Wondering what to do with dried peaches? This guide covers how to pick them, cook them, store them, and swap them, plus 8 recipes to put them to work.

What are dried peaches?

Dried peaches are fresh peaches with most of their water removed, which concentrates the sugar and turns the flesh chewy and intensely peachy. A pound of dried fruit starts as roughly five to six pounds of fresh peaches.

That is why the flavor lands so much harder than the soft summer fruit it came from.

Commercial dried peaches are usually halved and pitted, then treated with sulfur dioxide before drying. That sulfur keeps them a bright orange-gold; unsulfured peaches are safe and natural but turn a dull brown and taste a touch more caramelized.

They sit in the same family as dried apricots but run sweeter, with a deeper stone-fruit note and a softer chew.

Cooking With Dried Peaches

The first move with most dried peaches is to rehydrate them. Cover with hot water or fruit juice and let them plump for 20 to 30 minutes, then chop. They soften beautifully in long, wet cooking, which is why they carry compotes and fruit soups so well.

Dried Fruit Compote and Cinnamon Fruit Soup both simmer them with other dried fruit until everything turns soft and syrupy. In Fruit Compote Pie- Glorious Liqueurs they soak in spirits before baking, which rehydrates and flavors them at once.

Chopped fine, they fold straight into batters without soaking. Spiced Peach Muffins and Applesauce Peach Bread scatter the pieces through the crumb, where the surrounding moisture plumps them as they bake.

They also belong in savory braises. Apricot-Glazed Chicken with Peaches & Raisins leans on dried fruit to sweeten the pan sauce as the chicken cooks.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Dried peaches love warm spice and a little tartness to balance their sugar. Cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and a squeeze of orange all bring them into focus, and they sit happily next to raisins and toasted nuts in trail mixes and baking.

The most common mistake is adding them dry to a quick-cooking dish and expecting them to soften. They will stay tough and pull moisture out of the batter or sauce around them. If a recipe cooks fast, soak first.

The second mistake is treating them like fresh peaches in a recipe's sugar math. Cup for cup they carry far more concentrated sweetness, so cut back the added sugar when you swap them in.

Substitutes

Dried apricots are the closest stand-in, with a similar chew and a brighter, tarter edge; use them one for one. Dried nectarines, where you can find them, are nearly identical to dried peaches.

For baking, chopped dried mango or dried pear gives you the same soft fruit texture, though the flavor drifts. In a pinch, fresh or canned peaches work in wet dishes, but reduce any other liquid since they carry their own water.

Buying and Storing

Look for pieces that are still pliable and slightly moist, not rock-hard, which signals they have dried out too far or sat too long. Color tells you about processing: bright orange means sulfured, dull brown means unsulfured.

Keep them in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard, where they hold quality for 6 to 12 months. The fridge stretches that further and the freezer keeps them up to a year.

If they stiffen over time, a short soak or a few seconds of steam brings the chew back.

Watch for sugar bloom, a harmless white crystalline film that can form on the surface. It is just sugar migrating out, not mold, and a quick rinse clears it.

Quick facts

Where to find dried peaches: Dried peaches are usually found in the baking supplies section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

干桃子

British (UK) term

Dried peaches

en français

pêches séchées

en español

duraznos secos

Recipes using dried peaches

There are 8 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 8 recipes