Ripe peaches reduce into a smooth, concentrated spread with cinnamon and vanilla. This no-added-sugar peach butter is designed only for refrigerator or freezer storage.
Sugar Free Peach Butter
- Prep: 20 minutes
- Cook: 5 to 6 hours
- Setting: High, then low
- Yield: About 2 cups
- Storage: Refrigerator or freezer
Peaches naturally contain sugar. “No-added-sugar” means this recipe adds no sugar, syrup, or concentrated fruit sweetener.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ripe peaches
- 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
How to Make Peach Butter
- Prepare: Wash peaches under running water. Peel if desired, remove every pit, and cut the flesh into 1-inch pieces.
- Start: Put peaches, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.
Cook the pitted peach pieces until completely soft before blending. - Blend: Switch off the cooker briefly. Blend until completely smooth with the immersion-blender head fully submerged.
- Reduce: Set to low. Following the appliance manual, place the lid slightly ajar and cook 3 to 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
Reduce until the smooth peach butter holds a visible spatula trail. - Test: Spoon a little onto a chilled plate. After 1 minute, it should mound softly without a watery ring.
- Finish: Stir in vanilla. Transfer to clean shallow containers and refrigerate promptly.
Texture Checklist
- Every pit fragment is removed.
- Fruit is blended smooth.
- Edges are scraped regularly.
- The cold-plate sample mounds.
- No scorched aroma develops.
Compare our sugar-free peach jam, slow-cooker plum butter, or apricot rosemary jam.
Preservation and Storage
This custom formula has not been laboratory tested for canning. Do not water-bath can, pressure-can, oven-can, vacuum-seal for pantry storage, or leave filled jars at room temperature.
USDA guidance recommends prompt refrigeration at 40°F or below. Cool the butter quickly in shallow containers and always serve it with a clean spoon.
- Refrigerate for up to 7 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leave expansion space when freezing.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Selecting and Preparing Peaches
Choose fragrant peaches that yield slightly to pressure but do not leak. Discard moldy, fermented-smelling, split, or extensively bruised fruit.
Freestone peaches are easiest to pit, although clingstone fruit also works when cut carefully from the stone. Weigh the peaches before peeling and pitting.
- Use similar ripeness throughout.
- Remove damaged flesh generously.
- Cut pieces to even size.
- Never include cracked pit pieces.
Serving Ideas
- Spread thinly on toast.
- Spoon over plain yogurt.
- Swirl into oatmeal.
- Serve with cottage cheese.
The butter thickens after chilling. Judge its final consistency the next day before reducing it again. Reheating an already thick batch can scorch fruit solids quickly.
Label each clean storage container with the exact preparation date before prompt chilling. Freeze promptly any portion that will not be eaten within the seven-day refrigerated storage window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must I peel the peaches?
No. Thorough blending makes tender skins less noticeable, although peeling creates a smoother, lighter spread.
Why is my batch loose?
Peach moisture varies. Continue on low in 20-minute intervals, stirring often, until the chilled-plate test passes.