Peach Preserves That Will Knock Your Socks Off

All you need is 2 ingredients to make deliciously easy peach preserves, which pair perfectly with a warm and fluffy Southern biscuit.

What do Southerners love more than their Mamas and their biscuits? Good things to put on our biscuits, of course! We top these light and fluffy creations with numerous things. Molasses, honey, chocolate gravy, fresh butter, assorted meats and cheeses, jellies, jams, and wonderful preserves. Homemade peach preserves are quite possibly the perfect compliment to the southern biscuit.

My great-grandmother, Mama Reed, loved to make preserves. My mother remembers summer days when Mama Reed spent the better part of the day standing over her stove stirring the fruity sweet concoction in large pots with long-handled spoons. That evening’s supper was always a special treat as Mama Reed canned what she could and whatever was left that wouldn’t fit into her canning jars was ladled into a large bowl and sat amidst hot biscuits on the dinner table.

Well, Southerners are nothing if not inventive. That is where this easy peach preserves recipe comes in. Who would have thought preserves this good would start with canned peaches? My mother swears this peach preserve recipe is the best she has ever tasted. Just think, to get that kind of praise with no gathering, peeling, or cutting! All you need is canned peaches, sugar, and a little bit of time. The low simmer means these peach preserves have the most deliciously intense peach flavor. It truly will knock your socks off!

Without further hesitation, let’s get a little bit of heaven on a biscuit cooking in your kitchen!

Recipe Ingredients

• Canned sliced peaches in heavy syrup
• Sugar

How to Make Peach Preserves

Pour both cans of peaches and syrup into a medium-sized saucepot and turn the heat on medium-low.

Stir and heat for a little over half an hour.

Just stir them every 10 minutes or so, being gentle with your spoon so you don’t break up the peaches. You’re just getting them nice and hot here, not going for boiling or anything.

Add sugar to the pot and stir gently.

Once you have your sugar all stirred into the peaches, turn the heat to medium.

Now we’re going to cook these on medium heat until they have cooked down to about 1/3 or 1/4 of their original volume. Still, there is no need to fuss over it. Just give it a stir every 10 minutes or so, when you think of it!

This is what they will look like after about 45 minutes.

I just had these puppies boiling and checked on them when I thought about it.

It takes anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours for them to cook down this much. The peaches will be a little browned and the juice will be nice and thick, taking on the texture and look of preserves.

YUM! PRESERVES!

This yields about a pint and a half of perfect peach preserves, which I store in sterilized jars.

Go ahead, impress someone today!

Now, where’s my biscuit?  If you need a good biscuit recipe for your preserves we have plenty but in this post, I used our drop biscuit recipe.

Storage

Place jars in the fridge for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge before enjoying them on a hot, fresh biscuit!

Recipe Notes

• If you want to preserve your homemade peach preserves in canning jars, check out this post for a step-by-step canning guide. When you use a water bath canner, the preserves will last for up to 18 months.
• You can substitute the canned peaches for frozen peaches or fresh peaches. 
• If you want spiced peach preserves like my spiced peach butter, go ahead and add 1/4 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.
• You can substitute granulated sugar for raw cane sugar, Splenda, or another sugar-free alternative.
• I also often add a couple of tablespoons of bottled or fresh lemon juice before boiling to my homemade butter, jam, and preserves recipes, which helps set the jam.

Recipe FAQs

What’s the difference between preserves, jam, and jelly?

Homemade peach jam and preserves are quite similar, except jams are often made with pectin and thus have higher sugar content. You also typically use crushed fruit in a fresh peach jam recipe, while preserves use whole fruit chunks. Meanwhile, jelly is made with fruit juice instead of the whole fruit so it has a smoother consistency.

What pan should I use to cook my peach preserves?

You want the largest saucepot you have. Bonus points if it has a thick heavy bottom to prevent the preserves from burning. 

Can I cook my preserves in the slow cooker instead?

Yes, you can cook peach preserves in the slow cooker. You’ll want to cook it on low for an hour with the lid on. Give it a stir, remove the lid, and continue to cook for 2 to 4 hours until the preserves look as above.

How do you serve peach preserves?

While I am team biscuit, you can also spread preserves on pancakes, banana bread, cornbread, vanilla ice cream, or just plain ol’ toast. 

You may also like these perfect peach recipes:

Spiced Peach Butter

Peach Freezer Jam (No Canning Recipe)

Peaches and Cream Pie

Homemade Peach Ice Cream (No Eggs Needed)

Sugar-Free Peach Lemonade (2 Ingredients Only)

Peach Dump Cake Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)