Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Updated May 21, 2024
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Craving fresh seasonal rhubarb? Make this easy strawberry rhubarb crumble that’s sweet and tart with a crunchy, buttery topping. It’s the perfect dessert for spring and summer picnics, potlucks, and backyard cookouts while the sun is shining!
Looking for more summer favorites? Try my peach cobbler, blueberry crisp, and this no-bake strawberry pretzel dessert. I also have an apple crumble that’s perfect for fall!
Rustic Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Crumbles and crisps are what I bake when I’m not in the mood to make a whole berry pie, and this strawberry rhubarb crumble is such a flavorful summer dessert. It has sweet sugary strawberries and tart, tangy rhubarb, all baked underneath that buttery homemade crumble topping. No rolling out a pie crust needed. I ate half of it in one sitting (in the name of recipe testing, of course).
I also know that, as much as I love it, rhubarb isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. You can also make my classic strawberry crumble sans rhubarb, if that’s more your jam!
Crumble vs. Crisp
Crumbles and crisps are very similar. Both have crumbly toppings made from butter, sugar, and flour. Traditionally, the main difference is that a crisp (like my girl, apple crisp) contains oats, while a crumble does not.
Berry cobbler is another dessert with a fruit filling covered with baked biscuit dough topping instead of streusel.
Grab These Ingredients
Scroll to the printable recipe card for the full ingredients list. For now, here’s a look at what you’ll need to make this easy strawberry crisp with rhubarb.
For the Filling
- Rhubarb – Rhubarb leaves are poisonous, so trim and discard them if you’re working with fresh rhubarb. The red and green stalks are safe to eat. Slice these into even 1-inch pieces.
- Strawberries – Hulled and quartered. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries for this recipe. One perk of frozen is that you can skip the hulling step! You’ll just need to thoroughly thaw and drain the berries before you make the crumble filling.
- Lemon – I use fresh lemon so I can zest it for the crumble topping, and then juice it for the filling. If you don’t have lemon, try using orange instead.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar helps break down the strawberries, releasing their juices.
- Cornstarch – Acts as a thickener to keep the filling from becoming soupy.
Crumble Topping
- Flour – I like to use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Baking Powder – Makes the topping extra crispy.
- Sugar – I use a combination of granulated sugar and sugar in the raw (you can also use brown sugar here).
- Lemon – Before you juice the lemon for the filling, zest it using a microplane or the small holes of a box grater.
- Butter – Unsalted or salted, melted before you start.
How to Hull Strawberries
Hulling strawberries means removing the green leafy stem from the red part of the berry. There are a few different ways that you can hull strawberries for desserts like strawberry shortcake, Dubai strawberries, and strawberry crumbles. Here are my go-to methods:
- Use a sturdy straw. Firmly press the straw up into the bottom of the strawberry, right through the top, and the stem pops right off. (I was doubtful the first time I tested this method, but you know what? It worked!)
- Use a paring knife. Trim around the stem, leaving as much of the red berry intact as possible.
Quick Variations
- Add nuts. For extra crunch in the topping, toss in chopped pecans, almonds, or walnuts.
- Mixed berries. Try adding raspberries, blackberries, or make my strawberry blueberry crumble with rhubarb for another version of this recipe.
- Spice it up. Ginger would add a nice kick here. Or, add a touch of cozy cinnamon spice or nutmeg.
- Frozen rhubarb. Rhubarb can be difficult to find depending on your location and season, so make this crumble with frozen rhubarb instead. Like frozen strawberries, fully thaw the rhubarb and drain the excess liquid so the filling doesn’t come out watery.
Serving Suggestions
I suggest serving this strawberry and rhubarb crumble à la mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. You can also try my cottage cheese ice cream.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons sugar in the raw
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling
- 1½ cups sliced rhubarb, (about 1-inch slices)
- 4 cups of strawberries, hulled and quartered
- Juice of one lemon
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Make the topping. In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugars, lemon zest, and the melted butter. Mix until clumps form; set aside.
- Make the filling. In a deep 9-inch pie-plate combine rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Mix until incorporated.
- Assemble. Add the previously prepared topping over the fruit mixture.
- Bake. Place the pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbly.
- Rest and serve. Remove from oven and let stand 8 to 10 minutes. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Follow these step by step photos to prepare this juicy rhubarb dessert in an hour or less.
- Make the crumble. I always start by mixing the flour, baking powder, sugars, lemon zest, and melted butter for the topping in a large bowl. Mix until large clumps form.
- Make the filling. Then, set the topping aside and combine the chopped rhubarb and strawberries in a pie plate or baking dish. Add the lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt, and toss to coat.
- Assemble. Crumble the prepared topping over the strawberries and rhubarb filling. It’s OK if some of the fruit peeks out a little.
- Bake! Lastly, place the crumble on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any spill-over, and bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes. The crumble is done when the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Don’t overbake, or your topping will be dry.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate or freeze. Store this crumble in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
- Reheat. For the best results when reheating, warm up your oven and pop in the leftovers until they are heated through. Don’t forget another scoop of ice cream, too!
This sounds absolutely delicious! I do love a good crumble.
Fact: I only recently learned the difference between a cobbler, crumble, crisp, and buckle.
As delicious as it looks, it’s totally understandable that you ate so much. Who could blame you? And by the amount of strawberries, rhubarb and lemon juice and zest, we can say it’s healthy too.
Plus, you work on your blog bringing us this delicacy and so, I just hope you also did your nails and hair 😉
I would have eaten the whole thing. I have a problem with not being able to leave desserts alone. Especially if nobody is at home to distract me! Beautiful crumble!!
Also, you won the TJ’s giveaway on my blog! Excited to get your goodies in the mail for you..
I would have done the same! Particularly as it looks like a really excellent strawberry crumble. To avoid temptation I only make stuff like this when having people over for dinner and then I make them take any leftovers home.
Oh trust me – if it’s good, then it’s good. And I see now problem in eating half of it! =) I know I’ve done things like that before… and probably far too often. But like I said, if it’s good… it’s good =)
Haha! No worries, I have eaten three bowls of baked custard in a single day. Sometimes the food is just too good to say no to! And I must agree that this pie fits the bill 🙂 I love your background in the first couple photos, too. Such a beautiful dark wood! Is it a dining table or did you build a backdrop? I am going to try and build some backdrops tomorrow, fingers crossed it goes well…
Hi Eva!!
That is a backdrop that I built – ahem – that my dad built for me 😉
WOW, you ate half of it? I mean, just half??? I think I would have had even the dished washed by the time someone got back home. I just can’t be trusted when it comes to desserts, especially so good looking and delicious like your crumble.
Thanks for sharing Kate 🙂
You only ate half of this? Left to my devices I would have worked my way through every delicious crumb!
I think that’s a perfect way to spend your care free afternoon. Great looking crumble.
-Gina-
Made my first strawberry, rhubarb pie with my daughter last summer! We devoured it – and this delicious-looking crumble would have the same fate. YUM 🙂