Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
This simple strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe is made with honey, oats and yogurt. It's just as delicious as the rest and healthier, too!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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
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.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I hate to destroy this perfectly lovely sounding recipe and I’d love to make as is, but a run to the store isn’t in the stars. could I sub something for the yoghurt? coconut oil perhaps?
I subbed sour cream and it worked great
I just made this for a BBQ last night – it was a hit! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. I will definitely be making it again.
Thank you for commenting, Laura! So glad the crisp went over well at your BBQ. It’s one of my very favorite desserts.
Thanks for sharing, Ally! Glad to know it turns out well in gluten-free form.
This crisp is awesome! I sub with GF flour and it works:)
Hooray! Glad to hear it, Ana.
Today is baking day, and I’m going to try this recipe this morning instead of the strawberry rhubarb pie I had planned to make. In fact, this is the Recipe of the Day on a Facebook page I curate called Cooking with Whole Grains & Whole Foods. Can’t wait to taste it!
Just came back to let you know my nearly three-year-old granddaughter and I had a blast making this together, and it is every bit as good as it looks in the photographs.
Totally scrumptious. Even my sweetheart, who looks forward to strawberry-rhubarb pie like football fans look forward to the Super Bowl, loved it.
Delighted to hear it! Thanks, Kathryn!
This was amazing! I used oat flour instead and it had a great crispy top.
Thanks, Jennifer! Glad to hear it!
I am a diabetic & have made this recipe twice using Splenda brown sugar, no honey & sugar free rhubarb preserves. It is delicious!!
This is an amazing recipe. I followed it exactly and it is delicious. Second batch i decreased honey in berries to 1/4 cup. I added 1/2 cup blueberries. Then in the crumb top, I used increased the oats to 1 cup, used 1/3 cup honey instead of brown sugar and substituted melted coconut oil for the butter. It is equally delicious and a tad healthier. Thank for sharing this.
instead of butter in this recipe, could you use coconut oil? If you were to do that, how much would you add?
Yes, that should work well. I’d use the same amount as butter.
I made this recipe using strawberries and rhubarb and it’s fantastic!!! Raspberries are in season now so I’d love to make a raspberry crisp with this recipe! How would I change it to make that? Or can I just substitute the strawberries and rhubarb for raspberries?
I LOVE this crisp recipe!!! I use it as a base and replace the fruit along with the seasons. Sadly my oven is broken right now and I need to make a crisp. Any suggestions on if and how I might be able to make this in my slow cooker?
This was such a great early summertime recipe. Just the right combinations of sweetness and tart! Delicious for breakfast with a little Greek yogurt.
I *love* this for breakfast.
Whoa. This didn’t work at all for me. The “crisp” was far from it — gluey and gooey, it soaked up liquid from the fruit and turned to lead. Seriously, I just peeled it off (and put it in the compost!) so I could save the strawberry rhubarb filling for another use. During prep, the topping mix was fine until the yoghurt was added, at which point it became sticky and clumpy. I followed recipe exactly, baked it for 55-60 minutes, so it wasn’t a lack of baking. Sorry, but can’t give it even one star.
Can you prep and bake this and store in freezer? If so,how do you recommend thawing/reheating to serve?
Hi Janine! I haven’t tried it, and i would be hesitant to freeze it as I don’t know if you will be able to maintain the crispy texture. If you try it, reheat in the oven at the same baking temp once thawed. You may need to adjust the time.
I made this tonight and it was awesome!! The one change I made was adding 1 cup chopped pecans to the crumble (because I love them). I like that this is a “healthy” version but still tastes so good, plus I got compliments on the fact it wasn’t too sweet. Thank you so much!!
Thank you for your review, Beth! I’m happy you loved it.
This recipe is outstanding! I added a little extra brown sugar to the topping cause Kate’s recipes usually err on the side of healthy over sweet. It was delicious and probably would have been just fine without the extra sugar, especially paired with vanilla ice cream.
Oh man. This is INSANELY delicious. Can’t stop eating it right from the oven. THANK YOU!
I’m excited you loved it, Jamie! Thanks for taking the time to review.
Made this as written (gluten free version) and it was wonderful! I’ve made the cherry version from your cookbook countless times; this was a nice way to change things up, especially now that it’s rhubarb season. Next time I’ll probably add even more fruit, since the 2lb of fresh fruit cooked down quite a bit. Thanks!
I’m happy you tried it and loved it, Charoltte!
This looks very good!!!
can I make the same recipe using frozen strawberries?
Hi! I find this works best with fresh. But, I believe you could try it! I suggest defrosting and draining some liquid first. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Absolutely delicious butI tweaked it by using Maple Syrup and Vanilla Paste. Just wonderful and shared the recipe with my friends
Thank you for sharing, Bev!
Fabulous recipe! I made this GF by using GF oats and a GF flour blend. I used a bit of lemon juice instead of vanilla. Everyone loved it.
First time I’ve made something from your site, although everything looks good! I made this by the recipe, but the only flour I had around was Gluten-Free Flour Mix, and so the topping ended up kind of like soggy gluey cardboard. Not so good. Next time I’ll try a different flour, because other than that, it was amazingly good!
This was so good. I didn’t have much honey and I barely even needed it! The natural sweetness of the strawberries and rhubarb was perfect. I added it to some vanilla ice cream. Thank you for this!
Just made this with fresh rhubarb my neighbor gave us. I used GF oats and GF flour blend. It is super easy and super delish!
Thanks for the recipe!
But will you share Stephanie’s recipe for her pie crust that shatters and filling and the filling, too, but especially the pie crust that shatters? We’ll still love you and continue to use your crisp-y, un-ironed, non-law degree-developed recipes! :) Thanks, Kate!
