In this article
- Do peaches have fiber? Grams by peach size
- What the fuzzy skin adds
- Myth vs fact: canned peaches and fiber
- Dried peaches: dense fiber, dense sugar
- How peaches rank among fruits with fiber
- What else you get from a fresh peach
- A summer breakfast, tallied for fiber
- Make your next peach count
- Peaches and fiber: what people ask
- Sources
Many people assume canned peaches lost their fiber somewhere between the orchard and the can. USDA data says otherwise: a cup of peaches canned in juice has about 3.2 grams of fiber, while a cup of fresh sliced peaches has about 2.3 grams.
That doesn’t make canned the better pick, and the reason comes down to what’s in the cup. So do peaches have fiber? Yes, in every common form, though the amount per bite, per calorie and per gram of sugar shifts from fresh to canned to dried.
Do peaches have fiber? Grams by peach size
USDA FoodData Central lists raw yellow peaches at 1.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams, with 39 calories and 8.4 grams of sugar. Size makes a real difference, because an extra large peach weighs well over half again as much as a small one.
| Fresh peach | Weight | Fiber | % Daily Value | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small (2 1/2 inch) | 130 g | 2.0 g | 7% | 51 |
| Medium (2 2/3 inch) | 150 g | 2.3 g | 8% | 59 |
| Large (2 3/4 inch) | 175 g | 2.6 g | 9% | 68 |
| Extra large (3 inch) | 224 g | 3.4 g | 12% | 87 |
| 1 cup sliced | 154 g | 2.3 g | 8% | 60 |
The FDA uses 28 grams as the Daily Value for fiber. A food with 5% or less is considered low, and 20% or more is high, so a peach sits in between as a modest source.
To hit 28 grams from medium peaches alone, you’d need about 12 of them. That’s the clearest sign a peach is a helper in your day, not the main event.
Peaches next to nectarines
Nectarines are a smooth skinned cousin of the peach, and their numbers run close. USDA lists raw nectarines at 1.7 grams of fiber and 44 calories per 100 grams.
A medium nectarine, about 142 grams, has roughly 2.4 grams of fiber. That’s a near tie with a medium peach, so pick whichever looks ripest at the store.
Want to see how many grams your own day calls for? Our fiber calculator puts a number on it in a few seconds.
What the fuzzy skin adds
Peaches carry both kinds of fiber, according to registered dietitian Maxine Smith at Cleveland Clinic. The soluble fiber, the kind that dissolves into a gel, helps steady blood sugar and cholesterol, while the insoluble fiber, which adds bulk, helps keep you regular.
Smith also points to the skin: eating it can maximize your fiber intake, and it holds antioxidants too. So peeling a peach for a fruit salad trims some of what makes it worth eating.
If the fuzz bothers you, nectarines skip it entirely. That makes them an easy swap for anyone who dislikes the texture but still wants the skin.
Myth vs fact: canned peaches and fiber
Myth: Canning strips the fiber out of peaches.
Fact: Canned peaches still have fiber, though a little less per gram than fresh. Here’s how the main types compare in USDA data:
| Peach form | Fiber per 100 g | Calories per 100 g | Sugar per 100 g | Fiber per 100 calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh, raw | 1.5 g | 39 | 8.4 g | 3.8 g |
| Canned in juice | 1.3 g | 44 | 10.3 g | 3.0 g |
| Canned, light syrup | 1.3 g | 54 | 13.3 g | 2.4 g |
| Canned, extra light syrup | 1.0 g | 42 | not listed | 2.4 g |
| Dried, uncooked | 8.2 g | 239 | 41.7 g | 3.4 g |
So why does the canned cup look better? A cup of juice packed peaches weighs about 248 grams, since the halves pack tightly and the juice fills the gaps. A cup of fresh slices weighs about 154 grams.
That heavier cup also brings about 109 calories and 25.5 grams of sugar, roughly double the sugar of the fresh cup. Smith adds that canned peaches are often peeled, which removes the antioxidant rich skin, and that syrup packs add sugar, so the label is worth a look.
Picking a can
Juice pack gives you the most fiber per calorie of the canned options in the table. Extra light syrup comes in close on calories, at 104 per cup, but has slightly less fiber, about 2.5 grams.
Light syrup adds the most sugar of the three. If that’s all the store has, draining the syrup before you eat keeps some of it out of your bowl.
The front of the can or the ingredient list will say juice, light syrup or heavy syrup. That one word tells you more about the sugar inside than the picture on the label.
Dried peaches: dense fiber, dense sugar
Drying pulls the water out and leaves everything else behind. Per 100 grams, USDA lists dried peaches at 8.2 grams of fiber, more than five times the fresh fruit.
A single dried half weighs about 13 grams and has roughly 1.1 grams of fiber with 31 calories. The Dietary Guidelines list a quarter cup at 3.3 grams of fiber and 96 calories.
The catch is how fast the halves go down. Eight dried halves weigh about 104 grams and give you about 8.5 grams of fiber, but they also carry about 250 calories and 43 grams of sugar.
