Gluten free peach cobbler made with juicy peaches and a simple, buttermilk-style biscuit topping. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate summer dessert. Check the recipe notes for tips on making it dairy free/vegan too!
Gluten Free Peach Cobbler at A Glance
- The rustic, buttermilk-like topping adds the perfect contrast to the melt-in-your-mouth peach filling.
- The cobbler topping with a sprinkling of coarse sugar is crisp and craggy on the outside, while tender & buttery on the inside. It adds a satisfying texture and slightly savory flavor to balance out the sweet & gooey warm peaches underneath.
- You can easily make this recipe vegan.
- Swap out the dairy butter for a baking vegan butter (the kind that comes in a block – not the spreadable tub). Make your own DIY dairy free buttermilk by mixing a small amount of lemon juice or vinegar into dairy free milk.
- Fresh peaches are great, but you can use frozen peaches if you want to enjoy this outside of peach season.
- Thaw and blot your peaches dry first to mop up the excess water released then continue as normal.
Homemade Peach Cobbler Recipe Steps
Macerate peaches: Add the sliced or diced peaches to a prepared baking dish and toss with sugar & vanilla. Cover & set aside for about 15-30 minutes so the peaches have time to get extra juicy.
Thicken with starch: Whisk the cornstarch and lemon juice together in a small cup until smooth then add to the peaches and toss together until evenly combined.
Biscuit dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice & xanthan gum.
Add butter & milk: Use a fork or pastry cutter to mix in the cold, grated or diced butter until you have pea-sized butter bits mixed throughout the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk.
Mix together: Use a big spoon or rubber spatula to mix everything together until a thick, soft and slightly sticky dough that easily clumps together forms.
Assemble & bake: Drop handfuls of the dough over the top of the peach mixture. Make the biscuits more wide then they are tall then sprinkle coarse sugar over the top & bake.
↳Do I NEED to Macerate the Peaches?
Not if your peaches are fully ripened, but it can help make the peaches sweeter and juicier.
If your peaches are already ripe and juicy, just toss the filling ingredients together at once then move on to make the biscuit topping.
It will take about 15 or so minutes to make the biscuit topping which should be enough time to macerate the fruit before you’re ready to assemble and bake.
↳To Peel or Not to Peel?
It’s up to you!
Some people like the extra pop of color and texture while others find the peach skin to be a bit too distracting mixed into the smooth, fruity filling.
I, for one, am firmly on team whatever-requires-less-work and usually just leave the peels be.
↳What if I REALLY don’t want to wait for my peaches to ripen?
If you really want to make peach cobbler with fresh peaches that aren’t quite ready you can make your slices thinner, add a little extra sugar and macerate them for longer.
The extra sugar will boost the sweetness and the longer maceration will draw out more moisture needed to create the jammy peach sauce.
More Summery Gluten-Free Desserts
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Gluten Free Peach Cobbler Recipe
Macerate your peaches until extra juicy then cover in a buttermilk-like biscuit topping and bake until golden, bubbly and delicious! Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate summer dessert.
Ingredients
Filling
- 5-6 large, ripened yellow peaches, sliced or diced (750-900g)
- ¼ cup white or light brown sugar (50g)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (15ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Biscuit Topping
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (140g)
- ⅓ cup white or light brown sugar (75g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum - omit if your flour blend already has xanthan
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ¼ tsp allspice - optional (adds a cinnamon/nutmeg like flavor)
- ¼ cup chilled, salted or unsalted butter cut into cubes (56g)
- ¼ cup cold buttermilk (60ml) - see notes for DIY buttermilk
- 1 tbsp coarse sugar like turbinado or deremara - optional
Instructions
- Macerate Peaches: Lightly grease a 2-3 quart glass or ceramic baking dish (9-inch square, 11x7-in rectangle or similar size). Add the sliced peaches, sugar and vanilla to the dish and toss together until evenly combined. Cover and set aside for about 15-30 minutes to macerate to draw out moisture in the peaches.
- Oven prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Thicken with starch: After macerating, whisk the lemon juice and corn starch together in small bowl or cup, then mix evenly into the peaches. Set aside while you make the biscuit topping.
- Biscuit dry ingredients: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and allspice.
- Butter & Milk: Add the chilled butter chunks to the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the butter into the flour until you end up with pea-sized pieces of butter mixed throughout. Stir in the buttermilk. Mix together until thick, slightly sticky dough forms.
- Assemble: Drop handfuls of dough across the top of the peach filling. Pull some of the larger dough pieces gently apart to encourage more spread while baking. Optional: Sprinkle the remain 1 tbsp sugar over the top to add an extra crunch to the biscuit topping.
- Bake: Place in the center of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes until the filling is bubbling around the edges of the cobbler the biscuit topping is golden brown. Let the cobbler cool for at least 5 minutes on a wire rack then divide and enjoy. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
- Leftovers: Wait until the cobbler has cooled to room temperature then cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container. Keep in the fridge 3-5 days. Reheat small portions in the microwave in 30-second intervals until heated or in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 15-20 minutes.
Notes
- Pan Type: Non-reactive bakeware (glass, ceramic, stainless steel or enamel dishes) are best when baking with acidic foods like peaches. Reactive metals like aluminum and copper can turn your peaches gray/brown and impart an acidic flavor. If you only have reactive bakeware to work with, you can simply line your dish with parchment paper.
- Make it dairy free/vegan: Use vegan baking butter (the kind sold in block - not in a tub) or shortening and use dairy free milk/ buttermilk.
- DIY Buttermilk: Combine ¼ cup milk (dairy or non dairy) and ½ tsp lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar in a small cup. Rest for a few minutes until the milk curdles then proceed with the recipe as usual.
- Make with frozen peaches: Defrost the peaches first: add about 5-6 cups of frozen peaches to a large, sealable leak-proof bag. Place the sealed bag in a big bowl and cover with cold water. Keep submerged for about 15-30 minutes until thawed. After thawing, pat the off some of the excess moisture then proceed as normal.
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