Easy Old-Fashioned Southern Peach Cobbler is a simple cobbler recipe baked in a cast-iron skillet, featuring fresh, frozen, or canned, sweet, juicy peaches and a perfect homemade crust. One bite of this luscious, made from scratch cobbler, and you will understand the true meaning of comfort food.
Served warm and topped with one or more scoops of vanilla ice cream, this tasty peach cobbler is nothing short of a peach lover’s dream!
Along with southern fried chicken, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and collard greens, peach cobbler is considered soul food in the South. Bring it to a potluck or a neighborhood cookout, and it’s always one of the most popular desserts.
Because this homemade cobbler is so easy to make, it’s also known as a lazy day, lazy man, and lazy girl peach cobbler. It’s also perfect for feeding a crowd or for special occasions, casual summer dinners, or anytime families or friends gather.
After all, who can resist a bowl full of homemade old-fashioned southern peach cobbler served warm right out of the oven? I know I can’t!
Why you will love this recipe:
- It is delicious and oh so EASY!
- Like a dump cake, with this easy peach cobbler recipe, you dump all of the ingredients in a baking dish, and the batter miraculously rises to the top and turns into a sweet crusty topping.
- It only takes 5 minutes to throw everything together, and then your oven does all the work.
Ingredients – here’s what you will need:
- Peaches – are the star of this dish. While these days you can buy peaches year-round, fresh summer peaches are best. If you can’t find fresh, frozen, and canned peaches are good substitutes!
- Lemon juice – brightens the dish and adds its citrusy goodness to this dish.
- Butter – adds richness to the dish and makes the crust or topping extra delicious! This recipe calls for unsalted, but salted works too!
- Flour – is an essential ingredient in the crust and holds it all together.
- Sugar – it’s hard to find a dessert without sugar and peach cobbler is no exception. The sugar adds even more sweetness to the peaches, sweetens the crust, and helps it brown.
- Baking powder – adds just a bit of lift and lightness to the crust.
- Kosher salt – brings out the best in all of the other ingredients. If you use salted butter, you can probably get away without it. But, I add it with both salted and unsalted.
- Milk – is another essential ingredient in this dish. It adds richness and helps thin the batter so that it can spread and form the most delicious topping.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg – these spices are optional, but they will complement the other flavors and add their characteristic earthy aromatic sweetness.
Directions – here’s how to make it:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut the butter up into cubes and add to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a two and one-half quart baking dish. Place the dish in the oven and let the butter melt. Watch it carefully; this will only take a few seconds.
- When the butter is melted, remove the baking dish from the oven and set it aside.
- Add the peaches, one cup of sugar, and lemon juice to a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook and stir for about a minute more or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
- Combine the flour, one cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the milk and stir until all ingredients are combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter over the melted butter, but do not stir!
- Use a spoon and add the peaches and juice to the batter and melted butter. Do not stir!
- Optional, sprinkle the nutmeg and cinnamon evenly over the peaches.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and bubbly. If you use a larger baking dish, it will take less time, and a smaller baking dish might take a little more time.
- Serve this old-fashioned southern peach cobbler warm or cold.
- Optional: top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Frequently asked questions:
To substitute canned peaches, omit one cup of sugar and use one 29-ounce can of sliced peaches in heavy syrup. Drain all but one-quarter of a cup of the syrup and add it to the batter with the lemon juice. Then, add the peaches.
All cobbler fillings contain either fresh, frozen, or canned peaches. Where these different dessert recipes differ is the crust or topping.
For cobblers, the crust is on top, and it’s usually made with butter, milk, sugar, and flour. However, some variations call for cake mixes, cookie dough, pie crusts, biscuits, and even Bisquick.
The only difference between a crisp and a cobbler is how the topping is made. With a crisp, oats are mixed with flour and butter and sprinkled over the filling to produce a crispy crust.
For a pie, a pie crust is used and is found on the bottom, then the filling, and sometimes a top crust or lattice crust is added.
I usually peel my fruit when making peach cobbler, but there is no reason you can’t leave the peel on if you prefer. It’s totally up to you.
