Blueberry cobbler is a simple summer dessert made with juicy blueberries and a sweet, biscuit-like topping. My recipe is easy and ready in under an hour! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Classic Blueberry Cobbler
I like to think of blueberry cobbler as a lazy-day blueberry pie. The prep work is minimal, it’s not particularly fussy, and it can be ready to eat in under an hour. Flavor wise, we have the same juicy blueberries and an equally buttery, slightly sweet topping. The key difference is that today’s biscuit topping is SO much easier to make than a pie crust that needs rolled out and crimped.
If you have a blueberry dessert craving but aren’t feeling so motivated (and don’t mind a rustic, but still beautiful appearance!), consider this cobbler!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 100% from scratch! No pre-made cake or biscuit mixes or pie fillings here–just simple pantry staples and fresh fruit.
- Incredibly flavorful, biscuit-like topping. Many blueberry cobbler recipes have a cakey topping, but I opt for a buttery, tender, biscuit-like topping instead. In fact, this topping is based off of my super popular homemade biscuits!
- Bright, juicy blueberry filling made with either fresh or frozen berries. This is perfectly balanced to let the berries shine, and it’s not at all too sweet.
- No pastry cutter needed! Similar to my scones, you can quickly make the cobbler topping in a food processor if you have one. Or, follow the technique from my strawberry shortcake recipe and use a box grater to grate your butter into your dry ingredients–so easy!
Ingredients
This recipe is simple and easy. We’ll need to gather just a few basic ingredients before we get started.
- Blueberries. You will need quite a few blueberries to make this blueberry cobbler recipe, making it perfect for using up an abundance of fresh summer berries! You can also use frozen blueberries; scroll down to the FAQ section below for instructions.
- Lemon juice. Just a bit of lemon juice brightens the filling and offsets the sweetness. This won’t make your cobbler taste like lemon, though if you do like that flavor combination, you need to try my lemon blueberry cake!
- Sugar. We’ll use both light brown and granulated sugar in the berry mixture, granulated sugar in the cobbler itself, and coarse (or granulated) sugar on top for sparkly, slightly crisp topping.
- Butter. You want this to be very cold! In fact, for best results I recommend you chill your butter in the freezer for 15-30 minutes before beginning.
- Milk & cream. I use a mix of cream and milk and recommend you do the same. However, you can use all of one if you don’t have both on hand; you’ll need a splash less if you use all milk and a splash more if you use all cream. Or you can substitute both the cream and the milk for half and half.
SAM’S TIP: A full tablespoon of baking powder might seem like a lot, but it’s not a typo. Just like when making my biscuits, we’ll use quite a bit of baking powder here today to make our blueberry cobbler topping nice and fluffy.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Blueberry Cobbler
Prep the Berries
- Stir together the berries, sugars, lemon juice, and cornstarch until everything is evenly coated. Pour the mixture into your baking dish and set it aside so the berries can begin to macerate while we prepare the topping.
Prepare the Topping
- Cut the butter into the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, then stir in the milk and cream. Once you have a cohesive dough, distribute the topping over the berries. Try to keep this layer as even as you can so that you don’t end up with thin burnt patches alongside deep doughy ones. You don’t need to entirely cover the top though; this cobbled appearance is where cobbler gets its name!
Bake
- Bake until the top is golden brown, then cover with foil and bake again until baked through. Your bake time will vary depending on how evenly you distributed your topping. The important thing is just to make sure that the biscuit layer is cooked through and not gooey or underdone in the center.
SAM’S TIP: I recommend that you use the toothpick test to make sure your blueberry cobbler is done. To do this, insert a toothpick into the center of the biscuit topping down to the blueberry layer; it should come out clean or with dry crumbs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cobblers include a fresh (or frozen) fruit filling baked in a baking dish and topped with a sweet biscuit-like topping (which, you may have noticed, has a very “cobbled” appearance).
Crisps also have fruit on the bottom, but they have thinner, crispier, and crumblier tops made primarily of butter, sugar, and oats. If you’re looking for a crisp recipe, please check out my apple crisp, berry crisp or peach crisp!
Bon Appetit has a breakdown on the differences if you want to read more on the subject!
Yes! This recipe works great with either frozen or fresh blueberries. If you use frozen berries, you can choose to thaw and drain the berries or just use them frozen. Note that the cobbler filling will be thinner/more liquidy if the berries aren’t thawed and drained first.
This recipe will work with other fruits like mixed berries or peaches (or a blend), though I do have dedicated recipes for strawberry cobbler and peach cobbler. It will be an even substitution.
Blueberry cobbler tastes best served warm. Note that the warmer it is, the more liquidy and thin the filling will be (it thickens as it sits and cools). Personally, I like use some of the leftover juice from the pan as a blueberry sauce to pour over my cobbler (especially when I serve it with vanilla ice cream).
Enjoy!
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Blueberry Cobbler
Ingredients
- 6 cups (870 g) blueberries
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ Tablespoon lemon juice
Cobbler topping
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter very cold (see note)
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream cold
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk cold
- Additional heavy cream for brushing
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling if you don’t have coarse sugar, regular granulated will work just fine!
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C).
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together blueberries, sugars, corn starch and lemon juice until combined. Pour into a 7×11 or 9×9 glass or ceramic baking dish and set aside while you prepare the topping.6 cups (870 g) blueberries, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, ½ Tablespoon lemon juice, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- Stir ingredients well and then pour into a 7×11 baking dish². Set aside and prepare your blueberry cobbler topping.
For the Topping
- In a separate large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk well.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (50 g) sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Ue a box grater to shred the butter into small pieces and then add to the flour mixture (alternatively use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the mixture).6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter
- Use a fork to stir in the grated butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add heavy cream and milk and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir until ingredients are combined (don't over-mix).½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream, ⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk
- Evenly drop and distribute topping over the blueberry filling that you prepared earlier. The biscuit batter does not have to totally cover the blueberries, just do your best to evenly distribute it so that it will cook evenly.
- Brush with additional heavy cream and sprinkle lightly with coarse sugar (if you don't have coarse sugar, regular granulated will also work just fine).Additional heavy cream for brushing, Coarse sugar for sprinkling
Bake & Serve
- Transfer to oven and bake on 425F (220C) for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cover cobbler with foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit portion comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs, you just need to make sure the biscuit portion is cooked through before serving.
- Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes before scooping and serving warm. Top with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Notes
Blueberries
Fresh blueberries are ideal for this recipe. If using frozen, you may opt to thaw and drain them or not, but note that the cobbler will be juicier if not thawed.Butter
For best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe.Storing
Cobbler is best served warm from the oven, but you may cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally published this recipe May 31st 2018. Post has been updated to be more helpful, the recipe remains the same.
David George
Perfect dessert! We were celebrating a birthday at a rental property with limited bakeware. This cobbler was a big hit and easy to make. As the recipe indicated I made sure the cobbler was done by covering with aluminum foil. Thanks so much.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for giving it a try, David! We are so happy it worked out so nicely for you 😊
Sav
Can I replace half of the blueberries with sliced peaches?? If so, how many grams of peaches should I do for it to be half of the blueberries?
Sam
Hi Sav! I actually have a peach cobbler you could make as well as the blueberry cobbler. 🙂
Jordan
Can you make this dessert ahead of time (prep in the morning and cook at night for dessert)?
Sam
Hi Jordan! I think that would work. 🙂
Margaret R Fletcher
Hi! How would one substitute blackberries for the blueberries in this recipie?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Margaret! It should be an even substitution. Enjoy!