Indulge in the perfect summer treat with these easy grilled peaches, drizzled with a heavenly chocolate balsamic glaze and sprinkled with nuts and salt. This recipe transforms ripe, juicy peaches into a sweet and decadent healthy dessert. This is the ultimate comfort food and an awesome summer dessert you won’t want to miss.

Grilled peaches, drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with nuts and salt.

This recipe has been updated from the original published on August 15, 2019.

Jump to:

Ingredients and Substitutions
Do I need to buy organic peaches?
How to store fresh peaches
What’s the difference between cling peaches and freestone peaches?
How long do peaches last in the fridge?
Grilling Tips
How to make grilled peaches
How to store Grilled Peaches
Debra’s Pro Tips
More healthy summer desserts
📖 Recipe

When fresh peaches are in season, I’m all over the easy peach recipes. If I’m not using my juicy peaches for vegan peach cobbler, or for a delicious peach crisp, then I’m definitely going for simple grilled peaches…don’t let that balsamic chocolate glaze fool you…there’s nothing complicated about this fresh peach recipe.

Stone fruit season is so short so it’s important to use all those perfect peaches while you can! Maybe you prefer a savory peach recipe…well, then I encourage you to make this incredible nectarine salad with arugula and avocados...but substitute with peaches, obvi!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Peaches, with small dishes of chocolate, oil, salt, balsamic vinegar.

Fresh peaches: Peaches are in season all summer long. Other stone fruits like nectarines, plums or apricots will also work well in this recipe.
Extra virgin olive oil: A bit of oil is needed so the fruit doesn’t stick to the grill. Most of it will burn right off. Also, the
Honey Just a drizzle of honey is all that’s needed for this natural sweetener to caramelize the peaches as they cook. A dash of maple syrup or date syrup will also work well.
Balsamic vinegar: Brings out the sweet flavor of the peaches. A favorite combo with chocolate…so YUM!
Dark chocolate: A drizzle of chocolate is a simple way to enhances grilled peaches. Just one ounce goes a long way in turning a simple peach into a delicious dessert. Higher quality dark chocolate has less sugar than milk chocolate. If you don’t eat processed chocolate, add a teaspoon of cacao powder to the marinade and whisk well for a hint of chocolate.
Crushed nuts: I love the added crunch. I used sliced almonds to make crushing into small pieces super easy. You can chop any nut or seed that you have/like. Hemp seeds are super easy and chopped pistachios, pecans or walnuts are also tasty choices.
Flakey sea salt: Omit if you’re trying to reduce sodium in your diet. Otherwise, just a small sprinkle adds so much flavor. If you don’t have flakey sea salt, use coarsely ground pink salt or kosher salt.

Do I need to buy organic peaches?

If you can’t afford, or can’t find organic peaches, make sure to clean them well.

Fill a large bowl with 4 parts water to 1 part plain white vinegar.
Soak the fruit or vegetables you’d like to clean in the mixture for 20 minutes.
Rinse the fruit or vegetables well with water. Studies have shown that washing your produce can reduce the pesticide residue, but won’t eliminate all pesticides.

The short answer is YES. Both peaches and nectarines are on The Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list once again. This means that they are HEAVILY sprayed with toxins. To limit your exposure to as many pesticides as possible, buy organic any of the items on The Dirty Dozen list when you can. Consult with the Clean 15 list for updates on produce that is safer to buy non-organic, and always wash your produce well.

How to store fresh peaches

Summer peaches bought from a farmers market are generally ripe and ready to go!
However yellow or white peaches purchased from your local grocery store may need to sit on the counter for a few days to soften and become ripe.
Once your peaches have a bit of “give” when gently pushed on, store in the refrigerator until ready to use, to prevent them from ripening even further.

What’s the difference between cling peaches and freestone peaches?

Freestone peaches have flesh that is easily separated from the pit. Clingstone peaches are difficult to separate the flesh from the stone. The best peaches to grill are freestone peaches.

How long do peaches last in the fridge?

Storing ripe peaches in the refrigerator will make them last longer. But, they will lose their moisture and their natural sugars will dissipate. The best tasting peaches are not refrigerated. Having said that, you can store fully ripe fresh peaches in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Bring your peaches back to room temperature before using.

Grilling Tips

The first step is to preheat your grill. A hot grill will leave beautiful grill marks on the cut side of the peaches, and they’ll take less time to cook.

PRO TIP: Make sure to clean your grill really well before beginning. Those little bits stuck on there from cooking proteins contain carcinogens. Heat your grill to high. Let those bits turn ashy-gray and then use a metal grill brush to scrape them off.

You can use an outdoor grill or an indoor grill pan that’s been preheated with medium-high heat. If my peaches are super ripe, I sometimes use my cast iron grill pan on top of the gas grill so avoid flare ups. A charcoal grill will give off a more smoky flavor than a gas grill. The type of grill you use isn’t as important as getting the grill grates hot before you begin.

