© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. An extended/generalized finite element method (XFEM/GFEM) for simulating quasistatic crack growth based on a phase-field method is presented. The method relies on approximations to solutions associated with two different scales: a global scale, that is, structural and discretized with a coarse mesh, and a local scale encapsulating the fractured region, that is, discretized with a fine mesh. A stable XFEM/GFEM is employed to embed the displacement and damage fields at the global scale. The proposed method accommodates approximation spaces that evolve between load steps, while preserving a fixed background mesh for the structural problem. In addition, a prediction-correction algorithm is employed to facilitate the dynamic evolution of the confined crack regions within a load step. Several numerical examples of benchmark problems in two- and three-dimensional quasistatic fracture are provided to demonstrate the approach.