Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches]
Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches]
This old-fashioned Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches] recipe is a beautiful rendition of a dessert that is absolutely out of this world good! Entirely from scratch, but using canned peaches for convenience, it has a true Southern touch and will have the entire family asking for seconds. Sweet cinnamon biscuits are the perfect buttery topping to serve with a few scoops of ice cream or whipped cream for a delightful spring or summer sweet treat. Vegan + Gluten-Free options.
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Seriously, I don't know what to say about this recipe. When it comes to Southern recipes, it always brings me down memory lane, because I've enjoyed so many of these recipes as a kid growing up in Florida. But if you're in the North (like me in NYC) or states where peaches aren't as readily available or you just feel like enjoying this sweet dessert before peach season, lo' and behold this Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches] recipe. It's just as delicious as using actual fresh peaches, especially when using a high-quality canned peach. Oh and I recently made this Easy Summer Peach Apple Galette which is a great rendition of a pie meets cobbler. Plus, this Brown Sugar Peach Mint Julep Mocktail is such a refreshing twist on a classic also! Oh and this Vegan Peach Crisp Oatmeal Porridge is so comforting for breakfast and worth trying. Need some food inspiration? Look no further than our lineup of 21 Soul-Satisfying Southern Comfort Food Recipes.
While this peach cobbler recipe is in all of it's full dairy glory, you'll love this Vegan Southern Peach Cobbler if you're dairy sensitive or eat a vegan based diet and this Skillet Blueberry Cobbler with Cinnamon Biscuits for a nice twist! Of course, you won't regret making this peach cobbler because your loved ones will be back for seconds---guaranteed! And if you're feeling in a Southern comfort food mood, then you need to try My Favorite Peach Crumble Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, Crispy Oven Fried Chicken, BEST Southern Baked Mac and Cheese, and My Grandma's Baked Southern Banana Pudding.
Jump to:
- Do You Use Peeled or Unpeeled Peaches for Cobbler?
- Is it Better to Use Fresh or Canned Peaches for Cobbler?
- How to Make Peach Cobbler Recipe
- Peach Cobbler Filling
- Peach Cobbler Biscuit Topping Ingredients
- How to Easily Peel Fresh Peaches
- How to Know If Your Baking Powder + Baking Soda are Fresh
- Top Reasons Why You'll Love this Peach Cobbler!
- How to Thicken Peach Cobbler Filling
- The Best Egg Wash Alternatives
- How to Make Peach Cobbler with Canned Biscuits
- Common Q + A's for this Easy Southern Peach Cobbler Recipe
- How to Store + Reheat Leftover Peach Cobbler
- More Comforting Southern Recipes to Try!
- MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
- Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches]
Do You Use Peeled or Unpeeled Peaches for Cobbler?
Although this peach cobbler uses canned peaches specifically, if you'd like to make it more traditional by using actual fresh peaches, you'll want to use unpeeled peaches. Believe it or not, keeping the skin on your peaches actually gives the cobbler more depth flavor and a beautiful color in the filling. And don't worry---the peach skins won't be hard and they actually soften greatly which still makes for the perfect bite!
Is it Better to Use Fresh or Canned Peaches for Cobbler?
The great thing about peach cobbler is that you can totally use fresh, frozen, or canned peaches to create this magical dessert. However, if it's peach season and the summer, it's always best to go with fresh ones!
How to Make Peach Cobbler Recipe
If you're wondering how to pack all of the classic Southern flavors and textures in just one dessert like this Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches], then here's the rundown. You'll first start by prepping your peaches well. This includes draining them thoroughly and patting them dry to remove as much moisture and juice as possible. This avoids the filling from being too watery.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a standard 9x13-inch baking dish with butter and oil. Mix together the peaches and the filling ingredients (except the butter) and toss until peaches are coated. Add peaches mixture to baking dish, tuck in the butter, and bake FIRST for 20-25 minutes. This helps for the biscuit topping to cook through nicely and evenly.
