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 sweetened whipped cream or 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
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
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.
Transfer the fruit mixture to a 2-quart baking dish (no need to butter it) and set aside while you prepare 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.
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.
Stir to combine.
Spoon the topping evenly over the fruit without packing it 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, then spoon into shallow bowls and serve with vanilla ice cream.
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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.
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I couldn’t find rhubarb so I took Jen’s suggestion of substituting apples. They worked well in the recipe. It’s very good. I plan on making it again when the rhubarb becomes available in my area.
Lovely. Such a gorgeous filling. The addition of vanilla is genius. As always, thanks for making me look like a superstar! I’ve already pre-ordered your new cookbook:)
Can this be made ahead? My strawberries are very ripe but I only need the crisp 2 days from now. I don’t want them to “go around the bend” before then!
Hi Audrey, I’d make each component ahead, store them separately, and then bake before serving. Hope you enjoy!
Hope you are well. 🙏🏼 Thank you for taking time to convert your recipes to metrics. I love, love, love your recipes!
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This dessert is SO beautiful, both visually and in flavor. Don’t skip the cornstarch and definitely weigh your fruit – I think that’s key to the perfectly jammy filling. Another winner! Thanks Jen – you get it right EVERY time! <3
My favorite – love the tartness rhubarb bring to this dish. Found that you need to change amount of sugar depending on whether strawberries are “West coast” types with white centers (shipped East) or locally available summer varieties that are red all the way through. But you can make this most of the year that rhubarb is available.
I just pulled the crisp out of the oven and cooled it. The whole family loves it!! I will try to be use a little less sugar next for us diabetics. I’m retired now and am doing a lot of baking. Thanks for this great recipe. Alan
This past summer I was given some rhubarb, which was plentiful at the time, so I decided to cut it up and freeze it to use in the winter. I used it for this recipe and, OMG, it was awesome! This recipe is just plain DELICIOUS! I do think adding some pecans to the topping really elevated it. My husband just raved about this and sure ate more than his share. Thank you again for all your wonderful recipes for the home cook!
Hi Jenn,
I love this recipe and have made many times. This time I tried some of my frozen blackberries from summer. Oh my! Hubby loved it! I did cut down on sugar and salt and only had sliced almonds on hand. Oh, and instead of whipped cream or ice cream, I use fat free Greek yogurt mixed with real maple syrup! Yum 😋! Thank you, Jenn!
Hi Jen! I am dying to try this recipe, but I can’t find rhubarb at the moment. Are there any substitutes you would recommend?
Hi Meg, The one thing that comes to mind (though I haven’t tried it) is Granny Smith apples. Strawberries and apples are kind of an unconventional combination, but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Absolutely delicious…made this several times now and it’s divine. Wondering if you could make this with frozen Rhubarb and Strawberries??? Would be so wonderful in the wintertime:)
Glad you liked it! Yes, using frozen strawberries and rhubarb is fine — just defrost them first and drain any excess liquid.