Fresh Bellini Cocktail
Bellini cocktails are perfect for summertime! For this simple and delicious recipe, you'll need ripe, juicy peaches and Prosecco. That's it!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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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.
Watch How to Make Fresh Bellini Cocktails
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
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!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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!
Be sure to let me know what you think, Hayley!
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?
I used fresh here, but it would be worth a try! Let me know what you think, Debra.
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!
Ha! Thank you for your review, Katrina.
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.
I’m glad you both were able to enjoy these! Thanks for sharing, Eva.
Could you use jarred peaches (discard liquid) instead of frozen?
I haven’t tried it, sorry!
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.
I really enjoyed making this recipe for Valentine’s Day!
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.
I would like to can this..is it possible in a water bath..maybe 10 minutes?
This recipe isn’t designed to be canned. Sorry!
Since the 1930s there is a name for preblended & bottled Champagne and peach purée called Bellini from Venice Italy. That is where it originated according to some of the beverage from Italy. Did you know you can buy Bellini @ world market
Yes I also have an Italian bottle of peach Prosecco. Can’t wait for my peaches to ripen. This will be amazing.
Hi
I don’t have access to fresh or frozen peaches. Could tinned work if syrup is rinsed off before blending?
Thanks!
Hi Penny, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
Does it turn brown if made ahead of time? If so anything to prevent that?
Hi Jen, I didn’t experience that. How far in advance were you planning to make?
Why these days Peach Snapps are not added to Bellinis?
So glad to find this recipe I had a Bellini in Harry’s Bar in Venice. I dream I will again be there again most delicious drink I ever had. Will try to make this to do it Justice as you describe. Thank you.
Thank you, Carol! I’m glad you came across this recipe.
You can actually buy the peach puree from Harry’s Bar from Sans Drinks. They import it especially from Venice. I think I paid $16 aud for a pack of 4 bottles.
To make ahead, I am wondering if the peach purée will turn brown?
Hi! I find it’s best right away.
I used fresh frozen peaches I’d had in my freezer for these and they were a BIG hit! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you! I just discovered that baby food pureed peaches make for a pretty good Bellini! I found a “natural” brand of baby food that doesn’t add anything else… just pure fruit and no pulp! There’s nothing like fresh, absolutely, but I might find myself enjoying these more often with the easy option.
Could you also use canned peaches, in juice, draining the juice, of course.
Hi. I’m trying this, but added a little amaretto (a splash) to my peache and it’s nice. And, I think I will try to freeze the peach/amaretto puree in little cubes, and then put them in the bottom of the glass and pour the prosecco over. I think this is going to work very nicely.
Thank you for sharing! I hope it turned out well.
What if they are jarred peached but good
I made this for a Galentine’s party using defrosted frozen peach slices, and it was a huge hit! Some comments were “100/10” and “perfect cocktail, no notes”. I’ve been using the leftover peach puree in my morning oatmeal; I add a few warm peach slices, cinnamon, flaky sea salt and a dash of ginger and nutmeg, and it is delicious!
Great to hear, Melissa! Thank you for your review.
I used canned peaches and it was perfect!!!
a quick version is to buy fresh organic peach puree baby food and use per the directions