Cheers! It’s peach season, which means it’s also bellini season. Bellinis are sparkling Italian cocktails made with two simple ingredients: Prosecco and peach purée. They’re fizzy and refreshing, with more body than your average cocktail.
Bellinis are easy to make, and perfect when you’re hosting brunch or soaking up a lazy summer weekend. They’re a fun alternative to a mimosa, and feel a little more fancy. Maybe because they’re Italian.
Too often, bellinis are made with overly sweet peach nectar or peach liqueur. My bellinis are made with real peach purée, which doesn’t need any added sugar to taste like a treat.
You can make bellinis with defrosted frozen peaches, too. You’ll find instructions for each option below. Are you ready to make bellinis this weekend?
Peach Notes & Tips
Authentic Italian bellinis are made with white peaches. Yet, I had a surplus of yellow peaches and they made beautiful golden bellinis. White peaches must not grow well near me, because they’re always hard and refuse to ripen.
Which brings me to my next point: Great peaches make great bellinis, and lousy peaches make lousy bellinis.
Those are the rules. If you can’t find great peaches, use frozen peaches.
How to Peel Fresh Peaches
Peeled peaches make the best peach purée. I tried blending peaches with the skin on, and the purée required straining and didn’t taste quite as good. So, peel your peaches first!
You can simply peel your peaches with a paring knife or vegetable peeler, but you’ll lose some peach juice and flesh along with it. Here’s a better way, and I promise it’s not as much trouble as it sounds:
- Bring a pot of water to boil.
- Slice a very shallow, inch-long “x” across the base of each peach.
- Dunk each peach into the boiling water for about 20 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon or tongs. (Most will tell you to then dunk the peaches into an ice bath, but I didn’t find that necessary for these purposes.)
- Peel off the skin, starting at the “x.” It comes off right off. Discard the skin, cut the peach in half, remove the pit, and make purée.
How to Make Bellinis with Frozen Peaches
Good news: You can make bellini cocktails with frozen peaches. You’ll need to use good frozen peaches, not old freezer-burned peaches, lest your cocktails taste like freezer burn.
The only other trick is to let your frozen peaches completely defrost before blending, or they won’t blend. You can defrost them at room temperature in three-and-a-half to four hours, or throw them into the refrigerator overnight.
One upside to using defrosted frozen peaches is that your peach purée will be chilled and ready to serve immediately after blending.
Please let me know how your bellinis turn out in the comments! I hope you like them as much as I do.
Looking for more fizzy summertime cocktails? Here are a few favorites:
Fresh Bellini Cocktail
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes (plus 30 minute chill time)
- Yield: 5 cocktails 1x
- Category: Cocktail
- Method: Blended and poured
- Cuisine: Italian
Bellini cocktails are perfect for summertime! For this simple and delicious recipe, you’ll only need ripe, juicy peaches and Prosecco. Recipe yields 5 bellinis; multiply for a crowd.
Ingredients
- 4 medium ripe peaches (1 ½ pounds), plus a few peach slices for garnish if desired
- 1 bottle Prosecco, chilled
Instructions
- First, make peach purée: Peel your peaches, slice them in half, and remove the pits. Place the halved peaches in a blender or food processor, and blend until the purée is completely smooth. Peach purée is best served chilled, so place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to cool.
- When you’re ready to serve, pour 2 ounces (¼ cup) chilled peach purée into a Champagne flute. Pour in some chilled Prosecco, being careful not to overflow the glass. Gently stir with a spoon to combine.
- Top off the drink with another splash of Prosecco and garnish with a peach slice, if desired. Serve at once!
Notes
Prepare in advance: You can make the purée in advance, and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Wait to add Prosecco until you’re ready to serve so your drinks are nice and bubbly.
Leftover peach purée: This recipe yields 2 cups purée, and it will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days. If you have leftovers, you might enjoy it mixed with a splash of club soda and served over ice. Or, drizzle it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream or Greek yogurt.
Frozen peaches variation: Defrost 1 ½ pounds sliced peaches, either at room temperature (it will take 3 to 4 hours) or in the refrigerator overnight. Blend the defrosted peaches until completely smooth in a blender or food processor. Then, you’re ready to go!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Hayley Morrin
My first drink when I came of age was a Bellini, at my sister’s insistence. I found it way too sweet and never ordered one again. This looks much more manageable sweet though; I’m willing to give Bellinis another shot!
Kate
Be sure to let me know what you think, Hayley!
Debra
I have some really ripe peaches I need to use up. Would I be able to purée and freeze for a party later in August? Or should I just freeze the peaches and purée later?
Kate
I used fresh here, but it would be worth a try! Let me know what you think, Debra.
Katrina Goodman
Oh gosh.. I tried to make bellinis a few months ago & there was so much “pulp”. I did not know I had to peel the peach. *Insert woman putting hand over face emoji* Thank you for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Ha! Thank you for your review, Katrina.
Eva
Made these last night for my husband and I after the kids went to bed. My husband isn’t really a fan of sweet drinks, nor wine for that matter, but we both really enjoyed these. Real, whole peaches definitely make the difference between a light, fresh sweetness and that sickly sweet syrup in most standard cocktails. These were fantastic and I’m definitely making them at our giant family Christmas breakfast instead of our usual mimosas.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you both were able to enjoy these! Thanks for sharing, Eva.
Jen
Could you use jarred peaches (discard liquid) instead of frozen?
Kate
I haven’t tried it, sorry!
Aida
I’ve had one with jarred peaches somewhere before and it had a bit of a tomato paste-y taste. I’m guessing it depends on the quality of the product.
Jamie
I really enjoyed making this recipe for Valentine’s Day!
★★★★★
Margaret
I had trouble blending my defrosted frozen peaches. I made a 1/2 batch. There wasn’t enough liquid. I might advise those without a high quality blender to wait till your peaches are room temp. This also brings out the peach flavor more. Otherwise, great recipe.
★★★★
Sara
I would like to can this..is it possible in a water bath..maybe 10 minutes?
Kate
This recipe isn’t designed to be canned. Sorry!