This 5-Ingredient Peach Butter Is Made for Your Slow Cooker

Peach season may be one of the sweetest times of the year but, like all good things, it doesn’t last forever. That makes it fair to wonder what you can do to extend the amount of time you get to enjoy that deliciously juicy fruit. One solution is to make peach butter.

In case you’re not familiar with it, peach butter is a thick, creamy fruit spread that you can slather on just about anything. You can also freeze or preserve it, allowing you to whip up goodies like peach muffins and cakes any time of year.

As a peach stan, I’m painfully aware that we only have a few more weeks left in its season. Naturally, I stopped scrolling when I came across a recipe from Crowded Kitchen for peach butter.

This viral recipe uses just five ingredients and comes together in a slow cooker, making it easy to toss everything inside, pop on the lid and get back to enjoying the last few weeks of summer.

As the recipe promised, this was so easy to pull together. Even better: It was a great solution for the overripe peaches hanging out on my counter. The flavor was incredibly rich and cozy thanks to the cinnamon and vanilla. It feels like a warm hug—and I’ve already used it in muffins. Here’s why I’m in love with this recipe.

Related: We Asked a 4th-Generation Peach Farmer the Best Way to Eat the Iconic Summer Fruit and Her Answer Surprised Us

Peach Jam vs. Peach Butter: What’s the Difference?

Peach butter and peach jam sound similar, but they’re two very distinct spreads. Peach butter is thick and smooth, with a softened butter-like consistency. It’s almost like a puree. But peach jam usually has chunks of fruit and includes pectin to make a gel-like texture.

Both peach butter and peach jam contain sugar, but peach jam has more of the sweetener. Peach butter also tends to include warm spices like cinnamon, while peach jam usually has a brighter flavor.

Finally, the jam is usually cooked much faster than the butter, which is cooked over a process of hours to create a deeper taste.

Ingredients Needed for Slow Cooker Peach Butter

You don’t need much to make slow cooker peach butter:

• Peaches
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon sticks
• Lemon
• Sugar

How To Make 5-Ingredient Peach Butter

To start, wash off your peaches. Then, boil a large pot of water and fill a large bowl with ice water.

Score an “x” mark across the bottom of each peach and put them in the boiling water for about 45 seconds.

Pull your peaches out of the hot water and quickly put them in the ice bath. Leave them there until they’re fully cool.

Then, peel the peaches starting at the “x” mark.

Dice your peaches and throw out the pits.

Put your peaches, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and vanilla to your slow cooker, stir and cook them on low for about three hours.

Pull out your cinnamon sticks and use an immersion blender to blend your ingredients, before cooking them on high for another three to five hours until you hit your preferred consistency.

You can also move your peach butter to a pot on the stove and cook it for about 20 minutes over medium heat to thicken it up faster.

Then, let your peach butter cool completely before serving it or storing it into containers.

Related: The Brilliant Recipe That Makes Fresh Summer Peaches 10x Better

The Great Debate: Do You Have To Peel the Peaches?

Technically, this is a personal preference. Still, many people will recommend that you peel the peaches for peach butter, and for a few reasons. Having to peel your peaches sounds like a huge pain, but it can be done quickly if you go through the steps correctly.

While some peaches end up harder to peel than others, I was able to pull them off of some in seconds. (Really ripe peaches seem to peel easier than ones that aren’t quite there yet.)

Peach butter is also all about the smooth consistency, and leaving the skins in there raises the odds you’ll end up with unwanted chunks or discoloration.

If you’re short on time or just don’t feel like peeling your peaches, leaving the skin on is unlikely to ruin your peach butter. Just be aware that peach butter diehards largely fall into the pro-peeling camp.

Related: The Viral Recipe That Has Us Rushing to the Store to Grab Peaches

The Secret To Thickening Slow Cooker Peach Butter

Good peach butter takes time to come together, and you’ll have to keep cooking to get your spread to a thicker consistency. After five hours of slow cooking, my peach butter still didn’t have as thick of a consistency as I wanted. So, I moved things over to my stovetop.

After tossing the puree onto the stove and cooking it on medium heat for about 20 minutes, I had a rich, thick, creamy consistency like butter.

If you’re tight on time, I would definitely recommend going this route since your peach butter will thicken up much faster than if you leave it in the slow cooker.

Storage Guidelines: Fridge, Freezer or Canning?

There are no rules when it comes to the best way to store your peach butter. Instead, it’s more about when you plan to use it.

• Fridge: Peach butter will keep in the fridge for about three weeks. If you’re going to use your peach butter now or now-ish, this is the best way to go.
• Freezer: Freezing peach butter is a quick and easy way to save it for later that avoids the more complicated steps of canning. But be aware that you may face some consistency and separation issues when you thaw your peach butter, and you have to be OK with having peach butter camp out in your freezer.
• Canning: Canning is the traditional way of storing peach butter. While it requires several steps, it won’t hog precious freezer space and won’t mess with the texture of your spread.

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Related: Here’s How To Freeze Peaches—The Right Way!