Nothing is easier than an Old Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler! This homemade cobbler uses basic pantry ingredients and is quick to prepare—it’s going to become a family favorite. Plus I’ll show you how to make a gluten-free blueberry cobbler and high altitude adjustments also!
Blueberry cobbler is a crowd-pleasing summer treat and one of the best easy dessert recipes for BBQs, brunches, potlucks, picnics, and more! I’m thinking 4th of July, baby!
I enjoy giving precise details in my recipe posts to lead my readers through any questions. If you’re just here for the printable recipe, use the Jump to Recipe to head straight there!
I grew up making fresh fruit cobblers, pies and more, they were one our favorite things! Fruit desserts hold a special place in my heart!
Reasons to 🧡 this Blueberry Cobbler Recipe
- American Classic – Its warm fruit filling made with real fresh berries, (not canned blueberry pie filling).
- EASY – A delicious cobbler made with love and simple ingredients is always better than one you get at the local grocery store.
- Gluten-Free Option: Make a gluten-free or dairy-free blueberry cobbler (vegan) blueberry cobbler.
Key Ingredients
- Sugar: I used all natural cane sugar, feel free to adjust the sweetness up or down.
- Lemon: We’ll use the lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Berries: I prefer fresh blueberries, but you can also use frozen blueberries if preferred. Do not thaw.
- Flour: I like to use organic unbleached all-purpose flour, but you can also use gluten-free cup-for-cup all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder: Make sure your baking powder is fresh.
- Cinnamon: Adding ground cinnamon gives it an old-fashioned flavor.
- Buttermilk: I used whole buttermilk, but you can use low-fat or make your own if desired. If time, bring it to room temperature
- Vanilla: Use a quality vanilla extract.
- Butter: Use unsalted or salted butter, if using unsalted, add an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
How to Make Blueberry Cobbler
Step 1 | Preheat and prep
Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C), zest the lemon with a microplane zester, and juice it.
Recommended Tools
- I use this microplane for my zesting, no grated knuckles!
- And this citrus squeezer is a lifesaver – especially for this award-winning key lime pie.
Step 2 | Mix lemon, sugar, and berries
In a medium bowl use your fingers to combine the sugar with the lemon zest until the mixture looks like wet sand. Reserve ⅓ cup of the sugar mixture.
Then, stir together the blueberries, lemon juice, flour, and ⅓ cup of the lemon sugar in a large bowl. Mix until well coated, set aside.
Step 3 | Combine dry ingredients and make the batter
Sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and remaining sugar in a separate bowl until no clumps remain. Then, make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk and vanilla, mixing until the batter is blended.
Step 4 | Melt butter and add ingredients to the dish
Add butter to an 8×8 baking dish (or 2.5 – 3 quart baking dish) and place it in the preheated oven until the butter melts. After about 2 to 3 minutes, remove the melted butter from the oven.
Note: May be doubled and made in a 12-inch cast iron skillet or a 13 x 9 baking dish or any 4-5 quart baking dish.
Then, pour the batter over the melted butter without stirring and sprinkle the fresh blueberries evenly over the batter. If desired, sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the berries.
Step 5 | Bake, cool, and enjoy!
Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes until it’s bubbly and golden brown. Transfer it to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then slice and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream—oh yeah!!
Fresh Tips
- Homemade Buttermilk Recipe: In a 1-cup liquid measuring cup, add ¾ tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Add ¾ cup milk (cows’ or plant-based), stir, and allow to sit for 7-10 minutes.
- Easily Doubles: This recipe is easily doubled to fit a 9×13 baking dish.
Blueberry season is my favorite, those bright, firm sweet-tart berries! This cobbler recipe is perhaps the easiest way to use juicy fresh blueberries!
If you love classic cobbler, you will also enjoy my delicious recipes with a cobbler twist, like this Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Roll and Peach Cobbler Pound Cake recipe or this Fresh Peach Dump Cake (cheater cobbler).
High Altitude Adjustments
- Add 2 tablespoons of flour
- Decrease the baking powder to 1 ¼ teaspoons
- Bake as directed.
