Easy Peach Sorbet Recipe

Awesome peach sorbet with almost no work—you won't even need to peel the fruit.

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Photograph: Robyn Lee

When you get great peaches, all you want to do is not screw them up. And most of the time, that's pretty easy: just eat them straight, maybe with some bourbon-spiked whipped cream on the side. But if you want to be more creative, or you have some less than stellar specimens (perfectly ripe but a hair too tart, or not quite as sweet as you'd like), there's no easier trip from fruit to dessert than sorbet. Especially this one, which is also kind to frozen peaches, and doesn't even make you remove the skins.

These kinds of sorbets are dead simple. Dice your peaches, blend them with acid and sugar, and add salt to taste. That's it. No water, syrup, or other flavors needed. I leave the skins on because 1) I'm lazy, and would rather strain for two minutes than peel for five, and 2) I think they add a certain complex tartness to the purée. But if you're using frozen peaches—and it's totally okay if you are—don't worry about it. Add a touch more acid if you like; my choice is lime juice, an under-appreciated peach bedfellow.

I find that sorbets tend to work even better with imperfect fruit because they demand a ton of sugar to freeze right. If you have a perfectly ripe, honeyed peach, that much sugar can dull its complexity. But if your peach is a bit too tart, sugar rounds out its flavor perfectly. (Of course, do feel free to use your fantastic peaches here too; the sorbet you see above was made with a generous shipment from the good people at Frog Hollow Farms, who grow some fine, fine stonefruit.)

To serve, a not too sweet coffee cake is nice. Or more of that bourbon-ized whipped cream. Cream optional.

Recipe Details

Easy Peach Sorbet Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 3 hrs
Serves 8 servings
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds fresh or frozen peaches (about 8 whole), diced (leave peels on)

  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed juice from 1 lime (see notes)

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

  1. Combine peaches, lime juice, and sugar in a food processor and purée until very smooth with no large chunks. You should have about 1 quart of purée. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into an airtight container and add salt to taste. Press a piece of plastic wrap against surface of purée and chill for 2 to 3 hours, or until very cold.

  2. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a container and chill in freezer for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm.

Special equipment

food processor, ice cream maker

Notes

If your peaches are very tart, use less lime juice. If very sweet, use slightly more lime juice.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
163 Calories
0g Fat
41g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 163
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 40mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 15%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 39g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 12mg 58%
Calcium 11mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 325mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)