The 3-Ingredient Peach Cobbler My Southern Family Loves

In the South, almost every family has a beloved peach cobbler recipe. Some call for fresh peaches and a biscuit-like topping, others use home-canned peaches and what is called “cuppa” cake topping. 

As a Southerner by marriage only—though I’ve now lived here longer than anywhere else—I’ve been searching for a peach cobbler to call my own. I’ve tried and really liked many recipes, but some were deemed not sweet enough by my family or too fussy by me. 

Recently, a very Southern friend taught me how to make peach cobbler with just three ingredients: butter, canned peaches, and a box of cake mix. And wouldn’t you know it, my whole family loved it, including me! 

What’s in a Name?

One of the many reasons I love Southern food is that every family’s version of a dish is different. When I started researching this style of cobbler, I was skeptical of whether this would be considered a cobbler or a dump cake. 

I reached out to my Southern friends and family to confirm that spreading cake mix over peaches still counts as cobbler. “Oh, that’s how my mama makes it!” was one friend’s reply. Another chimed in, “My mamaw taught me to make a little cake batter and mix it with homemade canned peaches. I don’t know any other way to make cobbler!” So, cobbler it is.

After playing around with different mixing methods for this recipe, I landed on a technique borrowed from Cuppa-Cuppa-Cuppa cobbler recipes. First, you melt butter right in the baking dish. Then, you add one can of peaches, sprinkle on some dry cake mix, and give these a messy mix. Pour on the other can of peaches and into the oven it goes. In the oven, the butter and peaches make a saucy layer while the cake mix bakes up around the peaches on top, becoming brown and crisp on the edges and soft and cakey around each peach.

Ingredients for 3-Ingredient Peach Cobbler

One of the best things about this recipe is that it uses ingredients that have a long life in your pantry and fridge, so if you keep them on hand, you can have this dessert any time.

• Canned peaches: Use any kind of canned peaches you like—homemade or store-bought. You’ll use the liquid as part of the cobbler batter, so make sure it’s a liquid you like. Whether it is heavy syrup, light syrup, or fruit juice won’t impact the finished cobbler much. If you’re using home-canned peaches, you’ll need 2 pints or 1 quart—approximately 4 cups of peaches and their juices. 
• Cake mix: Could you use any cake mix here? Absolutely! But a yellow or white cake mix works best. Funfetti or other flavored cake mixes would overpower the peaches. 
• Butter: You’ll need one stick of butter for this recipe. Salted and unsalted butter both work well, though I’m partial to salted butter and the savory note it brings to the finished cobbler. 

How To Make My 3-Ingredient Peach Cobbler

For 10 to 12 servings, you’ll need:

• 1 stick salted or unsalted butter 
• 2 (15.25-ounce) cans sliced peaches in syrup, divided  
• 1 (15.5-ounce) box yellow or white cake mix

Preheat the oven to 350°F. When the oven is preheated, set the butter in a 9×13-inch baking dish, transfer the dish to the oven, and melt the butter, about 5 minutes. Once the butter is melted, remove the dish from the oven. 

Carefully add one can of peaches (including the juice) to the butter. Sprinkle the cake mix over the butter-peach mixture. Gently stir with a spoon to roughly combine—the goal isn’t a smooth batter, but lots of craggy, unmixed bits to add texture to the finished cobbler. Pour the remaining can of peaches and its juices over the cake batter. You can loosely arrange the peach slices over the cake mixture, if needed, just remember the dish is still hot. 

Bake the cobbler until the cake appears mostly dry and the edges of the cobbler are browned and crisp, 25 to 28 minutes. Cool the cobbler for 5 minutes before serving warm. 

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Easy Tweaks

You can, of course, dress this cobbler up a bit. Adding a splash of vanilla extract, a drizzle of vanilla paste, or sprinkling on some cinnamon and nutmeg would go a long way towards making this recipe your own.