Peach cobbler is one of my favorite desserts! While it tastes amazing with fresh, in-season peaches, I don't always have the patience to wait for peach season to enjoy it. Which is why I love that this recipe works perfectly with canned peaches, making it a dessert I can enjoy all year long. The little bit of Chinese five spice in the filling is the key to set this apart from your grandma and aunt's peach cobblers.
I've made this cobbler countless times, and the result is the same every time: a gooey, spiced peach filling topped with a golden, buttery biscuit crust. I'm sharing all my tips and tricks for making it just right so you can make it, too.
Notes From The Kitchen
- Flavor: This peach cobbler recipe has the classic fruity filling and the buttery biscuit topping, but using Chinese five spice instead of cinnamon really makes this cobbler shine!
- Texture: The sugar and cornstarch help to create the perfect gooey consistency.
- Quick & Easy: Although it takes 50min in the oven, it's only 15min of prep time.
- Versatility: You can use canned, fresh, or frozen peaches for the filling, and the whole recipe can be made gluten-free and dairy-free too.
What Chinese Five Spice Adds to Your Peach Cobbler
While cinnamon and nutmeg are the classic spices used in cobblers, adding Chinese five spice is what sets this recipe apart! This blend of spices typically includes star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, and Sichuan peppercorns that has a warm, complex, and slightly sweet flavor profile.
Just a little bit of this spice blend adds depth to the flavor, and elevates the peach filling from generic to something truly special but still comforting and familiar.
Pre-Cooking Tips: Choosing & Preparing Peaches
This recipe is incredibly versatile, and you can get a perfect cobbler no matter what kind of peaches you have on hand.
Canned Peaches: This is the easiest, most convenient option, and a great way to make cobbler year-round. Canned peaches are consistent with their flavor and texture, making them perfect for cobblers. You'll need about 5½ cups of canned peach slices (about 4 cans), and a couple tablespoons of the juice from the can, which already has some sweetness. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar if your peaches were in syrup instead of juice..
Frozen Peaches: Another fantastic option when fresh peaches aren't available. Allow them to thaw completely, and drain off any excess liquid before you add them to the filling mixture.
Fresh Peaches: Nothing beats a ripe, juicy peach in the summer! To use fresh peaches, you'll first need to peel, pit, and slice them. A quick dip in boiling water for about 30 seconds followed by an ice bath will make the skins slide right off. Then, you can proceed with the filling steps.
How to Make the Perfect Biscuit Topping
The biscuit topping is what turns this dessert into a true cobbler. It's meant to be a rustic, tender, and slightly crunchy topping—not a smooth cake.
The key to a good topping is to work with cold butter. By pinching the cold butter pieces into the flour mixture, you create a beautiful, shaggy texture. Don't overwork the dough; you want it to be crumbly, not a smooth ball of dough. This creates pockets of butter that melt in the oven, creating a perfectly light and crispy crust with a tender interior.
Peach Cobbler Recipe
Ingredients
Biscuit topping
- 1⅔ cups flour all-purpose or gluten-free 1-to-1 flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup butter regular or vegan sticks
- ½ cup buttermilk see Notes for dairy free
Filling
- 5½ cups peaches reserve 2 tablespoons of juice if using canned
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon Chinese five spice
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Biscuit topping
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and granulated sugar. Add the cubed cold butter and start pinching them with your fingers. Add the buttermilk and mix together.
Filling
- In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and Chinese five spice. Add the peach slices, lemon juice, vanilla, and toss. Put the peach mixture in a baking dish.
- Crumble the biscuit dough and add it over the peach filling. You may end up with some extra dough depending on the size of your baking dish. You can add a sprinkle of raw sugar or granulated sugar on top for an extra crunchy texture.
- Put the dish on a sheet pan and bake it in the oven for 50-55 minutes. The sheet pan will catch any juices that bubble over. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. I love serving it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Nutrition
Variations & Dietary Notes
Gluten-Free: This recipe works perfectly with a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend. Just make sure the blend contains xanthan gum for the best texture. Bob’s Red Mill is my go-to!
