This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Peach jelly captures the delicate sweetness of summer peaches in a smooth, golden spread that’s lovely on toast, swirled into yogurt, or spooned into thumbprint cookies. It’s a simple way to put up the last of the season’s peaches, and since you start by extracting the juice, there’s no peeling or pitting to fuss with at all.
Table of Contents
- Notes from My Kitchen
- Quick Look at the Recipe
- Ingredients for Peach Jelly
- Low Sugar and Pectin Options
- How to Make Peach Jelly
- Don’t Overcook Pectin Jelly
- Canning Peach Jelly
- Altitude Adjustments
- Yield Notes
- Stone Fruit Variations
- Ways to Use Peach Jelly
- Peach Jelly FAQs
- Peach Canning Recipes
- Peach Jelly Recipe
- Jelly Canning Recipes
This recipe has been reviewed for safety and accuracy by a Master Food Preserver certified through the University of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
We always seem to have a few too many peaches at the height of summer. Some get eaten out of hand, a few go into pies and cobblers, and we even make peach wine. Still, at the end of canning season, when the peaches just won’t quit, I turn to peach jelly. It’s one of the simplest ways to preserve the essence of a ripe peach, and the smooth, clear set is a nice change from the chunkier preserves.
It’s also a relief when you’re out of patience for the peeling and slicing that come with canning peaches, peach jam, or peach pie filling, since extracting the juice skips all of that.
The same method works for other stone fruits too, so once you’ve made it, you can turn out nectarine jelly, apricot jelly, or plum jelly the same way.
Notes from My Kitchen
This is the recipe I reach for at the tail end of peach season, when I’ve already done the work-intensive canning, and I’m staring at a box of peaches that are just a touch too soft to slice neatly. Soft, very ripe fruit is no problem here, since it’s all getting cooked down and strained anyway, so peach jelly has become my way of catching the stragglers before they go.
The trick I love most is the peel jelly. After a big day of canning peaches, I’m always left with a bowl of fragrant peels, and rather than compost them I simmer them down for a second batch of jelly. It feels a little like getting something for nothing, and the flavor is every bit as good as jelly made from whole fruit.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Recipe Name: Peach Jelly
- Recipe Type: Fruit Jelly
- Canning Method: Water Bath Canning
- Prep/Cook Time: 45 Minutes (plus straining time)
- Canning Time: 10 Minutes
- Yield: 5 half-pint jars
- Jar Sizes: Half Pint or Pint
- Headspace: 1/4 inch
- Ingredients Overview: Peaches, water, sugar, and pectin, with optional lemon
- Difficulty: Easy. Once you’ve strained the juice, it’s just pectin, sugar, and a one-minute boil.
- Similar Recipes: The method is the same for other stone fruit jellies, including Nectarine Jelly, Apricot Jelly, and Cherry Jelly. If you’d rather keep the fruit, try peach jam or canning peaches instead.
Ingredients for Peach Jelly
Peach jelly uses the same basic method as other pectin-set fruit jellies: cook the fruit down with water, strain off the juice, then set it with sugar and pectin. Here’s what each ingredient does.
- Peaches: The flavor comes entirely from the fruit, so use ripe, juicy peaches at their peak. Very soft or slightly overripe peaches are fine here, since they’re cooked down and strained. You’ll need about 12 medium peaches to make the 4 cups of juice for a batch, and there’s no need to peel them, though quartering and pitting gives a clearer juice.
- Water: A couple of cups of water simmer with the peaches to help draw out their juice, which is then strained off.
- Granulated Sugar: Regular powdered pectin needs plenty of sugar to gel, so this recipe uses 5 cups of sugar for the 4 cups of juice. Don’t cut it back with regular pectin or the jelly won’t set. There’s a lower-sugar option in the note just below if you’d prefer it.
- Lemon Juice: Peaches are sweet and sit a little lower in acid than tart fruits, so 1/4 cup of lemon juice brightens the flavor. Fresh lemon juice gives you better flavor than bottled, but if you’d like cleaner acidity without any lemon flavor, use citric acid. Citric acid powder substitutes at about 1 teaspoon per 1/4 cup of lemon juice.
- Powdered Fruit Pectin (Such as Sure-Jell): Peach juice doesn’t have enough natural pectin to set a firm jelly on its own, so the added pectin is what brings it together. Sure-Jell is dependable here.
If you’re canning peaches anyway, don’t toss the peels. You can make a whole batch of jelly from them, using about 1 pound of peach peels and 1 cup water for each cup of juice you want to extract. Simmer and strain them just as you would whole fruit. Since peels are where any pesticide residue concentrates, use organically grown peaches if you go the peel route.
Low Sugar and Pectin Options
This recipe is written for regular powdered pectin (like Sure Jell original), which needs the full amount of sugar to set. If you’d prefer a less sweet jelly, use Sure Jell low sugar pectin (pink box) or Ball low sugar pectin and reduce the sugar following the package directions, since the amounts differ from regular pectin.
