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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.

how to make rhubarb crisp

Perfect for a spring or early summer evening, this strawberry rhubarb crisp is one of the easiest and best desserts I know. Serve it warm from the oven topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Leftovers are 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. If you add more strawberries — which I know is tempting! — you’ll end up with fruit soup, as strawberries release a ton of juice. For seasonal fruit crisp variations, see my summer peach crisp and autumn apple pecan crisp.

What You’ll Need To Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Crisp ingredients including corn starch, vanilla, and oats.

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.

How To Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Bowl of fruit with sugar and cornstarch.

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.

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.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt.

Dry ingredients in a food processor.

Process until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the cold butter.

Butter cut onto dry ingredients in a food processor.

Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with a few pea-sized clumps of butter within.

Mixture resembling coarse crumbs in a food processor.

Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the oats and chopped pecans.

Oats, pecans, and processed mixture in a bowl.

Stir to combine.

Spoon mixing oats, nuts, and more in a bowl.

Spoon the topping evenly over the fruit without packing it down.

Fruit mixture topped with crisp topping in a baking dish.

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.

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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.

Servings: 6-8
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 50 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes

Ingredients

For the Filling

  • 1 pound rhubarb stalks, trimmed and sliced ½-inch thick
  • ½ pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
  • 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

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

For the Filling

  1. 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.
  2. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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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Comments

  • Made this for Father’s Day and it did not last a full 24 hours. So so good. Have already made it again. We used almonds instead of pecans, since that was what we had on hand, and it was delicious. We were also able to get away with using a mixer instead of a food processor for the topping. Great recipe!

  • It is divine. I did add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon but it wasn’t enough. Best crisp ever! Cornstarch is key.

    • — Stacey Thompson
    • Reply
  • tried this but was only able to use 1/4 pound of rhubarb – it was all I had left and couldn’t find anymore! Needless to say it was delicious!!!

  • I have never cooked with rhubarb before because the strawberry-rhubarb dishes I’ve had in the past tasted terrible. However, my husband really likes strawberry-rhubarb crisp so I decided to make this recipe for his birthday. It smelled so good when I pulled it out of the oven that I decided to try it. The crisp was AMAZING! I followed the recipe exactly with perfect results. Thank you so much for helping my husband to have a happy birthday!

  • This is, hands down, the best crisp recipe – thank you!!

  • Hello Jenn! Two questions! Can measure for measure GF flour be used instead of regular? Also does this freeze well? Thanks!

    • Hi Sarah, I think gluten-free flour would work here and that it would freeze nicely; just be sure to reheat so it can crisp up again. Enjoy!

  • I am a Chef and I get exhausted looking for good recipes that I don’t have to tweak. I can read a recipe and tell you what needs to be adjusted even before I make it based on experience. Jennifer is a god send. So far I have tried many of her recipes and I haven’t had to adjust one of them. Solid and delicious. This is one of my favorite recipes. Perfectly balanced between sweet and tart. I also add pecans to my apple crisp crumb so I might be biased.

  • Great recipe! Please know that Quaker Oats contains glyphosate. I suggest using an organic product. Same with corn starch.
    Chris

  • Hi Jenn,
    I made this yesterday. It was delicious; just the right amount of tart and sweet.
    I doubled the recipe and used a 9 x 13 pan and baked it 60 minutes. I omitted the nuts though. I brought it to a July 4th family picnic of 7 adults and 3 teenaged boys. Needless to say we ate every last bite of deliciousness. I also had vanilla bean ice cream for those who wanted it. Thanks for the perfect recipe!

  • how many cups is per pound for the rhubarb and strawberries. I’m used to measuring by the cup.

    • Hi Brenda, When you slice the rhubarb, the volume should fill approximately 4 (measuring) cups. The sliced strawberries would be the equivalent of about 1-3/4 cups. Hope that helps!

