This strawberry rhubarb crisp is a summer classic with a surprising twist. Sweet strawberries and blueberries perfectly balance tart rhubarb and finished with a crunchy pistachio crumble.
I absolutely love summer and everything it offers. Warm weather, relaxed schedules, longer days and of course, the summer menu! Hello summer fruits!
One of my favorite summer fruits are strawberries – duh! We eat them plain aplenty, but I love cooking and baking with them, too. From strawberry jam to a strawberry birthday cake, fruit desserts are my absolute favorite!
Fruit desserts are not only delicious, but they are rather beautiful with their bright colors. And one of the easiest desserts to bake, whether you are a novice cook or a seasoned gourmet, is a fruit crisp.
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Recipe highlights
- Versatile: Fruit crisps are ridiculously easy to bake and you can bake them anytime of the year using whatever fruit is in 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 base of a fruit crisp is the sweet and syrupy fruit filling. I fill it up with lot so fruit! This strawberry crisp also has rhubarb, giving it a touch of tartness to balance the sweet.
- Topping: The crispy topping is my family’s favorite part, so I give you plenty in this recipe! Along with oats, it includes ground pistachios, too.
- How to serve: Feel free to dress it up with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or keep it simple and serve it as is. Warm or cold, this crisp is fabulous!
Ingredients you need
- Rhubarb: You can use fresh or frozen rhubarb. If using frozen, thaw completely and discard excess juice.
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are preferred over frozen as frozen strawberries will melt even more when baked.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, thaw completely and discard excess juice.
- Lemon: You will use the zest and juice from of a lemon. You can skip the zest, but you do need an acidic juice like lemon, orange or grapefruit juice.
- Butter: Use unsalted butt and keep it cold. This helps keeps the crumbly topping crunchy and flakey.
- Pistachios: You can also use almond slices or slivers, chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Pantry staples: Rolled old-fashioned oats, all purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, ground cinnamon and salt
Step-by-step directions
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- Mix filling. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and zest.
- Mix topping. In another bowl combine oats, flour, pistachios, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. With your fingers rub the butter into oat mixture until coarse crumbs form.
- Assemble. Pour fruit into baking dish and sprinkle evenly with topping. You can also bake crisp in individual ramekins or bowls.
- Bake. Bake until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling. Let crisp sit for 20-30 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipes tips and FAQs
There’s another reason why fruit crisps are so popular, besides how easy they are to throw together. You can use almost any fruit to make a crisp. Trust me, I have made a whole lot with a variety of different fruits.
You want to use fruits that have flesh and meat to it, like a classic peach crisp or my plum crisp. For example, citrus fruits don’t make good crisps as they are mostly juice. Another option is use two or more fruits in your crisp, like I do in my apple grape crisp and my quince apple crisp.
And for more strawberry rhubarb recipes, be sure to try my strawberry rhubarb creamsicle popsicles, strawberry rhubarb jam, or my upside down strawberry rhubarb cake.
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. 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.
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.
But wait, I have a few more tips to make your strawberry rhubarb crisp, or any fruit crisp, even more special. You can mix in some dried fruits along with your fresh fruits. Think raisins (black or green), cranberries, currants or apricots.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Pistachios
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup pistachios shelled & chopped
- ½ cup brown sugar light, packed
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon cold butter unsalted, cut into small pieces
- 12 oz rhubarb about 3 stalks, cut into ½-inch chunks
- 4 cup strawberries sliced
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- In a medium-sized bowl mix together the oats, flour, pistachios, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- With your fingers rub the butter into oat mixture until coarse crumbs form.
- In another large bowl gently mix together rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and zest until the fruit is coated.
- Pour fruit into a shallow 2-3 quart baking dish and sprinkle evenly with topping.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until toping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling.
- Let crisp sit for 20-30 minutes, then serve warm or at 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!
I accidentally omitted the cornstarch and baked at 325 instead of 350, but it turned out delicious. The only thing I wasn’t happy with was that the fruit cooked down so much it was unidentifiable.
Rhubarb melts as it cooks. If you don’t want it to, then cut into bigger chunks. Same with strawberries. But even then, it is a delicious combination. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, I love all the fabulous juices running over the dish! This looks incredibly delicious~
Thanks for stopping by my blog..I absolutely love the colours and how the berries were like slushie and over flowing over the bowl.. beautiful recipe!! xoxo
delicious looking combination for this crisp