After a 15-pound influx of fresh peaches and a two-week intense baking spree, I was in the market for a more healthy-leaning peach dessert; one that left room for vanilla ice cream, of course. The answer: Baked Peaches!
Fresh peach halves that are split, then spooned full of a heaven-sent mix of maple syrup (or honey), brown sugar, cinnamon, and—if you are feeling dangerous—a touch of brandy, bourbon, or rum, this simple but spectacular summer dessert is destined to be a go-to.
Whether you want an easy dessert to wow your guests, an excuse to buy another box of fresh peaches before summer ends (15 pounds later, and I might not be done yet!), or a healthy way to treat yourself, look no further than Baked Peaches in maple syrup.
Baked Peaches taste like the purest, most intense version of what a fresh peach can be. They’re tender, juicy, and guaranteed to drip down your chin.
Baked Peaches — A True Peach of a Recipe
This recipe is all about the peaches themselves. Let them enjoy the diva status they deserve. We’re going to take a few simple ingredients that highlight and elevate peaches’ flavor, but it’s the fruit itself that stars in this dish.
You can top the Baked Peaches with ricotta or mascarpone if you are feeling fancy, with a drizzle of caramel sauce for extra sweetness, or keep it classic with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
A Baked Peaches and cream situation with a topping of whipped cream or a simple pour of heavy cream would be not be remiss either.
Since Baked Peaches are good for you (relatively!), sometimes I’ll even mix the Baked Peaches with raspberries, yogurt, and granola for a special Baked Peach crumble breakfast treat.
Peaches contain vitamin C, potassium, calcium, fiber, and other nutrients. Further, this is a recipe for Baked Peaches without butter, and it is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar. Don’t you love it when dessert-goes-breakfast is a possibility?
Baked Peaches are also very diet friendly and allergy friendly. This recipe is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and nut-free too. Baked Peaches for all!
How to Make Baked Peaches
The recipe takes only five minutes to prep and is one of the best desserts I’ve eaten all summer!
- Start by finding the best, freshest, juiciest ripe peaches you can. To tell if the peach is ripe, press it very gently. It should give a little. Be careful not to press too hard or the peach may bruise. Ripe peaches should also smell very fragrant.
- Split the peaches in half, and remove the pits. No need to peel the skins! They’ll soften up just fine when you cook the Baked Peaches in the oven. Further, peach skins also contain some vitamins, so you’re doing yourself a tasty favor leaving them on.
- Arrange the peaches in a baking dish, cut-sides up. You can use any size of dish, as long as it holds the peaches comfortably. I’ve written this recipe for three peaches (six halves), but you can scale it up or down any way you like.
(One of the halves didn’t make it all the way to the baking dish…apparently I was hungry when working on this recipe.)
- Mix up the Baked Peach filling. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil (no butter needed for Baked Peaches! The olive oil has a nice, fruity flavor that’s perfect here), cinnamon, maple syrup (or you can cook the Baked Peaches in honey), coconut sugar or brown sugar (if you’d like this to be a Paleo Baked Peaches recipe, use a bit of extra honey or maple syrup instead), and your alcohol of choice.
I opted for brandy Baked Peaches and imagine that bourbon or rum would also be fantastic.
Cooking Baked Peaches in alcohol is totally optional, of course! You can leave it out and still have ultra scrumptious results.
- Spoon the filling inside the peaches. Be generous! Whatever doesn’t fit right inside the peaches, spoon over the tops and let it run down the sides into the dish.
- Bake the peaches at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until they are so tender you can cut them with a spoon. The filling will bubble and caramelize, and your entire kitchen will smell like a cross between a bakery and a peach orchard.
How to Store and Reheat Baked Peaches
Baked Peaches are also delicious leftover!
- To refrigerate: Store your Baked Peaches in an airtight container in the refrigerator for four to five days. You can also place any maple cinnamon topping you may have leftover in the refrigerator and use it to top the peaches when you reheat them.
- To reheat: Lay your Baked Peaches cut side up in a bowl or on a plate, and microwave gently for 30 seconds or longer as needed. You can also reheat your peaches in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
You can freeze Baked Peaches also. They will soften even more after freezing and thawing, but since fresh peaches are meant to be soft, the texture is not as off-putting as it would be with other desserts.
- To freeze: Let your Baked Peaches cool completely. Then, arrange them in a single layer in an airtight container and place in the freezer.
- To reheat from frozen: Let the Baked Peaches thaw overnight in the refrigerator. To reheat, follow the oven directions above. I suggest making a fresh batch of the maple cinnamon topping, then spooning it over the peaches. You don’t need to make a full batch of the topping—just whatever feels appropriate for the amount of peaches you are reheating.
More Favorite Peach Dessert Recipes
These Baked Peaches are a bit like having a mini peach pie of your own, without all the fuss of a crust. They are one of the best easy, healthy dessert recipes to come out of our kitchen this summer. If you try this recipe for Baked Peaches, don’t forget to comment below, and let me know how they turned out. I always love hearing from you!
Baked Peaches
want to save this recipe?
From time to time, we'll send you the best of Well Plated. We respect your privacy and you can opt out anytime.
Already registered? Log in here.