Whip together the biscuit topping and once the peaches are baked for the a lotted time, scoop on biscuit dough, brush with egg wash, and bake until deep brown and filling is bubbling. Serve with your favorite topping and wallah!
Peach Cobbler Filling
One of the highlights of this peach cobbler recipe is of course the gooey, spiced filling. You'll need:
- Sliced peaches. You can use fresh or frozen or canned peaches, which means this is a year-round recipe! If you use frozen fruit, dust the peach slices in a few tablespoons of flour before adding them to the recipe. This helps absorb some of the excess moisture on the frozen fruit. For the canned peaches, you'll need to drain them thoroughly and pat dry to remove all excess moisture + juices.
- Brown sugar. Ensure that it's organic for healthiest option.
- Arrowroot starch. This is a great thickener for the filling since there is moisture involved during the baking process. You can also use tapioca flour, cornstarch, or more flour instead.
- Cane sugar. I use organic sugar. Feel free to substitute with organic brown sugar or coconut sugar.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. For more warming flavors and it amplifies the peach notes in this recipe!
- Vanilla extract. The pure vanilla is the best flavor.
- Unsalted butter. I like to bake with unsalted butter, however, you can substitute with salted butter and omit the additional salt.
- Lemon juice. I love to use freshly-squeezed lemon juice. This adds acidity to the cobbler which adds great structure and texture as well as a nice tartness that compliments the peaches.
Peach Cobbler Biscuit Topping Ingredients
The second highlight of this peach cobbler is the Cinnamon Biscuits topping which only requires:
- All-purpose flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s organic flour, which is certified vegan.
- Baking powder + baking soda. This is essential to help your cobbler topping rise.
- Cane sugar. I use organic sugar. Feel free to substitute with organic brown sugar or coconut sugar.
- Cinnamon + nutmeg. These two dried spices add a delicious warming note to every bite of cobbler layer.
- Unsalted butter. I like to bake with unsalted butter, however, you can substitute with salted butter and omit the additional salt.
- Buttermilk. You can use store-bought buttermilk or make your own by mixing Almond milk or heavy cream + lemon juice together. The milk should be cold.
How to Easily Peel Fresh Peaches
If you decide while making this peach cobbler that you'd prefer to peel the skins off your peaches----no worries! A great hack to do so is to gently lower a few peaches at a time (best to use a skimmer) into a pot of boiling water and leave them in fro 20-30 seconds before removing them and into an ice bath to stop the "cooking process". Then you should be able to peel them with no problem without the need for a knife or any tool.
How to Know If Your Baking Powder + Baking Soda are Fresh
Baking is such a science, but more importantly because certain ingredients like your leaveners (aka baking powder + baking soda) are completely fresh so that your biscuits (and other baked goods) fully rise and bake through nicely.
Incase you weren’t aware, there’s an easy to double check both the baking powder and baking soda. Here’s what you need:
BAKING SODA HACK:
-Add 1 teaspoon baking soda with ¼ cup vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl and if it’s fresh, the mixture should “bubble/fizz”. If no bubble/fizz is present, then your baking soda needs to be replaced.
BAKING POWDER:
-Add 1 teaspoon baking powder with ¼ cup Hot tap water in a bowl and if it’s fresh, the mixture should “bubble/fizz”. If no bubble/fizz is present, then your baking powder needs to be replaced.
Top Reasons Why You'll Love this Peach Cobbler!
- It’s absolutely delicious—-sweet in all of the right places + full warm flavor!
- Super easy to make (plus, no crazy clean-up! Can we say–Everything in one baking dish?)
- Can be enjoyed year-round thanks to using canned peaches.
- Fully old-fashioned with amazing layers of crispiness from the topping + tenderness from the filling.
- Comes with a gluten-free option for those with gluten sensitivity.
- A recipe that everyone in the family will enjoy!
- Perfect for any time of day—Breakfast (if that’s your thing), Brunch, or dessert----whatever!
