Peach Crisp
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Sweet, juicy peaches bubble beneath a buttery oat-pecan topping in this easy peach crisp recipe—the perfect summer dessert.
When peaches are at their peak, this peach crisp is one of my favorite desserts to make. It has all the appeal of peach pie, but it’s so much easier—no rolling or chilling pie dough required. Sweet, juicy peaches bubble beneath a buttery oat-pecan topping that’s crisp, crunchy, and the perfect contrast to the tender peaches underneath. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It doesn’t get much better than that.
“My search for the perfect peach crisp is over – this is it.”
Looking for more ways to use fresh peaches? Try my peach galette for an easy rustic tart, peach cobbler for a classic biscuit-topped dessert, or peach blackberry buckle for a delicious twist on peach cake.
What You’ll Need To Make Peach Crisp
- Peaches: Fresh, ripe (but not overly soft) yellow peaches are best for baking—they’ll become sweet and juicy while still holding their shape. Peel them first for the best texture. Frozen peaches work well, too. Thaw them completely, drain off any excess liquid, and pat them dry before using.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the peaches and helps draw out their natural juices as they bake.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the peach juices so the filling is luscious rather than watery.
- Lemon Juice: Brightens the flavor and balances the sweetness of the peaches.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the fruit.
- All-Purpose Flour: Helps bind the topping into buttery crumbles that bake up crisp and golden.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Give the topping its hearty texture and signature crunch. Don’t substitute quick oats, which won’t provide the same texture.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and subtle caramel flavor to the topping. Always pack brown sugar into the measuring cup when measuring.
- Ground Cinnamon: Adds warm spice that pairs beautifully with peaches.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances all the flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: Brings the topping together and helps it bake up crisp, golden, and buttery.
- Pecans: Add rich, nutty flavor and extra crunch to the topping. If you have a nut allergy or simply prefer a classic oat topping, feel free to leave them out.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare the peach filling: Toss the peaches with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla.
Make the crisp topping: Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and pecans. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture forms coarse, uneven crumbs. Some larger clumps are exactly what you want—they’ll bake into crisp, buttery clusters.
Assemble: Transfer the peaches to a buttered baking dish, spreading them evenly. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the peaches, covering the fruit from edge to edge. There’s no need to press it down; keeping the topping loose helps it bake up crisp and crunchy.
Bake and cool: Bake until the topping is deeply golden and the peach juices are bubbling thickly around the edges of the dish. Those bubbling juices are the best indicator that the filling has thickened and the crisp is ready. Let the crisp cool for about 15 minutes before serving. This gives the filling time to set slightly so it isn’t too runny. Serve warm, preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
If you enjoy this peach crisp, be sure to try my plum crisp in late summer, apple crisp in the fall and strawberry rhubarb crisp in the spring—they’re made with the same kind of easy, buttery crisp topping that’s always a hit.
More Summer Fruit Desserts You’ll Love
Peach Crisp
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 3 lb peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into ¼-in (6-mm) slices
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the Topping
- ¾ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ⅔ cup pecans, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
For Serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set a rack in the middle position. Butter a 2-qt (2L) baking dish.
- Make the peach filling: In a large bowl, combine the peaches, lemon juice, granulated sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt. Mix well to coat the peaches evenly.
- Make the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, oats, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, using your fingers to rub out any lumps of brown sugar. Add the soft butter and mix with a spoon until the mixture is crumbly (go ahead and use your hands if it's easier).
- Transfer the peaches to the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over top. Bake the crisp for 40 to 45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Remove from the oven, and cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hello, Jen —
I made a half recipe after carefully noting half amounts for all ingredients, used fresh peaches from the tree in our yard, baked for 40 minutes, then 5 or 6 minutes more because it looked VERY wet. Let it cool 20 minutes, still a soup. 1st portion with vanilla ice cream absolutely delicious but extremely soupy. Today, the day after, baked it for more than another hour. Now looking crispy on top and a low level of liquid in the hole where the 1st portion was. Probably will be fine when it cools off.
Any idea why my experience could be so very different from all the others reporting?
Hi John, sorry you had a problem with this. You mentioned you halved the recipe; what size baking dish did you use? Also, did you make any adjustments to the recipe (other than halving it)?
I had the exact same experience with this recipe. Soupy, and too sweet. I could try baking again as you have. It’s an absolute fail. Used fresh peaches, placed in 2 quart dish.
Mine was also soupy. I added another layer of topping minus 1/2 the sugar and 1/4 of butter. Came out so much better after the 2nd bake.
Sounds like you forgot the corn starch?
I left out the sugar in the peach mixture, then swapped the topping sugar for coconut sugar and flour for coconut flour. Also didn’t have any pecans so I chopped up some almonds. I had some with plain Greek yogurt for breakfast and it was so good!
Very yummy. I didn’t bother peeling the peaches and it turned out just fine.
While we have so many fresh peaches available, I thought I’d try this. A complete success!! Everyone loved it. Your crisp recipes never fail me. Thank you for making me a good baker.
❤️
Hi. I’ve made this twice now. The first time, I didn’t have pecans, so I used almonds. The second time I had pecans and it really was an extra notch better. I added just a bit more cinnamon and it was scrumptious. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
I’ve made a lot of crisps and this recipe was hands down my favorite! The pecans add a nice bit of crunch and flavor to the delicious topping. My family LOVED it and it’s such a yummy summer treat when peaches are in season. Serving with vanilla ice cream is a MUST! I plan to freeze some from the farmers market so I can make this in Nov.
Super yummy perfect peach crisp recipe!!!! I made it just now for dessert after dinner but we could not wait and ate some after 20 minutes of smelling the deliciousness in the kitchen. Thank you!
I’ve made several crisp recipes over the years, all good, but this recipe was spectacular! I used 5 large (very ripe) peaches and it came out perfect.
I loved the recipe. The taste was fantastic and everyone loved it. The only thing I was concerned about was that you said I should use a 2 quart backing dish, which is 8″ by 8″. Way too small! An 8″ by 12″ was a perfect fit. Maybe it was a typo?
Hi Lara, Glad you liked it! I find that it fits nicely in an 8 x 8 dish. Is your dish 1.5 inches high? If so, that would explain it as most standard baking dishes are 2 inches high (but there are plenty of people that have 1.5-inch high dishes).
Hi Jenn, I love this peach crisp recipe and would like to include fresh strawberries next time I make it. Will I need to adjust any of the other ingredients if I include strawberries other than decreasing the number of peaches? Thank you!
Hi Melle, Glad you like this! You can just replace some of the peaches with strawberries, so the ratio of filling to topping is the same. And because strawberries can exude a lot of juice when cooked, you may want to add a touch more cornstarch or a bit of flour to the filling to accommodate for that. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Thanks Jenn, it turned out great!
We got a 25 pound box of peaches from the peach truck and I am not certain how much 3 pounds would be out of that batch without a scale! Can somebody give me the equivalent roughly and what this would be in cups? Thank you so much!
That’s a lot of peaches! It’s hard to say how many cups of peaches you’ll need, but I can tell you that I used 5 very large peaches. If your peaches are medium-sized, you’ll probably need about 7 medium. Don’t worry about it too much; it doesn’t need to be exact. Hope you enjoy!
I bought off of the peach truck also! I weighed out 3# and it is 6 Georgia Peaches. It turned out great!
I made this recently and it was the best crisp recipe I have ever made. We absolutely loved it. Thanks for another wonderful recipe.