  • This is an awesome recipe. I subbed the flour for coconut flour since that is what I had in my pantry and it turned out awesome . I only have a small 8 by 8 pan, it came out delicious but the topping layer was a little overwhelming, less crunchy and more just dry, may be better in a thinner layer more like the pictured example in the recipe. I plan to decrease the measurements on the topping for my second round so that is doesn’t come out so crumby.

    Will follow up on how it comes out! TBD.

  • YUM!!! My family RAVED over this recipe. We used freshly picked strawberries from a local farm with our own garden grown rhubarb. My husband is very critical, so I was bracing myself when I placed this in front of him tonight. To my amazement, he finished seconds before anyone else was done with their first serving. He told me this is our forever recipe and we’re not allowed to use anything else. These words have never come out of his mouth because he always likes trying new things and experimenting with recipes. Incredibly high praise for an incredibly toothsome dessert!! Thank you!!

  • Excellent recipe! Strawberry Rhubarb mix was the perfect tartness which Is why I love the strawberry rhubarb mix. Next time I might cut the sugar in the topping a hair as it was s bit sweet for my personal taste. Will definitely make again!

  • Just made this for the second time, we both found it a tad sweet the first time so I used 1/3 cup of brown sugar in the filling. (On this occasion we were a little short on ready rhubarb so I used 12oz rhubarb and a few extra strawberries, just in case it was a bit too runny I used 2tbs of cornstarch – that was just to do this before my wife got home! ). We really enjoyed it – she my have had thirds…………

    • Ooops, forgot to mention – also used walnuts instead of pecans just because thats what I had.

  • I made a double batch of this yesterday for Fathers day. My son and I enjoyed it so much we almost finished off the first pan (still warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream of course).
    Thank you for getting me excited to cook/bake more:)

    • — Barry Stellrecht
    • Reply
    • This is my go to recipe, I do omit the nuts but my family loves it and since the fruit is in season time to bake!

  • Delicious! What a wonderful recipe. Just the right amount of tart and sweet tastes. Thank you!

  • I usually only bake with fresh rhubarb but I had some frozen rhubarb so that’s what I used. It purged so much juice after defrosting that it shrunk, and it weighed significantly less. I ended up adding more rhubarb to the recipe to make up for it, which I don’t think was the way to go. It still tasted really good, but was a little runny & probably was more tart than your recipe was intended to be – thankfully my family likes tart desserts, plus you could always pile on more whipped cream to tame the tartness. 🙂 Next time I will try this with fresh rhubarb and I’m sure I’ll like it much better.

  • Loved the addition of the pecans but next time I make the recipe I’ll reduce the sugar by half. I found it to be way to sweet.

  • I would like to make this for Father’s Day; what do I do if I want to use frozen strawberries instead of fresh please?

    • Hi Debbie, using frozen strawberries is fine — just defrost them first and drain any excess liquid. Hope you enjoy!

  • Fabulous summer dessert! Would like the rhubarb and strawberries converted to cups.

    • — Sonya Walter - Texas
    • Reply
    • Hi Sonya, When you slice the rhubarb, the volume would fill approximately 4 (measuring) cups. And when the strawberries are sliced, they would fill about 1-3/4 measuring cups. Hope that helps and that you enjoy! 🙂

  • Made this for a family BBQ, absolutely delicious. Served hot with ice cream, perfect end to the meal. Left out the pecans this time. Will try it with them next time. Thanks for the precise weights. Made it easy.

  • Hi, I tried this recipe last night. It was so tasty. I had to substitute vegan butter for butter made with cow’s milk due to dietary restrictions but it was fabulous even with the substitution. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

    • — Phyllis Janzen
    • Reply
  • I added some wheat germ to the crips in place of some of the flour. Came out great!

  • Wow, this is delicious! My husband is usually lukewarm on desserts that aren’t chocolate, but he took one bite and said, “Okay, we should grow strawberries and rhubarb in the garden.” 😆 I used gluten-free flour, added 1 tsp cinnamon to the topping and omitted the pecans and the additional 2T granulated sugar in the topping. As a topping enthusiast, I found the topping to fruit ratio to be absolutely perfect! I chose this recipe because of the weights for the fruit, and I’m so glad I did! I think this will be a frequent repeat.

