Easy Old-Fashioned Southern Peach Cobbler

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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!

A bowl of peach cobbler topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream.

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:

A bowl of fresh peaches and other ingredients to make peach cobbler.

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.

Sliced peaches in a saucepan with sugar.

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!

Melted butter and batter in a baking dish.

Use a spoon and add the peaches and juice to the batter and melted butter. Do not stir!

Sliced peaches with batter in a baking dish ready for the oven.

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.

Peach cobbler in a bowl topped with vanilla ice cream.

Frequently asked questions:

Can I make this recipe with canned peaches?

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.

What’s the difference between peach cobbler, peach crisp, and peach pie.

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.

Do you have to peel the peaches before making the cobbler?

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.

Can this recipe be made gluten-free?

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.

What variety of peach works best in this recipe?

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.

What’s the difference between freestone and clingstone.

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.

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