Easy Blueberry Cobbler With Biscuit Topping

The berry best.

This easy blueberry cobbler recipe with biscuit topping is a summer must-have. Perfect for brunch or dessert, this cobbler has all the fresh blueberry satisfaction of an old-fashioned blueberry pie, but with a simple biscuit crust. 

Meet this blueberry cobbler recipe.

Good blueberry cobbler counts among the very best joys of summer (or all year long, thanks to frozen blueberries). A bottom layer of juicy, jammy blueberries — baked with just the right amount of sugar and cinnamon — gets topped with a buttery, craggy biscuit crust, then baked until golden and bubbly. Best of all? None of the complication of pie dough.

Think of a homemade blueberry cobbler like blueberry pie without the fuss. Unlike a blueberry pie, with its making and rolling and chilling of pie dough, a blueberry cobbler recipe is easy to make because of the simple filling and topping.

Simply mix together the berries, sugar, and a little cinnamon and flour, then top with a simple biscuit crust and bake.

Some blueberry cobbler recipes call for a cake batter topping. Not this one. The biscuit crust gives it an extra-homey feel and is not too sweet.

This is the best blueberry cobbler recipe. It sticks to simplicity and tradition — why mess with perfection? It’s a dessert you will return to again and again.

Read on for more details of how to make this easy blueberry cobbler recipe, plus some pro baking tips.

American food history: Where did cobbler originate? Is cobbler American?

Cobbler is a very old, traditional American dessert, adapted from a British colonial baking tradition. With many of the traditional, finer ingredients and tools to make more elaborate or sophisticated desserts lacking in the new colonies, a cobbler was “cobbled” together using the fruit or savory ingredients on hand, plus a biscuit or scone-like topping. This Tasting Table article offers a nice background on the history of cobbler in American.

Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Blueberries for This Cobbler?

The quick answer? You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe. No need to defrost the berries first if you’re using frozen (also known as IQF or individually quick frozen). They will bake up in about the same time and be just as juicy and delicious.

That said, if it’s summer and the height of fresh blueberry season, it’s a nice chance to use local, fresh blueberries for this blueberry cobbler recipe.

• If you’re in the northeast, keep an eye out for New Jersey’s famous Hammonton blueberries (usually seen around late June well into July)
• If you’re in New England, Maine’s wild blueberries, with their tiny berry size and deep sweetness, are a particularly special find and perfect for pie (though not, in my opinion, for blueberry pound cake or muffins–the berries are just too small).

What are the best blueberries for baking blueberry cobbler?

As stated above, either fresh or individually quick-frozen (IQF) blueberries work just fine in this easy blueberry cobbler recipe. But I do have a few favorite picks for the best blueberries for cobbler:

• For fresh blueberries, I prefer organic blueberries if it’s within budget. Blueberries are known for a high pesticide presence. Not my idea of a nice ingredient.
• For frozen blueberries, I love Wyman’s, a top wild strawberry producer. These are somewhat easily found in most major grocery stores. If you don’t want to use little wild blueberries, go for any organic frozen blueberry.

How to make the biscuit cobbler topping

The key to all biscuit making? Do not overmix the dough. Overmixing a biscuit dough will make it tough and bready, instead of crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth tender.

To make the blueberry cobbler biscuit topping, work the diced butter into the dry ingredients until you have a mixture with pea-sized butter bits. Stir in the milk and egg — I use my hands — until the dough forms what’s known in pastry parlance as a “shaggy mass.” Which is exactly what it sounds like. Rather than one big dough ball, you should have chunks of dough.

Blueberry Cobbler Recipe: Ingredients

This lovely little blueberry dessert uses an identical filling to blueberry pie, so the ingredients are the same. Instead of a pie crust, though, you will make a simple, crusty drop biscuit. You will need:

For the biscuit cobbler topping:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tbsp. sugar, plus more to top
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 c. (6 tbsp) cold butter, diced
• a scant 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg

For the blueberry cobbler filling, you will use:

• 5 to 6 cups blueberries (about 1 quart and a pint, or 36 ounces)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, to thicken
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon to brighten the berry flavor
• 1 tbsp. butter, cut in a few pieces

Recipe Instructions: How to Make Easy Blueberry Cobbler

The basic steps of this blueberry cobbler recipe are 1) get the blueberries baking in the oven, 2) add the biscuit topping, 3) finish baking until juicy, bubbly, and golden brown. The prep time is only about 15 minutes; the baking time will go for upward of 45 minutes, for about an hour of total time.

Here are more specific baking directions:

1. Make the Blueberry Cobbler Filling

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a deep-dish 9″ pie plate or similar baking dish.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the blueberries, sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon juice. You can also use lemon zest, if you’d like.
3. Pour the blueberry mixture into the pie plate or baking dish and even out the berries. If you have extra, discard. They will settle a little while baking, but the berries should not be above the rim.
4. Bake the blueberry filling, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

2. Make the Cobbler Topping and Finish Baking

1. While the blueberries get their head start on baking, make the biscuit topping. (I just rinse out and dry the same large bowl, though a new medium bowl is fine, too.) Mix together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the diced butter. Work the butter into the flour with your hands until the butter is the texture of small peas or crumbles. The butter does not have to be too combined – there should still be loose flour.
2. Whisk the egg and milk together. Add into the butter and flour mixture and mix (I use my hand) just until the liquid has been absorbed and dough comes together as a shaggy mass.
3. Carefully remove the partially-baked blueberries from the oven. Dollop dunks of biscuit topping over the surface. Sprinkle with a little additional sugar.
4. Return the pie plate to the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the berries are juicy and bubbling, and the biscuit topping is golden brown.
5. Cool for at least 30 minutes, then serve the blueberry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

A couple of final pro baking tips and keeping your cobbler crispy on top:

• Bake the cobbler on a parchment-lined sheet pan. This will catch any juicy blueberry drips as it bakes.
• This cobbler is best served warm or at room temperature the day it is made, for the best taste and most tender biscuit. That said, this will keep perfectly well for an additional day, covered with plastic wrap or foil to ensure the cobbler topping stays crisp and doesn’t get stale.

If you love this blueberry cobbler with biscuit topping recipe, you will also love these desserts:

• Easy, No-Peel Peach Cobbler
• Deep-Dish Apple Crisp With Oatmeal Topping
• How to Make Streusel Topping for Pies and Tarts
• Cranberry Cobbler With Biscuit Crust