This was amazing! I did the gluten free version as I love almond flour and it was perfect with ice cream warm and still just as delicious without ice cream and cold the next day. I will make this again and again.
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Susan.
So easy, super delicious!! It honored my farmer’s market rhubarb and strawberries perfectly.
I made some modifications for diet restrictions/pantry restrictions, but the result was still stellar: replaced butter with a coconut/avocado oil, 1-for-1, and it worked well texture wise. I’m sure the butter would have been even tastier. I also did not have honey on hand, so i used about a tablespoon or two of brown sugar in the fruit mixture–perfectly sweet and tart that way as well!
Thanks again for ANOTHER amazing recipe
Thank you for sharing, Jenny! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
I was not a fan of the topping – the yogurt made it turn out more soft cookie like instead of a crisp.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, Dana.
Well my friends snarfed the whole container of crumbles I made so it all worked out!! :-)
I want to make a double batch to have one now and one later. Would I freeze before or after baking?
Thank you
Hi, I haven’t tried freezing it so I can’t say for sure. I don’t know if the crisp would turn out the same.
Kate, I froze after baking and took the dish on the road for a girls’ trip. Thawed, Baked covered for 15 minutes then uncovered for 10 minutes. Was delicious and a big hit with a brisket dinner with friends.
Making again today with the last of fresh picked strawberries and rhubarb from my local farm stand.
Thanks for a wonderful recipe
I’ve never had rhubarb and decided to make this incredibly delicious and flavorful crisp. I did use about 1/2 of honey and I’m officially hooked. I don’t know how I’ve lived without knowing what rhubarb was until now. It’s my favorite so far!
Wonderful, Kat! Thank you for your review.
The strawberry rhubarb crisp was easily the best I have eaten. So easy to make and the lower calorie count was a wonderful perk. Loved the Greek Yogurt in the topping! Will definitely make this again next hear when rhubarb gets imported to Anguilla.
I love delicious!!!
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Tom! Thank you for your review.
For my birthday celebration this year, my mother and I wanted to try something new. Full disclosure, we also had another recipe that we were comparing against and I think we did tweak it a little bit since we have specific dietary preferences.
That being said, we primarily used yours as a basis for the measurements. IT WAS AMAZING! As we were putting it in the oven, we were a little unsure of what we were going to get, but we pushed forward and were so pleasantly surprised. It was delicious and provided the perfect indulgence without the guilt (for us). The family paired it with ice cream and thought it was “even better” with that creaminess. Thank you!
Flavour is delicious – not too sweet. I only gave it a 3 because the filling was runny. While using honey is great idea, I think sugar would help thicken. I would recommend placing a larger tray under for drips because my oven was a mess. The crisp was a bit gooey and not as crispy as I would like but the taste was good. There will be no leftovers!
I’m sorry you didn’t love it. I appreciate your review.
I was excited due to the simple igredients and steps and that this crisp would not be overly sweet, but I won’t be making this again before trying some other options. The topping is just too dry and too much. I enjoyed the tartness of the ruhubarb, but that is about it. Not bad, but not great either.
Hi Laine, I’m sorry you didn’t love it. I appreciate your feedback.
Rhubarb strawberry combo dessert is my all time favorite; BUT, they have pulled all the strawberries here due to a recall. I could try frozen strawberries I guess(I really prefer fresh) or do you have another way to make it strictly with rhubarb? Do I just double the amount of rhubarb?
Thank-you for posting this recipe – I want to make this for my birthday(and my husband’s).
Oh now! I’m sorry to hear that. I haven’t tried it. Let me know what you think if you try it, Maria.
This is the absolute bombest crisp recipe. It’s my go to and one of my favorite desserts. Bonus in that its basically guilt free. I made some yesterday for the first time in awhile since I usually stick to making it in summer when I can get fresh rhubarb. Anyway I ate it for dinner last night, breakfast and lunch today. And I’m okay with that.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Helena! I appreciate your review.
My favorite strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe!! So easy to make and adapt and the topping comes out great!
I don’t have a 9×9 pan. Can I use an 8×10?
You could try it. Let me know what you think!
How do you store it after you bake? I made it a day early.
You will want to refrigerate it.
This was absolutely phenomenal. Made GF (1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup GF flour, 1/2 cup oats) and used maple syrup instead of honey. “This is a dream come true”, said my husband <3 Thank you C+K
I am not much of a baker, found this simple enough to make. I also added some lemon zest to the fruit mixture and chopped walnuts to the topping.
Turned out Good!
Thank you for sharing, Helen! I appreciate your review.
Love this recipe and make it frequently using frozen rhubarb and whatever berries are in the freezer. Raspberries are delicious! Today’s version includes a fresh pear. Thank you for having such wonderful recipes and always providing vegan options!
You’re welcome, Peggy!
So yummy!! My friends loved them!
Great to hear, Lauren!
I made it tonight. It was wonderful! My wife has been wanting this dish for a long time. We just saw rhubarb at the grocery store, so we made it. But it wasn’t very crisp, more moist.
I’m excited you enjoyed it, Orval! I appreciate your review.
This recipe was very good. I have made it twice, once with regular white flour and once with cup for cup gluten free. Both were excellent! Love using honey in recipes!
Hi are leftovers better kept at room temp or fridge
Hi Jamie! Definitely store in the fridge.
My crisps have never been oatmeal based. Oatmeal is for raisin cookies and that’s where I leave it. My crisps are always made with 1 cold half-cup of butter, 1 cup of all-purpose flour, and 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar or more. These ratios change with the fruit — rhubarb cooks down to a really wet mess, so I increase the flour measure. I use a shortbread base and bake it for about 45 minutes at 350. Nothing better with vanilla ice cream! Just the fruit and the butter crumble top makes for a great crisp. Experiment and enjoy!