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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What temperature does it bake at?
Hi Stephen, It gets baked at 350°F/175°C. Hope you enjoy!
I found this recipe about a month ago and have made it quite a few times. It is my new favourite crisp. I added some fresh blueberries and that sent it over the top! I’m really enjoying your site, Jenn and plan on trying many more recipes. Thanks
Hi Jenn – I want to take advantage of the last few peaches of the season so of course I came to you first to see what to do with them and this crisp looks so good! I don’t like nuts in my desserts so do I need to alter the recipe for the streusel if I don’t want to use pecans? Thanks!
Hi Rebecca, It’s perfectly fine to just omit the pecans – it will still be delicious!
Thanks! I can’t wait to try this!
We really like this recipe! I halfed the recipe and did it in four ramekins instead of a bigger dish, baked for half the time and they came out great!
I made this delicious dessert for the first time recently, as my contribution to a potluck dinner party for ten. Normally, I’m reluctant to make something for the very first time when I’m feeding it to others, but I know how reliable Jenn’s recipes are so I took the chance. So glad I did! It turned out perfectly and there were no leftovers – the sure sign of a successful dish! Three tips for anyone making this for the first time: 1) don’t worry about all the peach juice, as the corn starch works perfectly to thicken the filling, 2) this method of making a streusel topping using soft butter is so much easier than using very cold butter, as most recipes recommend, and 3) by using 1.5 times the original recipe amounts (for example, 4.5 pounds peaches, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, etc.), you will have exactly enough for a 9 x 13 inch pan. Enjoy!
I had some peaches that were fairly ripe, but not very good. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe so I went for it. I also added a handful of frozen peaches. It came out delicious! You’d never know it was made with lousy peaches! The only problem I had with it is that I couldn’t stop eating it.
I can’t have cornstarch, can I replace with flour instead and if so, how much flour should be used? Thank you!
Hi Trish, Yes, you’ll need 1/4 cup of flour. Hope you enjoy it!
Delicious and turned out lovely even with the flour replacement! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Jenn. I just took this bad boy out of the oven and it smells divine! I can’t wait for it to cool down a bit to gobble it up. When I made the streusel it wasn’t really crumbly, though, as your instructions say. I weighed the butter so it was the correct amount; what do you think I did wrong? Was it maybe TOO soft? It’s quite hot here in Vancouver. Thanks for all your amazing recipes. You’re my go-to gal and I appreciate how neatly you lay out your instructions, making recipes fool proof and easy to follow.
Hi Alanna, I just checked the metric conversions to make sure they were correct and updated the brown sugar to add about 15 more grams. Not sure that that would make a big difference though. Could it be that you overworked the topping a bit when combining the ingredients? How did it turn out when you tried it?
Excellent summer recipe! I went a little crazy at Trader Joe’s and bought a dozen peaches. For this recipe, I used six perfectly ripe fresh peaches. They were so juicy and sweet, I halved the sugar in the recipe. I mangled the first peach, trying to peel it, so I decided to eat my mistake while I googled “easiest way to peel a ripe peach.” This led me to blanch them in boiling water for 40 seconds after lightly scoring a cross into the skin on the bottom of each peach, then I immediately submerged the peaches in ice water to stop them from cooking. This made them super easy to peel. Other than reducing the sugar, I followed the recipe exactly. OK, instead of going to the trouble of chopping whole pecans, I put them in a ziplock bag and gave them a few gentle whacks with the smooth side of a meat mallet — done! We all agreed this peach crisp was insanely delicious. Definitely going in the entertaining repertoire! Thanks, Jenn!
It tastes very good, but it came out quite soupy. Some tapioca added before baking might firm it up.