How to Thicken Peach Cobbler Filling
To thicken your peach cobbler filling is very simple. If you don’t have or don’t want to use Arrowroot starch (as in this recipe), you can always use Tapioca Flour, regular Cornstarch, or flour instead. Either substitution will help to thicken the mixture just fine.
The Best Egg Wash Alternatives
As you may know, using an 'egg wash' is important when it comes to biscuit toppings and with this peach cobbler, it's no different. Of course, if you can't use regular beaten eggs as egg wash or just don't want to in the moment, now worries! Here are great alternatives:
- Aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas) ---- just lightly brush some unto your biscuit topping for a nice golden look.
- Almond milk (or whatever milk used) + maple syrup --- believe it or not, but mixing the two together works just like regular egg wash would.
- Melted unsalted butter ---- just a light brush of melted butter goes a long way!
BISCUIT TIP: GRATE + CUBE THE BUTTER!
Yes---I know. You might be wondering why I've stated this but it works. Since we'll be using 6 Tbsps of butter in this recipe, I simply cube half of the amount butter and grate the other half. Honestly, I think that the variation in the butter pieces helps some to melt faster and settle more in the dough, which creates a beautiful flakiness like no other for these cinnamon biscuits atop this peach cobbler recipe.
How to Make Peach Cobbler with Canned Biscuits
If you're making this peach cobbler and you've decided that you'd rather use canned or "refrigerator" biscuits (as Southerners call it)---that's totally fine! You can still achieve the same deliciousness by making a few tweaks:
- For added flavor, you can remove the biscuits from the can and lightly roll or dust them in a brown sugar, cinnamon, + nutmeg mixture. That way you still get that warm, cinnamon flavor.
- Follow all steps up until the biscuit topping step and add the canned biscuits atop the baked peaches, leaving an inch or so of space in between each one.
- Still brush the tops of canned biscuits for that golden color.
- I recommend cutting the biscuits smaller to ensure that they aren't too large once baked.
- Always use high-quality canned biscuits for the best taste and results.
Common Q + A's for this Easy Southern Peach Cobbler Recipe
Of course! To make the biscuit topping GF, simply substitute the flour with GF All-Purpose flour or 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour, which Bob's Red Mill has a great one! Ensure that other ingredients are GF-friendly (i.e. stock, etc.).
Basically, cornstarch or arrowroot is used to help thicken the filling and ensure that it doesn't come out too runny.
The best way to help to ripe hard peaches is to put them in a paper bag and leave on the counter for a day. And if it still isn't soften, keep it in the bag for another 24 hours or so.
This goes back to the use of cornstarch or arrowroot. Ensuring that you use a good amount of starch on your peaches helps to ensures that the filling isn't soggy or too runny. It helps to create a nice thickened sauce and perfectly tender peaches.
If you're using frozen peaches instead of fresh or canned ones, always remember to dust them in flour prior to adding them to the recipe. Secondly, you'll need to cook frozen peaches slightly longer for about 50-60 minutes total, but the steps (baking them first) is still required.
If your peaches are too ripe and soft, then they might produce too much juice, which causes your cobbler to be a lot more mushy and runny. To avoid this, it's best to ensure that your peaches are firm to the touch. Also, for the biscuit topping, ensure that the dough isn't to dense, but just thick enough. This ensures that it doesn't take an extremely long time to bake through.
Basically, lemon juice adds acidity to the cobbler which adds great structure and texture as well as a nice tartness that compliments the peaches.
Overall, this is usually due to an incorrect temperature or bake time. It's always best to ensure that your oven is preheated and that you bake your peaches for 20-25 minutes first. This helps to aid in a fully cooked through cobbler in the end.
Since baking powder is a leavener, this means that it allows baked goods to rise. Therefore, if you forget it in your peach cobbler, you'll more than likely have flat biscuits.
It's always great to test the middle with a toothpick or butter knife to ensure that it comes out mostly clean. Please note that you might see a bit of the filling when tested, but you shouldn't see any biscuit dough that's uncooked. Also, the filling should be bubbly around the sides, and the tops of the biscuits should be more deep amber than golden.