Pomona’s Universal Pectin sets with any amount of sugar (or none at all), though the gel is softer. It works a bit differently with a 2-part calcium-water system, so follow the box and read how to use Pomona’s pectin if it’s your first time.
Liquid pectin isn’t recommended here, since peaches need more sugar to set with it and the results are less consistent. If liquid pectin is what you have, use the tested Certo amounts instead: 3 1/2 cups peach juice, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 7 1/2 cups sugar, and 2 pouches (one 6-ounce box) of Certo liquid pectin. The order of operations is reversed with liquid pectin too: you stir the sugar into the juice and bring it to a full rolling boil first, then add the pectin at the very end and boil hard for exactly 1 minute. That’s the opposite of the powdered method, where the pectin goes into the juice before the sugar.
How to Make Peach Jelly
Making peach jelly is a two-part process: simmer the peaches and strain off their juice, then cook that juice with pectin and sugar to set the gel. One thing to keep in mind before you start: the pectin goes into the juice before the sugar, and the mixture has to reach a full rolling boil at each stage. That order is what activates the pectin so the jelly sets.
Extract the Peach Juice
Wash about 12 medium peaches well. You don’t need to peel them, but quartering them and removing the pits gives a clearer juice. Place the peaches in a large pot with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to help break the fruit down and release its juice. Try not to overcook them, since long cooking dulls the flavor.
Once the peaches have softened completely, pour the mixture into a jelly bag (or a strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth) set over a large bowl, and let the juice drip through for at least 2 hours, or overnight for the clearest result. The longer it drips on its own, the clearer the juice. You should end up with about 4 cups of peach juice. If you’re a little short, top it off with a bit of water to reach the full 4 cups, then discard the spent fruit.
Cook the Jelly
While the juice strains, prepare your canning setup. Fill your water bath canner halfway with water and bring it to a simmer, then wash your jars and lids in hot soapy water and keep them hot until you’re ready to fill them.
Pour the 4 cups of peach juice into a large 6- or 8-quart saucepot and add lemon juice. Stir in the entire box of pectin until it’s fully dissolved, then place the pot over high heat and bring it to a full rolling boil, which is a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling even when you stir it, stirring constantly.
Once you’ve reached a full rolling boil, add all 5 cups of sugar at once. Stir vigorously to dissolve it completely, then return the mixture to a full rolling boil and boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon, then ladle the hot jelly into prepared jars.
Don’t Overcook Pectin Jelly
Pectin jelly sets on chemistry, not on cooking time, and that trips a lot of people up. The jelly looks thin in the pot when you take it off the heat, and that’s exactly right, because pectin firms up as the jelly cools, not while it’s boiling. A full rolling boil for one minute after the sugar dissolves is the whole job, and boiling much past that can actually keep it from setting.
Skip the thermometer and the cold-plate test here, since those are for old-fashioned no-pectin jellies that you cook to a gel point. And give the jars a full 24 to 48 hours to set before you decide anything went wrong (some batches take a little longer). If it’s still loose after that, my guide to troubleshooting jelly that didn’t set walks through how to fix it.
Canning Peach Jelly
Canning is optional. If you’ll use the jelly up within a few weeks, you can skip it and store the jars in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Use freezer-safe jars with extra headspace for freezing, and always let the jelly cool completely before it goes into the fridge or freezer. To keep it on the pantry shelf or give it as gifts, process it in a water bath canner.
Work quickly while the jelly is still very hot, since it begins to set as it cools. If you’re new to water bath canning, that guide walks you through all the basics step by step. Ladle the hot jelly into prepared hot jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top, then wipe the rims thoroughly with a clean, damp cloth so even a little jelly doesn’t keep a jar from sealing.
Center the lids and screw the bands on fingertip-tight, then load the filled jars into your preheated canner and bring it to a full rolling boil. Process the jars for 10 minutes (adjust for altitude as needed). When the time is up, turn off the heat and let the jars rest in the canner for 5 minutes before lifting them out.
Set the jars on a towel-covered counter, leaving space between them, and leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Then check the seals by pressing the center of each lid. If it doesn’t flex, the jar is sealed and shelf-stable for about 18 months. Refrigerate any unsealed jars for immediate use, and refrigerate all jars after opening.
Altitude Adjustments
The altitude adjustments for water bath canning peach jelly are as follows:
- 0 to 6,000 feet: 10 minutes
- Above 6,000 feet: 15 minutes
Before you start hauling in fruit, it helps to know how much a batch actually takes, since peaches give up less juice than you might expect.
Yield Notes
You’ll need about 12 medium peaches, simmered with 2 cups of water, to get the 4 cups of juice this recipe calls for. If you’re making peel jelly instead, plan on about 1 pound of peach peels and 1 cup water per cup of juice. Either way, measure your juice after straining, since coming up short on juice is the most common reason a batch turns out small.
A full batch (4 cups of juice, one box of pectin, and 5 cups of sugar) makes about 5 half-pint jars. Don’t double the batch, since larger amounts don’t heat evenly and often won’t set. If you want more, make two single batches back to back instead.
