This delicious Gluten-Free Peach and Plum Crumble will have your friends and family coming back for more. During stone fruit season, I like to take advantage of perfectly ripe peaches and plums. Apart from the sheer deliciousness of this dessert, the other advantage is that it is gluten-free – and without a doubt, nobody will know. Serve it to friends and family with confidence – they will love it.
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Why we love this recipe:
I have spent some time developing this recipe, attempting to achieve a Gluten-Free Crumble topping which is crisp and crunchy. I am delighted to say that this recipe achieves that aim; it has a crisp, crunchy topping which is so desirable.
Some may call a crumble an old-fashioned dessert, but I prefer to call it a classic, meaning it is a dessert which has stood the test of time. Who could resist this dessert? The crisp crumble topping contrasts with the meltingly tender peaches and plums, inviting you to add ice cream or cream (or both) and enjoy!
Should there be any left over, and this is extremely unlikely, it is delicious for breakfast, warmed through and served with yoghurt. A great way to start the day!
Ingredients in this recipe:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
Fresh peaches - I have used yellow but you can use white peaches if that’s what you have. Freestone peaches are the easiest to use. As the name suggests, the stone is easily removed, as opposed to clingstone varieties.
Fresh plums – red plums add lovely colour, but use whichever is available.
Pure maple syrup – use honey if you prefer.
Butter – I feel that butter provides a better flavour in baked goods.
Ground cinnamon – a warm spice which adds lovely flavour.
Vanilla extract – ensure that your vanilla is extracted naturally from vanilla beans and not synthetically flavoured.
Almond meal – a popular ingredient in gluten-free cooking. I generally use blanched almond meal but it would also be suitable to use almond meal from the whole almond in this recipe.
Gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour - I have used a commercial gluten-free flour which is made from a blend of naturally occurring gluten-free flours. Our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes.
Light brown sugar – adds a slightly caramelised flavour to the crumble.
Flaked almonds – provide flavour and texture.
Step by step instructions:
To begin, preheat your oven to 180 Degrees C (350F) and lightly grease a baking dish.
- Peel the peaches if you wish, then cut them in half, remove the stones and cut into bite-size chunks. Cut the plums in half and remove the stone. Cut again in half if the plums are large. Add the fruit to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, over low heat, melt the butter with the maple syrup.
- Add the ground cinnamon and vanilla extract and stir through.
- Drizzle over the fruit and mix well.
- To make the crumble topping, combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
- Press some of the crumble mixture together, forming knobbly pieces. It’s the knobbly pieces that give it that delicious crunch.
- Add the fruit to the baking dish.
- Sprinkle evenly over the fruit and bake for 20-30 minutes until the fruit is tender and the top golden and crunchy.
Tips for success and FAQs:
There are strong similarities. They each have a fresh fruit base. The crumble has a streusel-type topping, often made from butter, flour and sugar, sometimes with the addition of nuts. On the other hand, the crisp has a similar topping which generally includes oats. There can be regional variations with the ingredients and sometimes the names are used interchangeably.
This Gluten-Free Peach and Plum Crumble is a fabulous dessert and I make it frequently as it is extremely versatile. You could use other stone fruits such as nectarines or apricots. Cherries would also be a delicious addition. At other times of the year, you could substitute these fruits with strawberries and rhubarb or apples and raspberries. Or, try making our Fresh Pineapple Crisp. The options are endless and all delicious.
The Peach and Plum Crumble is best made shortly before serving. However, to reheat it, place it into your oven at 180 degrees C (350 F) for about 15 minutes.
Once cool, cover the dish with cling wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
More delicious recipes for you to try:
Here are some more ways to enjoy delicious stone fruit. In addition to the crumble, I encourage you to try our recipes for:
- Easy Plum Jam
- Apricot Jam
- Fresh Peach Chutney
- Mini Plum Tarts
- Peach and Mint Smoothie
- Fresh Peach Salsa
- Spiced Poached Plums
- Baked Peach Oatmeal
This Gluten-Free Peach and Plum Crumble is as easy to make as it is delicious. It bakes to perfection, the crowning glory being the golden, crunchy, crumble topping. It is perfect served with a scoop of our Vanilla Ice Cream on a summer’s day; I love the juxtaposition of the cold and the hot. Sit back and enjoy!
Alex xx
This post was originally published in February 2019. It has been updated with new photos and more information. The recipe remains the same.
Gluten-Free Peach and Plum Crumble
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
For the Fruit:
- 3 large peaches See Notes 1 and 2
- 6 large plums See Note 3
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoon (30 g) butter See Note 4
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract See Note 5
Crumble Topping:
- ⅔ cup (70 g) almond flour/meal See Note 6
- ⅔ cup (100 g) gluten-free all-purpose/plain flour See Note 7
- ¼ cup (55 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (20 g) flaked almonds
- ¼ cup (60 g) butter - melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 Degrees C (350F).
- Lightly grease a baking dish. My dish is 28cm x 18cm (11”x7 ½”).
