Skillet Peach Crisp
Recipes developed and tested by the ChefnFood editorial team, with chef-informed notes for real home kitchens.
Peak summer peaches under a buttery oat topping, baked in the same skillet they were tossed in. Twenty minutes of actual work and it beats pie. Leave the skins on — they hold the slices together and peeling three pounds of peaches makes the dish slightly worse.
Ingredients
- Filling
- 3 lb ripe peaches (about 8 medium), sliced into ½-inch wedges, skin on
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp kosher salt
- Topping
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 10 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F.
- Toss the peach slices with the granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or a 9-inch square baking dish. Let them sit 10 minutes — they'll release juice, which the cornstarch needs in order to thicken.
- Meanwhile, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
- Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with your fingertips until the mixture holds together in clumps ranging from pea-sized to marble-sized. Keep the butter cold and don’t work it into a paste — visible pieces of butter are what make the topping crisp instead of dense.
- Stir in the pecans. Scatter the topping over the peaches in an uneven layer, leaving some gaps for steam to escape.
- Bake 40–45 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the filling bubbles thickly around the edges. Thick, slow bubbles mean the cornstarch has activated; thin fast bubbling means it needs more time.
- Cool at least 20 minutes. Straight from the oven the filling is liquid and molten-hot.
Chef’s Take
Leave the peach skins on. They hold the slices together through a 45-minute bake, they add color, and peeling three pounds of peaches is twenty minutes of work that makes the dish slightly worse. This is one of the rare cases where the lazier version is genuinely the better one.
Chef trick: for the crispest topping, freeze the butter for 10 minutes and grate it on a box grater into the dry ingredients, then toss with a fork. It distributes cold butter perfectly in about thirty seconds and there’s no chance of overworking it with warm hands.
Substitutions
- Frozen peaches: use them straight from frozen, add 1 extra tbsp cornstarch, and bake 10 minutes longer.
- Other fruit: nectarines, plums, mixed berries, or apples. Apples need an extra 10 minutes; berries need an extra tbsp of cornstarch.
- Gluten-free: a 1:1 GF blend, or use 1¾ cups oats total and skip the flour.
- Vegan: cold coconut oil or vegan butter, in the same amount.
- Underripe peaches: add 2 tbsp more sugar and let the fruit sit 20 minutes instead of 10.
Storage and reheating
Cover and keep at room temperature 2 days, or refrigerate up to 5. Reheat uncovered at 350°F for 15 minutes to bring the topping back — the microwave makes it soggy. The topping can be made ahead and frozen in a bag for 3 months; scatter it over fruit straight from the freezer and add 5 minutes to the bake.
Serving suggestions
Vanilla ice cream, while the crisp is still warm, is the correct answer and there isn't a close second. Lightly whipped cream if you'd rather. Leftovers with Greek yogurt make a defensible breakfast.
More weeknight dinners like this one
The Weekly Meal Plan — five dinners and a grocery list, every Thursday.
