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The Best Peach Crisp

We’ve found the crispiest, crunchiest, tastiest peach crisp ever… there IS a secret to it. This peach crisp tastes amazing on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

peach crisp with vanilla ice cream
This peach crisp boasts a tender, juicy filling that’s not mushy….and an extra crisp topping.

Perfect Peach Crisp

Our kitchen has been teeming with peaches these past couple of weeks, which we relish with every juicy bite. We know how short the season is for stone fruits, so we do a bit of hoarding while they’re freshly picked and in season.

Not only are juicy, ripe peaches amazing as-is; they’re unbeatable when baked into the perfect peach crisp. There’s something magical about a freshly baked peach crisp that’s still warm, topped with vanilla ice cream.

After many attempts, we believe we’ve found the best peach crisp one can sink their teeth into…juicy and plump with tender peaches, just the right balance of sweetness, and covered with a supremely crispy topping. If you love this crisp you’ve got to try this apple crisp recipe too!

Watch Us Make Peach Crisp

sliced peaches
Plenty of fresh, juicy, sweet peaches go into this peach crisp.

The Secret to a truly crispy topping

Pulling off the perfect peach crisp is worth a victory dance, as it can be challenging to find one that’s consistently fantastic – unless you have the perfect recipe, which you now have 🙂  Say goodbye to crisps that come out overly sweet, watery, or soggy.

The topping for this peach crisp is the crowning glory. It’s notably crunchy, nutty, and golden-delicious.

Here’s the secret to a crispy crumble topping: toast the topping mixture in a single layer, prior to layering over the peaches. This allows the topping to get a head start in browning, ensuring your end results turns out with the crispy texture you’re after.

peach crisp in pan
Toast the topping prior to adding to the peach crisp, for extra crispy texture.

Buying Peaches for Baking

For helpful tips on how to pick the perfect peaches, head over to this peach pie piece, where we break down how you can be sure you’re getting the most out of your stone fruit shopping.

Do Ahead of Time

Plan to give your freshly sliced peaches 45 minutes for maceration, as described in recipe below.

You’ll love that this winner of a topping can be completely made ahead of time. A day or two ahead, you can toast the topping mixture and keep in an airtight container until ready to use on your peach crisp. It’s like having a prepared topping that’s ready to go.

peach crisp in a dish with vanilla ice cream
Serve peach crisp while fresh and still-warm, with ice cream on top

Eat While freshly Baked

Definitely serve this peachy crisp while it’s still warm from the oven. Same day, the sooner the better.

Because no matter what you do, no peach crisp can remain crispy if it’s been resting on top of juicy cooked peaches for a lengthy amount of time. Your baked peaches will naturally continue to release more juices as it sits, which means the topping will eventually turn softer. So don’t let her wait too long.

In reality, this peach crisp easily gets gobbled up fast, so you likely won’t need to worry about it. People can’t wait to dig their forks into this peach crisp; it smells incredible while baking.

Don’t forget a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top (optional but not really.)

More to Bake and Eat


Did you make this?

Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!

peach crisp with ice cream

The Best, Crispiest Peach Crisp

4.99 from 204 ratings
This is THE best and crispiest peach crisp you’ll ever sink your teeth into! The step of pre-baking the topping really helps you achieve that sought-after crunchy texture. Macerating the peaches ahead of time prevents the crispy from becoming watery. Just be sure to serve this awesome crisp warm, the day it’s baked.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

For the Filling:

For the Topping:

Instructions

  • Place one oven rack on lowest position and another oven rack on middle position. Preheat to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Gently toss peaches and 1/3 cup sugar together in a large bowl. Let sit for about 45 minutes, gently stirring several times, to allow maceration.
  • Meanwhile, make the Topping: In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk to combine. Drizzle vanilla over the top and stir to combine. Add cold butter pieces and use clean fingers to gently work it into a crumbly mixture, with small clumps throughout. Add nuts and gently stir just enough so the nuts stick to the mixture. Mixture should consist of 1/2 inch chunks throughout, with some small loose bits.
  • Scatter topping into a single layer on lined baking sheet. Bake on middle rack until lightly browned and firm, 12-14 minutes, giving it a gentle toss halfway through baking.
  • Thoroughly drain macerated peaches in a colander set over a bowl and reserve 1/4 cup of the juice – either discard remaining juice or save it for another purpose.
    Whisk the reserved juice with cornstarch, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Fold in the peaches, and gently stir to coat. Transfer peach mixture to a deep 8×8 baking dish. Sprinkle topping over the peaches evenly, pressing down gently if needed. Place on lowest rack and bake until nicely browned and filling is bubbling around edges, about 25-40 minutes (loosely tent the crisp with foil if it starts to brown too quickly.) Let peach crisp cool 15 minutes. Serve while it's warm from the oven.

