Print

Print Recipe

A warm, comforting crisp dessert featuring tart rhubarb (fresh or frozen) topped with a golden, buttery oat crumble. Perfect year-round and simple to make with pantry staples.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 lb rhubarb (frozen, cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup sugar (for filling)
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch (thickener for filling)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (for topping)
  • 1 stick cold unsalted butter (diced into small cubes)
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup sugar (for topping)
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
  2. Lightly butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
  3. If using frozen rhubarb, thaw completely in a colander and drain well to remove excess water, or use directly frozen.
  4. In a large bowl, toss rhubarb with 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup cornstarch until evenly coated.
  5. Spread the rhubarb filling evenly in the buttered casserole dish.
  6. In another large bowl, stir together oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
  7. Add cold diced butter to the dry topping mixture.
  8. Use a pastry cutter or fingers to work butter into the topping until it resembles coarse crumbs.
  9. Scatter the oat topping evenly over the rhubarb filling.
  10. Bake for 35–50 minutes until topping is golden and filling bubbles around edges.
  11. Remove from oven and cool on counter for at least 10 minutes, ideally 20 minutes, to let the filling set before serving.

Notes

Avoid soggy crisp by thoroughly draining thawed frozen rhubarb. Cornstarch is essential for thickening the filling., Keep butter cold to create a crumbly topping texture., Allow the crisp to bubble at edges and the top to become golden before removing from oven, typically closer to 45-50 minutes., Resting the crisp after baking allows the filling to firm up for optimal texture., Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or cold heavy cream for best flavor contrast., Add crunch by sprinkling chopped nuts such as almonds or pecans on top if desired., Variations include mixing half strawberries with rhubarb, or substituting rhubarb with tart apples or fresh cranberries while keeping total fruit weight same., Cornstarch alternatives: use 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or 3 tablespoons tapioca starch as thickeners., Oats substitutes: quick oats or chopped nuts with extra flour in topping., Butter substitutes: cold solid coconut oil or vegan butter sticks for dairy-free version., Sugar swap: use brown sugar in topping for deeper caramel flavor; filling sugar is best kept as white sugar., Storage: Keep covered refrigerated up to 5 days; topping may soften but flavor remains., Freezing: Freeze before or after baking up to 3 months in airtight packaging., Reheating: Warm refrigerated crisp at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or microwave individually (topping may lose crunch)., For frozen crisp, thaw overnight before reheating.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://cookingcrumbs.com/classic-rhubarb-crisp-with-frozen-rhubarb/