Peach and Blueberry Crisp Recipe
Were fruit crisps popular 30 and 40 years ago? Â I can’t recall, but I feel like they started turning up everywhere about 20 years ago. Â A fruit crisp was one of the first desserts I ever made on my own. Â I think the recipe came from one of the Silver Palate cookbooks. Â Remember those? Â I am very certain it was an apple crisp with the classic oat and sugar crumby topping. Â It was such an easy dessert, but so delicious and a total crowd pleaser. Â What’s not to love? Â It’s the ultimate comfort dessert. Â Soft, sweet fruit with a crunchy, nubby topping that you would fight your best friend over. Â Did you ever have a crisp warm out of the oven with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream on top? Â If you have, then someone loves you!
I’ll tell you the truth, I use the same basic recipe for all my fruit crisps the whole year long. Â I’m sure I could put a little more thought into it and start adding liqueur to the fruit or different spices. Â I like Giada’s idea of using crumbled amaretti cookies in the crisp topping. Â But we already love this the way it is. Â Why mess around with deliciousness?
Today I’m bringing you a Peach and Blueberry Crisp because my favorite fruit desserts all start with a peach. Â Did you catch my Stone Fruit Crostata last summer? Â My husband, kids and I are all obsessed with peaches. Â We have a couple of peach trees in the backyard that produce a whole lot of great peaches for two weeks in the summer and that’s when we grill them, add them to salads, make pies and crisps and even peach margaritas (for adults, of course)! Â Outside of those two weeks, I rely on our farmer’s market, but a high point for us is going peach picking on Long Island when we visit my parents. Â Have you ever had a just-picked peach, warm from the sun? Â Put that on your to-do list. Â It will just make you happy.
Believe me, I am completely content eating a perfect peach and not messing with it, but I also know there’s a time and place for a good, homemade dessert. Â This Peach and Blueberry Crisp is one of my go-to’s during the summer. Â I don’t make it too sweet, in fact my fruit dessert mantra is “it should taste like fruit, not just sweet.” Â Most crisp recipes toss the fruit with extra sugar and flour, which I don’t think is necessary at all. Â I used to make crisp toppings with brown sugar until I discovered coconut palm sugar which I think is a great unrefined sweetener. Â If you can’t find it, brown sugar works completely fine. Â One of the best things about crisps is that you can make the topping way ahead and keep it in the fridge for a few days or even the freezer for a few months. Â Do you even understand the implications of this? Â You can freeze a whole gigantic batch of crisp topping right now and have a dreamy dessert at your fingertips whenever you want. Â That means an easy dessert for summer entertaining or simply put a handful of fresh fruit in a ramekin and top with a handful of topping and bake away for a yummy crisp for you and only you whenever you need a little love. Â Now we’re talking.
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- 6 medium peaches, pitted and sliced, about 4-5 cups (you can peel if you want)
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 cup whole grain flour, such as whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat or your favorite GF flour blend (I like Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur)
- ¾ cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar (coconut sugar is less refined)
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (look for gluten-free oats if you gluten intolerant)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place all fruit in an 8- or 9-inch baking dish or pie plate. Toss to mix them up a bit.*
- Add all topping ingredients in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Blend until mixture resembles small peas. This can also be done by hand or with a pastry blender. Squeeze with your hands to create small clumps.
- Arrange topping over fruit to cover.
- Place baking dish on a cookie sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, or until bubbly and topping is golden brown.
**Crisp topping can be made ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
44 Comments
Any considerations for doubling the recipe? (Making with apples)
Easy! Double and use a 13 x 9.
Should the butter be cold or room temp?
Thanks for pointing that out Holly. It should be cold. I updated the post to reflect that.
Can you use regular white flour instead of whole wheat?
absolutely!
Do you have a good alternative for oats? I’m allergic…
Thanks!
I would look at the “breakfast crisp” in my cookbook or swap quinoa flakes for the oats.
With the recipe in your 7/24/23 post how many cups of blueberries did you use (when only using blueberries)?
Thank you!
A LOT! About 9 cups since I did 1.5X the recipe. I used a combo of fresh and frozen. 🙂
HI Pamela it looks like these peaches do not have fuzzy skin…can I use the peaches with fuzzy skin?
Sure!
Hi Pamela,
Assuming I can use white peaches, frozen peaches, fresh blueberries and frozen blueberries all together in this recipe? Also, ok to use white unbleached flour? Thanks, Pamela. Sounds delish.
Yes to everything!
Pamela – this was another standout recipe of yours! I just made it this past weekend and it was absolutely phenomenal! Like summer in a bowl 🙂 I only had peaches so omitted the blueberries, used 7 peaches instead and it was fantastic. The best fruit crisp recipe I’ve tried to date! My husband couldn’t get enough of it either and declared “this one’s a keeper!”!
