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This easy gluten free peach cobbler is packed with tender, fragrant peaches and topped with a golden, buttery pastry. It tastes like summer—even when it’s not.
Use fresh, frozen, or canned peaches to enjoy this simple, crowd-pleasing dessert any time of year.
my take
Why this cobbler works
This peach cobbler has it all: a light and crisp, buttery topping with soft, juicy peaches that are always tender, never mushy.
The fruit bakes right in the pan before the topping goes on, so everything cooks evenly—and you get that perfect contrast between gooey fruit and tender pastry.
What you'll need
Here’s a look at the key ingredients that make this cobbler so tender, juicy, and golden-topped—plus how to get the best results from each:
- Peaches – Fresh peaches are ideal, but frozen or canned work well, too. Just drain off extra liquid before topping.
- Sugar – Sweetens both the filling and the topping. Sprinkle a little extra on top for crispness and shine.
- Tapioca starch – Thickens the filling without turning watery as it cools, unlike cornstarch.
- Salt – A pinch balances all the sweet flavors and makes them pop.
- Cinnamon & nutmeg – These warm spices enhance the peaches. Use as much or as little as you like.
- Vanilla or almond extract – Either (or both!) adds depth. Almond gives it more of a classic bakery flavor.
- Gluten free flour – Use a well-balanced blend with superfine rice flour and xanthan gum. Always measure by weight.
- Baking powder & baking soda – Help the topping rise and brown.
- Butter – For rich flavor and a tender crumb. Grated cold butter gives the best texture.
- Buttermilk – Brings the dough together and adds a subtle tang.
How to make this peach cobbler
1. Make the topping
In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum (if needed), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
Add the cold, grated butter and toss to coat. Pour in the buttermilk and mix until just combined—it should be thick but soft.
Place the dough in the fridge to chill while you make the filling.
2. Make the filling
Pit and chop the peaches, then toss them with the sugar, tapioca starch, salt, spices, and vanilla.
If using frozen peaches, let them thaw just enough to dice them, if needed.
Spread the filling in a greased baking dish and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, until the peaches begin to soften and release juices.
If using frozen peaches, drain off some of the liquid after baking.
3. Top and bake
Stir the peaches gently, then scoop the chilled topping over the warm filling in mounds.
Spread it into an even, craggy layer, leaving a few gaps so the fruit can peek through.
Brush the topping with melted butter (or you can use cream), sprinkle with a bit of sugar, and bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes.
It’s ready when the topping is golden and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the topping. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Tips for the perfect peach cobbler
Pick the right peaches
For the best flavor and texture, choose peaches that are ripe but still firm enough to slice.
Too firm, they'll be tart and dry. Too soft, they'll turn mushy in the oven.
If they’re not very fragrant, try adding a splash of lemon juice and a spoonful of brown sugar to the filling.
No need to peel
Peach skins are thin, tender, and add both flavor and color. Leave them on for quicker prep.
Prefer them peeled? Blanch briefly in boiling water, then chill in ice water—the skins should slip right off.
Don’t skip the prebake
Baking the peaches before adding the topping ensures they’re tender and syrupy by the time the crust is done. It’s the key to getting both parts just right.
Ingredient substitutions
To make it dairy free
Use a block-style vegan butter (like Miyoko’s Creamery or Melt).
For buttermilk, combine ½ cup plain nondairy yogurt or sour cream with ½ cup unflavored, no-grit nondairy milk (measured by volume).
If you don’t have tapioca starch
Try sweet white rice flour, superfine white rice flour, or arrowroot.
Cornstarch works in a pinch, but it may leak liquid once cooled—best served warm if using it.
If using frozen or canned peaches
- Frozen peaches: Don’t thaw completely. Toss with the filling ingredients (add 1 extra tablespoon starch), and drain excess liquid halfway through baking.
- Canned peaches: Choose ones in juice (not syrup), drain and rinse, and skip the filling prebake. Use a larger baking dish and spread the topping thinner to prevent overbaking the filling while the topping browns.
Craving a crispier topping?
Try my gluten free peach crisp—made with a buttery brown sugar crumble, with or without oats.
Gluten Free Peach Cobbler Recipe
Ingredients
For the topping
- 1 ¾ cups (245 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum, (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, chilled and grated on a standard box grater
- 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) buttermilk, chilled
For the peaches
- 2 ¼ pounds (9 peaches) ripe fresh peaches, pitted and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (18 g) tapioca starch/flour, or superfine rice flour (See Recipe Notes)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, (or 1 teaspoon pure almond extract)
For finishing
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a baking dish with at least a 12-cup capacity lightly and set it aside. I used an oval casserole pan, but a standard 9×13 inch casserole dish works.
Make the topping
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup sugar.
- Add the grated cold butter, and toss to combine the butter in the dry ingredients.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the buttermilk and mix until just combined.
