Incredible Healthy Peach Crisp

This healthy peach crisp is the perfect way to enjoy late summer peaches! The bottom layer is full of jammy baked peaches drizzled with maple syrup, dusted with cinnamon, and covered in a thick blanket of naturally sweetened, buttery oat topping that resembles an oatmeal cookie.

this recipe

Okay, could everyone who loves peaches more than Power Rangers and candy combined please stand?

I joke 🙂 A dear friend of mine, who is six years old, has on-point descriptions for most things, so naturally I'm going to borrow them from time to time. And since juicy, peak-season peaches are one of the BEST simple pleasures of summer, we definitely need to celebrate them with peach crisp.

Every bite of this healthy peach crisp is like a warm, cinnamon-y hug with fresh peaches that get perfectly jammy when baked. And OH MY the topping is pretty much an oatmeal cookie, which is slightly different than the more traditional crumbly crisp topping I use for healthy strawberry crisp... but just as delicious!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Equipment
• How to Make It
• Substitutions & Variations
• Storage & Freezing
• Top Tip
• FAQs
• Healthy Peach Crisp

Ingredients

To make this healthy peach crisp, you'll need:

• Fresh Peaches - I am partial to fresh peaches in a peach crisp... they're just SOOO good, especially in their peak season.
• Maple Syrup - You'll use maple syrup both in the peaches and in the crisp topping for an unrefined, delicious sweetener.
• Vanilla Extract - I almost always add vanilla extract to my fruit crisps, and it especially complements the warm cinnamon flavors here.
• Cornstarch - Ripe peaches are JUICY, which is beautiful for the taste buds but can make for a runny pie or crisp. A little cornstarch will thicken up that peach juice. Arrowroot starch or even a bit of flour would work as well!
• Cinnamon - All I can say is, your house is about to smell incredible.
• Butter - Similar to pie/scones, your butter must be cold to get the right texture for crisp topping! Cold butter is how you'll get those large and lovely pebbles of flour, oats, and maple syrup.
• White Whole Wheat Flour - Whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour would work, too! White whole wheat and whole wheat pastry are my preference because they yield light and tender results. Fruit crisp toppings are forgiving, so any of these flours will work.
• Salt - A necessity for complimenting the sweetness of this peach crisp and making the flavor pop!
• Whole Rolled Oats - A fruit crisp topping standard. I do not recommend quick oats for this recipe because they're already too broken down, so they act more like flour instead of lovely-textured, whole oats.

Equipment

For this recipe, you'll need: a large bowl, knife, measuring spoons and cups, spatula, food processor, and a 9x13" baking dish.

A food processor is an easy way to make the crisp topping, but if you don't have a food processor, you can use a pastry cutter or two forks instead! See alternative instructions below for how to make the topping with these tools.

How to Make It

To get started, you'll preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick spray (or grease with butter). Then, on to the peach crisp filling!

To make the filling, slice the peaches into thin slices and place them in a large bowl. Add cornstarch, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cinnamon, and a touch of lemon juice. Stir gently until the cornstarch is dissolved and the peaches slices are well-coated. Set aside while you make the topping.

To make the crisp topping, you can choose one of two methods, depending on the equipment you have: food processor (my fave) or a pastry cutter (or two forks). Both will work beautifully!

Food processor: In a food processor, combine the cold butter with the white whole wheat flour, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until a pebbly but cookie-dough-like mixture forms. Next, add oats and pulse a couple times until they are just incorporated into the mixture. The final result's texture will resemble cookie dough.
Pastry cutter or two forks: Whisk flour, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Place butter into a separate bowl. Pour flour mixture over butter and cut it into the butter using a pastry cutter or two forks, until a pebbly mixture forms. Add maple syrup and gently stir until a cohesive dough forms (no dry pockets of flour). Add oats and stir until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. If you need to get in there with your hands to really get it combined, go for it!

Once you have the filling and the topping ready, you can assemble the crisp. Transfer the peach crisp filling to the prepared 9x13" baking dish in an even layer, and then add the crisp topping evenly across the top. Since the topping has a cookie-dough-like texture, you may feel like you are dolloping more than dumping it over the top. This is okay! Just make sure it's spread evenly across.

Finally, bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until peaches are bubbling up the sides.

All that's left to do is wait for it to cool for a few minutes, then serve it up with some vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or my favorite: coconut whipped cream.

Success Tip: Fresh peaches are ripe when they become fragrant and have a slight give when you press on them. When peaches are firm with slight give (ripe) and not too mushy (overripe or bruised), it's much easier to get thin slices. Plus, they hold their shape nicely when baked!

Substitutions & Variations

If you know how to make the recipe fit a certain diet, let the reader know here. Don't fake it - only provide guidance on topics you have actual experience with.

• Vegan - To make this a vegan peach crisp, use cold/hard coconut oil (store in fridge prior to making the crisp) or an equivalent amount of vegan butter such as the kind from Miyokos.
• Flour - Whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour, and spelt flour are all interchangeable in this recipe.
• Sweetener - substitute another liquid sweetener for maple syrup in the same amount.
• Nuts - Add ¾ cup pecans to the topping for additional flavor and texture! They will get all toasty in the oven and it will be beautiful.

Storage & Freezing

Store peach crisp in an airtight container for up to two days at room temperature, or up to seven days in the refrigerator. It will get moldy if you leave it out on the counter for more than a couple days (unfortunately I learned this from experience!).

To freeze, place into an airtight container and freeze a fully baked peach crisp for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I love this container (affiliate link) because I can freeze without using plastic - yay sustainability!

Top Tip

This top tip is for the topping. To maintain the texture of the topping, make sure to keep the oats mostly whole, but evenly distributed throughout. If you're using a food processor, this means no need to over-process! Simply pulse a few times to yield a cohesive, evenly distributed mixture with mostly intact oats, which will bake into a nicely textured topping.

FAQs

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