Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Ice Cream

Summertime is the perfect season for delightfully lite and healthy dishes. These grilled peaches are just one of the delicious ways to incorporate summertime produce into your diet.

Why grill fresh peaches?

Have you ever had warm peach cobbler? Oh my stars! It’s so good, but can you even imagine the damage to your diet?

Not that I promote dieting…

But for a bit of a healthier dessert option, I can 100% recommend grilled peaches with Vanilla Ice Cream!

You can eliminate the massive dump of sugar and pie crust but still get that delicious summery peach taste topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

You could even use Keto Ice Cream if you really want to keep it low carb!

How to make Grilled Peaches

Grilling peaches is really, really easy. You can jump to the recipe below for a printable version, but I’ll take you through it here really quickly.

First, grab some decently ripe peaches from the grocery store or better yet, your local farmers market.. One peach will serve 2 people. 

Cut them in half and remove the pits. Then lightly brush them with light olive oil. I use the light version so the olive oil isn’t overpowering the peach. 

If you want, you can sprinkle them with a little bit of salt and/or cinnamon. You could even use allspice to add in some fall flavor.

Heat your gas grill to medium heat. Use your grill brush to clean your grill grates of any cooked on debris.

Then place your peaches cut side down and gril for 3 to 4 minutes or until grill marks are present and the peach feels slightly soft.

Then take the peach halves and plate them. Top with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and if you like, drizzle them with a little bit of salted caramel syrup. 

How to pick perfect peaches for grilling

When I am picking peaches, and this goes for eating them right out of the bag or cooking, I don’t care how they look.

I care how they SMELL.  

The perfectly ripe peach will have a very lovely, peachy fragrance. 

If it feels ripe, and I can’t smell the peach, then I don’t buy it.

How can I ripen peaches quickly?

If you really want to serve peaches and they aren’t ripe, don’t despair! Simply pick the best ones you can find, put them in a paper bag and leave them on the counter for a day or two. 

Check back frequently to see how they are coming along, because you don’t want them to get too ripe. Once they’re nice and ripe, pop them in the refrigerator to slow down the process until you’re ready to use them.

Preparing the peaches

How to cut your peaches for grilling

First wash your peaches and remove any stickers. Then take a shark paring knife and make a cut vertically all around the peach. Twist the two havles apart, and remove the pit. Simple as that!

Ingredients You’ll Need For Grilled Peaches & Ice
Cream

• 6 ripe peaches.
• Light olive oil or butter if you prefer
• Cinnamon or allspice for seasoning. 
• Kosher salt. 
• Vanilla ice cream. 
• Salted caramel sauce
• Mint leaves for garnish (if you really want to impress!)

Tips for grilling peaches

• Be sure your peach is decently ripe.
• Make sure your knife is sharp before you cut them.
• Hate your grill up to medium heat, and turn it down just a smidge. You want the grill hot enough to make remarks, but low enough to where it cooks the peach until it’s soft, but not too squishy. This may take some trial and error.

Try these delicious toppings for grilled peaches

• Brown sugar or honey
• Crushed pecans, diced walnuts or almond slivers
• Mini chocolate chips
• Hot fudge sauce
• Graham cracker crumbs
• Salted caramel ice cream instead of vanilla
• Whipped cream

FAQs

How do you make peaches taste sweeter?

If you feel like your peaches are not sweet enough, just sprinkle them with a little bit of brown sugar after grilling.

Does cooking peaches make them sweeter?

Cooking can tend to make fruit taste a little bit sweeter. That is because the heat breaks down the fiber in the fruit and releases more of the natural sweetness of the fruit.

Does grilling peaches soften them?

Yes. Grilling your peaches should make them softer. If you start out with a ripe peach, you will have a nice soft peach after grilling it. If your peach is very hard, it may not get soft enough for you. 

What other fruit can I grill?

Nectarines and apricots are the most similar to peaches, but I love grilled pineapple and mangos too. 

I don’t really think plums would be very good on the grill tho.

What if I don’t have a grill?

No worries! You can re-create this without a propane grill. If you have a charcoal grill you can certainly use that just as you would a propane grill.

Can you grill peaches in air fryer?

Sure! You may have to do your peaches in several batches depending on the size of your air fryer. Just remember that fruit can be sticky when cooked, so you may want to line your air fryer with some aluminum foil.

Can you grill peaches on a griddle?

Absolutely! If you have a cast iron griddle with raised marks, you can certainly use that on top of your stove. One tip: cover your peaches as they sauté, so you can cook them through. If you cover it it will create some steam and make the peach nice and soft.

You’ll probably have to cook it a little bit longer using this method. So I would check after about five or six minutes to see how the peach is coming along.

How to grill peaches in oven?

You can absolutely bake your peaches in the oven. If you have a cast-iron grill pan, I recommend using that so you do get some Grill marks. Otherwise you’re just making your peaches. If you want to bake your peaches, you’ll need to bake them on 350°F for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Can you freeze grilled peaches?

Absolutely! If you have a vacuum sealer, that will help to keep the peaches very fresh.

Otherwise put them in a gallon size freezer bag and write the date on them. If you notice crystals forming profusely on the peaches, they might be freezer burned so check and see how they taste before serving them to any guests.

What can I do with Leftover Grilled Peaches?

• Slice them up and put them on your cereal or some greek yogurt
• Dice them up and use them to top ice cream Sundaes
• Dice them up and freeze them to use in fruit smoothies
• Cut them up, keep them in the fridge, and toss them into your next salad – peaches go great with arugula
• Make a dessert pizza with sugar cookie dough, cream cheese and your leftover peaches

Nutritional information for a medium-sized peach (approximately 150 grams):

Calories: 60 Total Fat: 0.4 grams Saturated Fat: 0 grams Trans Fat: 0 grams Cholesterol: 0 milligrams Sodium: 0 milligrams Total Carbohydrates: 14 grams Dietary Fiber: 2.3 grams Total Sugars: 13 grams Protein: 1.4 grams Vitamin D: 0 IU Calcium: 9 milligrams Iron: 0.4 milligrams Potassium: 285 milligrams Vitamin C: 10 milligrams

Peaches are a nutritious fruit with relatively low calories and fat content. They are an excellent source of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion and supports a healthy gut.

Peaches are also rich in vitamins, particularly vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant that helps boost the immune system and supports skin health. And to round it out… peaches provide essential minerals like potassium and iron.