Bake up an easy gluten-free peach crisp with fresh peaches and a crispy oatmeal topping. Hands down, my favorite gluten-free peach dessert!
My whole life I've thought that peach cobbler was my absolute favorite peach dessert. But after coming up with this peach crisp recipe, I'm convinced it's the best.
Oh my gosh, you guys, fresh peaches mixed with cinnamon and the crispy, slightly chewy, brown sugar oatmeal topping definitely give regular cobbler a run for its money.
Now don't let the gluten-free part trip you up. You can make this a gluten-free crisp or a gluten-filled crisp, and it will be delicious either way.
What Is the Difference Between Peach Cobbler and Peach Crisp?
I grew up eating peach cobbler. In fact, I don't really remember my mom making crisps that much.
So if you're like me and not sure the difference between the two…
Peach cobbler and/or peach crumble is made with either a biscuit dough or a regular pie crust dough crumbled on top of the peaches. And sometimes it'll have a bottom crust too.
The topping for peach crisp, however, is made with oats, in this case, gluten-free oats. And I use a good cup for cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, which replaces regular all-purpose flour. You can make it either way.
I love a good cobbler, but peach crisp just so much easier. Not to mention, it's quicker and it's a lot easier to make gluten-free.
Why You'll Love This Peach Crisp Recipe
- This is a quick and easy peach crisp recipe. Just mix up the filling and dump it in a baking dish, then top it off with a crispy, sightly chewy brown sugar oatmeal topping and bake. It's that easy.
- This recipe is gluten-free, and you can't even tell! It can also be made dairy-free with one simple ingredient substitute.
- I used fresh peaches for this peach crisp, but you can use canned or frozen peaches in a pinch. Either one will produce a sweet, juicy filling that pairs so well with the scrumptious oatmeal topping.
- This old-fashioned peach crisp is best served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. It just doesn't get any better than that!
- This recipe is easily my family's favorite gluten-free peach dessert. It doesn't last long in my house!
Ingredients & Substitutions Notes
- Peaches – You can make this recipe with frozen or canned peaches, but I highly recommend using fresh peaches. I also recommend finding ripe peaches that are in season because you'll get way better flavor. You can use clingstone or freestone peaches; either one will make a delicious peach crisp. If you're confused about the difference, here is a great article that explains the differences between freestone vs. clingstone peaches, and why it matters.
- Corn Starch – Just as you would any other ingredient, make sure that your corn starch is gluten-free.
- Gluten-Free Oats – I prefer gluten-free rolled oats for this recipe. Contrary to popular belief, many oats are not truly gluten-free due to cross-contamination issues, so always be sure to check the labels!
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour – I almost always use Authentic Foods Classical Blend gluten-free flour. Time and time again, this flour blend has given me the best results and gluten-free baked goods that taste no different than the original. Of course, if gluten is not a concern, you can substitute regular all-purpose flour with no trouble at all.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg – Again, make sure you use gluten-free cinnamon and nutmeg. Check the labels!
- Salted Butter – I prefer salted butter, but you can also use unsalted butter, so long as you add 1/4 teaspoon of additional salt for every 1/2 cup of unsalted butter. If you can't have dairy, you can make this a dairy-free gluten-free peach crisp by using a dairy-free substitute, like these dairy-free buttery sticks. As with gluten, be sure to check all of your ingredient labels to ensure that they are truly dairy-free!
How to Make Gluten-Free Peach Crisp
Making a fresh peach crisp involves a couple different sets of steps. You have to both prep the peaches and the crumble topping.
Prep the Peach Filling
- Wash, peel, and slice the peaches into a large bowl.
- Add in the granulated sugar, salt, corn starch, and cinnamon; and mix it all together really well, making sure to scrape the sides down with a spatula.
Then you'll just take that peach mixture and pour it into a smaller 8″x8″ pan or 7″x9″ baking dish and set it to the side.
Mix Up the Crumble Topping
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Cut the butter into the oat mixture using a pastry blender.
- You can stop mixing when the mixture has turned into quite the crumbly mixture.
- Crumble the topping over the peaches in the baking dish.
Then just bake according to the instructions in the recipe card below. You'll bake it for about an hour, or until the top of the crisp turns a deep golden brown.
How to Serve Easy Gluten-Free Peach Crisp
I love a spoonful of peach oatmeal crisp with vanilla ice cream. Oh.my.word.
It is so good! I can't wait for you to try this recipe.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ's
There are a few clues that you can look out for. First, give them a little squeeze; if they're slightly soft and your fingers are able to make a slight dent, you're probably good to go. Next, look at the color of the peaches. You want that gorgeous peachy blush tone (sort of a darker yellow color). Finally, look for wrinkling skin around the stem, not too much but the first signs of wrinkles. If you have peaches and they're just not ripe enough yet, try putting them in a paper bag overnight, and they'll ripen right up.
