This gluten-free peach cobbler recipe can be made with fresh, frozen or canned peaches. It is has a from scratch, buttery gluten-free biscuit topping for the perfect comfort food dessert.
Be sure to check out more of my gluten-free desserts including my gluten-free blueberry crisp without oats, super simple yet beautiful peach blueberry galette and my strawberry-apple crisp with a crunchy cinnamon crumb.
The Best Peaches for Cobbler
Ideally, the best peaches for cobbler are fresh ripe peaches that are in season (summer). Simply slice them and they’re ready for the recipe. I leave the skin on.
Off-season peaches that are flown from the other hemisphere tend to be mealy, dry and flavorless. So if in-season peaches are not available there are better options.
Frozen sliced peaches are the next best thing. They are usually frozen at the peak of ripeness and are already rinsed and sliced. Defrost the peaches before using. THis will assure that they are soft once cookes with the cobbler. You can defrost them by putting them in the pre-heating oven while you make the biscuit dough.
Canned peaches are the third option. They are not my #1 favorite but can work too. They are already softened and will be a little softer once cooked. Peaches packed in juice, not syrup, are best. You’ll need to thoroughly drain the syrup before adding to the recipe. Also they require a little extra thickener (corn or tapioca starch) to account for the extra liquid in canned peaches.
Ingredients
Peach Filling
Cornstarch or tapioca starch – The peaches are mixed with tapioca or corn starch to thicken the liquid.
Sugar – The amount of sugar added will depend on how sweet your peaches are. Taste a piece first and add sugar accordingly. There is guidance in the recipe card below.
A little bit of lemon juice acts as a flavor enhancer and balances nicely with the sweet sugar and peaches.
Gluten-Free Biscuit Topping
Gluten-free flour blend – King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour is my preferred gluten-free flour for baking. It works well in almost all of my recipes and is the most affordable of the ones I’ve tried. Cup4Cup Multi-Purpose Flour will work in this recipe too.
Another option is my rice-free and gluten-free flour blend. It’s a 5 ingredient DIY flour that works in many baked goods including cakes, cookies, muffins, quick breads and more.
The recipe includes potato starch or cornstarch to help lighten the dough and create fluffy biscuits.
Buttermilk is the traditional liquid for biscuits. It helps make them more fluffy and adds a hint of tangy flavor. I am mostly dairy-free so I use a dairy-free buttermilk substitute that you can mix up in 5 minutes.
I normally don’t add sugar to my biscuits, but because this is a dessert so the recipe has just a little bit of sugar to sweeten the biscuit topping.
The rest of the ingredients are just the basics – baking powder, salt and butter.
Cobbler Toppings
I am a purist and like my peach cobbler with no toppings. But here a few yummy options.
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream on slightly warm cobbler is pretty fantastic. Vanilla and peach are also excellent flavor partners.
- Whipped cream is great classic. You can never go wrong with whipped cream on dessert.
- Or try one of my delicious boozy dessert sauces including my super simple Kahlua Cream sauce and my 6-Minute Creamy Rum Sauce.
Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler (fresh, frozen or canned peaches)
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Ingredients
Peach Filling
- 5-6 medium sized fresh, summer peaches (about 3Β½ lbs), OR1
- 4 c frozen peach wedges (about 3 lbs), OR
- 3 15 oz cans sliced peaches (preferably in juice, not syrup)
- β c sugar
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch or corn starch (add 2 teaspoons more if using canned peaches)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Biscuit Topping
- ΒΎ c gluten-free flour blend2 rice-free, gluten-free option
- 1 Tbsp potato or corn starch
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1Β½ tsp baking powder
- heaping ΒΌ tsp salt
- 5 Tbsp (1Β½ oz) cold unsalted butter
- ΒΌ c buttermilk or dairy-free buttermilk substitute
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350Β°F.
Prepare the peaches
- For Frozen Peaches: Spread the peach wedges out on a large sheet pan and place in the oven while it's pre-heating. It's okay of it's not up to temperature yet. Heat until the peach slices are warm.For Fresh Peaches: Cut the peaches into wedges.For Canned Peaches: Drain the cans in a colander or mesh strainer and let sit for 5 minutes. Give the strainer a gentle shake to help drain the liquid.
- Meanwhile . . .
Make the gluten-free biscuit topping
- Place the flour, potato/corn starch, sugar, baking powder and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl or the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse 4 times in the food processor or mix by hand with a whisk to combine.
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture.
- Pulse the food processor 15 times. Or to mix by hand use a fork or a pastry blender to cut the butter in until the mixture is the texture of coarse crumbs.
- Add the cold buttermilk and pulse the food processor 7-8 times to combine. Or by hand – Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Stir, then press down on the mixture to force the moisture into the dry ingredients.The dough will be slightly crumbly.
- Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the plastic to press the dough together into a Β½" thick square.
- Refrigerate 10 minutes.
Assemble the cobbler
- Transfer the peaches to an 8" x 8" square baking dish.
- NOTE: I recommend taking tasting a piece of the peach. If it is super sweet and flavorful, you can reduce the amount of sugar to ΒΌ c. If it is not very sweet and is lacking in flavor, add another tablespoon of sugar.
- Pour the lemon juice over the peaches. Sprinkle on the tapioca/corn starch, sugar and cinnamon, if using.
- Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Then spread the sliced peaches evenly in the pan.
- Break the dough into Β½ inch pieces and distribute evenly over the peaches.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the peach filling is bubbling. Note that gluten-free biscuits tend to brown less. If you want a little golden color, turn the oven to broil for the last 3-4 minutes of baking time. Keep a close eye on it!
- Cool for 30 minutes hour before serving.
- Store at room temp for 24 hours, then transfer to the refrigerator.
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