The sweet apples paired with tart rhubarb in this apple rhubarb crisp combines summer and fall flavors in a delicious bowl.
For me, the best desserts are fruit desserts. From pies to cobblers to crisps and bars, even cakes taste better with fruit in it! Maybe it’s my way of convincing myself that my sweet dessert is actually good for me?!
My kids go along with my baking addiction. Why not? They benefit from my love of fruit desserts as much as I do. This apple rhubarb crisp is my latest fruit dessert recipe that makes me swoon.
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Recipe highlights
- Versatile: Fruit crisps are one of the easiest desserts you can whip together. You can use almost any kind of fruit, too. I’ve made a strawberry rhubarb crisp, almond peach crisp even an apple grape crisp. There is fruit crisp calling your name for every season!
- Simple: A fruit crisp gives you all the flavors of a pie, but it is so much easier to assemble and make. Personally, I think they are better than a pie because a crisp has that addictive crisp topping.
- Flavor: The main part of a fruit crisp is the sweet fruit filling. I fill it up with lot so fruit! The apples remain firm and the rhubarb offers some tartness to balance the sweet filling. The hint of cinnamon screams fall is here! I always have plenty of crisp topping on these recipes because that is my family’s favorite part!
- How to serve: A fruit crisp can be dressed up and served at a dinner party or prepared for a weeknight treat for the family. Bake in a large baking dish or in individual ramekins. Serve alone or topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients you need
- Apples: You can use sweet or sour apples, depending on your personal preference. You do want to use firm baking apples like Granny Smith or Pink Lady.
- Rhubarb: I have made crisps with both fresh and frozen rhubarb. If using frozen, thaw it first and drain excess water.
- Pantry staples: Granulated sugar, all purpose flour, rolled oats, brown sugar (light or dark), ground cinnamon and salt.
- Lemon: You will use the juice and zest of a lemon. If you only have lemon juice, you can forgo the zest. The lemon juice keeps the apples from browning.
- Cardamom: I love adding cardamom to my crisps. For extra zing, you can substitute with ginger.
- Pecans: Nuts add great crunch and flavor to a crisp. You can also use walnuts, pistachios or almonds.
- Butter: I bake with unsalted butter so I can control the salt in my recipes. If you use salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe.
- Cornstarch: If you have a particularly liquidy filling, use cornstarch instead of flour, or add an extra tablespoon of flour.
Step-by-step directions
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- Chop the fruit. Peel and core apples, then chop into chunks and place in a large bowl with chopped rhubarb.
- Make the filling. Stir in sugar, flour (or cornstarch), lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon and cardamom with the apples. Transfer fruit mixture into a 9-inch baking dish.
- Make the crisp topping. In a small bowl, mix together flour, oatmeal, pecans, sugar, brown sugar and salt. Using your fingers, squeeze butter into the flour mixture until it resembles pebbles.
- Bake. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit and bake at 350ºF until browned and bubbly, about 1 hour. Serve warm or cool to room temperature.
Recipe tips and FAQs
I like to bake my desserts with the minimum amount of sugar – just enough to sweeten the dish, but not so much that the sugar cracks your teeth. If you want a sweeter crisp, add less rhubarb or more sugar.
You can bake your crisp in a large 9-inch casserole dish or divvy up and bake in ramekins to serve in individual portions.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover fruit crisp in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers, but the topping won’t be crispy when thawed and reheated. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Fresh fruits are preferred over frozen in baking, but you can easily use frozen rhubarb instead of fresh in this crisp. If you do use frozen fruit, be sure to thaw it completely and drain the excess liquid. I also add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch when using frozen fruits.
I don’t recommend freezing a crisp, but the raw crisp topping freezes well. Mix up batches of the buttery topping and freeze them so you can make a crisp whenever the hankering arises.
You typically add lemon juice to cut fruit to keep it from browning, but it also adds a touch of sour to balance your sweet fruit. Consider using orange, blood orange or grapefruit juice if you do not have lemon juice.
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Apple Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients
- 2 lb apples like Granny Smith or Pink Lady
- 1 lb chopped rhubarb
- ¼ cup plus 3 TBS granulated sugar
- ½ cup plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ cup old-fashion oatmeal
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Peel and core apples, then chop into chunks and place in a large bowl with chopped rhubarb.
- Stir in 3 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 tablespoon flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon and cardamom with the apples.
- Transfer fruit mixture into a 9-inch baking dish.
- In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup flour, oatmeal, pecans, ¼ cup sugar, brown sugar and salt.
- Using your fingers, squeeze butter into the flour mixture until it resembles pebbles.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit and bake until browned and bubbly, about 1 hour.
- Serve warm or cool to room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Crisps are great — and a wonderful way to use summer’s berries and stone fruit. Or any fruit! Love the apple and rhubarb combo in this. May I have seconds, please? 🙂