Canned Southern Sweet Tea Peaches
These Sweet Tea Peaches are a true Southern delicacy, y’all! This guide will walk you through how to preserve fresh peaches by canning them in sweet tea. Enjoy these flavorful, sweet tea-infused peaches in a myriad of ways- drink the tea, eat the sweet tea-soaked peach slices, enjoy with desserts, and everything in between. It’s a great way to bottle up fresh summer peaches and enjoy them whenever you’d like!
Listen, sweet tea and peaches go together like peanut butter and jelly…in my opinion. Two different things that are heavy favorites, on their own, in Southern culture. My peach sweet tea recipe is one of my favorite beverages, ever. And while we’re talking peaches, these here peach cobbler cinnamon rolls, my goodness!
With the summer season dwindling down, these sweet tea peaches are a great way to preserve that farmers’ market peach bounty. Fresh peach slices marinating in sweet tea, hellz yes…let’s do itttt!
Southern Sweet Tea Peaches!
This recipe is so simple and easy, friends. While I’ve developed this one as written, please understand that it’s also super flexible to fit your needs. You’ll get a good couple of jars out of this recipe, and while I enjoy keeping them all to myself, they do make for such a nice little gift. I love gifting a jar to family and friends!
Whether you plan to process/can them or prefer to just store your peaches in the fridge, there’s versatility here, too! 🫶🏾
How To Make These Sweet Tea Peaches (In Pictures!):
(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)
- Prep your sweet tea– Make yourself a batch of sweet tea, y’all. Boil some water, drape the tea bags in, add your sweetener, and let it all hang out to steep…boom!
Preppin’ Your Peaches:
- Pit, blanch, and peel– Remove the pit from your peaches (I use good ole long nose pliers), give ’em a quick dip in boiling water to blanch, and then toss them into an ice bath to cool. Afterward, peel the skins off- they slip off so easily!
Sweet Tea Peaches & Assembly:
- Slice peaches & build the jars– Add the peach wedges to your jars and cover the peaches with the sweet tea. I add a little sliced vanilla bean to each jar for some extra flavor and razzle dazzle, optional. One step closer, ayyeeee! 🍑
To Process or Not?:
→ For canning: Once your jars are assembled, you can process them for canning as you desire. I typically do the water bath canning method for these (see video), where I process them for about 30 minutes. Since they’re properly processed, they can be stored at room temperature in a cool, dark place in the home.
If you’re new to canning, you can invest in a canning kit to get yourself started with all the tools for success.
→ Non-canning: If you do not want to go through the canning/preservation process, simply store your sweet tea peaches in the refrigerator. Give them about a 6-hour window to chill, marinate, and then consume. For refrigerated peaches, be sure to consume the contents within 1 week.
How To Consume Your Sweet Tea Peaches:
→ Enjoy the peach-infused sweet tea on its own as a drink, eat the peaches outta the jar, or use the peaches as a topping in yogurt bowls, desserts, and everything in between. Don’t overthink it, y’all…consume the entire contents of the jar as your heart desires, ha!
These Southern Sweet Tea Peaches are so good, peeps. Drink the sweet tea, eat the peaches, just consume and enjoy! Or gift a jar to someone who will appreciate it. Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾
More Southern faves:
- Sweet Potato Honey Bun Cake
- Dirty Cabbage Recipe
- Cajun Seafood Boil
- Southern Collard Greens
- Honey Butter Cornbread
- Smothered Pork Chops
Canned Southern Sweet Tea Peaches
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Appetizers & Snacks, Desserts & Sweets
- Method: Stovetop
Description
These Sweet Tea Peaches are a true Southern delicacy, y’all! This guide will walk you through how to preserve fresh peaches by canning them in sweet tea. Enjoy these flavorful, sweet tea-infused peaches in a myriad of ways- drink the tea, eat the sweet tea-soaked peach slices, enjoy with desserts, and everything in between. It’s a great way to bottle up fresh summer peaches and enjoy them whenever you’d like!
Ingredients
- 10 cups (2.5 quarts) hot water
- 5 family-sized black tea bags, preferably Lipton or Luzianne
- 1 – 1 ½ cups organic cane sugar
- 1 large lemon
- 8–9 fresh peaches
- 1–2 whole vanilla beans, split lengthwise & cut into sections- optional
Instructions
For the sweet tea:
- In a large saucepan or pot, bring the water to a rolling boil. Once boiled, remove from heat. Drape the black tea bags over the side and add the sugar. Let the tea sit and steep while you prepare the peaches.
For the peaches:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. If processing/canning, fill your vessel with water and bring it to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice and then cover with water (this will be an ice bath for the blanched peaches step, below).
- Use pliers (or other utensil) to remove the pit from the peaches. Then use a knife to score the bottom of the peaches- marking them with an “x” shape- see video demonstration.
- Place the pitted, whole peaches into the boiling water and let them blanch for just 30 or so seconds. Then use a slotted utensil or sieve to remove the peaches and immediately transfer them to the ice bath to cool. Let them sit for a few minutes.
- Peel the skin off the peaches; it should slip right off. Then cut the peaches into wedges and evenly place them into clean, sterile jars. If using, place a piece of vanilla bean into each jar.
For the sweet tea peaches assembly:
- Back to the tea, be sure to stir the mixture well, ensuring the sugar has fully dissolved in the tea. Then add the juice of 1 lemon to the sweet tea and stir well. Carefully pour the sweet tea over the jarred peaches until they are fully covered. If processing, be sure to leave about an inch or so at the top.
- For processing/canning: Place the tops/rings on jars and process as desired. I do the water bath canning method for these for about 30 minutes.
- If not processing/canning: Transfer the jars to the refrigerator. Let the peaches marinate for at least 6 hours before consuming, and consume the contents within 1 week.
Notes
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
- This recipe makes about (6) quart-sized jars.
