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 Healthy 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!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy peach crumble!
| Healthy Peach Crumble | | Print |
- 4 extra large (490g) peaches, diced (or 5-6 medium)
- 2 tbsp (16g) cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- ¾ cup (75g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ¼ cup (30g) whole wheat flour or millet flour (measured like this)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 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 maple syrup 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 at least 2 hours after coming to room temperature before serving to allow the juices to thicken.
Instant oats (gluten-free if needed!) may be substituted for the old-fashioned oats.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour. Any gluten-free flour except coconut flour may be substituted for the millet flour.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
VEGAN + DAIRY-FREE VERSION: Substitute Earth Balance buttery sticks for the best results. Coconut oil will also work, but the flavor and texture of the topping will be slightly different.
If you prefer to enjoy your crumble warm, then reheat individual portions once it has rested for 2+ hours at room temperature.
{gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free option, vegan option, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Apple Crumble
♡ Healthy Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Crumble
♡ Healthy Almond Berry Crumble
♡ Healthy Strawberry Poppy Seed Crumble
♡ Healthy Blueberry Mango Crumble
Can’t wait to try this as I am on a low sodium, low sugar diet! Wondering if the peaches should be peeled before dicing? * I don’t care for the fuzzy fur! Could we use nectarines instead? Thanks so much for your posts, as I see them as a sweet weekly blessing!
You’re too kind — that means so much to me, Nancy!! I’m so sorry for my delayed response. I’ve been out of the office and with my family a lot more than I anticipated since mid-June, and I fell behind on replying to comments as a result.
Yes, you can easily peel the peaches if you prefer! Although I haven’t tried it yet, I think nectarines should also work quite well.
I’d love to hear what you think of this crumble if you do end up making it! 🙂
Should the peaches be pealed for this recipe?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Adriana! It’s up to you. If you’d prefer to peel the peaches, that’s fine! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this peach crumble if you end up making it!
Hello,
I made the peach crumble with peeled, fresh peaches, and it turned out great. I am trying to bake with less sugar for both my husband and I, so I really appreciate your recipes that have so much flavor without all the sugar. I added just a touch of brown sugar to the peaches, which added a little carmelized flavor to “ease” my husband’s tast buds into “cleaner” sweats. Also, I really appreciated reading your recent post about moving to San Diego and the relationship you have with your grandmother. It touched my heart, and brought back fond memories of baking with my own grandmother.
I’m thrilled you and your husband enjoyed this peach crumble, Adriana! That’s a great idea to add a bit of brown sugar and that caramelized flavor. I’m so glad that turned out well, and I appreciate you taking the time to share. I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work out! 🙂
Thank you for your kind words about my Coffee Break post as well! It truly means a lot that you’d take the time to read it and share. I’m sure your grandma loved baking with you too and cherished those memories just as much as you do. ♡ Sending you a big hug and lots of love!
Oohhhh Amy Amy Amy! You keep mentioning that grandma’s peach pie recipe and don’t give it! I understand that it’s not healthy, but we have a peach farm down the road so I eat a LOT of them daily, we have our own blueberry bushes that I have eaten a ridiculous amount of, those are both healthy. I’m going to try the peach cookies today.
But please can’t you give us the pie recipe? I just don’t have any pie recipe that makes my family say “wow”, and I would love to finally have a spectacular one. Other recipes I have attempted have been disappointing. And honestly, embarrassing. I could tell you about my own Grandmama’s recipe chocolate pie disaster but I can’t talk about it lol! My cousin makes it perfectly, not this chick. People still talk about my “chocolate cobbler”.
Please pretty please? I never have understood “secret” recipes, we don’t have county pie contests anymore, there’s nothing to win! Can’t someone else enjoy the same pie? You and I are in no danger of being in the same place and making the same pie! Cali vs Deep South! If I fail in my try, I’ll ask my cousin to make it hahaha!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Beth! Having a peach farm down the road sounds fantastic… And maybe even a bit dangerous, with how much I like peaches! 😉
It’s my grandma’s recipe, not mine to share. Since she recently passed away, I don’t feel comfortable posting it. However, once I perfect a healthier version, I’ll share that here on my blog!
I’d love to hear what you think of the peach cookies if you do end up making them as well!
Looking forward to that healthier peach pie recipe! Thanks for sharing this crisp recipe… just wondering if there would be any changes if I used frozen peaches? Thank you NancyB