Preserve your fresh peaches by canning Peach Pie Filling! Your pantry will be filled with delicious ready to use pie filling.
Add to a pie crust and bake, spoon over ice cream or add to a cobbler or crisp.
Ready to use pie filling
There's nothing better than a pantry filled with your home canned foods. Adding this peach pie filling is such a great idea!
This pie filling is ready to use and can literally be eaten straight out of the jar! (Not that I would do that!!!) If you're wanting to stock your pantry with more delicious recipes, you'll also want to check out Canning Apple Pie Filling.
Make a homemade pie crust add the filling and bake until the crust is nice and browned. Or use your favorite cobbler topping or crisp topping to make a quick and easy dessert.
This peach pie filling is also delicious on a scoop of vanilla ice cream or even spooned over vanilla yogurt.
If you are new to water bath canning, you'll want to read all about Water Bath Canning before you begin.
Key ingredients
- Fresh Peaches - Find the best quality peaches you can find! Use yellow freestone peaches. White peaches cannot be used in this recipe!
- Sugar - I've reduced the original recipe down to five cups of sugar. That seems like a lot, but it's less than a cup of sugar per quart. You can increase the sugar to seven cups, but I wouldn't decrease the amount any further.
- Clear Jel - This is the thickening agent used and is approved for home canning. Clear Jel is a modified cornstarch that can hold up to being heated again and again. Make certain you use regular or cook type Clear Jel. Do not use instant Clear Jel!
- Lemon Juice - Use bottled lemon juice. The juice is used in two different applications. First, in water to keep the peaches from discoloring. Second, in the filling. Do not eliminate the lemon juice in the filling. It is necessary in order to make the filling safe for water bath canning!
Step by step directions
Peel, core and slice your peaches
- Peel your peaches. Sometimes, you'll get a peach variety that can easily be peeled as soon as the peach is ripe, without blanching the peach. But most peaches need to be blanched first.
- Set a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil
- Fill a large bowl with ice water
- Place 3-4 peaches into the boiling water at a time for 30-60 seconds. The time will vary depending on your peaches. Test them out at 30 seconds and if they need more time, just put them back in.
- Place peaches into the ice water bath
- Peel peaches using a paring knife. If the peel is stuck, dunk it back into the boiling water for a bit longer.
- Cut peaches in half and remove the pit. If your peaches have a rough area around the pit, just trim it off. My peaches were really red around the pit and with a very fibrous layer.
- Slice into small slices. Depending on the size of my peach, I sliced each one into 12ths or 16ths.
- Place slices into another bowl filled with cool water and ¼ cup of lemon juice to prevent the slices from browning.
Boil the peaches
This step helps remove excess air from the peaches.
- Fill a pot with fresh water and bring to a boil
- Add about 6 cups of sliced peaches to the pot. Bring water back up to a boil and boil for one minute.
- Remove slices and place in a bowl
- Repeat with remaining slices, working with just 6 cups at a time
- Keep the peaches warm while making the filling
Make the filling
- In a large pot, place sugar, Clear Jel, water and spices together
- Whisk over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken
- Add lemon juice and boil for one minute, stirring constantly
- Add peach slices and fold in using a large wooden spoon or spatula
- Heat for 3 minutes over medium low heat
Fill the jars
- Place hot filling immediately into hot pint or quart sized jars leaving a 1 inch headspace
- Try to remove any large bubbles with a debubbler or a small plastic spatula
- Wipe down rims
- Add lid and ring to jar
- Place in a water bath canner partially filled with simmering water
- Repeat with remaining jars
Process the jars
- Once all jars are in the canner, add additional hot water if needed. The water level should be 1-2 inches above the top of the jars.
- Place a lid on the canner and turn the heat up to high
- Once the water comes to a full, rolling boil start your timer. Process both pints and quarts for 30 minutes adding additional time for your elevation (see chart below)
- When the time is up, turn off the heat but keep the lid on the pot and keep the jars in the pot for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and keep the jars in for another 5 minutes. This will help prevent siphoning.
- Remove jars and place on a baking rack until jars are fully cool approximately 12-24 hours
- When fully cool, remove bands and check seals
- Wash outside of jars and label jars with content and date
- Store in a cool dark place for up to 1-2 years
Elevation adjustment
Add the recommended time to your processing time according to your elevation.
| Altitude Feet | Increase Processing Time |
|---|---|
| 1,001- 3,000 3,001- 6,000 6,001- 8,000 8,001-10,000 | 5 minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes |
Recipe tips
- Have all ingredients and equipment set out before you get started with this recipe
- Read through the entire recipe before beginning so you are familiar with the process
- Always plan enough time when canning. Add additional time for water to boil. You don't want to run out of time in the middle of any canning project.
- You'll need a couple of large bowls and pots
- I use a large 12 quart stockpot to make the filling
- When adding the peaches to the filling, it is okay if about 1 - 1 ½ cups of liquid from the peaches is added too. Just stir it into the filling.
Frequently asked questions
For the best quality, use within one year. However, the canned pie filling will still be good for up to two years.
If a jar didn't seal, you can reheat the contents, place in a new jar with a new lid and reprocess. Or you can place in your refrigerator and eat right away!
Safe canned food
Improperly home canned food can carry the risk of causing botulism. If eaten, this can cause a serious form of food poisoning that can lead to paralysis or death. Please follow safety procedures and inspect your food before consuming.
