Canning Peach BBQ Sauce is a southern-flavored sweet and spicy sauce that is the perfect condiment slathered on your grilled chicken, fish, and shrimp or a topping sauce on your crackers and cheese. It’s naturally sweet with no high fructose corn syrup and loaded with sweet peaches, vegetables, and natural seasonings.
This year when it’s peach season and the farmers market is full of fresh peaches and you are trying to find a new way to preserve them, try canning up a batch of peach bbq sauce.
This sauce is my favorite peach recipe and a great way to use up peaches at the end of the season.
Truly, you don’t need a pressure canner since this is a water bath sealing recipe. Once canned, you will be able to enjoy the perfect combination of sweet and spicy flavors throughout the year!
It’s great served up with Air Fryer Chicken Legs or drizzled over an Instant Pot Pulled Chicken Sandwich.
If you enjoy making your own homemade sauces and seasonings, you’re going to love my homemade Whiskey Steak Marinade or this homemade Yellow Mustard Recipe.
😊 Why This Recipe Is So Good!
- Great way to use up an abundance of fresh juicy peaches.
- Easy to make and perfect for beginner canners.
- Balanced sweet and spicy flavors make everything taste better.
- No added sugar, no preservatives for a healthy condiment you will love adding to meals.
If you are new to canning be sure and read my Canning Supplies Guide and check out Canning 101 for Beginners. Both are great resources if you’re just getting started!
Once you’ve got your first attempt at home canning down, you’re going to be ready for more!
Here are some of my favorite canning recipes:
🛒 Ingredient for Zesty Peach BBQ Sauce
Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients you need to make homemade peach bbq sauce. For the full list of ingredients and quantities be sure to check the recipe card further down the page.
- Apple cider vinegar: A milder vinegar that’s naturally a bit sweet works best in this bbq sauce recipe.
- Peaches: I love using fresh peaches at the height of their season! They’re super juicy, sweet, and have the most flavor.
- Veggies: Onions, red bell peppers, and garlic are cooked to layer in the flavors.
- Jalapeno pepper: Just a bit for a little kick. Make sure to deseed them so the bbq sauce isn’t too spicy.
- Herbs and spices: Cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, and fresh cilantro.
- Honey: Lightly sweeten the peach barbecue sauce.
- Mason jars: You’re going to need pint jars, lids, and bands in order for canning.
🔪 How to Make Peach BBQ Sauce for Canning
Let’s walk through how to make canning peach bbq sauce. Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for complete instructions.
How to Peel Peaches
- Boiling Water Bath. Place peaches in a large pot of boiling water for 20-30 seconds or until you see the peach skins start to split off.
- Ice Water Bath. Remove with a slotted spoon. Immediately place in an ice water bath to cool the peaches and stop the cooking process.
- Peel: Rub peach in your hand and loosen the skin and peel. It’s also helpful to use a paring knife to peel the skin, which should easily peel off. If stubborn areas of skin won’t peel off, just return the fruit to the boiling water for a few more seconds.
Prepare the Peach Barbecue Sauce
Once you’ve got the peaches peeled, you’re ready to start making the bbq sauce.
- Slice and dice. Cut the peach in half, cutting around the pit. Twist halves in opposite directions to separate. Using a sharp knife, loosen and remove the pit. Slice in the desired size.
- Add apple cider vinegar to a large stock pan. Add chopped, peeled peaches and cook over medium-high heat
- Prep the veggies. Chop onions into small pieces and finely chop jalapeno peppers using gloves, do not rub your eyes! Chop green pepper
- Blend. Use an immersion blender to blend peaches
- Season. Add chopped cilantro, honey garlic, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper along with all the vegetables.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Next, reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Store. Follow instructions for water bath canning to preserve or put in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
⭐ Hint: I find an immersion blender the easiest and safest way to blend up hot sauces and soup!
✔️ Substitutions and Variations
Here are some recommended substitutions or variations you can try when making peach bbq sauce.
- Peaches: Other stone fruits such as nectarines, apricots, or plums also work well in a bbq sauce.
- Apple cider vinegar: White wine vinegar or rice vinegar is the closest in terms of sweetness and flavor though I prefer apple cider vinegar.
- Jalapenos: If you don’t like it spicy, you can decrease the amount or eliminate it altogether. For a spicier sauce, add more or use habanero or another ultra spicy chile!
- Honey: Honey brings a distinct flavor, but you can also use other liquid sweeteners such as maple syrup and agave syrup.
How to Store
- Canning: Use the instructions for water canning if you are making a large batch and plan to store it in the pantry. Once canned, store in a cool dark place for up to one year.