Ingredients
- 3 fresh, very ripe peaches halved and pitted
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon brandy bourbon, or rum (optional)
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Vanilla ice cream, Greek yogurt, or heavy cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x9-inch or similarly sized baking dish that’s large enough to hold the peach halves in a single layer with nonstick spray. Pick a dish that's sized to where your peaches fit comfortably side by side, but there isn't too much excess room around them. Arrange peaches cut-side up in the dish.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oil, maple syrup, brandy, coconut sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Spoon the mixture over the peaches, filling the center and letting it run over the sides.
- Bake peaches, uncovered, until the peaches are cooked through and fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream, Greek yogurt, or a pour of heavy cream, as desired.
Notes
- TO STORE: Place your Baked Peaches in an airtight container in the refrigerator for four to five days. You can also place any maple cinnamon topping you may have leftover in the refrigerator and use it to top the peaches when you reheat them.
- TO REHEAT: Lay your Baked Peaches cut side up in a bowl or on a plate, and microwave gently for 30 seconds or longer as needed. You can also reheat your peaches in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- TO MAKE VEGAN: Use maple syrup.
- TO MAKE PALEO: Omit the coconut sugar and use an extra tablespoon of honey or maple syrup.
Nutrition
Join today and start saving your favorite recipes
Create an account to easily save your favorite recipes and access FREE meal plans.
Sign Me Up
Made it but olive oil is tooo much. Otherwise very nice
I’m sorry to hear that Genevieve. I understand that tastes differ and you can definitely adjust the olive oil next time. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not have it work out, so I am sorry that happened here!
I’m trying to eat heart healthy so I did just 1 tsp of honey and 1 tsp of sugar. After I took the peaches out of the oven the syrup tasted salty, but it tasted fine when I paired the peaches and sauce with greek yogurt. So if reducing the sugar consider reducing the salt as well.
Hi Sharon! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and review!
I haven’t made this recipe once, twice, or even thrice. I’ve made it FOUR TIMES.
It is INCREDIBLE. It is a delicious and wholesome treat. To the folks making it for the first time: make sure you let your peaches (or nectarines – I usually use nectarines) RIPEN for a day or two before cooking. It will make them baby soft and delicious.
I use: rum, brown sugar, and olive oil. I also add a dash extra salt because I like the flavor contrast.
THANK YOU for this spectacular and decadent recipe!!
Hi MaryMAT! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Nice recipe.
The guidelines is also easy. Thanks.
Hope you enjoy it Ray!
Do you peel the peaches before baking ?
Hi Kevin! Not sure if you saw this but it was in the blog post. No need to peel! Also you’ll see in the photos that the skins are still on. Makes it much easier to prepare! Hope you enjoy it!
These peaches look addictive. I am gonna try them soon. thanks for sharing!
I hope you enjoy the recipe, Deepti!
I made this recipe with ripe Fredericksburg, TX peaches and Treaty Oak Ghost Hill Texas bourbon. Yum! Then lightly toasted crostini, added a schmear of fig & black pepper goat cheese, and topped with the baked peaches. Sweet, savory, and delicious!
Hi Elisabeth! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I used butter instead of olive oil and rum as my alcohol. I topped mine with whipped cream, but my son said it was excellent with Noosa vanilla yogurt. I had one hot right out of the oven, but I liked the second one much better that was just slightly warm.
Hi Yvette! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
These were super-easy and so delicious…my family was fighting over the last ones! I ended up using melted butter instead of the olive oil. My kids loved them with vanilla Greek yogurt!
Hi Lisa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Home run. Paired it with chilled coconut milk and it was just beyond.
Hi CC! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Absolutely 💯 scrumptious!!! 😋 My choices from this recipe included the syrup & brown sugar, and then topped the baked deliciousness with vanilla ice cream. I literally scooped up every single drop I could. My taste buds are definitely very happy! 😊
Hi Pam! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Fourteen people for a diabetic’s birthday dinner and I decided not to have cake. I used 10 peaches, tripled the sauce recipe, and served with no sugar vanilla ice cream (the diabetic got a sauce made with a substitute sweetener). Every single guest raved about this dessert.
Hi Jean! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Delicious! I used bourbon instead of brandy. I will definitely be making this again.
Hi Kathy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Absolutely delicious. I didn’t have maple syrup, so used honey. No leftovers!
Hi Linda! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Absolutely delicious. Thank you!
Hi Mitzy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This recipe is really easy and so good!
Hi Molly! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Delicious and so easy. I had two lovely Colorado peaches I didn’t want to waste so turned this into dessert for the two of us. Adjusted all the ingredients, of course. I was curious about the olive oil instead of butter, but it was fruity, as you indicated. I used some Tamarind liqueur we bought on Curacao and the tiny taste of tamarind added to the peach flavor. Thanks, Erin. Another winner.
Hi Barb! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I love this recipe! So easy and with ingredients you would already have on hand. I’ve made this many times.
Hi Shelly! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Looks great! I want to make these for a Christmas Crepe Brunch Bar. Could I slice the peaches some before baking them for least time or slice them afterwards? What would you suggest? Ty
Hi Beverly! You could do that, it would likely need less time to bake. Enjoy!
so easy and delicious! I doubled everything for a dinner I made for a bunch of friends- 5 minutes of prep and it was enjoyed by everyone. Thank you!
Yay! Thanks Rachel!