach halves apart.
  4. Pull the pit out.

Collage of images showing how to pit a peach in 4 steps.

Teach me how to freeze peaches!

  1. Wash and prepare your peaches how youโ€™d like them to be frozenโ€”slices or halves are common.
  2. Treat your peaches using either a lemon juice and water mixture or a produce protector like Fruit Fresh.
  3. Place the peaches in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid.
  4. Transfer the peaches to a freezer container. Label and then freeze until use.

Close-up of individually frozen peach slices on a baking sheet.

How do I freeze peaches whole?

To freeze peaches whole, just slide them into a freezer bag and squeeze out as much air as you can. Easy peasy! The (big!) downside of this is that you have to wait for the entire peach to defrost to remove the pit. No tossing a whole peach into the blender for a smoothie.

I prefer to do sliced peaches because they are the most versatile, but pitted peach halves are a nice compromise. They are simpler to freeze than sliced, but faster to defrost than whole!

Close-up of a column of peach slices on a baking sheet.

What are the best containers for freezing peaches?

Take a peek in my freezer, and youโ€™ll see an assortment of glass containers and plastic bags holding my frozen fruit. Here are the ways I store frozen peaches:

  1. Glass Food Storage Containersโ€”I love that these are reusable, and they stack so nicely in a chest or upright freezer. The downside is that they are a little spendier, and they take up the most space.
  2. Glass Canning Jarsโ€”We use glass jars for everything in our house, so itโ€™s no surprise that we use them for freezing, too! Note that only the jars with straight sides are suitable for freezing.
  3. Zip-top Freezer Bagsโ€”I donโ€™t always love single-use plastics, but freezer bags are affordable and space-saving, so I do use them from time to time. When you seal them, squeeze out as much air as possible to help the peaches last longer.
  4. Vacuum Sealing Bagsโ€”These are also single-use plastic, but they take up even less space than the zip-top bags. I only recommend these if you plan to use the whole bag at once, because it is hard to reseal the bags.

Overhead of three freezer bags filled with individually frozen peach slices lying on their sides. The bags are labeled "Peaches!"

Can I freeze fresh peaches to make jam later?

Absolutely! This is my favorite canning hackโ€”frozen fruit works great for jam, and freezing your peaches first gives you more flexibility for when you do your jamming. Peach season is the hottest time of the year here, so itโ€™s nice to be able to have preserves simmering on the stove all afternoon on a cooler day.

Close-up of fresh peach slices on a wooden cutting board.

How else can I use frozen peaches?

Frozen peaches are super versatile! Like all frozen fruit, the texture of frozen peaches is different than that of fresh. But they hold their flavor, and that’s the most important part! Here are some of my favorite ways to use frozen peaches:

  • Make a smoothie. Drop them into one of our more than two dozen smoothie recipes!
  • Peach crisp. Use frozen peach slices to make our single serving peach crisp. You can also use them in peach cobblers or peach pies.
  • Peach oatmeal. This is one of my favorite ways to use frozen peaches! Itโ€™s such an amazing treat in the middle of winter.
  • Peach sorbet. Our Peach and White Wine Sorbet is a light and refreshing dessert to try this summer.
  • Mix them into overnight oats. Take any of our 15 amazing overnight oats recipes and add some chopped peaches for a fruity boost.
  • Make some peach jam! Jars of this jam make for beautiful gifts, but be sure to save some for yourself, too!
 
Overhead of open freezer bag filled with individually frozen peach slices.

How to Freeze Peaches

Yield: 2 pounds
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Save the fresh flavors of summer by learning how to freeze peaches! We'll stock your freezer with fresh peaches to use in crisps, smoothies, and oatmeal.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds freestone peaches
  • Anti-browning treatment (Fruit Fresh or diluted lemon juiceโ€”1 tablespoon lemon juice per cup of water)

Instructions

  1. Wash and pit your peaches. Cut into halves or slices.
  2. Treat your peaches with either Fruit Fresh or diluted lemon juice.
  3. Spread the peaches in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Freeze until solid.
  4. Transfer peaches to a freezer bag or container.

Notes

This can be done with any amount of peaches. Just be sure to keep them in a single layer in the initial freeze, which may require working in batches.

To remove the skin of the frozen peaches, run them under water for a few seconds, and the skin should slip right off.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 cup slices
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 44Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 2gSugar: 10gProtein: 1g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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14 Comments

  1. What options do I have if I am allergic to lemon and the fruit fresh? I have peaches I want to freeze after I slice them.

    1. Hi Kathy! Another option we’ve used before is ascorbic acid mixed with water. Ascorbic acid is the vitamin that’s present in citrus that keeps foods from browning. If that’s not what you’re allergic to, then it would be a good alternative!

  2. I had 25# of Georgia peaches from The Peach Truck ordered. They came just before I moved to another residence. So followed online advice and froze them whole. The problem I am finding, when thawing in the refrigerator, they are tasty but mushy and overly juicy. Some are a bit brownish. I can see using them for smoothies but would have liked to make a peach crisp. If I do, I know that I will not know how to guage the right ratio of thickening such as cornstarch to peaches. Am afraid it will be a mess.
    Got any ideas?

    1. Hi Joanne! Frozen peaches definitely don’t maintain the same texture after defrosting. That’s why they’re great for smoothies, oatmeal, baking, etc. We usually freeze ours sliced, but yours should still work. In our Peach Crisp recipe, we recommend thawing frozen peaches in the refrigerator and then draining the excess liquid before proceeding with the recipe. By removing the extra juices, you shouldn’t need to adjust the thickener. We think the brownish peaches could just be due to oxidation, but because they were frozen whole, it’s harder to know what kind of shape they were in before they went into the freezer. If anything looks or smells bad after defrosting, trust your nose and don’t use it!

  3. A branch broke off – overloaded – and I suddenly had too many peaches. Since I’m still struggling with Long Covid, using these was not going to happen. I wondered if I could just do a lazy freeze like I do with tomatoes, slipping the skins easily after, and thanks to you, the peaches won’t go to waste. Thanks!

  4. The top of the page describes how to blanch the peaches before freezing. But the actual directions don’t indicate whether you should blanch before cutting and freezing. Help!

    1. Hi, John! That step is optional and only if you want to peel the peaches before freezing. We almost never do that because the peels slip right off once they’re defrosted, so we just freeze them with the skins on!

  5. What do you mean, โ€œTreat your peaches with either Fruit Fresh or diluted lemon juiceโ€ ? How do you treat them? Brush it on? Dunk them?

    1. Hi, Jen! You can add about a tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of water and gently stir the slices to coat them. That will be enough treatment to keep them from browning!

  6. I had to pick peaches before they were ripe, the birds were eating some off of a lot of them so best to leave those for the birds and remove the rest, even the unripened ones. I’m so glad I can freeze them whole, it’s WAAAAAY to hot to try to do any canning or cobblers right now and I’m like a limp dish rag picking them in the heat here so I don’t even want to unpit them

    My question is, do I have to let them ripen before freezing them whole?