    • What a great recipe! The pecans were a surprisingly delicious surprise!

  • The recipe turned out perfectly. I didn’t have enough rhubarb and was tempted to increase the strawberries but after reading the note I decided to add apple instead. It was delicious! I will definitely make this again when my rhubarb plant produces a sufficient quantity!

    • — Barbara Cucheran
    • Reply
  • Do you keep this in the fridge or on the counter? Thanks.

    • Hi Karen, either would be fine, but I’d probably just store it on the counter. Hope that helps!

      • This is perfection. So delicious and simple. Thank you! I’ve made it several times—never fails. My processor is a pain to pull out (limited counter space) and wash, so I just use a pastry cutter and/or my fingers to mix in the butter. Works just great. I also add the zest of an orange to the rhubarb-strawberry mixture. And a little bit of cardamom. Love it!

  • This was so easy to make and amazingly good!!!

  • This came out terrific!! So delicious, thank you!

  • Hi Jenn! I was planning to make this for Mother’s Day this weekend, but our stores in the Midwest are not carrying rhubarb yet. Do you have a suggested substitution? Thank you?

    • Hi Jill, I’m obviously weighing too late to help (sorry), but I think you could replace the rhubarb with diced Granny Smith apples. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it this way!

    • I wish people would put cups instead of pounds when writing a recipe. It would make the recipe much easier for those of us who don’t keep scales in the kitchen

      • — Debra Lynn Pierce
      • Reply
      • Hi Debra Lynn, when you slice the rhubarb, the volume would fill approximately 4 (measuring) cups. And when the strawberries are sliced, they would fill about 1-3/4 measuring cups. Hope that helps!

        • Yes, it was exactly amount I used. Just googled it, not hard to find conversions between lbs to cups.
          Taste sooooo good! Thank you!
          Marie

  • OMG, this was so good! My first time cooking with rhubarb, which made me nervous. This recipe was easy and delicious! Can’t wait to try some of your other strawberry recipes. I love that you have tips on freezing your items. I have an abundance of fresh picked strawberries. I made this recipe gluten free- substituting GF flour and certified GF oats it was really good for all.

  • I really liked this recipe! It was the perfect combination of everything.

  • I made this and family LOVED it!

  • Hi Jenn
    Can you make it with frozen rhubarb?

    • Sure, Maggie – I’d defrost it first and drain away any excess liquid. Hope you enjoy!

  • The measurements seem off to me. The recipe indicates 1 lb of rhubarb, which is equivalent to two cups. It doesn’t matter how big you slice the rhubarb….two cups is two cups! Not sure how this would feed 6-8 people with only 2 1/2 cups of fruit (including the 1/2 pound of strawberries, or one cup).

    • Hi Chris, the pound of rhubarb is measured in weight, but when you slice it, the volume would fill approximately 4 (measuring) cups. And when the strawberries are sliced, they would fill about 1-3/4 measuring cups. And while it may not sound like enough to feed 6 or 8, I think that once you assemble it, you’ll feel more comfortable. Hope that clarifies!

      • Thanks so much for the fruit volume measurements, Jenn! (I need to get a kitchen scale one of these days…) We grow so much rhubarb in our backyard and I think my family will love this! We love all your fruit crisps and crumbles.

  • Tried this for the first time last week with fresh rhubarb and frozen strawberries from a local farm…..all I can say is WOW! So yummy, whole family loved it. The addition of pecans to the topping is to die for….thanks

  • First attempt using rhubarb from our garden. Such a great recipe! I diced up the fruit a little smaller as I don’t like big pieces. Flavours are amazing and the topping is so lovely and crisp. Definitely adding to the rotation of desserts for company and special occasions!

    • — Hannah Johnston
    • Reply
  • I absolutely loved this recipe! I like the fact that you added the oats after you mixed the topping, that way the oats didn’t turn to dust. Also my son loved the addition of the nuts in the topping, it gave it some crunch. I wished I would have read the suggestion to freeze the crisp and add the topping later when reheating it. It was still excellent! Can’t wait to try again.

