Tart rhubarb and juicy strawberries team up for an easy skillet dessert guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble is a classic summer dessert at the top of ‘must make’ list every summer!
It’s so versatile, you can customize it to fit most dietary modifications and the balance of sweet and tart flavors with crunchy and gooey textures is just so dang good!
Gooey sweet fruit with just the right amount of bite, crisp, sweet, and buttery topping, and of course don’t forget a large scoop of ice cream on top (make mine Bailey’s please!). That’s what I’m thinking about when strawberry season rolls around.
I mean I’m also thinking about margaritas and sangria and cake, but skillet desserts too.
I’m a sucker for a cast iron recipe, especially dessert. I just love love love that the skillet retains its heat for quite a bit so it’s great to make for a group or easily reheats if you want to make it in advance. This 10-inch skillet (affiliate link) is my favorite and a true workhorse in my kitchen.
Table of contents
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRUMBLE
The prep for this dish is super simple and fast, you’ll have it in the oven in about 15 minutes. The most time consuming part is cutting the fruit!
Step One: Preheat the oven to 375F. Prep the fruit.
Remove the green part - also called the ‘hull' - of the strawberries. Cut in slices or in quarters, depending on how chunky you want your fruit.
For the rhubarb, simply slice of the ends in chop into ½-inch pieces.
Step Two: In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and flour. In a mixing bowl, add the prepared fruit, lemon juice, small pieces of butter, and flour-sugar mixture. Gently toss together until all the fruit is coated.
Step Three: Prepare the crumble topping. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and butter together. Alternatively, you can use a pastry cutter or even your fingers to break the butter into pea size pieces and mix with the flour and sugar.
Step Four: Transfer the fruit from the mixing bowl to a 10” cast iron skillet or 8x8 square baking dish. Sprinkle with crumble over the top.
Step Five: Bake at 375°F for 45 to 55 minutes until the sides are bubbly and the center is just a little jiggly.
INGREDIENTS & SUBSTITUTIONS
Of course, you’ll need fresh strawberries and rhubarb because, well the name of the recipe implies it. However, you can substitute any type of berry for the strawberries, just make sure the portions are the same!
I use a combination of granulated and brown sugar for both taste and texture. The brown sugar adds a bit more of the toasty caramel flavor. The granulated sugar adds the right amount of sweetness to balance the bitterness of the rhubarb.
Granulated sugar in the crumble topping is my preference, but you can use light or dark brown sugar, cane sugar, or whatever you have on hand!
For the flour, I use all-purpose but you can use self-raising flour for crumble if that’s what you have on hand.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
To make a strawberry rhubarb crumble vegan, you can substitute your favorite brand of vegan butter when the recipe calls for it. I find vegan butter has a tendency to warm quickly, so just make sure the crumb topping is nice and cold when you sprinkle it on.
For a gluten-free version of this recipe, you can substitute gluten-free flour or cornstarch for all-purpose flour in the filling part of the recipe. For the crumble topping, substitute gluten-free flour OR make it a crisp by switching the flour for gluten-free oats.
CRUMBLE VS CRISP VS COBBLER
So what's the difference, right? Does it matter?
Well, they’re all delicious, but if you’re wondering why baked gooey fruit recipes have different names it all has to do with the ingredients in the toppings.
Crumble: A combination of cold butter, flour, and sugar in pea-size pieces to coat a fruit filling.
Crisp: Very similar to a crumble but includes oats along with butter, sugar, and flour.
Cobbler: Uses butter, sugar, flour, and baking soda for an almost biscuit-like batter that is meant to resemble a ‘cobble’ road. Get it….cobbler?
FAQS & TIPS
Yes! You can make the crumble topping in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
No, you do not have to peel rhubarb. Just slice off the ends and chop into about ½-inch pieces.
It depends on the fruit! The flour and sugar in the filling will thicken as it cooks, but if your strawberries are really ripe and juicy, you may need an extra tablespoon of flour.
Alternatively, if at the end of baking the sides of the pan are bubbly but most of the center is still really runny, add 5 to 10 extra minutes on to the baking time.
If you loved this recipe, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below! Don't forget to tag @hungerthirstplay on social media so I can see your delicious bakes. Thanks for your support!
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Ingredients
- 3 cups strawberries (sliced )
- 3 cups rhubarb (chopped in ½ in pieces)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (cut in small pieces)
- serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top (optional)
Crumble Topping
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F and prep the fruit. Remove the green leafy top of the strawberries and cut in slices or in quarters, depending on how rustic you want your fruit. Remove the ends of the rhubarb and chop into ½-inch pieces.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and flour. In a mixing bowl, add the prepared fruit, lemon juice, small pieces of butter, and flour-sugar mixture. Gently toss together until all the fruit is coated.
- Prepare the crumble topping. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and butter together. Alternatively, you can use a pastry cutter or your fingers to break the butter into pea size pieces and mix with the flour and sugar.
- Transfer the fruit from the mixing bowl to a 10” cast iron skillet or 8x8 square baking dish. Sprinkle with crumble over the top.
- Bake at 375°F for 45 to 55 minutes until the sides are bubbly and the center is just a little jiggly.
Notes
- You'll need about 1 pound of rhubarb to get 3 cups after chopping.
- If the strawberries are super juicy and have a puddle of liquid in the bowl after chopping, you may need an extra tablespoon of flour when mixing the filling together before baking. If the filling is really running after mixing, add it then.
- This recipe has easy swaps to accommodate a vegan or gluten-free diet, please see the post above for dietary modifications.
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