For me, summertime is all about peaches.
Here in Colorado, this kind of fruit is a big big deal. But there are only a few weeks in the summer when you can get them locally when they are perfectly fresh and ripe.
I start craving juicy stone fruit each year at the beginning of June. But these fresh and tasty plump orange fruits won’t be ready until later in the season, and it’s such a small window of time…
As soon as they become available, I get my fill of the fresh stuff. Then I pull out this unbelievably simple crisp recipe to use up the rest of my farmers market haul.
It’s one that you really don’t have to think about, and it only takes about 5 minutes of active prep time to pull it all together.
But when stone fruit season comes to a close, you don’t have to pack this recipe away until next year. It’s fantastic with canned peaches, too! This will cut down on your prep time even more, since they are already sliced and peeled.
Since the fruit is naturally sweet, you don’t have to worry about adding sugar to the filling for this crisp. Instead, there’s just a small amount of sugar in the topping.
My best advice in choosing the peaches that you will use for this recipe is to select ones that are juicy and ripe, or use canned peaches that are packed in 100% juice. The ones that are in syrup are just too sweet.
We are trying to showcase the flavor of the fruit, not just the sugar, after all!
I love this recipe because you can throw it together, bake it up while you are eating dinner, and then you can serve it straight out of the pan. It looks gorgeous coming out of the oven, with the filling all bubbly and the topping a nice golden brown.
You can literally eat it out of the baking dish with a spoon, but if you are trying to be an adult and serve guests, I guess you could also serve it on plates or in small bowls if you choose.
And if you ask me, you must have a scoop of ice cream on top. I personally love vanilla bean, but any kind of vanilla ice cream will work. For double the fruity flavor, you can serve big scoopfuls of our homemade peach ice cream!
Whipped cream works too, with a small sprinkle of ground cinnamon for a touch of added flavor.
Let this dessert rest on the counter for a few minutes after you remove it from the oven, but be sure to serve it right away after that. You don’t want to let it cool down! Trust me when I tell you that it tastes oh-so-good when it’s nice and warm.
You also want that topping to stay nice and crisp. The longer it sits, the more the topping will soak up the juices from the filling. Make the most of that texture and dig in ASAP!
Whether you’re celebrating the fresh bounty of stone fruit season, looking for a delicious way to use some of those canned peaches that you put up last season, or you’ve got a big ol’ can of peaches that you just found in the back of the cabinet, whip up this delicious recipe – it’ll be ready in no time.
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Incredibly Easy Peach Crisp
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Summertime is the best season to bust out our incredibly easy peach crisp. It’s warm and comforting, with lots of tart and tangy flavor.
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 6 cups sliced fresh peaches (approx. 18–30 whole), or 3 15-oz cans sliced peaches in 100% fruit juice
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp all purpose flour
For the Topping:
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Position rack in the middle of the oven.
- Drain fruit and place in a large mixing bowl with cinnamon and flour. Toss to coat. Set aside.
- Place flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine. Add butter to flour mixture. Use your fingers to work the butter into the mixture until it is crumbly and well combined. Set aside.
- Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the topping in the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking dish, and spread to form an even layer. Add fruit mixture and spread evenly to fill the pan. Cover evenly with the topping mixture.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven. Let cool slightly in the pan before serving. Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Fruit Crisp
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Keywords: peach crisp, peaches, stone fruit, cinnamon
Cooking By the Numbers…
Step 1 – Cube Butter and Measure Remaining Ingredients
Cut the chilled unsalted butter into small cubes. Be sure to place it back in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it, especially if you are working in a hot kitchen in the summertime!
If you haven’t already, peel and slice your fruit and place it in a large mixing bowl.
If you are using canned peaches, drain them in a colander. If canned fruit in syrup is all that you have on hand, this recipe will still work. Give the peaches a bit of a rinse with cold water before using.
Measure out all of the remaining ingredients as listed on the ingredients list.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350˚F.
If your toaster oven has a bake setting and a large enough capacity to fit an 8-by-8-inch baking dish, this is an excellent option for summertime baking.
Step 2 – Make Filling
Add cinnamon and flour for the filling to the bowlful of fruit.
Toss to coat evenly and set aside.
Step 3 – Make Topping
Add the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the topping to a medium-sized bowl, and stir to combine with a whisk.
Add the chilled butter to the bowl. Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture.
I like to pinch the butter between my fingers to break it down quickly and evenly. The mixture should be crumbly and well-combined.
Step 4 – Assemble and Bake
Add 2-3 tablespoons of the topping to the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch metal, ceramic, or glass baking dish. Spread it with a spatula or your fingers to form an even layer.
Add the fruit filling on top, and spread it in an even layer.
Sprinkle the topping mixture on top in an even layer.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the top is lightly browned. Note that baking in glass will take a bit longer, while a crisp prepared in a metal baking pan will typically be finished more quickly.
Remove from the oven. Let cool slightly in the pan, and serve warm.
Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
Sweet Summertime Stone Fruit
Summer’s such a great season for fresh fruit, isn’t it?
This recipe is perfect for when you have a big haul that you want to eat up right away, and your guests will love sitting down to a tasty bowlful of homemade crisp out on the patio by the barbecue grill after a delicious meal.
Do you have a peach tree out back, and you’ve already canned more jam than your family knows what to do with? Perfect! It’s peach crisp time!
When winter rolls around, you don’t have to say goodbye. With a couple cans of fruit packed in juice, you can still prepare a satisfying crisp. And you don’t even have to peel or slice, giving you a few extra minutes to enjoy a glass of wine while you wait for dessert to be ready.
When I’m looking for the right canned peaches, I head to the organic section of my supermarket instead of perusing the regular canned fruits. It seems that it’s easier to find the ones that are in juice versus syrup from the organic brands, but maybe this is just the case at my local grocery store.
If you can’t find these at your local store, you can use the ones that are packed in syrup in a pinch. Just make sure you give those peaches a rinse in cold water like I mentioned above, to remove the excess sugar. You don’t need it!
For more of our favorite desserts and other dishes that feature peaches, give these recipes a try:
- Quick and Easy Peach, Basil, and Ricotta Flatbreads
- Peach and Corn Salad with Fresh Mint and Lime
- Strawberry Peach Tart with Maple Shortbread Cookie Crust
- Sweet and Smoky Grilled Chicken with Peach Chipotle Sauce
And don’t just limit yourself to peaches in the summer months! When you get big, bold blueberries, try our recipe for a sweet-tart peach blueberry crisp with an almond oat topping.
What kind of topping will you put on this homemade dessert? Tell us in the comments below. And when you try the recipe, be sure to give it a five-star rating to let other readers know how much you loved it!
Photos by Meghan Yager, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on March 19, 2013. Last updated: April 26, 2021 at 20:15 pm. With additional writing and editing by Allison Sidhu.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Meghan Yager
Meghan Yager is a food addict turned food and travel writer with a love for creating uncomplicated, gourmet recipes and devouring anything the world serves up. As the author of the food and travel blog Cake 'n Knife, Meghan focuses on unique foodie experiences from around the world to right at home in your own kitchen.