How to make grilled peaches

Cutting peaches in half on a cutting board.

Halve and pit your peaches. Although it’s easiest to cut along the natural seam, it’s actually harder to halve them that way. Cut across the middle between the stem end and the bottom and then it will be easier to twist, separate and remove the pit.

Bowl of halved peaches, small dishes with honey, almonds, olive oil, chocolate chunks, sea salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey and vinegar. Pour marinade over halved peaches. Leave them until ready to grill, for a few minutes or up to a couple hours. The marinade will help the peaches caramelize and pull away from the grill easily.

Balsamic marinade poured over halved peaches in a glass bowl.

Use tongs to place the peaches onto the hot grill, cut side down. Set aside the extra marinade. Leave them for 3-4 minutes, until grill marks have appeared on the cut sides of the peaches and and they naturally release from their spot.

Flip so the skin side is down, and continue to cook for about 3 more minutes.

Transfer grilled peaches to a serving plate.

Melt the chocolate and add it to the reserved marinade. Mix well.

Grilled peaches, drizzled with chocolate.

Drizzle the chocolate balsamic glaze over the grilled peaches.

Grilled peach halves, drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with nuts and salt.

Sprinkle with chopped nuts and a pinch of salt.

BAM…simple summer fruit to the next level. Crazy how easy these are to make…and how decadent they turn out.

How to store Grilled Peaches

Store any leftover grilled peaches (honestly, this has never happened in our house!) in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Serve cold or at room temperature.

Debra’s Pro Tips

USE WHAT YOU HAVE: Grilled peaches are a delicious summer dessert, but did you know you can make it with nectarines too? Yes, it will work well with any stone fruit that’s ripe, but not mushy.
If you cut along the natural seam, it will be difficult to twist and separate each peach half without a lot of juice and a bit of mush. Cut across, in the opposite of natural instinct for best results.
The peak of peach season is May-September. Perfect alignment for eating outside and enjoying grilled food like grilled potato salad. Make an evening of it in your yard!
The best part is how the warm peaches mingle with the balsamic glaze…sprinkle that bit of sea salt and crushed nuts for something truly extra!
Make sure to clean your grill really well before beginning. Those little bits stuck on there from cooking proteins contain carcinogens. Heat your grill to high. Let those bits turn ashy-gray and then use a metal grill brush to scrape them off.

Stone fruit season is still one of my favorites. Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots….they’re all good in my book. You can use this recipe for grilled peaches and sub any stone fruit that you have.

More healthy summer desserts

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📖 Recipe

Plate of grilled peaches with a chocolate balsamic drizzle on a white and red checkered background.

Grilled Peaches with Chocolate Balsamic Drizzle

Author: Debra Klein

Grilled Peaches with Chocolate Balsamic Drizzle is my go to healthy summer dessert. It's easy, vegan, gluten-free and delicious.

5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Calories 197 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat grill.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey and vinegar.
Use a sharp knife to cut peaches in half perpendicular to their natural seam. Twist and pull apart. Remove pits and place fruit in medium size bowl. Pour marinade over and set aside.
Use tongs to take peaches out of marinade and onto hot grill (set leftover marinade aside), cut side down. Leave for 3-4 minutes until beginning to soften and grill marks appear. Flip and grill other side for 3-4 minutes.
Melt chocolate over super low heat. Pour melted chocolate into remaining marinade and mix well. Drizzle over grilled peaches. Sprinkle with nuts and salt.
Store leftovers in airtight container in fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

CHOCOLATE: 1-oz dark chocolate will yield approximately 2 Tablespoons melted. You will need about 3 tablespoons chocolate chips for the equivalent. The higher the cacao content of your chocolate, the less sugar it will contain.

NUTS: I used sliced almonds to make quick work of turning them into small pieces. You can also chop whole almonds. Chopped pistachios or walnuts are also good choices.

VEGAN: Substitute maple syrup or date syrup if you don't use honey.

SALT: Omit if you're trying to reduce sodium. Otherwise, just a small sprinkle adds so much flavor. If you don't have flakey sea salt, use coarsely ground pink salt or kosher salt.

GRILL: Preheat for best results. You can use a gas grill, charcoal grill or cook indoors on a grill pan on your stove.

If peaches are large, ½ peach is plenty per person. Small peaches 1 serving would be both halves.

Nutrition

Serving: 1peachCalories: 197kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 145mgFiber: 3gSugar: 23g

Note

The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach or use hashtag #dkhealtcoach on Instagram so I can see it!!

Categories

Dessert Gluten Free Grain Free Kosher for Passover Rosh Hashanah Shabbat Snack Vegan

Comments

5 from 10 votes (1 rating without comment)

Grilled Peaches with Balsamic Chocolate Drizzle