Every spring, I count down the days until summer the way a little kid eagerly eats chocolate out of an Advent calendar to cross off the nights until Christmas Eve. No, I’m not waiting to grill dinner on the 4th of July, and I’m not even drooling over chocolate desserts to celebrate my birthday. Instead, I turn giddy with excitement over…
Peach season.
As soon as grocery stores advertize peaches as $0.99 per pound, my mom and I stock up as if we’re preparing for a fruit Armageddon. She and I buy them 6 at a time, basically on a weekly basis. We rarely nibble on them fresh, practically swatting at my dad and guy if they reach for one as a snack, and always slice them up to bake my grandma’s peach pie.
Mom saved Grandma’s recipe, a family secret, on a large handwritten index card, yellowing and fading with age, in a manila folder in her kitchen cupboards. But she’s baked it so many times that she rarely pulls it down to consult the measurements anymore!
With the two of us working together, Mom on the no-roll shortbread crust and me on the juicy filling, we can assemble the pie and pop it in the oven in less than 20 minutes. Between the four of us—Mom, Dad, my brother, and me—we can easily polish off the entire dessert in a single night. No shame!
However, that rich buttery shortbread crust sometimes tastes a little too heavy, especially after grilling burgers for dinner! So this past week, I decided to skip the crust and created a crumble instead with a similar summery filling and sweet oat topping.
My resulting Clean Peach Crumble disappeared just as quickly as Grandma’s special pie! Just like in her dessert, I sprinkled a really thick layer of sweet crumbs—basically the best part!—on top of the soft fruit. But unlike Grandma’s pie, my crumble is clean-eating friendly, with gluten-free and vegan options too. It’s the sweetest way to eat your daily servings of fruit!
The filling consists of just 4 ingredients: peaches, cornstarch, cinnamon, and almond extract. The almond extract was one of Grandma’s secrets in her pie filling, and it lends a subtle sweetness to the peaches. I promise they don’t taste nutty at all!
With my peaches overly ripe, I decided against adding any extra sweetener to the filling. If yours aren’t quite as juicy, feel free to mix in a few teaspoons of agave or honey (or brown sugar, but then it wouldn’t be clean-eating anymore).
The crumble topping is unbelievably simple—even more so than the filling! Many crumb toppings call for cutting cold butter into the oats and flour, but I felt lazy and opted for melted butter instead. It’s so much easier to mix into the dry ingredients!
Because of the liquid agave, this crumb topping is initially much moister than your typical recipe, and it will probably stick to your fingers when you sprinkle it over the filling. But don’t worry—it still crisps up in the oven the same way your traditional brown and white sugar crumb toppings do. It’s the perfect textural contrast to the soft fruit beneath!
Naturally sweet and lightly spiced, my healthier Clean Peach Crumble tastes like the epitome of summer, reminiscent of sun-kissed skin, lazy backyard barbeques, and warm starry-skied nights. Topped with a little vanilla ice cream, it’s a positively irresistible sweet and luscious treat!
Trust me, I would know… I shamelessly savored 3 slices in a single day!
P.S. Don’t forget to enter my CVS Gold Emblem Abound Giveaway before July 9! With so many healthy snacks to win, you don’t want to miss it!
This easy dessert tastes exactly like summer! Soft juicy peaches with a thick oaty crumb topping… Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this healthy crumble is an irresistible summer treat!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, toss together the diced peaches, cornstarch, almond extract, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the oats, flour, and remaining cinnamon. Add in the agave and butter, mixing until completely incorporated.
- Spread the peach mixture into the prepared pan, and evenly sprinkle the oat crumbs on top. Bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, or until the peach juice is bubbling and the oat mixture turns crunchy. Cool completely to room temperature. For best results, let the crumble rest for 2 hours after coming to room temperature before serving to allow the juices to thicken.
The way you talk about how you and your mother stock up on peaches sounds like me and my mother with blueberries when they’re in season every year at our Farmer’s Market. We just got the LAST visit to our blueberry guy this year today when we visited the market this morning. He said he was all done for the year and my heart was crushed…haha. So we bought many to stock up today! Delicious looking crumble! Maybe I should try it with blueberries. 🙂
Kaylin, that sounds like such a special experience with your mother! I can’t imagine how hard that must be to hear his blueberry season is already over… It’s barely July, and that’s when I assume blueberry season starts! Too funny you mentioned making this crumble with blueberries — I nearly added some in myself to make it a blueberry peach crumble! 😉
True that about the peaches! We got back from my grandparent’s lakehouse after the 4th and the first thing I wanted was a fresh, juicy peach. They are SO good! And crumbles … don’t get me started! The oats, the caramelized sugars, and the way they pair with fruits. Pinning this recipe, Amy, it looks and sounds fantastic!
Thank you so much Mary Frances, for both your sweet comment and the pin! Your grandparents own a lake house? That must be absolutely gorgeous and so relaxing! Hopefully the water isn’t too cold… 😉 And the way I see it, crumbles should basically be a breakfast food. You get an entire serving of fruit, lots of oats (and sometimes whole wheat flour too!), and only a teeny tiny bit of extra sweetener if you make it yourself. As long as I can refrain from the scoop of ice cream on top, why not eat it for breakfast??
I love this crumble recipe!!! So great. I’m not a peach person (you’re shocked, right? 😉 ) but I can totally see myself making this on apple pie!
Thanks Dorothy! Somehow I’m inclined to think peaches might turn into your next lemon… 😉
Ah this looks yummy! I am currently on a peach high; I am a total sucker for anything peach related! I blame the sunshine…looking forward to trying this out sometime soon 🙂 Great pics!
Thank you Tash, and I really hope you enjoy the crumble! The summer sunshine always makes me crave peaches and lots of fresh fruit. It’s one of my favorite parts about summer!