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What’s the Difference Between a Cobbler, Crisp, Brown Betty, and a Buckle?
- Cobbler is a dessert made with a fresh fruit filling (such as berries, peaches, or apples) topped with a batter or biscuit dough before baking. As it bakes it resembles a cobbled street, hence the name “cobbler.”
- Crisp is similar to a cobbler but usually has a streusel-like topping made from a mixture of flour, sugar (sometimes brown sugar), butter, and oats or nuts. The fruit filling is topped with this mixture, and when baked, it becomes crisp and crunchy.
- Brown Betty is a dessert made with layers of spiced fruit (often apples) and buttered breadcrumbs or cake crumbs. The fruit and breadcrumb layers are repeated, and the dessert is baked until the top is crisp and golden brown.
- Fruit buckle consists of a cake-like batter with fruit (such as berries) mixed in. As it bakes, the batter rises around the fruit, causing it to “buckle” or sink into the cake. It often has a streusel topping as well.
Variations & Substitutions
- Try swapping the vanilla extract for half the amount of almond extract, the flavor will be so nice!
- If you don’t have enough blueberries, use additional berries; strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries.
- Add few fresh grates of nutmeg.
- Other fruits that would be great with blueberry cobbler are apples, peaches, and cherries.
- After baking, if desired, sprinkle the cobbler with coarse sugar for a sparkling and crunchy cobbler topping.
Gluten-Free Blueberry Cobbler
Make this classic dessert gluten-free by swapping the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free alternative, a good 1-to-1 gluten-free all-purpose flour or a combination of almond flour and GF AP flour. Then, you’re good to go! The rest of the ingredients should be gluten-free.
Vegan Blueberry Cobbler
Substitute the butter and buttermilk with plant-based butter or melted coconut oil. Purchase vegan buttermilk or make your own using your favorite plant-based milk. Add ½ tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar, stir it in, and wait 5-7 minutes.
Blueberry Peach Cobbler
You can add sweet peaches to the cobbler recipe by replacing ½ to ¼ of the berries with frozen or fresh peaches. I do not recommend canned peaches, as they will become mushy.
Recommended Tools
- How cute is this Pioneer Woman Baking Dish!?
Storage and Reheating Tips
Refrigerate – Leftover cobbler keeps for 4-5 days in the refrigerator stored in an airtight container.
How to Freeze Blueberry Cobbler
Cool the cobbler completely after baking, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and wrap with aluminum foil (make a note to remind yourself to remove the plastic wrap before reheating or spoon it into an airtight container. Freeze for up to 1 month. May be reheated from frozen, but bring the cobber dish out for 30-45 minutes before placing in the oven and make sure your dish is freezer to oven-friendly.
How to reheat old-fashioned blueberry cobbler
Remove plastic wrap, recover with aluminum foil and reheat in a 350° F (175° C) oven for about 20-30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes or so. My least favorite way is to reheat in the microwave, place individual serving in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second bursts until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! While the two desserts have many similarities, cobbler crust is more biscuit-like, and pie crust is made from a pastry. Additionally, cobblers typically only have a topping or top crust.
Sometimes, a cobbler can become runny when the fruit is overly ripe. So, pick out berries that have a firm texture for the best results, or add a little cornstarch to the cobbler filling to thicken it.
The best way to make sure a cobbler is done is when the sides are bubbly and the top is a beautiful golden brown. If you are worried about it not being done, use an instant-read thermometer it should read 200° F when inserted in the center. You should also let it set for 10-15 minutes before serving it.
Yes! It’s a toss-up whether you thaw them or don’t thaw them. Either way, frozen blueberries release more juice as they thaw or bake. I prefer to use frozen berries adding a little cornstarch.
To prevent your cobbler from becoming too watery, toss the thawed or frozen blueberries with a bit of cornstarch (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) before adding them to the baking dish. The cornstarch will help thicken the juices as the cobbler bakes.
You sure can; use the slider on the recipe card to adjust the recipe to double; baking a little longer if necessary.