Notes

Crispy topping can be prepared and baked ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days before use.
Do serve finished peach crisp while it’s still warm, shortly after you bake it. That will ensure a crispy topping, while preventing peaches from further releasing excess juices (cooked sweet peaches continue to release juices as it sits, which leads to loss of crispness.)
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating! ♡

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Method: baking

Add a comment

Recipe Rating




73 comments

    • Kathryn Scott
    • 5 stars

    The flavor was fantastic. I macerated the peaches as instructed if not longer and I still have a soupy, runny crisp. Thoughts?

    • Linda Eighmy

    Do you know approximately how many cups is in 3 1/2 pounds of peaches? Can’t wait to try this recipe.

      • Amy Dong

      Roughly 1 pound = 3 cups sliced. That’s an estimate. So excited for you to taste this!

    • RJ
    • 5 stars

    Love how CRUNCHY this crisp is! Made it with fresh peaches off our tree. Few small adjustments. I used dark chocolate almonds by diamond (fabulous!). Next time I will use half as much lemon juice. The lemon flavor was a bit overpowering. New favorite crisp recipe!

      • Amy Dong

      SO happy you liked this! 🙂

    • Sierra

    Can you make peach filling ahead of time? As in make it a few hours before you want to bake it then store in fridge till then?

      • Amy Dong

      Yes, you can do that 🙂

    • Birdie Harms

    Hi There, Mine is in the oven right now with a few minutes to go. My husband is at the store buying ice cream. We have a peach tree, so I’m excited about how this turns out. However, you might want to edit your nutritional information. Serving size at 1 g is pretty tiny. So, I’m not sure what serving size would be if there are 8 servings, but you may want to get that corrected…LOL. Thanks for posting this recipe for all to try. I’ll let you know how it turns out!!!

      • Amy Dong

      Thanks, it should just be 1 serving, not 1g 🙂 ENJOY!

    • Susan
    • 5 stars

    Easy to make and delicious with a scoop of Tillamook French Vanilla Ice Cream! There are just 2 of us, so I halved the recipe and made it in a pie plate. Worked perfectly and we have enough for at least 2 meals! Yum!!

      • Amy Dong

      Awesome, Susan! 🙂

    • Kendra Boekestyn

    Can u freeze this dish if I double the batch?

      • Amy Dong

      Yes!

    • Barb Grunwald
    • 5 stars

    This really is the best, crispiest peach crisp recipe I have ever tried! I had seen the trick of toasting the topping separately and already knew that worked. I made it exactly as recommended except I had three quarts of frozen peaches left from last year’s harvest to use up, so I used a slightly larger dish (10″ x 10″) and the same amount of other ingredients, and thought the layers were thick enough. So if you have too many peaches for an 8″ x 8″ dish feel free to go slightly bigger with the same amount of everything else. (For a 9″ x 13″ I’d up the amounts – 1 1/2 times should work.)

      • Amy Dong

      Yay, that’s awesome, Barb!

    • Martha Coates
    • 5 stars

    This Peach Cobbler is the best I am 78 yrs old and have made plenty this is the best hands down family has ask for this every holiday worth the work ENJOY MJC

      • Amy Dong

      Awww, that just makes my day, Martha! I hope you’ll keep cooking with us for years to come

    • Sonja

    Can I use apples with this recipe?

    • Jan B.
    • 5 stars

    I’ve been trying to make a crisp topping that was actually CRISP — and failed for years, until I saw this recipe! The crisp topping comes out nice and crunchy, and stays that way even for a day or two with the crisp stored in the refrigerator. This peach filling is really good, too! Only minor change I made was, I left more of the juice in with the macerated peaches, and increased the cornstarch a little. Great recipe, THANKS!!

      • chewoutloud

      YAY, I’m so happy to hear you guys loved this peach crisp! Thanks, Jan 🙂

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