Here’s a great recipe to use up those extra, or underripe, or overripe peaches this season – a Sweet and Spicy Peach Relish! So easy to make.
This peach relish doubles as a peach chutney, and can be customized to your taste!
It’s peach season! We’ve been stocking up on them and I also made a delicious peach galette and a peach cobbler just the other day. Still, we invariably end up with a few too many peaches at home. Sounds familiar? Well, here’s something you can do with those extra fresh peaches – a simple, delicious Sweet and Spicy Peach Relish!
This relish is super simple to make, and it’s a great summer relish to pair with absolutely anything! This doubles as a peach chutney as well, and it’s super versatile, so you can add more flavors to customize it to your taste.
To make this relish, you can use peaches that are not quite ripe yet, or those pesky peaches that are ripe, but just aren’t sweet (I can only seem to get my hands on these lately at my local grocery store), or those peaches that are a little overripe. Basically, any type of peach that you’d rather not be munching on. You can adjust the taste of the relish by adjusting the level of sugar or lemon juice.
To make this basic relish, you only need a few ingredients :
- Onions
- Garlic
- Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Peaches
- Salt
The result is a sweet, tangy relish that perfectly complements grilled chicken, grilled pork, grilled seafood, sandwiches (like this steak sandwich), burgers (crispy tuna burger anyone?) and more!
And with a couple of additions, you can get creative with your relish and kick it up another notch.
Sweet and Spicy Peach Relish (my favorite!)
This pairs well with any grilled or pan fried meats (including seafood), and is particularly great in sandwiches! To make this with the base peach relish, you can simply add,
- Crushed chili flakes or
- Cayenne pepper or
- Chopped jalapeno or serrano peppers
Tex Mex Peach Relish
This is great when paired with guacamole and corn chips. Or top your pork tacos with this peach relish. It’s the perfect accompaniment for your Tex Mex night! Simply add,
- Chopped jalapenos or serrano peppers AND
- Cilantro
Curried Peach Chutney
This would be DELICIOUS with rice and curry! Add,
- Extra sugar (chutney is sweeter)
- Cardamom
- Mustard
- Ginger
- Crushed chili flakes
Asian Peach Relish
- Fish sauce instead of salt
- Green onions instead of red onions
- Lemongrass
Persian Peach Relish
- Saffron (such a wonderful addition!)
- Barberries
- Crushed chili flakes
Mediterranean Peach Relish
- Cinnamon
- Saffron
- Golden raisins
- Crushed chili flakes
I’ve been eating this relish with toasted pita chips for lunch lately, and it’s so addictive! 🙂 It’s great in my chicken salad, and my husband’s steak sandwiches too! With so many different ways to customize this recipe to your taste, it’s a great way to use up those leftover peaches!
This fresh peach relish (or any variation of it) is perfect for canning too.
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Sweet and Spicy Peach Relish
Ingredients:
- 1 small red onion sliced
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or cider vinegar
- ½ tbsp crushed chili flakes I used 1 tbsp because we love it extra spicy
- ¼ tsp kosher salt or more as needed
- 1 ½ lb fresh peaches cubed into pieces (about 6 -7 peaches)
Instructions:
- Place the onion, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Heat over medium-heat while stirring to melt the sugar.
- Cook for about 5 - 10 minutes until the liquid thickens and has a syrup-like consistency.
- Add the salt, crushed chili flakes and cubed peaches. Stir to mix.
- Heat over medium-heat while stirring frequently until the peaches soften, and the liquid is mostly evaporated. This may take about 20 - 30 minutes.
- Scrape the relish into glass jars and serve as needed (can be stored in the fridge for about 5 - 7 days).
Tips & Tricks
Other peach recipes you may like
Classic peach cobbler, Easy peach galette, Peach melba popsicles, Lavender peach shrub syrupNutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Frances Potter says
HI there, you mentioned garlic in the ingredients list but not in the recipe? Is it meant to be in there?
Also for the people with queries re canning/sterile jars, yes, this can be canned (we would say “bottled”) just like any preserved fruit, in clean, sterile, pre-heated jars using any of the standard canning methods.
Dini says
Hi Frances!
Yes it is an optional ingredient that you can add! I didn’t add it to the recipe before because it was optional, but I’ll add it to the recipe now. The garlic will be added along with the onions 🙂
I hope that helps!
Frances Potter says
Great thank you. I have an entire tree full of beautiful golden queen peaches to process (it’s going to be a mad two weeks…) so will try adding garlic in the current batch 😉
I’m being proactive this year and picking them off the tree as soon as I spot any tiny spots or defects – otherwise they can rot completely in a matter of days. It means a lot less waste but also a lot more green peaches to deal with, which means, in turn… chutney!
You don’t happen to have a recipe for some kind of dry or salty/savoury pickling process for green peaches do you? I’ve actually never made pickles before but there must be something out there…will be fun exploring. Thanks for replying!
Louise says
Hi, can this be preserved in sterile jars?
Dini says
Hi Louise
I haven’t tried to before, so I can’t be sure. I’m not very familiar with canning, and wouldn’t want to give you incorrect information.
Sorry I couldn’t help you more.
Debra says
I made the reiish yesterday and loved it. I put it on a cheese omelet. Yum!
Dini says
Oooh, that cheese omelette with peach relish sounds yum indeed! 🙂 So glad you liked the relish Debra, thank you for letting me know.
Theresa says
Can you process this recipe in a hot water bath?
Dini says
Hi Theresa
I am not sure if that is possible. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
Kevin Robeson says
Looks easy and delicious. Can’t wait to try it, think I’ll double it at least and freeze some.
wilhelmina says
This is excellent as a topping on so many things, but I really just want to eat it with a spoon!
Aimee Shugarman says
LOVE the sweet and spicy flavors that mingle together in this relish!