Simple Peach Crisp

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This summery fruit crisp makes the most of those gorgeous ripe peaches.

Simplest Peach or Nectarine Crisp / Sarah Crowder / Katie Workman / themom100.com

Soft sweet peaches are blanketed with a thick layer of streusel topping in this spectacular summer dessert. It’s the perfect thing to make after you get back from a peach picking expedition, or a trip to the farmers market at the end of the summer.

When you are making peach crisp with fresh peaches, it’s all about the fruit. When your peaches are super sweet, you don’t need additional sugar in the filling. The sweet streusel topping will drip its sweetness down into the peaches.  If your fruit is not super sweet, once it’s peeled and sliced toss it with a few tablespoons granulated sugar.

Simplest Peach or Nectarine Crisp / Sarah Crowder / Katie Workman / themom100.com

How to Thicken Filling for Peach Crisp

With nicely ripe fruit, this makes for a pretty juicy crisp once baked.  There are a couple of things you can do, if you want your fruit filling to be a bit thicker.

Spoon in a peach-colored dish of Peach Crisp.

If your peaches feel quite juicy, toss in a tablespoon or two of flour, cornstarch or tapioca flour with the sliced peaches to thicken up the juices as they release during cooking.  Another tip I’ve read is to make sure the you leave a slight border around the edge of the crisp topping, so that the fruit peeks out around the edges, and there is some room for excess liquid to evaporate.  I would need to do some serious side by side testing to know if that is for real.

What to Serve with Peach Crisp

Can we talk for just a moment about what joy a peach crisp brings to a later summer day? Pair it with either ice cream (vanilla is the classic, but…maybe peach or berry ice cream?). Or, make some homemade whipped cream to go with. And if possible, time the baking so that you are serving it warm, and the ice cream or sweetened whipped cream starts to melt into the crust and the filling. It’s honestly the epitome of summer desserts to me.

Simplest Peach or Nectarine Crisp / Sarah Crowder / Katie Workman / themom100.com

How to Make Peach Crisp

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the peaches two or three at a time and let simmer for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool slightly. Peel off the skins. Repeat with the rest of the fruit. Slice the peaches into thick slices and place them in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.

Peach-colored dish of Peach Crisp.

Place the flour, brown sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor (see Recipe Note) and process to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove the blade and stir in the oatmeal by hand.

Spread the crisp topping evenly over the peaches, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the juices from the peaches are bubbling up around the edges. Let cool on a wire rack until just warm, or to room temperature.

How to Reheat Peach Crisp

Leftover peach crisp can be stored in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for up to 3 days. The topping will get somewhat soggy as it sits in the refrigerator. Heat the crisp back up in a 350 degree oven just until heated through and the topping gets crunchy again, about 15 minutes.

Variations

Any stone fruit will be great here, as long as it’s perfectly ripe and sweet (but not too soft).  Besides peaches, you can use nectarines, or plums.  Even better, mix and match the fruit, and maybe throw in some berries as well.  Plums with blackberries, peaches with raspberries, nectarines with blueberries.  Yum, yum, and yum.

Simplest Peach or Nectarine Crisp / Sarah Crowder / Katie Workman / themom100.com

Simple Peach Crisp: This summery fruit crisp makes the most of those gorgeous ripe peaches.

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4.86 from 7 votes

Simple Peach Crisp

This summery fruit crisp makes the most of those gorgeous ripe peaches.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings

Ingredients 

  • 6 large ripe peaches or nectarines about 2 pounds
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) chilled butter cut into small pieces
  • ½ cup old-fashioned or quick cooking oatmeal
  • Ice cream or whipped cream to serve (highly recommended!)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the peaches two or three at a time and let simmer for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool slightly. Peel off the skins. Repeat with the rest of the fruit. Slice the peaches into thick slices and place them in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
  • Place the flour, brown sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor (see Note) and process to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove the blade and stir in the oatmeal by hand.
  • Spread the crisp topping evenly over the peaches, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the juices from the peaches are bubbling up around the edges. Let cool on a wire rack until just warm, or to room temperature.

Notes

Note:

If you don’t have a food processor, you can do all of this by hand. Instead of pulsing in the butter, just use a pastry cutter, or your fingers to quickly chop or blend the chilled butter into the dry mixture, making sure it remains nubby and doesn’t form a paste. Then stir in the oatmeal.

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 272mg, Potassium: 352mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 39g, Vitamin A: 1072IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 1mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Katie Workman

Katie Workman is a cook, a writer, a mother of two, an activist in hunger issues, and an enthusiastic advocate for family meals, which is the inspiration behind her two beloved cookbooks, Dinner Solved! and The Mom 100 Cookbook.

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6 Comments

  1. I wanted to add to my comment above. I also used my hands to mix in the butter. I think the trick is to sort of pinch and twist a blob of butter with some of the flour/sugar mixture. You want to end up with lima bean sized bits when you’re done.

  2. Whenever a recipe calls for cutting in butter, I get nervous, This one was SO easy. Took minutes to put together and husband and son say its the best crisp/crumble ever. I usually don’t print out recipes anymore but I printed out this one since I don’t want to lose it when searching again. I real winner. Thank you.

  3. Great recipe! I love the fact that you don’t need to add sugar to the fruit. I use a combo of nectarines, strawberries and either blueberries or sweet cherries and this recipe is a hit every time!

  4. I used all of the butter listed in the recipe. I don’t have a food processor, so I used my hands. Ended up as a dough ball. I put the whole bowl in the refrigerator for a while, then used a hand mixer to chunk it up. Also, I recommend draining the juice from the cut up fruit (I used nectarines), or your crisp will be swimming. It turned out good though. I’d make it again.

  5. I just finished making this recipe. I used 8 tbsp butter and still looked like a lot! It did turn into a paste. It’s in the oven right now. I hope it turns out okay…

    1. How did it turn out? 1 stick of butter is pretty common for crisp toppings (I’ve seen them with a lot more!)