Blueberry cobbler is one of those desserts that proves summer baking doesn’t need to be complicated. When blueberries are at their peak, all they really need is a little lemon and a simple topping to turn into something dessert-worthy. This almond flour blueberry cobbler combines a jammy, bubbling blueberry filling with a buttery topping that bakes up tender with lightly crisp edges.

A serving of blueberry cobbler topped with a mint sprig sits on a white plate, with a baking dish of the dessert and a spoon in the background. Blueberries and chopped nuts are scattered around.

When we moved to this house and the 20 acres it sits on, my husband made it his mission to start a mini fruit orchard. I’ll spare you the details but suffice it to say, we now have over 25 fruit trees and hedges of berry bushes that refuse to produce anywhere near the capacity they should be.

The only thing producing any fruit is the blueberries.

Thank goodness for those blueberry bushes because otherwise it’s just too depressing to think about all the money, time and effort spent on trying to grow fruit that refuses to grow.

He claims it’ll maybe be a selling feature of the house in a few years when we move, but for now, I’ll just bury my head in the sand and happily make this blueberry cobbler with the one fruitful (pun intended) planting we have.

✶ Recipe Highlights ✶

Classic and simple: Cobblers, like crisps, are one of the easiest desserts you can make, but they still have a wonderful wow factor with the jammy, glistening fruit filling and golden brown comforting cake-like crust. They let the fruit shine more than a pie and there’s no fussy crust to deal with either.

Easily adaptable: If you’re gluten-free or dairy-free, cobblers are a wonderful go-to dessert because they adapt with ease. In fact, this blueberry cobbler, like our apricot cobbler recipe, is naturally gluten-free, made with almond flour. To make it dairy-free, use your favorite plant-based butter for the topping.

Leftovers shine: The blueberry filling actually sets up more after it sits thanks to the cornstarch and a serving is just as wonderful a day or two after it’s baked as freshly out of the oven.

Use fresh or frozen: A berry crisp like this is wonderful with fresh summer blueberries, but can just as easily be made with frozen ones if it’s the middle of winter.

Key Ingredients

The full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card below, but I want to highlight some of the main ones.

Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen. Regular blueberries are preferable over wild blueberries if you’re using frozen. They’re much smaller and while a nutritional powerhouse, they don’t have the same structure as the regular berries. If using frozen, I personally like to thaw them and drain off any excess liquid, but you don’t have to. The filling will just be a little more saucy.
Lemon: Both lemon zest and lemon juice are used and really brighten up the taste of the filling. Don’t skip the zest, it’s probably my favorite part of the whole recipe.
Sweetener: I like using a liquid sweetener for the filling and either maple syrup or honey work well. Choose your favorite, don’t overthink this ingredient. If you’re using out of season fresh blueberries that aren’t as sweet, you may want to increase the sweetener amount. You can also increase this for a sweeter recipe in general depending on your preferences.
Cornstarch: This is crucial in the filling to help it gel up and set a bit, otherwise you’ll have an overly loose berry mixture that resembles soup after it bakes. Tapioca starch and arrowroot powder can be substituted for the cornstarch. Take a look at our cornstarch substitution guide for more details.
Cobbler batter: This batter uses almond flour exclusively. You can also mix half almond flour and half regular (or gluten-free) flour for a more traditional cake-like cobbler topping. Using grated butter to work into the flour mixture is my favorite tip for recipes like this. It makes it much easier to incorporate and you don’t end up overworking the dough.

How to Make Blueberry Cobbler

Here’s a visual overview of the process, but again, the full recipe card below has all the details you’ll need. I love the simplicity of a berry cobbler. That’s one of the main highlights of blueberries — there’s no chopping or hulling needed with this fruit!

A hand pours golden honey from a small glass bowl over fresh blueberries arranged in a rectangular white baking dish.

I like to start by combining the blueberries with the liquid sweetener directly in the baking dish. There’s no need for a separate bowl, just toss everything together to coat the berries.

A hand squeezes a lemon half over a baking dish filled with fresh blueberries, lemon zest, and a sprinkle of flour.

Then I add the remaining filling ingredients.

A rectangular white dish filled with fresh, dark blueberries, with a silver spoon resting inside. The dish is placed on a light marble surface.

Make sure to toss everything together well.

A rectangular white dish filled with glossy baked blueberries, with a silver spoon resting inside, surrounded by a textured gray cloth on a white surface.

Bake the filling for about 20 minutes while you assemble the cobbler topping.

A glass bowl containing a mixture of flour and grated butter sits on a white marble surface.

In a medium bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients for the topping and then work the grated butter into the mixture until it’s crumbly.

A hand pours beaten eggs from a small bowl into a large glass bowl filled with a crumbly flour mixture, preparing to mix ingredients for baking.

Add the whisked egg and mix until just incorporated.

A clear glass bowl containing a yellow, crumbly cobbler dough mixture sits on a white marble surface.

The dough should look like this, not overworked, but holding together.

A baking dish filled with blueberries topped with scoops of yellow biscuit dough, placed with a metal ice cream scoop, ready to be baked.

Scoop the batter over the baked filling in mounds. Leave some space uncovered by the topping so the berries bubble through.

A close-up of a freshly baked blueberry cobbler in a rectangular dish, topped with a golden, crumbly biscuit topping and bubbling blueberry filling visible underneath.

Bake again until the topping is golden and let it rest before serving so it has some time to set.

Storage

The leftover cobbler can be kept covered and stored in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. If you think you’ll finish it off within a day (easy to do!), it’s fine to leave out on the counter.

To reheat, I do so on a lower power mode in the microwave or in the oven at about 300°F.

Serving

Blueberry cobbler, like any cobbler, is delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The warm cobbler lets the ice cream melt into it and it’s absolutely fabulous.

If you don’t have ice cream on hand, a dollop of yogurt is a great substitute and honestly, a great excuse to enjoy some leftovers for breakfast.

I love a fresh sprig of mint on berry cobblers and sometimes even squeeze a touch more fresh lemon juice on top.

Craving More?

Looking for more cobblers and crisps? Almost every cobbler and crisp recipe can be swapped out with another fruit. Their flexibility is part of their charm. But here are some other recipes to try as well:

Pecan cobbler – If you thought cobbler could only be made with fruit, think again! Pecans (weirdly?) can do cobbler just as well as pie.
Sour cherry crisp – We planted 4 of these trees — ask me how much fruit we’ve actually gotten from them…
Pear crisp – Apple tends to get all the love in the fall, but this pear crisp has a special place in my heart.
Strawberry ginger crisp – I might love this combination even more than rhubarb. It’s a subtly spicy and sweet pairing that makes its presence known.

Gina Matsoukas

Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.