What to serve with Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Try our lemon gelato ice cream, it would be a great complement to the lemon blueberry.
- Make some of my homemade Cool Whip (stabilized whipped cream)
Firm blueberries are best! This recipe is hard to mess up, feel free to tinker with it!
More Nostalgic Old-Fashioned Recipes
- Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
- Lemon Squares Recipe
- Old-Fashioned Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Cake Recipe
- Butter Pound Bundt Cake Recipe
Easy Dump Cake Recipes
Dump cakes are similar to cobblers, with a sweet biscuit like topping — but instead of using a homemade batter you take a shortcut and use dry cake mix and then either pour melted butter or sliced cold butter on top.
- Rhubarb Dump Cake without Jello
- Blueberry Lemon Dump Cake
- Lemon Dump Cake
- Caramel Apple Dump Cake
- Peach Dump Cake with fresh peaches
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Old Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler
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Print Pin Save RateEquipment
Ingredients
Blueberry Ingredients
- ¾ cups granulated sugar divided
- ½ medium lemon zest plus more to garnish if desired
- 3 cups fresh blueberries plus a few to garnish (or frozen, do not thaw)
- ½ medium lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon flour
Cobbler Ingredients
- ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour add 1 tablespoon for high altitude, see notes for Gluten-Free
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder decrease to 1 ¼ teaspoons for high altitude
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt increase to ¾ if using unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup buttermilk I used whole, may use low-fat or make your own*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons salted butter room temperature; if using unsalted, add ⅛-¼ teaspoon additional salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
- Place the sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Using your fingers, mix together lemon zest with sugar until it resembles wet sand. Reserve ¼ cup.¾ cups granulated sugar, ½ medium lemon zest
- Stir together blueberries, lemon juice, flour, and ¼ cup reserved lemon sugar in a medium size bowl, until well coated.3 cups fresh blueberries, ½ medium lemon juice, 1 tablespoon flour
- Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, and remaining sugar in a medium-sized bowl, until no clumps remain.¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in buttermilk and vanilla until batter is mostly smooth, a few tiny lumps is okay.¾ cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the butter to an 8×8 baking dish or any 2-3 quart baking dish (recipe may be doubled for 9×13). Place in the preheated oven until the butter is melted, 1-2 minutes. Remove from oven.6 tablespoons salted butter
- Pour batter over the melted butter without stirring. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over the batter. If you prefer more cobbler on top, add blueberries to melted butter, then pour the batter over the berries. If desired, sprinkle 1 tablespoon coarse sugar over teh top.
- Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until bubbly, puffed, and golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.Slice and serve warm, with milk or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
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Notes
Swap out the all-purpose flour, with your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (my favorite) and proceed with the recipe! Vegan (Dairy-Free) Blueberry Cobbler
Replace the butter with your favorite plant-based butter or melted coconut oil and the buttermilk with a plant-based variety (you may also make your own*) and you are ready to roll! Blueberry Peach Cobbler
Replace ½ to ¼ of the blueberries with diced fresh or frozen peaches (avoid canned peaches here; they will get too mushy). High Altitude Adjustments
- Increase flour by 2 tablespoons
- Decrease baking powder to 1 ¼ teaspoons
- Bake as directed
Nutrition
Dina and Bruce
Blueberries are a fav over here. This dessert was a huge hit!
So glad to hear that!!
Anjali
This was the perfect way to use up some blueberries I got at the farmer’s market yesterday! We served it with some ice cream for a delicious dessert!
Absolutely perfect!!!
Kim
This was so yummy – it reminded me of some of the desserts my grandmother made.
So glad you loved it, Kim!!
suja md
Wow! this is my new favorite recipe!
Thanks so much, Suja!!
Laura
This cobbler was 10/10! I had some berries in the freezer that needed cooked and this was the best way to use them! I will be entering this in the dessert rotation for sure! Also…the ice cream on top….HEAVEN!
YAY! So glad to hear this Laura!!
Tasia
Loved the ease of this blueberry cobbler! Served it with a big scoop of homemade ice cream. 🙂
Love it Tasia, the best way to enjoy it!