Just finished making your blueberry breakfast crumbles (super yummy by the way) when I noticed this recipe. Looks awesome but it’s winter (Spring technically but with so much snow still on ground you can’t tell) here in New Hampshire so I can’t get fresh peaches yet. Can you use frozen peaches instead? I don’t think I can wait till Summer to try this!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the blueberry breakfast crumbles! I’d recommend using peaches that are canned in 100% juice and drained very well instead of frozen. The amount of cornstarch doesn’t take into account the thin layer of ice on frozen peaches, so you’d need to add a little more cornstarch if you went with frozen. I’d love to hear what you think if you try the crumble!
This looks uh-mazing! I want to make it for mothers day this weekend. Do you think almond or coconut flour would work in place of the wheat flour? Thanks in advance!!
Thanks Jennifer! Almond flour would definitely work, but I wouldn’t recommend coconut flour because it behaves differently that typical flours. I hope you enjoy the crumble and Mother’s Day with your loved ones!
oh, I bet the almond extract is SO good, I can almost taste the crumble now!!
It definitely is Heather — it’s actually my all-time favorite baking ingredient!
Do you think the filling could be prepared & frozen?
It looks wonderful & I’m looking forward to trying!!!
Thank you so much
I haven’t tried it myself Carol, but I think that could work. I hope you enjoy the crumble!
I made this a served it for breakfast with boiled eggs. There wasn’t any left. 🙂 When I make it again, I’ll up the sugar a bit, because it wasn’t quite sweet enough…but I bet that’s based on the peaches. I used frozen peaches from Aldi – a 1 pound bag – and it worked great!
I’m so glad that you and your loved ones enjoyed the crumble Stacy! That’s quite the compliment if there wasn’t any left — thank you for sharing that! 🙂 I bet you’re right about the frozen peaches, so hopefully the next one you bake tastes perfectly sweet!
Hi Amy! Would coconut oil work in place of the butter?
Yes! I can’t wait to hear what you think of the crumble Samantha! 🙂
I’ve got this in the oven now – can’t wait for dessert tonight. Great, healthy way to use up a bunch of peaches that were passing their prime on my counter. I also added a few tbsp of chia seeds and 1/4 cup of hemp hearts to the crumble mixture to convince myself this is actually full blown super food!
I love the sound of the chia seeds and hemp hearts Michelle — so fun! What did you think of the crumble?? 🙂
mine turned out really dry 🙁
Oh no! That’s not right at all Kaitlyn. Did you make any substitutions to the ingredients or instructions, and did you use fresh or canned peaches? I’d like to work together to figure out what happened so you don’t see the same issue again! 🙂
Amy, really love this recipe, smelled so good, and tasted even better! Thanks for this site and I look forward to getting your emailed recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the crumble George! Thank you for signing up for the emails too. That means a lot to me! 🙂
Sorry if I missed this, but how big should the pan be?
The pan size is included in Step 1. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the crumble Laurel!
I just finished baking this and even though the recipe says to cool completely, I just couldn’t help myself. Took a bite – delicious!! Bonus – my house smells awesome too!! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed the crumble Ann! That’s one of my favorite bonuses about baking. 😉
Hi, this looks great but I don’t currently have any almond extract. Could I use vanilla? I see a lot of other similar recipes use lemon juice?
Also, can I sub honey for agave?
Yes, you can substitute honey! Almond extract was my grandma’s secret ingredient in her irresistible peach pie, but if you don’t have almond extract, simply omit it. No need to replace it with vanilla! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the crumble Cara!
Will frozen peach slices work for this crumble?
Yes, frozen peach slices will work! You’ll need to add an additional 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and the crumble may need to bake longer than is written in the Instructions. It’ll be done when the topping feels firm to the touch and you see juices bubbling at the edges of the pan. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the crumble Kaitlyn!
My husband is Diabetic and I’m always looking for a healthy No sugar added recipe and so happy I found yours! I got a Can of Peach’s in Water that i’ll be using with Honey and going to add some Almonds with the Oats for a crunch and added protein. Thank you so much!
Your husband is so lucky to have you to make him diabetic-friendly sweet treats Virginia! I can’t wait to hear what you both think of the crumble! 🙂
Would coconut flour work instead of whole wheat or millet flour?
Or almond flour?
I’m sorry – you already answered that question! I’m trying this today – thank you!
No to coconut, but yes to almond flour! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this crumble Christine!
My poor hubby has high cholesterol and diabetes; both of which are controlled by medication. Honey or agave are both sugar’s; could I use a sugar substitute? What could I use in place of the butter?
You can substitute a generous ¼ teaspoon of my favorite vanilla creme stevia + 2 tablespoons of milk in place of the agave. If you don’t want to use butter or margarine, then use coconut oil in place of the butter. I can’t wait to hear what you and your husband think of this crumble Phyllis!
This recipe looks so good! I have a bunch of nectarines that I won’t be able to eat in time, so I’m trying it right now with those instead of peaches. I hope the skins won’t be too tough and that it will turn out okay. Worth a try! Thanks for sharing.
I think nectarines are a wonderful idea! I can’t wait to hear what how your crumble turned out Britney! 🙂
It turned out great! My husband complained that it tasted like it had no sugar in it, but I loved it. 😉 I rarely add sugar to fruit-based desserts. I paired a warm scoop with some halo-top vanilla bean ice cream and it was so good!
I’m so glad you loved it Britney! I’m the same way — I feel like most fruit-based desserts don’t need much added sugar. I love your idea of vanilla ice cream on top! Yum!! 🙂
PEACHES are our favorite fruit. I got a box Thursday at the orchard. I need to try a low carb peach crisp/crumble. This looks great!
How perfect!! That sounds like it was meant to be! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this crumble Charlotte!