- Peel the peaches if desired. Cut in half, remove the stone and cut into bite-size chunks.Cut the plums in half and remove the stone. Cut further in half if the plums are large.Add the fruit to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, over low heat, melt the butter with the maple syrup. Add the ground cinnamon and vanilla extract and stir through. Drizzle over the fruit and mix well.Turn the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- In a medium-sized bowl combine all the ingredients for the crumble topping.A handy tip – press some of the crumble together, forming knobbly pieces. It’s the knobbly pieces that give it that delicious crunch.
- Sprinkle evenly over the fruit and bake for 20-30 minutes until the fruit is tender and the top golden and crunchy.
Notes
- Whether to peel the peaches is optional. I peeled mine but they were perfectly ripe and the skin was easily removed with a knife. However, if your peaches are slightly firm the peel will not be easy to remove. If slightly under-ripe, use a sharp knife and mark the top of the peach with a cross. Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Place the peaches in the boiling water for 15-20 seconds. Have ready a large bowl of iced water and immediately plunge the peaches into the water. When cool enough to handle you will find the skin will be easily removed.
- You can use either yellow or white peaches. Ideally, try to obtain freestone peaches rather than clingstone. As their names imply, freestone peaches have fruit that easily pulls away from the pit, while clingstone peaches have flesh which clings to the pit making it impossible to cleanly remove the fruit.
- Use the plums of your choice. I have used red plums as I like the colour.
- In Australia, the tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. Please adjust your measurements accordingly
- For the best flavour, always use good quality vanilla extracted from vanilla beans. Avoid vanilla which is synthetically flavoured.
- Almond meal or almond flour are sometimes interchangeably. One is made from blanched almonds and one from almonds with the skin on. You can use either in this recipe.
- Our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes. If your flour blend already contains either of these gums, there is no need to add more. If you don’t need to make these gluten-free, you can use regular plain/all-purpose flour.
- Please note, the nutritional information is based on six servings. It does not include what the crumble is served with. The nutritional information is an estimate only.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Andrea says
We make fruit crumbles frequently, and this was the best we've tried! Our stone fruit is super sweet and ripe right now, so we omitted the maple syrup. (But then we did also serve with vanilla ice cream.) Everything else was exactly as described and we loved it.
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Andrea!
Thank you so much - I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe so much 🙂
I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Alex xo
Rebecca says
2 years on and this is still my go to crumble recipe. I love it with the peaches and plums but I also make it with apples sometimes too if stone fruit it out of season. Yum!
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Rebecca,
I am so glad this is your go to crumble recipe - will apples sounds so delicious too!
Alex xo
Froggy Hurdt says
I made this recipe today with home grown peaches and plums. My peaches and plums were rather small, ripe, and I did not peel them. I made the topping as per thr recipe. looking forward to eating it soon.
Alexandra Cook says
Hope you'll enjoy the recipe, Froggy! 🙂
Rebecca says
This recipe is delicious! I have made it a few times now with different stone fruit and it’s amazing every time. Recently I made it with apricots and ran out of maple so used half maple syrup and a big spoon of honey. I also forgot to melt the butter (I use nuttelex for dairy free) for the crumble but that didn’t matter. It still worked out and tasted great!
Alexandra says
Hi Rebecca, thank you for your lovely, detailed feedback on the GF Peach and Plum Crumble. I am so pleased that you enjoy it and appreciate that you took the time to let me know. 🙂
Susan O says
Do you recommend peeling the plums?
Alexandra says
Hi Susan!
It isn't necessary, no. If you prefer, you certainly can.
I usually just peel the peaches.
Thanks, Alex
Bev says
Delicious! I used frozen fruit -
Superb. Love how easy this is and definitely wouldn’t know it’s gluten free. Even my husband said he would prefer this from standard crumble from now on. Thank you. Going to try the pineapple crisp next. Bev
Alexandra says
Hello Bev, I am delighted to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the GF Peach and Plum Crumble. Thank you for letting me know. I do hope that you also enjoy the Pineapple Crisp. 🙂
Irene says
Can I make this up and freeze before baking?
Alexandra says
Hi Irene!
I haven't personally tried this, but friends and other readers have. My advice would be to not let it defrost, and rather put the frozen crumble straight into the oven. (It will take a bit longer, but the fruit won't get as mushy as if you let it defrost and then cook it)
Hope that helps! Thanks, Alex
CupCake says
Its not bad at all just wish it was sweeter. definitely using this recipe again just gonna tweak it a little.
Alexandra says
Thanks for sharing your feedback, CupCake 🙂
I wonder if my fruit was a little riper, and therefore sweeter? Kind regards, Alex
Sue says
Best crumple and the easiest I’ve ever made,!thanks. Peach and plum worked brilliantly and I’ve used it on apple and quince as well. This is my go to recipe now
Alexandra says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Sue 🙂 So happy to hear this.
Apple and quince sounds like a delicious combination also.
Courtney says
Such a great crumble! The peach and plum flavours are lovely together.
Alexandra says
Courtney, I am delighted to hear that you like the Peach and Plum Crumble. Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
Christine Antonius says
The most delicious crumble I have ever made and everyone who tried it agreed! Will be making it again this weekend and the mere thought of it is making my mouth water.
Alexandra says
Hi Christine!
Your comment has made my day - thank you so much! I am so happy you enjoyed it so much.
Kind regards, Alex
Katie says
So delicious! My family all enjoyed this.
Alexandra says
Thank you, Katie!