- Refrigerator: After cooling, store the barbecue sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- Freezer: If you skip the canning step, freeze peach barbecue sauce to extend the shelf life to up to three months.
How to Serve
There are lots of different uses for this peach barbecue sauce. Here are a few of my favorite ways!
- Chicken wings and air fryer chicken legs.
- Over skillet or grilled pork chops or oven pork ribs.
- Grilled fish and shrimp.
- Add on top of cheese and crackers.
- Serve as a dipping sauce for chicken tenders.
- Stir some into fried rice along with some oyster sauce.
- Blend it up with oil and vinegar for a tasty salad dressing.
- Toss some with fresh sliced peaches and serve over a bowl of ice cream for dessert.
- Use half pint jars instead & give them as a hostess gift. (get free gift tags here)
💭 Expert Tips
- For sweet fruit and the best flavor profile use fresh ripe peaches when in season.
- Adjust the heat level to your liking by increasing or decreasing the jalapenos.
- Blend using an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor.
- Use yellow peaches for the best color!
❓ FAQ
Both ways work! Adding it before cooking allows it to provide some flavor to the dish as it cooks. But for presentation purposes, the dish may look better by adding the barbecue sauce after baking! My favorite is to cook it in the sauce and then brush it with more just before serving.
Yes, you can swap out fresh peaches with frozen peaches. Frozen peaches have more water in them so you may need to cook the sauce a bit longer for it to thicken up. Since peaches are flash frozen soon after harvest, they will be bursting with great flavor.
More Sauces and Seasonings Recipes
Finally, if you enjoy this peach bbq sauce, then you might like trying some of these recipes. You’re going to be the grilling sauce king!
Peach BBQ Sauce Recipe; Canning
Note: Be sure to read through the recipe’s post for tips and details about this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 6 cups peaches, chopped pitted peeled
- 1 1/4 cups onion
- 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 cilantro, loosely packed finely chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 more teaspoon if you like it spicy
Instructions
Directions
- Prepare canner, jars and lids
- In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar and peaches. Cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the cooked peaches until a small chunky consistency.
- Add onion, jalapeno peppers, red pepper, cilantro, honey, garlic, cumin and cayenne. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Follow instructions for water bath canning below
Water Bath Canning
- Fill water bath canner at least half-full with water. Cover and maintain a simmer (180°F) until jars are filled and placed in canner.
- Check jars, lids, and bands for proper functioning. Jars with nicks, cracks, uneven rims, or sharp edges may prevent sealing or cause jar breakage. The underside of lids should not have scratches or uneven or incomplete sealing compound as this may prevent sealing. Bands should fit on jars. Wash all in hot, soapy water and dry well.
- Pre-heat your canning jars in hot (180°F) water. Keeping jars hot prevents them from breaking when filled with hot food. Leave lids and bands at room temperature for easy handling.
- Use a Jar Lifter to remove the pre-heated jar. Fill jars one at a time with prepared food using a Jar Funnel, leaving headspace recommended in recipe. Remove air bubbles, if stated in the recipe, by sliding the Bubble Remover & Headspace Tool or rubber spatula between the jar and food to release trapped air. Repeat around jar 2-3 times. For successful sealing, you need to leave the correct amount of space between the food and the rim of the jar.
- Wipe the rims and threads of the jars using a clean, damp cloth to remove any food residue. Center lid on the jar, allowing sealing compound to contact the jar rim. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip-tight. Place jar in canner. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all jars are filled. Ensure water covers jars by 1-2 inches.
- Place lid on water bath canner and bring water back to a rolling boil. Begin processing time.
- Process in the boiling water for 15 minutes. When complete, shut off heat and remove the lid. Allow jars to rest in canner for 5 minutes to be acclimated to the outside temperature.
- Move jars from canner and set upright on a towel. This will prevent jar breakage that can occur from temperature differences. Leave jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. DO NOT retighten bands as this may interfere with the sealing process.
- Inspect lids for seals. There should be no flex when center is pressed. Remove the bands and attempt to lift lids off with your fingertips. Properly sealed lids will remain attached. If a lid fails to seal within 24 hours, immediately refrigerate the product. Clean canning jars and lids, label and store in a cool, dry, dark place for up to for up 18 months.
Notes
- For sweet fruit and the best flavor profile, use fresh ripe peaches when in season.Â
- Adjust the heat level to your liking by increasing or decreasing the jalapenos.
- Blend using an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor.
- Use yellow peaches for the best color!
Be sure to visit the canning peach bbq sauce web story
This post was originally published August 2020 and was republished August 2022 with new content and images.