What To Do With All The Peaches And Apples You Picked

Fruit picking is one of our family’s favorite activities. My two boys look forward to our annual peach picking excursion every year and this fall we added apple picking to our bucket list. A trip to the orchard never disappoints; we always return, sunburned and muddy, with a big haul of peaches or apples carefully picked by my two helpers. But what about later that evening when you’ve finished off that bottle of hard apple cider (a mom’s reward for carrying both kids’ buckets back to the weigh station) and you’ve got a kitchen counter full of produce and no motivation? Here are some of my favorite simple ways to use peaches and apples.

Freeze Them: I like to freeze peaches and apples to use throughout the year. With just a little effort, you’ll be able to grab your frozen fruit and thaw when you’re in the mood for apple crisp or peach cobbler a few months down the road. I prefer to remove the skin from the peaches prior to freezing. An easy way to remove the skin is to put them in a pot of boiling water, then move them to a bowl of cold water for 10-20 seconds. The skin will slide right off the peach. After slicing into chunks, soak them in a mixture of 1 tablespoon lemon juice for every 2 cups of water. Then freeze in a labeled Ziploc bag. If you’re freezing apples, peel, core and slice them, then place in the lemon juice mixture before freezing.

Smoothies: We are big fans of smoothies at our house. Kids like them for a fun treat and moms like them because you can hide all sorts of veggies and fruits in there! Use your peaches to make smoothies with bananas and blueberries for breakfast with this easy recipe. I’ve also used my leftover peaches for a peach, banana and mango smoothie; it calls for frozen peaches, but mine were fresh so I added some ice to the mixture before blending.

Add To Salads Or Sandwiches: Toss peaches, apples, blueberries and strawberries onto your greens to spruce up your salad. Or try an apple, cranberry and walnut salad topped with feta cheese. Finish with a poppyseed dressing and enjoy! Wondering how to add apples to your sandwiches? An apple and gouda grilled cheese is heavenly. Just be sure to slice your apple slices thinly if you’re adding to a sandwich. I even like apples on my turkey sandwiches; add some brie, lettuce and mustard for a quick and easy lunch.

Bake Them: This peach cobbler recipe is super easy even if you’re not a baking extraordinaire. I decided to make peach cobbler with my leftover peaches and I had all the ingredients in my pantry. While pies, crisps and cookies are classics, I don’t always have the patience for making pies, so these quick apple pie bites are a great alternative.

Instapot: Instapot applesauce is my go-to with a big batch of apples. You’ll have fresh applesauce in less than 20 minutes! I haven’t tried peaches in my Instapot yet, but there are tons of delicious-looking recipes on Pinterest if you’re looking for ways to use your leftover peaches. I’m planning to thaw my frozen peaches and throw them into the Instapot to make this peach jam recipe later this winter.

There are endless ways to use your leftover peaches and apples. You could always can them or freeze for later. Get creative by making apple chips, peach salsa, or fruit leather.

What’s your favorite way to use your peaches and apples?

Lauren Davis
Lauren and her husband Dan live in El Dorado with their two boys (born 2011 and 2014). They have added a goldendoodle, a hedgehog and two cats to their family in recent years and are expecting a daughter to join their crew at the end of 2020! She is an elementary school secretary, a member of the Junior League of Wichita and the Tri-County CASA Board of Directors. Lauren spent much of her childhood in Lawrence, Kansas and moved to El Dorado about ten years ago after her husband graduated from pharmacy school. She gets by on a lot of coffee and loves all the messy, fun, wild and wonderful parts of being a mom.