Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp is the perfect summer dessert! Easier to make than pie and prepped in just minutes. A delicious dessert made with juicy fruit and topped with a crunchy oatmeal streusel that is perfect for BBQ parties and get-togethers!
Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp topped with a scoop of ice cream is the perfect ending for every summer meal. This easy dessert will be a hit at your next BBQ, summer party, or get-together with friends and neighbors!
My family loves everything streusel topped! Our summer favorites are my perfect Apple Crumble Pie, the most delicious Peach Crisp, and a family favorite – my Raspberry Lemon Cake with Streusel Topping which makes a great breakfast.
Today I want to share one of my favorite EASY summer desserts with you. This rhubarb strawberry crisp tastes so good and is super easy to make from scratch! Rhubarb might not be everyone’s favorite but I promise even people who don’t like rhubarb will love this crisp recipe!
What is Rhubarb?
Is rhubarb a fruit or vegetable?
Did you know that rhubarb is technically a vegetable? But cooked down with a bit of sugar it becomes sweet with only a little bit of tartness left.
what does rhubarb taste like
Rhubarb on its own can taste a bit tart that’s why I love to combine it with a sweet component like berries. This Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp is definitely one of the easiest and best desserts you can make with rhubarb! It’s perfect for a warm spring or summer night served warm with a scoop of ice cream.
And the leftovers make a great breakfast! Dessert for breakfast? Yes, please! Just take a look at the crunchy streusel on top! Doesn’t that look AMAZING! This Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp is sure to be your favorite summer dessert.
How to make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
You can make this crisp in your favorite baking pan, a pie dish, an oven-proof skillet or even in little ramekins to make individual crisps. Lightly grease your baking dish and add the fruit mixture.
The rhubarb and strawberry slices are combined with sugar, cornstarch to soak up some of the juices, and vanilla. Vanilla goes perfectly with the sweet strawberries and the tart rhubarb.
In another bowl make the streusel topping. This topping is made with old fashioned oats for a bit of extra crunch, brown sugar, butter and a bit of cinnamon. Because I use softened butter instead of cold butter for the streusel the mixture won’t be dry and crumbly it will resemble cookie dough after you combined all the ingredients.
This makes a deliciously thick and crunchy topping that will stay crisp after baking, even after a few hours in the fridge!
Below is a picture of how the Strawberry Rhubarb crumble looks before it goes into the oven for 45 minutes:
Tips for making Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp:
- Don’t skip the old-fashioned oats! They make the topping crispy and give you a nice crunch.
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would pair perfectly with this crisp. The warm juicy fruit, crunchy streusel, and cold ice cream are the perfect combo. So EASY and DELICIOUS!
- I wouldn’t advise increasing the amount of strawberries in this recipe even if it is tempting. Strawberries release a lot of juice so your crisp might get a bit more liquidy.
- Depending on how juicy the strawberries are and how deep your dish is, the filling might be more liquidy.
- If you use a shallow baking dish place it on top of a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any spills. This makes cleaning up easier!
- You can use frozen strawberries (or a mixture of berries) for this recipe. No need to defrost them.
Can you freeze rhubarb crisp?
I would not recommend freezing the baked strawberry rhubarb crisp because the topping will get soggy during thawing.
Does strawberry rhubarb crisp need to be refrigerated?
This rhubarb crisp can sit out at room temperature for up to two days. But I prefer to store it in the fridge.
Tools Used in the Making of this easy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp:
Vanilla Extract: This is my favorite vanilla extract. I also love their vanilla sugar for recipes where I don’t want to add more liquid.
Oven-Proof Skillet: I’m all about this cast iron skillet. It has the perfect size to use it as a baking dish for crisps, skillet cookies, or vegetable side dishes and it also looks great as a serving dish.
Strawberry Huller: This little tool makes hulling strawberries super easy and it’s safe for kids. It works best on medium and larger strawberries.
Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup granulated sugar, or less
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 cups sliced fresh rhubarb, sliced ½ inch thick (2-3 stalks)
- 1 lbs strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Topping:
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a 9-inch square or similar sized baking dish.
- In a large bowl, combine cornstarch and sugars. Add rhubarb slices, strawberry slices, and vanilla extract. Toss to coat.
- Transfer the mixture to the baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combine the old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, butter, flour, cinnamon, and salt.
- Mix the ingredients together until large cookie dough like crumbs form. Drop small pieces of the topping evenly over the filling until you used all of the topping.
- Bake at 350°F for about 45-60 minutes, until the fruit filling is cooked and bubbling and the topping is nicely browned. Let the crisp rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
Nutrition Information
Beverly Chekan says
Can you use quick oats for the topping?
Lori Holmes says
Easy to put together and everyone loved it. I used frozen sliced strawberries as that was all I had on hand. Thank you for sharing.
Wendy says
this was quick to make and delicious!
Brenda says
Great recipe! I used organic coconut sugars (golden & brown) in place of regular white sugar. We love it!
Christine Marie Wittrock says
This recipe is so easy and absolutely delicious!
Patty says
Can you use frozen rhubarb ? Very hard to find fresh in winter in MN !
Julia says
Yes you can but the cooking time might be longer and there might be more liquid.
Brittney St. Aubin says
This was the first Pinterest recipe I ever decided to try, and the family loved it! When my mom decided to come into town, I told her to bring the rhubarb so we could make this, and it turned out great! SO easy to make — which is perfect for a non-baker like me!
Brittney St. Aubin says
This is the first recipe I decided to try off of Pinterest, and I loved it! My mom is a huge fan of rhubarb, and when she said she was coming into town, she was excited to bring some of her rhubarb along to make this delicious dessert!
Bonnie Hilt says
I just made this for one of our neighbors and they loved it. Thank you for the recipe ❤️
Pat Hagerman says
I just made this. It is the best rhubarb strawberry crisp I’ve ever eaten.
Amanda Blazek says
If u use frozen strawberries do they make the dish to runny
Julia says
Yes, I think they would make the dish runny.
Laura Taylor says
I tried making this crisp in a cast iron skillet but would not do it again. I felt the taste of metal leached into the sauce. I ended up only eating the middle and throwing out all the bits near the edges of the pan. Will try again in ceramic coated baking dish and I anticipate it will be great!
Gordon Olson says
What about using pie filling instead of the strawberry rhubarb part of the recipe? I have a can of strawberry rhubarb pie filling I’m not using for anything. AND I have a cast iron skillet I’d love to use for this.
Granted it won’t be as fresh as using fresh ingredients but it’ll save me from having to do a rhubarb hunt..
Julia says
Yes, you could use the can of pie filling and just make the topping from scratch. I would probably reduce the baking time to 25-30 minutes and take the crisp out of the oven when the topping is crispy and golden.
Heather Gauthier says
I’m going to make this recipe for Thanksgiving dessert. Would like to make it the night before. Would you suggest making the topping and the filling (ahead of time) and keeping them refrigerated separately until ready to heat?
Julia says
Hi Heather, you can make the topping the night before and refrigerate it but I wouldn’t make the filling ahead of time because I don’t think it will hold up well. One thing you could do is baking it a day ahead and then reheat it so it can crisp up again. – Julia
Donna says
Easiest and best tasting of all the recipes! We love this one….