Oh and a quick note for anyone lactose-free/dairy-free/vegan… I made it with Miyoko’s butter (the regular version which contains salt) along with WW pastry flour and coconut palm sugar and the combo was great! I omitted the 1/2 tsp salt given the salt in the butter but will try it in the future with the new Miyoko’s unsalted butter as well.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing your adaptations!
Great! A good, seasonal fruit crisp never goes out of style.
Pamela,
I made Blueberry Crisp on the Fourth of July and used 6 cups of blueberries and it was delicious and not too sweet. I look forward to making it again with peaches AND blueberries.
Pamela P.
So glad you thought the sweetness was just right. When blueberries are season, why overwhelm the flavor with sugar??? Let me know if you try this with peaches next time!
Could almond or coconut flour be used in place of the flour?
I haven’t tried that swap in this recipe. I doubt you could swap coconut flour here. If you have my first cookbook, Kitchen Matters, try the crisp topping from the Apple Blackberry Breakfast Crisp with this fruit.
Hi Pamela! I plan to make this for a dinner party next week – will be going to a family friends house. Just bought all the ingredients 🙂 I plan on baking it before I head over. Do you suggest reheating it in the oven once I get to the party or is it okay to eat room temp?
100% ok to eat at room temp. I always bake my crisps earlier and prefer not to eat them right out of the oven. The juices settle if you allow the crisp to sit out of the oven for a bit. Furthermore, the crisp stays warm for a couple hours after it has been baked. If you have your heart set on warm crisp, put the baked crisp in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes or so and you’ll be good to go. Enjoy!
I ended up making this a few hours before the “party” and it was delicious! I did make the mistake of not keeping it refrigerated between making it and serving it – it got a tad bit mushy in the LA heat. But it didn’t stop everyone from having seconds and saying I should stay over every night just to make dessert. You always make me look good, Pamela!! 🙂
🙂
Hi! Dying to try this recipe! Would earth balance be an ok substitute if wanting to make this dairy-free? And if so, is it an even swap – 8 T butter = 8 T earth balance? Since eb is salty, I wasn’t sure if it would ruin this beautiful crisp. Thanks!
HI! Yes, you can sub 1 for 1, but I would drop 1/4 teaspoon of salt since EB contains salt. Enjoy!
What fall fruits could i substitute for this recipe? And would I follow the recipe the same way? Really would like to try. Thank you
I use virtually the same recipe for apples (peeled) and pears (not peeled.) When fresh cranberries come into season, I throw a handful of those in, too!
Just wanted to tell you my Mom made crisps when I was a kid and I am 62 years old. They were cheap to make back then, too!
Sweet! 🙂
Pamela I made this today and wow was it awesome! I used local Georgia peaches and had picked blackberries around my house so I used that combo and it was so yummy! Of course I had to serve it with vanilla ice cream, and the flavors were so good and fresh! Thank you for another wonderful recipe!!
How could it have been bad with local Georgia peaches and backyard blackberries? Lucky you!
How much of this can be done ahead of time? We are going out of town this weekend and I want to take this for dessert. We will have a kitchen/oven, but I would like to have most of the work done before we get there. Can I put it all together at home and just bake it when we get there? Or would you keep the topping separate until it’s time to bake? Thanks
Here’s what I would do: I would either bake the whole thing at home and take it with you. Or you make the crisp topping whenever you want and refrigerate it until you’re ready to leave and cut up the fruit when you get there and then bake it. I guess if the drive is short, you can assemble the whole thing at home and then bake when you arrive. I’m sure it will turn out great!
The blueberry and peach crisp was absolutely fabulous! Our guests kept remarking that, although it was decidedly not sweet, it was nonetheless deliciously satisfying. This was the first time I used coconut palm sugar and certainly not the last. It was the “hit” of the meal! I look forward to combining other summer fruits as well.
That’s great! It really is a very versatile recipe. You’ll find it adapts to many other fruits. Enjoy!
Do you think this would work with mango and blueberries. We have a mango tree in Florida that is giving us bushels of luscious fruit.
You are so lucky!!!! Yes, mangos and blueberries would be delicious. If your mangos are very ripe, you likely can cook the crisp 5 minutes less. Enjoy!
Definitely ESP at work! This morning I prepared a bowl of fresh Jersey “blues” (so worth the wait) and peaches to mix with our oatmeal, and five minutes later you were providing
another wonderful combination of oats, blueberries and peaches…a perfect trio. Hope to try the recipe asap!
How funny is that! I love the combo of the two fruits and I’ve had Jersey blues before. They’re about the best in the country. Enjoy them while they last!
Was so glad to see this post today! It’s the perfect dessert for my small souther dinner gathering this weekend, so easy and a taste of summer goodness. Thanks as always.
You’re welcome, Nina! You can’t go wrong with a seasonal fruit crisp. Enjoy!