Absolutely! See my Vegan Southern Peach Cobbler recipe!
In general, peaches are generally canned in 15 or 16-ounce cans, therefore, you'll want to use three fresh peaches for every can. For this recipe, I recommend roughly 14-16 fresh peaches, sliced.
How to Store + Reheat Leftover Peach Cobbler
Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container or glass dish covered and refrigerated for 2-3 days before the topping begins to get mushy. To reheat, simply add leftover peach cobbler to a preheated oven of 375 degrees until warmed through.
More Comforting Southern Recipes to Try!
Now that you've mastered this Peach Cobbler recipe, give these recipes that your entire family will love a try next:
- Southern Peach Cobbler Cheesecake
- Stovetop Southern Mac and Cheese
- Southern-Style Cajun Pasta with Pecan Breadcrumbs
- Traditional Southern Iced Sweet Tea
- Classic Southern Banana Pudding
- Ultra-Creamy Southern Cheese Grits
- Nashville Hot Cauliflower + Kale Grits
- Southern Maple Sweet Potato Casserole
MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
If you tried this Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches] recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you.
Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches]
Ingredients
CINNAMON BISCUIT TOPPING:
- 2 cups organic all-purpose flour
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tsps baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup Almond milk, unsweetened + COLD (You can use whole milk or your fave plant-based milk)
- 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice (You can also use apple cider vinegar, if desired)
- 6 Tbsps COLD unsalted butter, cut into pieces
FILLING:
- 6 (15 oz.) cans organic peach slices, drained well (See Notes for Fresh Peaches options)
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup organic brown sugar
- ¼ cup arrowroot starch
- 2 tsps ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ½ lemon, freshly-squeezed
EGG WASH:
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon Almond milk, unsweetened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a standard (9x13 inch) baking dish with butter or oil.
TO MAKE THE PEACH FILLING:
- In a large bowl, add the well drained peaches and pat dry further to remove any excess moisture or juices. Toss together the sliced peaches, lemon juice, cane sugar, brown sugar, arrowroot, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and vanilla, mixing until combined and peaches are fully coated. Place the peaches mixture into the prepared baking dish, tuck in the pieces of butter in between the peaches, and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. The peaches should begin to soften and become bubbly a bit.
- NOTE: Baking the peaches first allows for the biscuit topping to cook through fully since they need to be added on top of the HOT peaches for the best results.
TO MAKE THE CINNAMON BISCUIT TOPPING:
- In a bowl or measuring cup, mix together the milk and lemon juice until combined and allow it to sit for a few minutes to thicken slightly. This acts as the "buttermilk". NOTE: If using whole milk or heavy milk, the thickening should happen more quickly.
- In a bowl, add together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, whisking everything until combined.
- Add in the COLD butter and using a pastry blender (or two forks), blend in the butter into the dry ingredients until everything looks 'peas-like'.
- Add the 'buttermilk' and stir everything together using a rubber spatula until just combined and wet enough. The batter should look a little thick, but wet like biscuit dough. NOTE: DON'T OVER-MIX!
ASSEMBLE + BAKE:
- Remove the peaches from the oven, and immediately top with the biscuit dough. Using a spoon (or large ice cream scoop), scoop 2 Tbsps of biscuit dough at a time and place them unto peaches, about 1-inch apart. Repeat until all dough is scooped on top.
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg and milk to create the egg wash.
- Lightly brush biscuits with a bit of egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are deep golden brown (or a more amber-like color), crisp on the outside but cooked through (comes out clean) when tested with a toothpick or knife, and peaches filling is bubbling through. NOTE: Your filling should be 'thickened' and not too watery.
- Remove the cobbler from the oven, slightly cool, and serve immediately with a scoop of your favorite ice cream or whipped cream!
- Bon Appetit!