That same 8.5 grams would take nearly four medium fresh peaches, at about 235 calories and 50 grams of sugar. The totals end up similar, yet the fresh peaches fill a lot more of your stomach along the way.
Dried peaches do concentrate minerals too. They have about 996 milligrams of potassium per 100 grams, so even a small handful adds a noticeable amount.
How peaches rank among fruits with fiber
Compared with other fruits with fiber, peaches sit in the lower middle. Per 100 calories, using Dietary Guidelines portions, raspberries give about 12.5 grams, blackberries 12.3, strawberries 6.1, pears 5.3 and apples 4.6.
Fresh peaches give about 3.8 grams per 100 calories. That’s ahead of bananas, at about 2.9, and close to blueberries, at about 4.3.
Apricots, another stone fruit, land at about 4.2 grams per 100 calories, with 3.1 grams in a cup of halves. So among summer stone fruits, peaches, nectarines and apricots are a close pack.
Peach by peach against other whole fruits
Counting whole fruits instead of calories tells a similar story. The Dietary Guidelines list a medium pear at 5.5 grams of fiber, a medium apple at 4.8, a medium orange at 3.7 and a medium banana at 3.2.
A medium peach, at about 2.3 grams, trails all four. An extra large peach, at 3.4 grams, catches up to the banana and nearly matches the orange.
The practical upshot: peaches bring sweetness and juiciness, and a handful of berries brings the heavier fiber load. They pair well, which is a good reason to put them in the same bowl.
What else you get from a fresh peach
A medium peach also delivers a spread of vitamins and minerals in small amounts. Based on USDA values and FDA Daily Values, one medium peach has about:
- 9.9 milligrams of vitamin C, roughly 11% of the Daily Value
- 0.10 milligrams of copper, roughly 11%
- 1.2 milligrams of niacin, roughly 8%
- 1.1 milligrams of vitamin E, roughly 7%
- 285 milligrams of potassium, roughly 6%
Cleveland Clinic notes that peaches contain polyphenols and carotenoids, and the body turns beta carotene into vitamin A, which supports vision. It also cites a finding that postmenopausal women who ate at least two servings of peaches a week had lower rates of certain breast cancers.
Much of the other research on peaches is in animals or uses extracts from pits and flowers. That work is interesting, but it says more about peach compounds than about eating a peach.
If more fruit tends to unsettle your stomach, our gut health guides lay out a gentle way to build up your intake.
A summer breakfast, tallied for fiber
Picture a bowl of plain yogurt topped with one sliced medium peach. That bowl has about 2.3 grams of fiber, since yogurt itself has none.
Now add half a cup of raspberries and a tablespoon of chia seeds. The Dietary Guidelines list those at about 4.0 and 4.1 grams, which brings the bowl to roughly 10.4 grams, more than a third of the Daily Value.
For an afternoon snack, a medium peach with a 1 ounce handful of almonds works the same way. The almonds add 3.5 grams, bringing the snack to about 5.8 grams.
The peach still sets the flavor of the bowl. The berries and seeds just do more of the fiber work.
Looking for peach salads, oat bowls and grilled fruit ideas? Our recipe eBooks are full of fiber forward dishes to try.
Make your next peach count
The next time you buy peaches, smell them first. Smith says the sweetest smelling peaches tend to be the ripest and most flavorful, and firm ones with little aroma can ripen at room temperature for a couple of days.
Once they’re ripe, move them to the fridge so they don’t spoil, and eat them skin on. If you’ve got more than you can finish, slice and freeze them for smoothies and oatmeal later in the year.
Peaches and fiber: what people ask
How much fiber is in one peach?
About 2.3 grams in a medium fresh peach, according to USDA. A small peach has about 2.0 grams and an extra large one about 3.4 grams.
Is a peach high in fiber?
No, it’s a modest source. A medium peach gives about 8% of the 28 gram Daily Value, below the 20% the FDA counts as high.
Do canned peaches have fiber?
Yes. A cup of peaches canned in juice has about 3.2 grams, though it also carries about 25.5 grams of sugar.
Does peeling a peach lower its fiber?
Yes, some. Cleveland Clinic notes that eating the skin maximizes your fiber intake and adds antioxidants.
Are dried peaches a good source of fiber?
They’re dense in it, with 8.2 grams per 100 grams. A quarter cup gives 3.3 grams for 96 calories, so portions add up fast.
Do peaches or nectarines have more fiber?
They’re nearly tied. Nectarines have 1.7 grams per 100 grams and peaches 1.5, so a medium nectarine has about 2.4 grams.
Can peaches help with constipation?
They can help a little. Peaches contain insoluble fiber, which adds bulk and helps keep you regular, but one peach gives only about 2.3 grams.
Sources
- USDA Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy entries for peaches, yellow, raw (169928); canned, juice pack (169930); canned, light syrup (169111); canned, extra light syrup (169931); dried, sulfured, uncooked (169934); and nectarines, raw (169914). 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and HHS. “Food Sources of Dietary Fiber.” Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 to 2025. dietaryguidelines.gov
- Cleveland Clinic. “All the Health Benefits of Eating Peaches.” Health Essentials, 2021. health.clevelandclinic.org
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.” 2024. fda.gov