- The mixture will be thick but softer than biscuits. Place the topping in the refrigerator to chill briefly.
Make the peach filling
- In a large bowl, place the peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, starch, salt, optional cinnamon and/or nutmeg and vanilla, and toss to combine well.
- Transfer the peaches to the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
- Bake the peaches alone for 15 minutes to begin to soften them.
- Increase the baking temperature to 375°F.
Combine and bake
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and place on a heatproof surface.
- If using frozen peaches, carefully drain off about half of the rendered liquid now.
- Using two spoons or a spring loaded ice cream scoop, scatter the chilled topping in mounds evenly over the top of the peaches.
- Using a spatula or knife, spread the topping out into a craggy but even layer, leaving a few small gaps where the fruit pokes through.
- Brush the topping evenly with the 1 tablespoon of melted butter and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake until the fruit is fork tender, the filling is bubbling, the topping is golden brown and fragrant, and a toothpick inserted just into the topping comes out clean (about another 30 minutes).
- Let set for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Use a high-quality all purpose gluten free flour blend like Better Batter’s original or Nicole’s Best (with added xanthan gum). Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 works if you add ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum—but without it, the topping may turn out crumbly. Want to make your own blend? See my See my all purpose gluten free flour blends page. Peach measurements & frozen peach adjustments
You’ll need about 2¼ pounds of whole peaches to get 2 pounds once pitted (the pits weigh around ½ ounce each). Frozen peaches work well, too—just use 3 tablespoons tapioca starch instead of 2, and defrost partially to chop them down if they come in large slices.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
Make-ahead topping:
You can make the pastry topping up to 3 days ahead. Store it tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Best same-day:
Cobbler is best served warm on the day it’s baked, when the topping is still crisp.
Leftovers:
Cool completely, cover, and refrigerate. To reheat, warm in a 300°F oven or toaster oven until the filling bubbles and the topping is refreshed.
FAQs
That’s by design! A cobbler is meant to have a soft fruit filling with just a single pastry or biscuit-style topping—no bottom crust needed.
This can happen if frozen peaches weren’t drained after prebaking, or if the topping was too warm and the butter melted out quickly. Using the wrong starch (or skipping it) can also lead to a runny filling.
You’ll need about four 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed, to match the 2 pounds of prepared peaches called for in the recipe.
It’s best freshly baked, but you can prep the topping up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it. You can also prebake the peaches, let them cool, and add the topping just before baking.
Turned out exceptionally well
Delicious
Interesting – in Australia, what we call fruit cobbler is made with cake batter dolloped over (usually stewed or canned) fruit and baked until set. :-) Yours looks yummy, too!
Could you use frozen cherries?
You might be able to use frozen cherries in place of peaches here, Tracy, but you’ll have to experiment since I haven’t tried that myself. Be sure to follow the alternative instructions for baking with frozen peaches, whatever frozen fruit you decide to use.
I love your GF recipes. I would love to make my own flour and wonder if you have a book out that has your recipes but also have the different GF flour blend recipes and not just the % amounts, not real good at figuring the %’s out.
Yes, I have 5 traditionally-published cookbooks, Bev. You can find them wherever books are sold. For the flour blends, I explain on the all purpose gluten free flour blends page how to use the percentages, and do the math for 1 cup (140 grams) of mock Better Batter.
I made your recipe just as written with the exception that instead of freezing the biscuit topper, I rolled the chilled dough out on the plastic it had been wrapped in, cut out the center hole and then just used the plastic wrap to flip it onto the peach filling. It worked really well. Thanks fir another really tasty recipe!
So glad you had a good experience, Stephanie. And cheers to finding your own way to get the dough in place, chilled. ;)
I have an intolerance to tapioca starch and tapioca flour. Most recipes require gluten free all purpose flour blend. Any recipes for a great all purpose flour I can create on my own, sans the tapioca? Thanks.
I’m afraid tapioca starch is a truly unique gluten free flour that has no equivalent replacement, Joanne. A tapioca intolerance is really hard! Sometimes, you can use superfine sweet white rice flour in its place, but I don’t think that would work in large quantities in an all purpose blend. I wish I had a better answer.
Thanks for your response. I love your recipes, but I’m having issues not being able to include tapioca. So I’m struggling to find an answer for texture and taste. Will keep trying!
Is there a way to use frozen peaches?
I do absolutely love peach cobbler!!
Yum! Peach cobbler is a comfort food. I have never thought about making it with the skins. But I can see how it would be so tasty! Thank you for suggesting it! This recipe will definitely be on my menu for July 4th!
Perfect for the 4th, Margaret!
Hi!! Love your recipes-quick question. I know pastry flour can be tricky and I’m allergic to dairy. Could I use coconut or almond milk in place of buttermilk?
Hi, Jaimie, You can try replacing the butter with nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum brand), and try canned light coconut milk with about a teaspoon of vinegar in place of buttermilk. You’ll have to experiment, though!