The Best Vegan Peach Cobbler

Sweet, juicy peaches baked with cinnamon and brown sugar, covered with an old-fashioned, buttery biscuit topping make this vegan peach cobbler recipe a hit all summer.

It’s easier than pie, and perfect served warm with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream.

How to Make Vegan Peach Cobbler

I love making cobblers, because they are so simple to make. It’s like a pie on easy mode, except it’s supposed to be a big crumbly, delicious mess!

I’ve tried out all variations of cobbler toppings paired with different kinds of fruit. I love an easy streusel for a cherry crisp. But a peach cobbler deserves a rich, buttery, biscuit topping. You know, one of those desserts where no one would suspect is actually vegan.

The secret in this vegan peach cobbler is using frozen, grated, non-dairy butter to make the perfect biscuit topping. Trust me, it’s way easier than chopping up a stick of butter with a pastry cutter. Less work on the dough means it makes a more tender, fluffy biscuit.

So, how do you cobble together the yummiest vegan peach cobbler? It’s so easy to make a peach cobbler vegan and dairy-free, all you need to do is use a non-dairy butter like Earth Balance.

The Peaches

Your peaches will carry your cobbler. Ripe, fresh peaches give the best flavor and texture, which means they’ll be just a bit soft and should smell delicious.

For the cobbler, peel and cut the peaches into small chunks. Peach chunks work wonderfully in a cobbler because they keep their structure and don’t get flimsy like slices do. Plus, they actually fit on a spoon, along with some drippy vanilla ice cream.

I prefer flavorful yellow peaches for a cobbler. White peaches are a bit sweeter, which can be too much in an already sweet dessert.

If your peaches are still hard, you should let them sit out on your counter for a few days to ripen.

Whatever you do, don’t buy peaches that have any green on them. They just don’t ripen well if they’ve been picked that early.

Mix the filling

The filling for this vegan peach cobbler is a yummy mix of chopped up peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon, and a pinch of salt. Thickened with cornstarch, the flavors meld together into a bubbly, syrupy, wonderful peach filling.

This recipe uses less sugar than many cobbler recipes to let the natural sugars in the peaches work their magic. A bit of lemon juice in the filling provides just a hint of tartness to help cut through the sweetness.

Make sure to pre-bake the filling for ten minutes, before you add the topping. Otherwise the peaches and syrup won’t cook down enough, and you’ll have too much liquid left over.

Make the topping

Cobbler, crisp, crumble. There are SO MANY different variations on the topping for this dessert. A crisp will have a plain streusel, and a crumble has oats thrown in. But what even is a cobbler?

There are cake-like peach cobblers, with a liquid batter that is buried under the peaches and floats to the surface. But I think a cobbler should have an old-fashioned biscuit-like topping. It’s almost like a sugar cookie, but loaded with way more vegan butter. Crispy, crumbly, buttery, goodness.

The secret in this recipe for making the flakey buttery topping is using…frozen butter!

(non-dairy, of course.)

You might be familiar with this from our biscuit recipes. Grate the frozen butter on the coarse side of a box grinder, and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to add it to the flour mixture.

First, you mix up the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar). Then you quickly combine with the frozen grated butter, using a pastry cutter or a fork, until it resembles a coarse meal. Should be easy because the butter is already in such small pieces! Avoid using your fingers or you’ll just melt the butter.

Add in some cold soy milk (or any other plant-based milk) and gently combine with a fork or wooden spoon. Make sure not to overmix, or the topping can get tough.

Assemble and bake!

The biscuit topping really does feel like sugar cookie dough. Take rough handfuls, quickly and gently flatten them out, and plop them on the peaches. The tiny pieces of cold butter will melt as the cobbler bakes, making tiny packets of buttery goodness.

For a finishing touch, sprinkle the top with some cinnamon sugar. This adds a bit of extra crunch, some shine, and yummy cinnamon right on top.

Bake your cobbler until light brown, and a toothpick inserted through the topping comes out clean.

How to peel peaches

If you’ve ever tried to peel peaches with a paring knife, you know it’s a slippery mess, with a ton of wasted peach! The easiest and cleanest way to peel peaches is to blanch them. I’ll take you through it.

Note: This works best with ripe peaches. Unripe peaches can be very stubborn and difficult to peel.

1. Prepare a large pot of boiling water and a large bowl filled with ice water.
2. Score the peaches: with a sharp knife, slice a small “x” into the bottom of each peach.
3. Place the peaches, just a couple at a time, into the boiling water for about a minute, or until the skin splits.
4. Remove with a slotted spoon and put them in the ice bath for a few seconds.
5. Take them out of the ice bath, and gently rub to peel the skin off.

Final Thoughts

The vegan peach cobbler is best eaten warm out of the oven, served with something creamy like coconut ice cream or whipped cream. Tell me down below how yours turns out!

FAQ

Can I use canned or frozen peaches?

If you don’t have ripe peaches, you can definitely make the recipe with frozen or canned peaches. Frozen keeps a better texture than canned. With frozen, let the peaches thaw and drain off any excess liquid. Pre-bake the filling for an extra five minutes, since frozen peaches are sometimes a bit under-ripe.

If you use canned peaches, skip the pre-baking step, since canned peaches are already quite soft. Your final cobbler will probably end up softer anyway. Make sure to drain the peaches, and if they are in syrup, cut out half the sugar in the filling.

Can I make this in advance? How long does it last?

You can make the peach filling in advance. However, since the biscuit topping is time-sensitive, you can’t really prepare it to bake at a later time.

Vegan peach cobbler is best when it is still warm from the oven. The biscuit topping tends to get a bit soggy as it cools, but the leftovers will be good for 3 or 4 days in the fridge. (If it lasts that long!)

How ripe should the peaches be to make the best cobbler?

Your peaches should be quite ripe, to get the best flavor! This means they will be a bit soft to the touch. If you press your finger into the flesh, it will indent. And most importantly, they should smell delicious! Cobbler tastes best with peaches that still have some firmness to them, so don’t use peaches that are super soft.

If your peaches aren’t ripe, let them sit out on the counter for a few days to ripen. However, once they’re ripe, you can stick them in the fridge to slow the ripening process down so they don’t get overripe.

Can I make this gluten-free?

To make this recipe gluten-free, sub the flour for a gluten-free flour, and make sure you are using gluten-free baking powder. I haven’t actually tried to make this gluten-free, so if you do, please let me know in the comments how it works!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Peaches. The vegan peach cobbler is best with fresh, ripe summer peaches. However, you can use frozen or canned if you don’t have any ripe peaches. You can also add in any berries or other fruit to mix things up!
• Brown Sugar. The molasses and acidity in brown sugar provide depth to the filling. You can easily sub with any unrefined sugar, or even just white sugar if that’s all you have.
• Vanilla. I love the classic vanilla for a peach cobbler, but using almond extract is a wonderful variation to try instead.
• Flour. Try gluten-free flour to make a non-gluten version. The texture won’t be as fluffy, but it should hold together well enough for a crumbly cobber.