If your peaches are really soft, sometimes it’s easier to peel them if they have been blanched first. To blanch them, cut a shallow X at the end opposite the stem and place them in boiling water for about 20 seconds. As soon as the skin starts to split remove them with a slotted spoon. Immediately place them in a bowl filled with water and ice to stop the cooking process. You should then be able to easily remove the peel with your fingers.
Yes, simply replace the flour with the same amount of one-for-one gluten-free flour. Also, most baking powder is gluten-free, but be sure to verify that by reading the label.
When I can find them, I like to use yellow Georgia Elberta peaches, which are the most common in our area. However, you can also use other varieties including white peaches and even nectarines in this recipe. Each has a slightly different taste, but all are delicious.
The flesh of a freestone peach doesn’t cling to the stone (pit) and they are easier to cut into slices. With clingstone, the flesh is stuck to the pit and it’s harder to slice and remove from the pit.
Sharon’s tips:
- When choosing fresh peaches, look for fruit that is not bruised and gives just a little to the touch. They should also have a fragrant peachy aroma.
- If your peaches are not ripe and hard, place them in a brown paper bag and leave them at room temperature for a day or so. The total time it takes to ripen will depend on how firm they are when you start.
- If you don’t have fresh peaches, you can substitute the same amount of frozen peaches and follow the recipe as written.
- Want something just a little different? Feel free to add an additional handful of fresh blueberries or blackberries when you add your peaches to the batter. Delicious!
- Not only is this a great dessert, but the leftovers are outstanding. A few scoops of it cold right out of the refrigerator in the morning also makes a DELICIOUS breakfast. Yes, I admit it; sometimes, I eat dessert for breakfast.
More peach recipes:
If you like this recipe, you may want to check out these popular recipes below.
- Southern-Style Fresh Peach Pie
- Easy Southern Fresh Peach Salsa
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Peach Salsa
- Homemade Fresh Peach Ice Cream
- Easy Southern Peach Bread
- Homemade Peach and Blackberry Crumble
- Southern Peaches and Cream Pie
- Grilled Chicken with Peach Glaze
⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and give it a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
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Easy Old-Fashioned Southern Peach Cobbler Recipe
Equipment
- 10-inch cast-iron skillet or 2½ quart baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar divided
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup milk
- 4 cups peaches peeled and sliced (about 6-7 medium-sized peaches)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- pinch of ground nutmeg optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut the butter up into cubes and add to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a two and one-half quart baking dish. Place the dish in the oven and let the butter melt. Watch it carefully; this will only take a few seconds.
- When the butter is melted, remove the baking dish from the oven and set aside.
- Add the peaches, one cup of sugar, and the lemon juice to a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook and stir for about a minute more or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- Combine the flour, one cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the milk and stir until all ingredients are combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter over the melted butter. Do NOT stir.
- Use a spoon and add the peaches and juice to the batter and melted butter. Do NOT stir.
- Optional: top with the nutmeg and cinnamon if using.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and bubbly. If you use a larger baking dish it will take less time, and a smaller baking dish might take a little more time.
- Serve the peach cobbler warm or cold. If desired, top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream before serving.
Can this be Frozen? If yes, do you freeze it before or after you bake it?
Hi Loretta, I have never frozen it so I can’t say for sure, but I think freezing might negatively affect the texture of this dish. If you do decide to freeze it, please let me know how it goes.
All the best,
Sharon
I made this for Sunday dinner with fresh peaches from the farmers market. It was fantastic! I followed the recipe with one modification – I added 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the batter. I always find the prep times in recipes to be largely inaccurate. My prep took much longer than five minutes. Ha!
Hi Sharon,
I’m so glad you liked it and thank you too for letting me know. I’m in the middle of trying the same recipe but substituting blackberries for the peaches. We’ll see how it goes…
All the best,
Sharon
There is nothing as heavenly as fresh peach cobbler. And when you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, well, it’s just over the top yummy. I love how simple your recipe is and how luscious your photos look. I will definitely have to try this before the summer is out. Thanks so much for sharing.