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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About how many cups of peaches is that?
Hi Leslie, 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. Don’t worry about it too much; it doesn’t need to be exact. Hope you enjoy!
hi,have a ? can you substitute w/canned peaches,if so whats the quanity and do they to be rinsed and drained,thanks for the help
Hi Alicia, Canned peaches should work here. I’d drain the liquid from the can (and if they were canned in syrup, I’d reduce the sugar a bit). And, not sure what size the cans are, but you’ll need the equivalent of 3 pounds. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I used three 796ml cans of peaches, draining the liquid before proceeding with the recipe. Since the peaches were already sweet, I didn’t add any sugar. I did add some sugar to the crumble. The result was a hit with my guests!
Thank you for the recipe Jenn!!
Fantastic recipe, it tastes like Summer! We substituted King Arthur gluten free flour (as usual), but you wouldn’t know it is we didn’t tell you. Your recipes are consistently delicious, reliable, and easy to follow.
This turned out terrible. It was peach soup. I used peaches I picked fresh from my tree the same day I made it. Oats in topping were still raw. I followed the recipe exactly as written. I will not make it again.
Hi Jenn,
I’ve made this recipe twice now and loved it!!
Wondering if there any adjustments needed in using fresh frozen peaches?
Thanks so much
Kathy G
So glad you like it! You shouldn’t need to make any adjustments for frozen peaches; I’d just thaw them first and drain off any liquid.
I’ve made this crisp 4 times now and it always turns out amazing. After the first time, I cut back a tad on both sugars though (a little too sweet) and have added frozen blueberries which everyone loves. The one I have in the oven as I write this review has about a cup of mixed frozen fruit in it (blueberries, strawberries and raspberries). Should be very tasty.
Excellent recipe. Miss Betty even asked for the recipe (HUGE PRAISE).
My few changes:
~3# canned peaches in light syrup, well drained and let rest with cornstarch, vanilla, and salt. As they were canned, did NOT add the sugar or lemon.
~Gluten free flour and walnuts were in pantry. I added 1/2t of baking soda and baking powder to the crisp part. That’s something I have always done with all cobbler/crisp, etcs.
~My butter was frozen, so I melted it on super LOW on the stove. I started melting before draining the peaches. (Also, I hate crumbling/cutting butter into sugar).
~For layering, I put the peaches in the pan, then the brown sugar mixture, then slowly drizzled the butter over the whole thing.
~For my oven, NEXT TIME I think 375 for 20 min, then 350 for 20 min.
I’m 100% excited to make this again.
I had bought, sliced, and frozen peaches from a Costco box. I defrosted them for this recipe. I knew they would be more soggy so used more starch (arrowroot since that is what I had.) I had walnuts so used those and substituted oat flour for the all purpose. I also made made a bit more topping. I took it to my neighbor’s place to enjoy together with some vanilla bean ice cream. It was delicious and delightful! Thanks for a great recipe!
How many frozen sliced peaches did you use? Thank you.
I have made many crisps but this one is a keeper!! I’ve used this one several times with total success and more yummy compliments and requests for seconds than ever before. Yum!!
So, I made this last night and it was perfect as written. Here’s my two cents on why this recipe may not have worked for everyone:
1. Weigh your fruit after peeling it. Not enough fruit could result in an overly sweet result. Also, don’t slice the peaches too thinly. You want them to have some bite and if you leave a bit of weight to them, you’re less likely to have a soupy mess.
2. Consider the ripeness of your fruit. I worked with fresh peaches, but they were slightly under ripe. Although that makes it harder to get the pit out, the filling wasn’t overly sweet.
3. Be patient – let the fruit sit for awhile after you’ve added the sugar and cornstarch. Everything needs time to dissolve.
4. Not all ovens are created equally. I let this crisp bake for almost an hour – my telltale signs of a crisp being done is seeing that jammy filling bubble at the sides. Yum!
Jenn, thanks for such a great end-of-summer recipe. I used my new cast-iron dutch oven for this and it was PERFECTION!
Wonderful details to help us perfect this recipe. Thank you, Sarah!