Tips & Tricks
- STORAGE: Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container or glass dish covered and refrigerated for 2-3 days before the topping begins to get mushy. To reheat, simply add leftover peach cobbler to a preheated oven of 375 degrees until warmed through.
- GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: To make the biscuit topping GF, simply substitute the flour with GF All-Purpose flour or 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour, which Bob's Red Mill has a great one! Ensure that other ingredients are GF-friendly (i.e. stock, etc.).
- VEGAN OPTION: To make this vegan-friendly, see my Vegan Southern Peach Cobbler recipe!
- GRATED + CUBED BUTTER: To create a beautifully crumbly and flaky biscuit topping, I suggest grating your butter instead of cutting them into cubes. To grate your butter, add the butter to a freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and using a grater, grate into pieces.
- SALTED VS. UNSALTED BUTTER: You can always substitute the salted butter with unsalted butter. When doing so, you can omit the salt as an ingredient.
- FRESH PEACHES: If you decide to use fresh peaches, you'll need about 14-16 fresh peaches to equal the amount of canned peaches. You'll want to slice them about 1-inch thick. See FAQ section for more info.
Nutrition
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What would be a good replacement for arrowroot powder? Can we use flour or corn starch instead?
Hi Taslima! Yes, that's correct! Either of those work! 🙂
This is AMAZING!!!! This is the second time I’ve tried making peach cobbler and this recipe is a WINNER! My family couldn’t stop eating it and licked their plates clean. I love the fall notes of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. This will always be my go to recipe. Thank you so much for sharing! 😊💕
Hi Bree! OMMGGG!! I'm so happy that your family enjoyed this! It's really something that my family loves also! I'm so honored that it'll now be your go-to! Thanks so much for giving it a try! 🙂
I haven’t even eaten it yet but I can tell how these ingredients came together that this is gonna be BOMB‼️ thank you for this
Hi Tee! I'm SO happy that everything came out great! I truly hope that you enjoyed it! 🙂
An amazing recipe but I have no clue what went wrong with the dough I followed the recipe to a T but my dough came out like pancake batter. Maybe I need to add more flour? Or is that a size of over mixing?
Hi Nicky! Thanks so much or giving my recipe a try! The batter should be like a "thick pancake" batter, which you'll scoop atop the peaches. Rest assured, once it bakes----it'll be great! 🙂
First time making peach cobbler! Although my dough didn’t cook all the way through (definitely an error on my part) it was so tasty! I can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Tiffany! OMGGG! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Definitely hope that you make it again with the biscuits perfected! Thanks so much for giving it a try! 🙂
Wow! This one was so good! My husband and I had some friends coming into town, so I wanted to make a full spread home cooked meal. I came across your recipe on IG, which led me to your website. I made this cobbler with the canned biscuit topping dipped in the cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg mixture, followed the rest of the recipe omiting only the lemon, and it turned out AMAZING! Our friends said it was some of the best cobbler they've ever had! THANK YOU!!!! This one is a keeper!!
OMGGGGGG, Courtney! This comment makes me SO happy! I'm thrilled that everyone enjoyed this cobbler recipe and I love that you chose to use canned biscuits! Definitely a great way to switch things up! Thanks so much for giving it a try! 🙂
This was more of a cake like topping. was hoping for a crust topping.
Hi TJ! I'm so sorry to hear that this didn't turn out how you expected! Traditional peach cobblers have a biscuit topping which is a balance between cake + crust. However, I have plenty of traditional crust recipes on my site if that's what you're looking for! 🙂
This was really delicious! As for me, I don't dry my peaches entirely, (I don't pat dry with paper towels after draining) but the end result wasn't mushy at all. I especially enjoyed the taste of the biscuit dough. Also, adding Allspice to the peach filling was a master move (in my case, I only had Chinese five spice but it still worked).
Hi Bre! Wow---I'm truly so happy that you enjoyed this recipe! I'm thrilled that the texture + taste worked great for you. This one is definitely one of our faves! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! 🙂