peach crisp recipe

Easy and delicious peach crisp recipe made with fresh, juicy peaches and a crunchy oat topping! Prep in under 15 minutes, bake, and give it a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A summertime treat perfect for picnics, potlucks, or to cap off a cookout with friends and family!

This peach crisp recipe is super easy and gratifying. Toss sliced peaches with some sugar and flour to let them macerate a bit, then top them with a crunchy cinnamon-oat topping that’s reminiscent of the best granola you’ll ever eat. Once baked, you let it cool for a bit — arguably the hardest part of the recipe — and then spoon it into bowls and top it with vanilla bean ice cream.

As my best of summer recipes decrees: summer just isn’t complete without a fresh fruit dessert. I have a few weaknesses in life, but the greatest among them is fruit cobbler crisps and crumbles. I grew up eating this apple crisp, I love this berry crumble, and I start every single summer season with a blueberry cherry cobbler or a rhubarb cobbler! I invite you to do the same!

Professional Tips

• Use ripe, but fairly firm peaches for this recipe. Overly ripe, soft peaches will break down while baking. Firmer peaches — even ones that are slightly under ripe before baking — will better retain their shape and moisture 
• Peel the peaches for perfection. I know it’s a little annoying to peel and slice five pounds of peaches, but I promise you it’s worth it. You can watch my video on how to peel peaches three ways! Find the one that works for you..
• Cut the peaches in similarly-sized pieces. There is no standard here, but pick a size and stick with it! This will ensure they bake evenly and you don’t end up with some big, crunchy chunks mixed with puree.

Ingredients

• Fresh Peaches: Just like in my peach galette or peach pie recipe, ripe peak season Summer peaches will make all the difference in this simple recipe. If you have any left over, these easy peach preserves will serve you well into the winter!
• Granulated Sugar
• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a tender crisp topping. It is also used as a thickener instead of cornstarch for the filling.
• Oats: I use old-fashioned rolled oats in my crisp toppings. They retain their shape and structure after baking, which gives texture to the topping.
• Dark Brown Sugar: Using dark brown sugar adds sweetness along with a nice, rich molasses flavor.
• Cinnamon
• Kosher Salt
• Unsalted Butter

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Swap the peaches for another fruit. You can substitute some of the peaches called for in the recipe with an equal amount of blueberries (blueberry peach crisp, yes please!), or swap all of them for fresh nectarines, plums, strawberries, apples, etc. Or you could even make it with nectarines AND blueberries, using this blueberry nectarine galette as inspiration! If you have allergens to be aware of, give my Dairy Free Fruit Crisp a try. Note: depending on the fruit you might want to add a squeeze of lemon juice!
• Boost your flavor with other spices. You don’t have to be married to cinnamon only. Try pumpkin spice, apple pie spice, nutmeg, or even speculoos spice mix instead! You might want to use less than the cinnamon measurement in the recipe below, so add a pinch, taste and repeat. You could even pour salted caramel sauce on the top or a dash of vanilla extract in the filling!
• Tweak the crisp topping. I went the crunchy oat topping route because juicy soft peaches with a crisp topping is my dream. But an old fashioned peach cobbler or more of a peach crumble with a buttery streusel topping would also be divine! You can also add toasted nuts like pecans or walnuts to the topping. Make it dairy free by following the topping recipe from this dairy-free fruit crisp recipe! Double the topping and save half for a cardamom pear crisp or mini cream cheese apple crisps!

How to Make Peach Crisp

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Make the filling and topping:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine sliced peaches, granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir to evenly coat all the peaches.

Step 2: Preheat your oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle.

Step 3: In a large bowl stir together the brown sugar, remaining 1 cup of flour, salt, and oats. Add the butter cubes and toss to coat them with the flour mixture. Using your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture by grabbing a handful, squeezing and mashing it against your palm with your fingers. Repeat until your hand is exhausted and the mixture sticks together in chunks but there are only a few remaining lumps of butter. Work as quickly as possible so that the butter doesn’t actually melt.

You can also use a pastry blender to cut in the butter!

Assemble & bake the crisp:

Step 4: Give the peaches one last stir and pour into a 13×9-inch baking dish. Cover with the crisp topping using as much or as little as you wish. 

Press some of the crisp topping down into the peaches. This will soften and provide a wonderful contrast to the crispy topping.

Step 5: Bake in a preheated oven for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling out the sides. 

The key to a thicker filling here is to make sure it bakes long enough! Wait to take the crisp out of the oven until after you can see the filling bubbling and the top is a nice golden brown.

Step 6: Let cool on a wire rack in the pan for at least 20 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream or pull together this easy crème anglaise recipe while it cools!

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed cobblers, crisps & crumbles along with our sister site’s favorite 20 Easy Summer Desserts!