  • Delicious, like all of your recipes!

  • I am not much on strawberry rhubarb pie, so I made the crisp. It was perfection …we loved it!
    Thank you

    • I have made this crisp twice now, and my husband and I love it! It’s hard to beat the combination of strawberries and rhubarb, but I will have to say that the topping is scrumptious!!! BTW, I have become one of your biggest fans! I have made many of your recipes, all of which are delicious, but what I really like about you/your recipes is how clear and concise you are in explaining the “how to’s”. Plus, the recipes are practical to make. I usually have all the ingredients already in my kitchen. Thank you for your expertise and dependability!!! You have inspired me more than you know!!! 😁. BC from Knoxville, Tennessee 6/29/19

  • I made this recipe today and my husband just loved it. I only put a 1\4 cup of sugar in the mix because my husband is a diabetic and he said it was great.

    Thank-you so much Jenn

  • Perfect! Used Earth Balance to make it dairy-free. Next time I’ll try it with coconut oil and shredded coconut.

  • My family teases me about my obsession with pies and crisps. This recipe is absolutely up there with the best of ’em. Many thanks, Jenn!

  • Your Strawberry Rhubarb crisp recipe is delicious! I look forward to our daughter bringing us a few pounds each early summer for me to prepare the recipe. Topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and I think I’m in heaven:) thank you

    • — Cheryl Servidio
    • Reply
  • Can you make this without rhubarb?

    • Hi Siga, I’ve tried this with all strawberries and I ended up with fruit soup – strawberries release a ton of juice. Sorry!

  • Terrible. Not enough fruit, and topping very dry. Hard to ruin a crisp but this recipe helped me do just that. Would not do this again, huge disappointment.

  • Hi there! I’m excited to try this recipe.

    I’m looking to prepare this ahead of time(uncooked) to bring to a dinner and bake there. (likely 2-3 hour window between preparing and baking) will this be a problem? Or is it better to bake and reheat? or mix all ingredients at destination, and bake?
    Hope this makes sense?

    Thanks in advance!

    • Hi Jenn – No problem at all to prep ahead but I would keep the topping separate and add it right before baking so it doesn’t get soggy. Hope that helps!

  • How much is 1/2 a pound of strawberries in quarts?

    • Hi Spencer, I’m not the best mathematician, but I think it would be a third of a quart.

  • Hi, I only see the ingredient for granulated sugar…….5/8 cup. You call for the granulated sugar in the fruit mix and in the topping. Am I missing something? So I added the 5/8 cup granulated sugar to fruit mix…..but then I wasn’t sure of how much to add to the topping? It is cooking now….hoping it sets up ok. Thanks much!!

    • Hi Amy, the crisp calls for 1/2 cup of granulated sugar for the filling and 2 Tbsp. for the topping. (The topping also calls for 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar.) Hope that clarifies!

      • I don’t have butter but want to make this for my dad for Father’s Day. Could I substitute coconut oil? Also, no pecans but I have walnuts, do you think it would still be okay? I can’t sample any of it because I’m allergic to most of the ingredients lol but I love to bake for other people.

        • — A on June 16, 2022
        • Reply
        • Yes to both of your questions. 🙂 Just make sure the coconut oil is solidified and cold. Hope everyone enjoys!

          • — Jenn on June 17, 2022
          • Reply
  • This is the perfect strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe! I can’t get enough of it. It was simple and turned out AMAZING! I did leave out the pecans just because I don’t use them in anything and didn’t have any on hand.

  • I love this recipe and have made it many times. However, I have some cherries that I canned last year. Could I substitute them for the strawberries?

    • Hi Marty, glad you like the recipe! I wouldn’t fiddle with this recipe – Sorry! While the taste would be fine if strawberries were swapped for cherries, I’m not sure how much juice they would produce and if it’s too much (or not enough) it will impact the results.

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