- Always inspect your home canned food before eating
- If in doubt, throw it out!!! The FDA recommends throwing out the food and the jar.
- Do not taste if in doubt!
- Throw it out if -
- the can is bulging, leaking or swollen
- the container looks damaged or abnormal
- the container spurts liquid or foam when opened
- the food is moldy, discolored or smells bad
- the seal is no longer intact when you examine the food
How to use pie filling
Peach pie
Prepare a double crust pie dough. Line bottom of pie plate with one crust. Add peach filling. Place top crust on and crimp edges. Cut slits in center of pie to allow steam to vent.
Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 20-25 minutes until crust is brown and filling is hot.
Two quart sized jar will be enough to fill a standard 9 inch pie dish. You might end up with a bit of extra filling that doesn't fit into the pie. You can eat this as a snack or spoon over ice cream!
Peach cobbler
Put 2 quarts of filling into a lightly greased baking dish and top with a homemade cobbler topping. Bake in a 350°F oven for 50-55 minutes until the filling is heated through and the topping is lightly browned.
Peach crisp
Put 2 quarts of filling into a lightly greased baking dish and top with a homemade crisp topping. Bake in a 350°F oven for 30-40 minutes until the filling is heated through and the topping is lightly browned.
More canned peach recipes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be certain to check out all my canning recipes!
Canning Peach Pie Filling
Equipment
- Large Stockpot 12 quart
Ingredients
Instructions
Peel and Slice Peaches
- Peel your peaches. Sometimes, you'll get a peach variety that can easily be peeled as soon as the peach is ripe, without blanching the peach. But most peaches need to be blanched first.6 quarts sliced peaches
- Set a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil
- Fill a large bowl with ice water
- Place 3-4 peaches into the boiling water at a time for 30-60 seconds. The time will vary depending on your peaches. Test them out at 30 seconds and if they need more time, just put them back in.
- Place peaches into the ice water bath
- Peel peaches using a paring knife. If the peel is stuck, dunk it back into the boiling water for a bit longer.
- Cut peaches in half and remove the pit. If your peaches have a rough area around the pit, just trim it off. My peaches were really red around the pit and with a very fibrous layer.
- Slice into small slices. Depending on the size of my peach, I sliced each one into 12ths or 16ths.
- Place slices into another bowl filled with cool water and ¼ cup of lemon juice to prevent the slices from browning.¼ cup lemon juice
Boil the Peach Slices
- Fill a pot with fresh water and bring to a boil
- Add about 6 cups of sliced peaches to the pot.
- Bring water back up to a boil and boil for one minute.
- Remove slices and place in a bowl
- Repeat with remaining slices, working with just 6 cups at a time. Keep the peaches warm while making the filling
Filling
- In a large pot, place sugar, Clear Jel, water and spices together5 ½ cups water, 2 cups Clear Jel, 1 ¾ cups lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, 5 cups sugar
- Whisk over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken
- Add lemon juice and boil for one minute, stirring constantly
- Add peach slices and fold in using a large wooden spoon or spatula
- Heat for 3 minutes over medium low heat
Fill the Jars
- Place hot filling immediately into hot pint or quart sized jars leaving a 1 inch headspace
- Try to remove any large bubbles with a debubbler or a small plastic spatula
- Wipe down rims. Add lid and ring to jar.
- Place in a water bath canner partially filled with simmering water
- Repeat with remaining jars
Process the Jars
- Once all jars are in the canner, add additional hot water if needed. The water level should be 1-2 inches above the top of the jars.
- Place a lid on the canner and turn the heat up to high Once the water comes to a full, rolling boil start your timer.
- Process both pints and quarts for 30 minutes adding additional time for your elevation (see chart below)
- When the time is up, turn off the heat but keep the lid on the pot and keep the jars in the pot for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and keep the jars in for another 5 minutes. This will help prevent siphoning.
- Remove jars and place on a baking rack until jars are fully cool approximately 12-24 hours. When fully cool, remove bands and check seals. Wash outside of jars and label jars with content and date.
- Store in a cool dark place for up to 1-2 years
Notes
- Have all ingredients and equipment set out before you get started with this recipe
- Read through the entire recipe before beginning so you are familiar with the process
- Always plan enough time when canning. Add additional time for water to boil. You don't want to run out of time in the middle of any canning project.
- Filling may be canned in quarts or pint sized jars. The processing time is the same for both jars.
- 1,001- 3,000 ft. - add 5 minutes
- 3,001- 6,000 ft. - add 10 minutes
- 6,001- 8,000 ft. - add 15 minutes
- 8,001-10,000 ft. - add 20 minutes
Nutrition
Resources -
- Pacific Northwest Extension Publishing - WSU, OSU, U of I
- National Center for Home Food Preservation
Katie says
How much sugar is in this recipe? In the filling part it says add sugar but not sure how much
Kathy says
Oh my goodness!!! I left the sugar off the recipe!!! Thanks so much for letting me know...I used 5 cups of sugar. Going in now to update the recipe!
Thanks so much!
Kathy 🙂
David @ Spiced says
Your timing here is impeccable, Kathy - it's almost like you read my mind! We are heading to South Carolina on a day trip again this weekend, and we were talking about picking up more peaches. I'd love to save some of 'em for a cold winter day!