Mixed Berry Cobbler

Made with three kinds of berries, Mixed Berry Cobbler is the perfect dessert for sharing. Mix up some fresh berries, add a bit of flour, vanilla and sugar, and bake until the fruit is nice and bubbly, then top with quick homemade biscuits. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of yogurt for a sweet but light treat! This is a crowd pleaser dessert when you need one!

Mixed Berry Cobbler Recipe

My go-to dessert to make for a big crowd is always some kind of fruity cobbler or crisp.

In the fall, I love an apple crisp. But during the summer, I adore this homemade peach cobbler with the juiciest peaches I can find.

Then there's this mixed berry crisp, which comes together in a cast-iron skillet. Take these flavors and add a biscuity cobbler topping, and you've got a Mixed Berry Cobbler.

I think this one might be my new favorite! It's so easy to make and is always a crowd pleaser.

Mixed Berry Cobbler makes a big batch and there is rarely any left over when I make it for a group.

2018 Update: I've been coming back to this Triple Berry Cobbler over and over for years now. Seriously, it was one of my very first recipes that I shared on the blog. My photography has changed quite a bit since then, but luckily this recipe didn't have to 😉

Also, my original recipe called for adding three tablespoons of sugar to the fruit before cooking it. But honestly, I've found that this dish really doesn't need it.

2022 Update: This Mixed Berry Cobbler recipe is still one of my faves. I added some more tips and tricks to this post so you can make it with success every single time.

Why you'll love this recipe

Here's why you will love this easy recipe:

• It is the perfect dessert recipe for sharing.
• It's super easy to make. Bake some fruit until it's bubbly, throw some biscuits together in your food processor and bake until golden.
• Mix up the berries you use to tailor it to your favorite summer flavors. You can even add fresh peaches or apples.
• You can serve with a scoop of ice cream or yogurt, maybe even a drizzle of honey.

What's the difference between a fruit cobbler and fruit crisp?

A fruit cobbler is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of biscuits or dough on top. You can make all kinds of cobblers all year long. This pear cobbler would be fantastic for Thanksgiving. You can also use cake mix for the topping like in this Apple Cobbler with cake mix recipe.

A fruit crisp has a similar fruit filling, but has a crunchy topping. This peach raspberry crisp has a brown sugar and oat topping is a great example of that.

There's also the fruit crumble, which has another type of crumb topping, usually a streusel topping made without oats.

What makes a cobbler a cobbler?

Cobbler is a dessert with fruit filling in a baking dish covered with biscuits or dough.

Some common fillings you might see include the following:

• apple
• blueberry
• blackberry
• peach
• pear

You can get creative and combine ingredients like this Blueberry Peach Cobbler.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to get from the grocery store (or better yet — the farmers market!) to make this easy recipe.

For the fruit mixture, here's what you'll need:

• strawberries
• blueberries
• raspberries
• all-purpose flour
• vanilla extract
• sugar — Sugar is totally optional. If you'd rather, you can use alternative sweeteners as well like coconut sugar or maple syrup.

For the biscuit topping, this is what you'll need:

• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• unsalted butter
• whole milk

Substitutions

For a sweeter biscuit topping, you can sprinkle granulated sugar over the biscuits before baking.

Feel free to use blackberries or cherries instead of or in addition to the other berries listed. You can make this recipe your own with whatever fresh goodies you can find!

You will need about 3 pints total. However, feel free to fill your whole baking dish with more fruit if you like. As it bakes, the size will reduce down and you'll have heartier servings.

Frozen fruit is totally fine in this recipe. In fact, I love to make this in the winter with berries I froze in the summertime. I recommend setting the frozen berries out to thaw on the counter while you measure out your other ingredients; however, the filling will cook at a high temperature for about 45 minutes total, so there's no worry about eating frozen berries.

If fresh fruit is out of season or even if you like sweeter desserts, you can definitely add in around three tablespoons of whatever kind of sugar you prefer. Maple syrup or honey would probably be delicious! This last round I used coconut sugar, which I'm really into right now.

What to serve with berry cobbler

You also might want to pick up (or make!) some vanilla ice cream to go with it. I also love this no-churn strawberry ice cream if you want to throw in some more berry flavors.

Or! You could make some homemade whipped cream. It's so fluffy and way better than store-bought.

However, my favorite way to eat this summer cobbler is with Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey. If you don't care for the tartness of plain yogurt, adding some honey is the perfect way to sweeten this dish up just enough. 

How to make Mixed Berry Cobbler

Here's how to make this easy cobbler recipe:

First, preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a 9"x9" baking dish with cooking spray.

Add the berries, sugar, flour and vanilla to the dish. Toss to coat.

Bake for 12 minutes, until the mixture is hot and bubbly. Meanwhile, make the biscuits topping.

How to make cobbler topping

Some cobblers add dough or even a pancake-like batter on top. My recipe uses a biscuit topping. Here's how to make it:

1. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Add in COLD butter and pulse until the mixture has pea-sized crumbs. Add milk and pulse until dough just comes together.
3. After the filling has cooked for about 12 minutes, remove the baking dish from oven and drop mounds of biscuit dough onto the hot berries.
4. Bake until topping is golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.

These biscuits would also be perfect as a stand-alone side dish for dinner. They aren't sweet (unless you decide to sprinkle them with sugar before baking) so you could double the recipe for the biscuits and bake half of them on a cookie sheet while you bake the others for the cobbler. Then eat the biscuits with dinner or freeze them for later.

(Really, I just love biscuits. So any chance I have to eat them, I'll take it!)

How to store cobbler

Cobbler can be served warm. The sugar in the recipe will make it very hot from the oven, so make sure to let it cool a little bit before serving. About 30 minutes on a cooling rack should be plenty of time.

After making a cobbler, allow it to cool to room temperature. Then cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate. You can also transfer it to another airtight container if you need to conserve fridge space.

Cobbler should be eaten within 3 days. (Hint: It makes a pretty tasty breakfast the next day!) Do not eat it if you see mold.

Can I make this cobbler ahead of time?

You can definitely prep this ahead of time. Chop the fruit and set it in your baking dish for later and then make the biscuit dough and wrap in plastic wrap for up to 24 hours. Then just bake before you're ready to serve.

What kind of flour goes in berry cobbler?

I used all purpose flour but you can experiment with others if you'd like. I have only tested this recipe with gluten free 1-1 flour and all purpose flour.

Can I use other fruits with this recipe?

Sure! Cooking times may vary if you use different fruit. Apple cobbler or peach cobbler would be delicious!

You are also welcome to use other kinds of berries. These are the most common types of berries used for mixed berry cobbler:

• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Cherries
• Blueberries

Can I make this recipe dairy-free?

Yes. Here is a great recipe for dairy-free biscuits from Simply Whisked. Serve it with dairy-free yogurt.

Can I make this recipe gluten-free?

Yes! I've made this recipe using a 1-1 gluten free flour like this one. The dough was a bit more crumbly, so you may want to add a dash of extra milk.

More summer desserts

• Healthy Peach Lemonade Popsicles
• Mini Lemon Cheesecakes
• Berry Sugar Cookie Bars