Mixed Berry Crisp (Gluten Free)

How about a fruity treat? On a summer evening, there’s not much better than a warm homemade crisp with cold vanilla ice cream. This mixed berry crisp is the perfect use for those wonderful in-season berries. It’s easy to make (far less fussy than a pie) and just as good.

You can make this berry crisp recipe with any combination of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries—use all four or just a couple. Or, use it as a template for a single-berry crisp (here’s a more straightforward blueberry crisp recipe). You can’t go wrong.

This mixed berry crisp is the latest addition to my growing collection of crisp recipes on the blog. Like most of the others, this recipe just so happens to be gluten free, easily made vegan, and naturally sweetened. Depending on your standards, this crisp could definitely qualify as healthy.

I love the combination of oats and almond flour in the topping—the result is golden and crisp on top, and tender underneath. The topping keeps well to enjoy leftovers for several days. I like to eat it for breakfast with plain Greek yogurt. Why not?

On a fruity crisp kick?

Try saying that five-times fast. Here are a few more summertime options:

Blueberry Crisp
Dark Cherry Crisp in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 198)
Peach Crisp
Plum Crisp
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Save these crisps for fall:

Watch How to Make Mixed Berry Crisp

Please let me know how your berry crisp turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you and hope you have a great weekend.

Mixed Berry Crisp (Gluten Free)

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Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Baked
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free

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4.9 from 46 reviews

Make this delightful berry crisp with any mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. It’s the perfect simple and fruity summertime dessert. Recipe yields one 9-inch crisp, about 8 servings.

Scale

Ingredients

Mixed berry filling

2 pounds (32 ounces, about 5 cups) mixed berries, fresh or frozen*
⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or 3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon orange or lemon zest (if you don’t love strong citrus flavor, scale back to ¼ teaspoon, or omit)
2 tablespoons orange or lemon juice

Gluten-free oat and almond topping

1 cup old-fashioned oats**
½ cup packed almond flour or almond meal
½ cup sliced almonds or chopped pistachios or pecans (optional)
⅓ cup packed coconut sugar or brown sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek or regular), or additional melted butter

Plus vanilla ice cream, for serving

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse and drain the berries and pick through to remove any stems still attached. If you’re using strawberries, slice them into ¼-inch thick pieces. If you’re using particularly large blackberries, slice them in half.
In a 9 by 9-inch baking dish, mix together the berries, honey, starch, citrus zest and juice. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal/flour, sliced almonds (if using), 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 50 minutes, or until the filling is actively bubbling around the edges and the top is lightly golden. Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream (I insist!).

Notes

Recipe adapted from my blueberry almond crisp.

*How to use frozen berries: Defrost the berries in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 2 hours (no need to drain off excess juices). Or, while the oven is preheating, place the frozen berries in your square baker. Warm them up in the oven, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until they have defrosted to the point that they are cool to the touch but no longer frozen. (For frozen berries, no need to slice before using since they are so tender already.) Then add the honey, etc. and proceed with the recipe as written.

**Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.

Make it nut free: Omit the sliced almonds and use ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup oats instead of the almond meal and oats specified above. It will no longer be gluten free. If you want to keep it gluten free, I suspect that you could replace the almond meal with about ⅔ cup oat flour (haven’t tried that, please comment if you do!).

Make it vegan: I believe you could use melted coconut oil in place of the browned butter/yogurt (use 4 tablespoons coconut oil and add up to 3 more, until the topping mixture is moistened throughout) and maple syrup instead of the honey. I haven’t tried it, though.

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 or buy it online (affiliate link).

▸ Nutrition Information

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