Homemade Peach Compote
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Make your own homemade peach compote from four simple ingredients in less than 15 minutes. Use this delicious peach sauce to in or on top of ice cream, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, cheesecakes, pies, or anything that pairs well with fruit.
THIS SIMPLE PEACH COMPOTE IS MY FAVORITE WAY TO USE PEACHES
When peach season is at its peak, we gather up our kids and a few other neighborhood families and head to our local orchard where we can whine and complain about the heat and bugs load up on the freshest, juiciest peaches we can get our hands on. We always go for a bushel, and then I get busy in the kitchen whipping up my favorite peach recipes to eat right away or freeze for the future.
On the docket is always a batch of peach ice cream, a fresh peach pie, some peach salsa, and then this right here easy peach compote which I freeze to use for the months where fresh peaches are nowhere to be found.
Peach season may be my favorite baking season. And since peach season is so short, you’ll be happy to know that if you find yourself craving some peach compote for pancakes or waffles in the colder months, you can use this quick recipe to make some from frozen or even canned.
COMPOTE VS JAM
You might be thinking “why are we calling ‘jam’ by this fancy name?” And you’d be partially correct and also wrong because compote and jam are actually different.
Compote is more of a chunky fruit sauce. While it’s totally acceptable to put it on a sandwich or toast, the chunks of fruit make it pretty difficult to spread.
Jam, on the other hand, involves more mashed and broken up pieces of fruit, which you can get by cooking it longer and at a higher temperature than you would compote.
A compote should also not be confused with a chutney, which is much like a compote but cooked with spices. See my homemade spiced cranberry sauce for one deeeeeelish chutney recipe!
Fruit is confusing. Trust I’ve got the tools you need here to make this peach topping perfectly.
FRESH PEACH COMPOTE INGREDIENTS
You only need 4 simple ingredients to make this quick peach compote, 5 if we count water. But I don’t really. So it’s only 4!
FRESH PEACHES: you can use yellow or white peaches in this recipe. Be sure you’re picking peaches that are ripe and juicy but not yet squishy. I aim for about 2 and ½ cups when diced, which is about 2 large peaches. You can keep the skin on or take it off (I prefer to remove it).
WATER: this is just to help thin out the compote and help it cook. It will evaporate out and help make the peaches extra gooey.
GRANULATED SUGAR: just for a touch of extra sweetness! Depending on how sweet your peaches are to begin with, you may want more (or even less). Thankfully, you can taste your sauce and decide for yourself while it’s still cooking.
LEMON JUICE: the acidity in lemon juice helps break down the pieces of fruit. You will want to use fresh lemon juice as opposed to bottled.
CORNSTARCH: this will help thicken the sauce just a tad. We’re only using a little bit to help hold the mixture together.
HOW TO MAKE A PEACH COMPOTE
The method to making this sauce could not be simpler. It will only take you about 20 minutes form start of ingredients to letting the cooked sauce cool.
STEP #1
Combine the peaches, water, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small saucepan.
STEP #2
Heat the mixture over medium heat, allow it to come to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until liquid thickens.
STEP #3
Allow peach compote to cool a bit before using as a topping for warm food, or chill in the refrigerator until ready to use on cold foods.
PEACH COMPOTE RECIPE VARIATIONS
We love this peach compote recipe as written, but feel free to take any of the suggestions below for your own spin.
DOUBLE UP ON THE FRUIT: make a combo peach/mango compote by replacing half the peaches with diced ripe mango. You can also use nectarines in place of the peaches if you don’t want to peel off that fuzzy skin.
MAKE IT CARAMELY: consider using brown sugar in place of granulated sugar for a more caramelized take on the traditional sauce.
ADD ALCOHOL: bourbon peach compote sounds like a great combo! Make your peach compote with alcohol by adding about 1 Tablespoon of your favorite whiskey or bourbon. And then make some bourbon caramel sauce and go wild with your desserts!
SPICE IT: ginger and cinnamon are wonderful complementary spices to sweet peaches. I don’t recommend exceeding 1 teaspoon of total spices.
CAN I USE CANNED OR FROZEN PEACHES IN THIS RECIPE?
While you certainly can use canned peaches, they are much sweeter than fresh peaches as they’re typically stored in syrup. If you want to use canned peaches, look for ones that have been canned without sugar and just heat.
If all you can find are peaches canned in additional sugar, be mindful about how much additional sugar you’re adding. Tasting the compote will be key in getting it to your liking!
HOW TO SERVE
This fresh peach compote recipe makes the perfect peach sauce for ice cream, cheesecake, and pie (all of the peach variety, of course).
It’s also wonderful still warm on any of those desserts, but is a great topping for pancakes, French toast, blintzes, or muffins.
HOW TO STORE
Store this peach dessert topping in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Compote freezes well, up to 3 months.
MORE RECIPES TO ENJOY DURING PEACH SEASON
Peach Compote Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) fresh or frozen peaches1,2 skinned, pitted, and and sliced into chunks; about 2 and ½ cups once sliced
- ½ cup (120mL) water
- 3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons (22mL) lemon juice3
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons (15g) cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine the peaches, water, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small saucepan.1 pound (454g) fresh or frozen peaches1,2, ½ cup (120mL) water, 3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar, 1 and ½ Tablespoons (22mL) lemon juice3, 1 and ½ Tablespoons (15g) cornstarch
- Heat over medium heat, bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes4 until liquid thickens.
- Allow peach compote to cool a bit before using as a topping for warm food (like blintzes, pancakes, or French toast), or chill in the refrigerator until ready to use on cold foods (like ice cream, yogurt, or cheesecake). Store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Compote freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Fresh or frozen peaches: I like to use fresh the best, but out of season, frozen work just fine. Do not thaw. You may need to simmer the compote a bit longer to account for the added water from thawing.
- Other fruits: this peach compote recipe actually works for a lot of different fruits, especially berries. You can see in my cheese blintzes recipe that I used a mix of strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
- Lemon juice: it is best to use freshly squeezed lemon juice in compote, but you can use bottled if it’s all you have available to you.
- Simmer time: this recipe both halves and doubles beautifully. You may need to reduce or increase simmer time depending on how large your batch is. You want the juice to hold a thick coating on the back of a spoon when it’s sufficiently reduced.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.