Dairy-Free: To make this recipe dairy-free, simply use a high-quality vegan butter stick as the butter alternative. For the buttermilk, combine ⅓ cup (80ml) non-dairy milk with 8 teaspoons (40ml) mayonnaise to create a buttermilk substitute.
Adjusting Sweetness: The sweetness of canned peaches can vary. Be sure to taste the peach filling before you add the sugar and adjust it to your liking.
How to Store Leftovers
Storing: Once the peach cobbler has cooled, it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don't recommend freezing peach cobbler, because the biscuit loses its crunch and gets too soggy.
Reheating: For a single serving, the microwave works great! For a whole dish, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C), cover the cobbler loosely with foil, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until warmed through.
FAQs
You can make the peach filling and biscuit topping a day in advance and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. You can also wrap the biscuit dough in a couple of layers of plastic wrap, put it in a freezer bag, and store it in the freezer for up to a month. Be sure to defrost it in the fridge overnight before using it.
If your peach filling is too liquidy, it can make your biscuit topping soggy. With fresh peaches, the amount of liquid that comes out depends on how juicy your peaches are, but you can get consistent results when you use canned peaches.
If your cobbler is too soupy, you may not have added enough cornstarch or baked it long enough. Make sure you don’t skimp on the cornstarch, and you're baking your cobbler until the topping is golden brown and the peach filling is bubbling around the edges.
Sure! Berries, cherries, and apples would be some great choices. The baking time and amount of sugar you add to your filling will most likely have to be adjusted.
The cobbler is done when the biscuit is golden brown and you can see the filling bubbling around the edges. You can also insert a toothpick into the center of the biscuit to see if it comes out clean.
More Easy Fruity Dessert Recipes
If you want something similar to this peach cobbler, try my gluten-free rhubarb crisp recipe! It's just as easy to make and just as delicious.
This blueberry coffee cake is the perfect thing to make for a weekend brunch! Moist, fluffy, and full of juicy blueberries.
This mango sorbet is probably the easiest recipe! All you need are mangoes, some lime juice, and a food processor.
One of the easiest things you can bake is banana bread! Make my moist banana bread or my gluten-free banana bread and have it as a snack or breakfast!
If you're looking for something patriotic to serve your guests, go with this 4th of July fruit pizza.
Monica says
When does the buttermilk get used? It isn't mentioned in the recipe or the blog directions... Hoping it's the last addition to the biscuit topping.
Ai Willis says
Hi Monica! Oh my goodness, thank you so much for catching that error! Yes, the buttermilk is the last addition to the biscuit topping. I've corrected the error on both the post and the recipe card. THANK YOU!!!!
E.Slaughter says
Where does the lemon juice and vanilla extract come into the recipe. No mention of it in the instructions.
Ai Willis says
Hi! Thank you so much for catching that! The lemon juice and vanilla gets added in with the peaches. I just fixed the recipe card 🙂
christine filipy says
When you say to mix everything together for the top, is it supposed to be mixed well? Or is it supposed to still be a little crumbly because mine became a ball of dough.
Ai Willis says
Hi Christine! It should be crumbly, but if it became a ball of dough, you can crumble it over the filling.
Nancy says
Do I drain the peaches?
Also you mention cornstarch in the biscuit topping directions but there’s no amount shown in the recipe. I see that there is cornstarch in the filling…
Ai Willis says
Hi Nancy! Please reserve 2 tablespoons of the peach juice, and drain the rest. And no, there's no cornstarch in the biscuit topping. I've fixed that error — thank you!
Kris Morse says
What do you do with the reserved 2 tbl spoons to f peach juice??
Ai Willis says
Please add it to the filling!
Claire says
What is Chinese five spice?
Ai Willis says
Hi Claire! Chinese five spice is a blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds, and Sichuan peppercorns. You can skip it and use cinnamon instead if you don't have it in your spice cabinet or if your store doesn't carry it, but it adds a warm and interesting note to your peach cobbler.