Tart rhubarb balances sweet, jammy strawberry flavor in this irresistible springtime dessert. If you can find rhubarb, you’re in for a treat!
This simple crisp recipe requires only some chopping and stirring and yields delicious results after a 40-minute bake. I’ve modified my original recipe to call for my favorite oat and almond flour-based topping, which happens to be gluten-free.
This flavor combination was inspired by my friend Stephanie. She makes the best strawberry rhubarb pie, and I’m still daydreaming about the pie that inspired this recipe over ten years ago. Stephanie has her flaky pie dough technique down pat and bakes pies for all occasions. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a master pie maker in your life, too.
I am not Stephanie and I do not bake pies. I barely have the foresight or patience to chill pie dough, though I’ve been working on my technique over the years. Crisps are gloriously easy. No waiting. No fuss.
Bring your strawberries and rhubarb home and turn on the oven. This recipe is ready to go! Make it while you can.
What is rhubarb?
Rhubarb is an interesting vegetable in the buckwheat family. It’s in season from mid-spring to early summer. In its raw state, rhubarb is quite sour (the leaves are poisonous, so never eat them or give them to your dog). However, once cooked or baked with a sweetener, it becomes pleasantly tart and irresistible.
I love to sweeten my rhubarb with strawberries and honey, both of which complement the rhubarb. Fortunately, strawberries are in season at the same time as rhubarb. Sweet, red, ripe strawberries and tart rhubarb are a magical combination.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Tips & Notes
This recipe is simple—you’ll find a short video below and the full recipe at the bottom of the post. Before you get started, here are a couple of notes.
Sweetness level
I’ve offered a range of honey so you can adjust the recipe to the sweetness of your strawberries (and your own preferences). You’ll be happy with the lower amount if you generally like tartness and prefer your desserts on the less sweet side. If your strawberries are not particularly flavorful, you may want to use more honey to counter the rhubarb. Remember that adding vanilla ice cream to your bowl will contribute quite a bit of sweetness and temper the tartness, and the crisp will taste sweeter on day two.
Recipe adjustments
This year, I’ve adjusted the recipe to use my almond and oat topping, which is crisp yet tender and just lovely. You’ll find the original crisp topping details in the recipe notes if you have been making this for years and want to stick with the original. I’ve also added a couple of tablespoons of lemon or orange juice to the filling, which ramps up the rhubarb and strawberry flavors. Lastly, I’ve increased the arrowroot starch to make the filling less soupy than shown in these photos, though it was perfectly nice as-is.
Watch How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Rhubarb Recipes to Make Now
Extra rhubarb? Try one of these recipes on Cookie and Kate.
- Almond Cake with Roasted Strawberries & Rhubarb on Top
- Rhubarb Chia Jam
- Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb and Yogurt Parfaits
5 More Crisps to Bake
Start with this strawberry rhubarb in late spring, then cook these fruity crisps this summer.
- Blueberry Crisp
- Dark Cherry Crisp in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 198)
- Mixed Berry Crisp (Gluten Free)
- Peach Crisp
- Plum Crisp
Please let me know how your dessert turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Author: Cookie and Kate
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
This simple crisp recipe is bursting with sweet, juicy strawberries and tart rhubarb. Made with honey, oats and yogurt, this crisp is more healthy than most. That said, please serve it with vanilla ice cream for dessert (or yogurt for breakfast)!
Ingredients
Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling
- 1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced into small bite-sized pieces
- 1 pound rhubarb (4 to 6 stalks), cut into ¼ by ½-inch pieces (slice larger stalks in half lengthwise before slicing them into ¼-inch wide pieces)
- ⅓ to ½ cup honey*
- 3 tablespoons arrowroot starch or cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or orange juice
Gluten-free oat and almond topping
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats (certified gluten-free for a gluten-free crisp)
- ½ cup packed almond flour
- ⅓ cup lightly packed coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek or regular) or additional melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 9-inch square baking dish, mix together the strawberries, rhubarb, honey, arrowroot and lemon juice.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond flour, sugar and salt. Mix in the butter and yogurt. Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.
- Dollop spoonfuls of the oat mixture over the filling and use your fingers to break up the mixture until it is evenly distributed (no need to pack it down).
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the filling is actively bubbling around the edges and the top is lightly golden. Let the crisp rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream (I insist!). Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.
Notes
*Sweetness level note: The sweetness level of this crisp will depend on your fruit. Since rhubarb gets sweeter during the baking process, you can’t really adjust for your desired sweetness before baking. My first crisp was just right with ⅓ cup honey and my second crisp was more tart. If you know you want your crisp to be on the sweet side, go with ½ cup honey. If your baked crisp is sour, keep in mind that serving with ice cream will temper the tartness. Add a drizzle of honey to the finished product if necessary. It will probably taste sweeter the next day.
Make it nut free: Use ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup oats instead of the oats and almond meal specified above. It will no longer be gluten free.
Edits: On May 20, 2024, I replaced the topping with my favorite gluten-free topping. See the original provided in the nut-free note above. I also added lemon juice to the filling and increased the amount of arrowroot by one tablespoon.
Wait, what’s arrowroot starch? Arrowroot starch is a great thickener to use in place of corn starch, which is often genetically modified. It’s gluten free, too. Look for it in the baking section of well-stocked grocery stores.
Rhubarb substitute: If you can’t find rhubarb, you can substitute another pound of strawberries (though the flavor is not as interesting). Better yet, make my Mixed Berry Crisp (Gluten Free) or Blueberry Almond Crisp.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Vickie
My first time adding almond meal to a crisp topping and I loved it! I also use vegan butter and instead of the yogurt I added orange juice to the topping (not the filling). The juice of 1/2 orange, about 4 teaspoons. I also like a mix of old fashioned and quick oats. So delicious!
Kate
Great to hear, Vickie!
Liz Clawson
I grow rhubarb. Been looking for quick, sweet and healthy to make. This recipe was so easy and I’m looking forward to trying it when it comes out of the oven. Thank you.
Karla
Rave review. We loved it. Have made many variations of S-R crisp/crumbles. This one was excellent. Loved the honey and almond flour ingredients. I used ⅓ c honey and the OJ vs lemon juice. Will increase the arrowroot next time to 4T as didn’t thicken quite as much as we’d like. Thank you this yummy dessert recipe.
Jo
I love this recipe! It came together quickly and was a hit for a midweek dinner get together! I subbed whole wheat flour and butter in place of yogurt and almond and it came out delicious!
Claire
We have now made this crisp three times in the last three weeks with local strawberries and rhubarb. It is delicious! All of us including my 5 year old granddaughter love it.
Theresa
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make!
Cath
I grow my own rhubarb, so B looked forward to trying this recipe. I added my own twist…sliced almonds and an English Spice Blend ( allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger) to the crumble topping. To the fruit, I added chopped crystalized ginger. Delicious!
Julie
Is it possible to use frozen rhubarb? How?
Kate
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not.
Eveline Ferretti
Wonderful recipe. Just the right amount of sweet & tart. I add just a bit of cinnamon to the strawberry rhubarb filling.
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Eveline!