Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
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Gorgeous red fruit bubbling away beneath a crunchy oat streusel topping — this strawberry rhubarb crisp is one of the easiest and best desserts I know.
Perfect for a spring or early summer, this strawberry rhubarb crisp is one of the easiest and best desserts I know. It’s wonderful served warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But if you happen to have leftovers, they’re delicious with your morning coffee, too. Heads up: while fruit desserts like this one tend to be flexible, be sure to keep the ratio of rhubarb to strawberries the same. As tempting as it might be to add extra strawberries, doing so can lead to a too-juicy “fruit soup” situation, since strawberries release a ton of juice. For more seasonal fruit crisp variations, see my summer peach crisp and autumn apple crisp.
“I served it to guests at a dinner party and everyone agreed it was the best crisp any one of us had ever tried.”
What You’ll Need To Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
![Crisp ingredients including corn starch, vanilla, and oats.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/ingredients9.jpg)
If you’ve never cooked with rhubarb, now is the time to start! Technically, it’s a vegetable but you treat it like fruit. It’s very tart but when you add a little sugar and cook it down, it becomes deliciously sweet, like berries. To prepare it for this recipe, trim the leaves (they should not be eaten) and rough ends and wash the stalks, then cut them into 1/2-inch pieces.
Step-by-Step Instructions
![Bowl of fruit with sugar and cornstarch.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/fruit-with-sugar-and-cornstarch.jpg)
Quarter the strawberries and combine them with the rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla. Stir until the fruit is evenly coated with the sugar mixture, and the sugar mixture is no longer white.
![Fruit coated with a sugar mixture.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/mixed-fruit.jpg)
Transfer the fruit mixture to a 2-quart baking dish (no need to butter it) and set aside while you prepare the topping.
![Baking dish full of rhubarbs and strawberries.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/rhubarb-and-berries-in-dish.jpg)
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt.
![Dry ingredients in a food processor.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/topping-1.jpg)
Process until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the cold butter.
![Butter cut onto dry ingredients in a food processor.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/topping-2.jpg)
Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with a few pea-sized clumps of butter within.
![Mixture resembling coarse crumbs in a food processor.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/topping-3.jpg)
Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the oats and chopped pecans.
![Oats, pecans, and processed mixture in a bowl.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/topping-4.jpg)
Stir to combine.
![Spoon mixing oats, nuts, and more in a bowl.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/topping-5.jpg)
Spoon the topping evenly over the fruit without packing it down.
![Fruit mixture topped with crisp topping in a baking dish.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/ready-to-bake2.jpg)
Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling around the edges and the topping is golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes before serving, then spoon into shallow bowls and serve with vanilla ice cream.
![Baked strawberry rhubarb crisp in a blue dish.](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2015/03/Baked-Strawberry-Rhubarb-Crisp.jpg)
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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Gorgeous red fruit bubbling away beneath a crunchy oat streusel topping — this strawberry rhubarb crisp is one of the easiest and best desserts I know.
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 1 pound rhubarb stalks, trimmed and sliced ½-inch thick (about 4 cups)
- ½ pound strawberries, hulled and quartered (about 2 cups)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Topping
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
For the Filling
- In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. Stir until the fruit is evenly coated with the sugar mixture, and the sugar mixture is no longer white.
- Transfer the fruit mixture to a 2-quart or 8-inch baking dish (no need to butter it) and set aside while you prepare the topping.
For the Topping
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt. Process until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with a few pea-sized clumps of butter within. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the oats and chopped pecans.
- Spoon the topping evenly over the fruit without packing down. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling around the edges and the topping is golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. Spoon into shallow bowls and serve with vanilla ice cream.
- Note: If your baking dish is shallow, place it on top of a foil-lined sheet pan to catch any spills that might bubble over the edges.
- Note: Don't be tempted to increase the strawberries in the recipe, or you'll end up with fruit soup (they release a lot of juice).
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The crisp can be frozen tightly covered for up to 3 months. Before serving, reheat it, uncovered, in a 300°F oven until heated through and crisp on top.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 332
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 49g
- Sugar: 32g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 81mg
- Cholesterol: 23mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Would it be okay to use frozen strawberries in place of the fresh strawberries in this recipe? If yes, should I thaw them first before proceeding with the recipe? Thanks much.
Hi Tricia, Yes, using frozen strawberries is fine — just defrost them first and drain any excess liquid. Enjoy!
I made this recipe today just as it written (except the butter, I ALWAYS use salted butter) and it was a hit. Lots of great comments! Thank you the recipe. This is a keeper!
I have made this twice now. Lots of compliments from my guests.
Best strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe I have ever made. Thanks
It was fantastic! Better yet, I baked it in a Ninja Flip 101…perfect results…without a hot kitchen.
No notes. Perfection. Well I guess one note but it’s personal preference; I use salted butter (in all my baking) because I love it a little saltier to offset the sweet. So good!
This was delicious! Definitely among the best crisps I’ve made/eaten.
I couldn’t resist the temptation to add more strawberries, but to balance that, I added about a cup of blueberries for the natural pectin. It worked like a charm—not soupy! I didn’t make extra topping, but I should have because by the time you add twice as many strawberries and the blueberries, you have a lot of fruit filling.
I have tried a number of recipes for strawberry rhubarb crisp, and love many of them, but this is hands down the best yet, the one I’ve printed out and will share with others. The 2:1 ratio of rhubarb to strawberry makes the balance of flavors and amount of sweet/tart exactly right. The topping is just the perfect accompaniment, along with some vanilla ice cream, of course. LOVE IT!