Using Excess Peaches from the Garden

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Peaches are one of the best rewards of summer, but if you grow a peach tree, you tend to get a ton of excess peaches all at once. For ideas on handling other excess produce from your summer garden, click on this link. 

And for a complete guide on how to use even more produce, check out How to Use All the Garden Produce You Grow-Without Canning by clicking this link.

What to do with excess peaches

The best problem to have is too many yummy delicious peaches to eat them all fresh. So, after you slurp up as many as you can and get that good ole, juice running down your arm experience, you can freeze the rest.

Freezing peaches

Freezing peaches is simple. You just need a quick blanch and then seal them up in containers. To blanch them, just bring a large stockpot of water to a boil and then drop the peaches in carefully (whole) for about 3-5 minutes. Then transfer them into a bowl of ice water. Once they are cool, the skins will slide right off and you can either slice them in half or in slices.

Package your excess peaches in airtight containers for freezing. They will last 3-6 months. I like to use quart size Ziplock bags because a quart of peaches is just about right for making a crisp or thawing for the kids to eat as a side for lunch. Frozen peaches taste really similar to canned when you thaw them back out again.

You can also can excess peaches as well. I don’t can foods because it’s against DHS regulations to feed them to the daycare kids, so I haven’t learned that method since I wouldn’t be able to use it much.

You can also preserve peaches by dehydrating them and making peach fruit roll ups. Learn how by clicking on the highlighted link. You can also learn more about how to preserve food with dehydration here.

Frozen excess peaches are great to dump into a pie shell and make a quick pie, cobbler, crumble or crisp. They are also great to use for smoothies or ice cream shakes. There are so many quick and delicious uses for them once they are frozen and stored for the winter months.

Peach recipes

This blueberry peach yogurt smoothie is a favorite with the kids. They love peach yogurt pops too. These are great ways to use excess peaches from the garden. 

This recipe for a peach ice cream shake looks amazing and I’m definitely going to try it this summer when our peaches get ripe.

Peach jams, preserves, and jellies are a delightful way to preserve the excess peaches for later use. Imagine spreading some of this honey peach preserve spread on your morning toast or biscuit. What a treat.

Peach crisp or crumble is super easy to make. I don’t really care for pie crust, so I love the crustless crumbles. One of my favorite summertime treats (or any time) is a peach dish.

One of my favorite recipes I’ve ever created was for this amazing peach bread. The kids love it, my family loves it and it’s packed with peachy flavor and nutrients. 

I hope you are beyond inspired to make the most of your peach harvest or even plant a peach tree for your home. 

Check out these other articles on:

• using excess greens,
• using excess hot peppers,
• What to do with Excess Squash from the Garden
• using excess cucumbers,
• using excess tomatoes,
• using excess green beans,
• using excess herbs from the garden for your other garden overflow.