You normally shouldn't need to refrigerate peach crisp; in fact, it'll likely be eaten up too quickly to even be refrigerated. Just cover it with a sheet of wax paper and let it rest on the counter. However, if you are going to be leaving it out for multiple days, I might suggest refrigerating it so it doesn't go bad. Again, this is up to you and your own discretion.
Yes, you can freeze this peach crisp. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container so it doesn't get freezer burn, and allow plenty of time for it to thaw in the fridge before re-heating.
Easy Peach Crisp Alternatives
There are a few things you can do to switch this recipe up.
- Make it a peach crisp with chopped pecans, chopped walnuts or sliced almonds, adding the chopped nuts into the topping.
- When your peach crisp has somewhat cooled, pipe or zigzag a bit of powdered sugar icing on top.
- Don't be afraid to swap out the peaches for an entirely different fruit. In fact, you can use just about any fruit you want for a homemade crisp recipe. I LOVE a good gluten-free apple crisp, and this strawberry rhubarb crisp isn't half bad either. Other ideas that I've been wanting to try include blueberry crisp, a blackberry crisp, cherry crisp, etc. Be creative!
More Gluten-Free Peach Desserts
If it's more peach dessert recipes you're after, check out these favorites…
- Our homemade peach ice cream, which you can top with fresh peach freezer jam.
- You can make this easy peach cobbler with Bisquick gluten-free by using a gluten-free Bisquick mix.
- If you liked this peach crisp, you'll love my gluten-free peach dump cake with peach pie filling.
- Looking for something healthier? Check out this homemade peach mango smoothie.
- I've always had a thing for peaches and cream oatmeal, but this Instant Pot peaches and cream oatmeal is the real deal!
- This easy peach cobbler from scratch is pretty darn good, and I make it gluten-free all the time with a good cup for cup gluten-free all-purpose flour.
If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. And subscribe to my email list too!
Gluten-Free Peach Crisp
Ingredients
Peach Filling:
- 8 medium to large peaches peeled and sliced
- 3/4 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Peach Crisp Topping:
- 3/4 cup gluten-free oats
- 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup salted butter thinly sliced
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375° F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the peaches, sugar, salt, corn starch, and cinnamon, making sure to the scrape the sides down with a spatula.
- Pour the peach mixture into an 8×8 or 7×9 baking dish, and set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the oat mixture 'til you have a very crumbly mixture.
- Crumble the topping over the peaches in the baking dish.
- Bake at 375° F for about 1 hour, or 'til the top is a deep golden brown.
- Remove the crisp from the oven and allow it to cool. It's best served while slightly warm, with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.
The crisp doesn’t crisp with fresh frozen peaches and is a bit soggy. The topping isn’t really an integrated dough. My reference is a good gluten containing cobbler or crisp, and this doesn’t make it. Maybe using a toasted granola would preserve the necessary crunch.
David, I’m sorry you didn’t like it! I don’t think I’ve ever had that problem with it.
I have just come across your gluten free recipes and am excited to try your peach recipes. As it is spring and my rhubarb is ready to use could you please tell me ratio for rhubarb and strawberries look forward to hearing back soon. Thank you
Marie, I actually have a recipe for gluten free strawberry rhubarb crisp on the website. It should come up if you search for it in the search bar in the top right of the website. I hope this helps!
Super easy and yummy. Used all the peaches (and blueberries) still around from last week’s market.
Makes a super summer dessert with vanilla Ice cream.
That’s awesome, Leslie! Thanks for the kind review.
So easy.
Amazingly delicious.
I don’t have the pastry blender and used fork/butter knife. It turned out just as great.
Will be making this again
That’s awesome, Diana! Thanks for trying the recipe.
If I want to bake this in individual 5″ crocks, should I still bake with the same temperature and amount of time?
Tammy, likely so, though it might shorten it by 10 minutes or so. I would shorten the time to 40 minutes and then if needed longer, just keep a close eye on it, so it doesn’t burn.
Can this be made ahead and baked later?
Cami, sure. I don’t see why not.
Could I use almond flour instead of GF flour and maple syrup instead of sugar in the peach mixture?
Lola, this will likely change the texture, but it’s definitely worth a try.
Mine came out soupy and I don’t know why. I doubled the recipe, used frozen (but defrosted) sliced peaches and 2 cups of fresh blueberries. It had great flavor, but was runny. Any ideas as to where I made the mistake?
Tracy, the frozen peaches, even though they were defrosted, likely added extra water; they tend to be a bit more mushy than fresh peaches too. So I’d say that was the problem.