Stone Fruit Variations
This recipe is really a template for stone fruit jelly, and it works beautifully across the whole family. For nectarine jelly, simply swap nectarines for peaches and prepare them the same way. For plum jelly, use about 9 medium plums per cup of juice and follow the same steps, since plums are smaller and give up a different amount of juice.
Apricot jelly takes a good bit more fruit, since apricots give up less juice, but it’s worth it for that bright, floral flavor. And cherry jelly belongs here too, since cherries are stone fruit despite their size, and they make a rich, deeply colored jelly. Whatever fruit you use, the method stays the same: cook it down, strain off 4 cups of juice, and set it with pectin and sugar.
This recipe is phenomenal. I love the flavor of peaches, but don’t care for the “fuzz” on the fruit, so I figured I would give this recipe a try, and I am glad I did. The flavor is wonderful, the color translucent, and the sugar content is less than that of other peach jelly recipes I researched. This recipe made enough to give to friends and family since I used 4 oz. jars. Thank you for sharing your recipe and knowledge with us!
Ways to Use Peach Jelly
Peach jelly’s soft, golden sweetness works anywhere you’d reach for a fruit jelly. Spread it on toast, scones, biscuits, or croissants for an easy breakfast, or swirl it into plain yogurt or oatmeal. It’s also lovely spooned into the centers of thumbprint cookies, or warmed slightly and brushed over a fruit tart or pound cake as a quick glaze.
On the savory side, peach jelly makes a fine glaze for chicken or pork, especially with a little vinegar or mustard stirred in to balance the sweetness. A small dish alongside a cheese board works too, where the peach plays nicely against sharp or creamy cheeses. And since the color is so pretty in the jar, it makes a welcome gift at the end of summer.
Peach Jelly FAQs
Yes, and it’s a great way to use what you’d otherwise compost. Use about 1 pound of peach peels for each cup of juice you want to extract, and simmer and strain them just as you would whole fruit. Because peels are where any pesticide residue concentrates, use organically grown peaches for peel jelly. The flavor is every bit as good as jelly made from whole peaches.
No peeling is needed, since the juice is strained out at the end. Quartering the peaches and removing the pits does give a clearer juice and is worth the small extra effort, but leaving the pits in during the simmer is fine if you’d rather not bother. The skins and solids are all caught by the jelly bag.
The usual reasons jelly doesn’t set are adding the sugar before the pectin has dissolved and boiled, boiling the finished jelly too long, or doubling the batch. Pectin jelly also looks thin when hot and firms up as it cools, so give it 24 to 48 hours before deciding. If it still doesn’t set, enjoy it as a syrup or read through my guide on troubleshooting jelly set.
Yes, but you’ll need a low-sugar pectin like Sure-Jell Low Sugar or Pomona’s Universal Pectin and follow the package directions, since regular pectin needs the full sugar amount to gel. The yield will be a little lower with reduced sugar.
Got a bumper crop? There are plenty of ways to preserve peaches beyond jelly, and these are the peach recipes I reach for next:
Peach Canning Recipes
If you tried this Peach Jelly Recipe, or any other recipe on Creative Canning, leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know what you think in the 📝 comments below!
And make sure you stay in touch with me by following on social media!
Peach Jelly
Equipment
- Canning Jars, Lids and Bands
Ingredients
For the Peach Juice
- 12 medium peaches
- 2 cups water
For the Jelly
- 4 cups peach juice, strained
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 box powdered pectin, 1.75 oz, regular, such as Sure-Jell original, or 6 Tbsp Bulk Pectin
- 5 cups granulated sugar, See notes for low sugar variation
Instructions
- Wash the peaches. Quarter them and remove the pits for a clearer juice (no need to peel). Place them in a large pot with the water.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down the fruit. Don’t overcook.
- Pour the mixture into a jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl. Let the juice drip through, at least 2 hours or overnight, for the clearest juice. Top off with a little water if you come up short.
- Pour the peach juice into a large pot and add the lemon juice. Whisk in the powdered pectin until completely dissolved. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
- Add all the sugar at once and stir until dissolved. Return to a full rolling boil and boil hard for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.
- Ladle hot jelly into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims clean, center lids, and apply bands fingertip-tight.
- Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat and let jars rest 5 minutes before removing. Cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours before checking seals.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Peach is one of many fruits that make a lovely pectin-set jelly. Here are more jelly recipes to work through as each one comes into season:
Jelly Canning Recipes
Find the perfect recipe
Searching for something else? Enter keywords to find the perfect recipe!
This recipe is phenomenal. I love the flavor of peaches, but don’t care for the “fuzz” on the fruit so I figured I would give this recipe a try and I am glad I did. The flavor is wonderful, the color translucent and the sugar content is less than other peach jelly recipes I researched. This recipe made enough to give to friends and family since I used 4 oz. jars. Thank you for sharing your recipe and knowledge with us!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you liked it. If you like this one, I bet you’ll also like my peach butter recipe too: https://creativecanning.com/peach-butter/
Also not too much sugar, and amazing peach flavor without the fuzz. Enjoy!