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Have you tried a fruit crunch? There’s an extra layer of topping that makes this Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch just a little more special than a fruit crisp.
Fresh fruits tossed together with citrus and cinnamon sugar, then baked in between layers of brown sugar and oat crust, this is my favorite way to bake fruit desserts.
Rhubarb Crunch
Almost firm enough to cut into bars and yet just fruity enough to still resemble a crisp, a crunch is simply a fruit crisp with both a top and bottom crust layer.
Don’t be intimidated by the crust layers or the topping, no cutting in cold butter is required. Melted butter is poured into the topping and it forms perfect crumbs to top this dessert. This recipe gets bonus points for being naturally gluten-free too.
(Watch the video in the recipe card to see just how easy it is to make this Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch!)
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
I tried rhubarb for the first time at a friend’s house several years ago. (Thanks, Rachael!) I absolutely loved the rhubarb and strawberry crisp combination that she served for dessert.
Remembering Rachael’s delicious dessert, I decided to adapt my favorite fruit crunch recipe to include some fresh rhubarb that I found at my local market this past weekend.
Tangy, sweet, and just a tiny bit tart from the rhubarb. I love this dessert so much; I have now added rhubarb to my garden list for next spring.
If you already love Strawberry Rhubarb Crisps, you’re going to flip for this “crunch” variation.
Instead of simply pouring the fruit into the bottom of the pan and topping it with the oat streusel, you’ll press half of the streusel into the bottom of the pan, pour the fruit over it, and then sprinkle with the remaining streusel.
The extra layer of streusel in the crunch proves irresistible to anyone who loves that crisp topping as much as they enjoy the warm sweet fruit!
I like to serve both fruit crisps and fruit crunches warm from the oven, scooped into bowls with our favorite homemade ice cream for an unforgettable dessert, but it’s also amazing sliced into bars the next day for breakfast. (Or for lunch, or let’s be honest, I’d happily eat this for dinner as well.)
Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch
- Preheat the oven to 400°F degrees. Place the fruit in a mixing bowl. Add the white sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cornstarch. Stir to coat and add the orange juice. Stir again and set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and then add the melted butter. Stir to combine. Press half of this mixture into a buttered 9×13 pan. Pour the fruit over the bottom crust and then sprinkle the rest of the dry mixture on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the crust turns golden brown. Scoop into bowls warm from the oven or let cool completely and slice into servings.
Strawberry Rhubarb Recipes
Want a few more rhubarb dessert ideas? These simple Rhubarb Bars with their shortbread crust topped with a tangy-sweet rhubarb layer are crazy popular too and they’ve become a seasonal favorite with everyone who tries them.
Tart and sweet Roasted Rhubarb Ice Cream is the flavor combo my taste buds crave. I love anything with a sweet contrast. Do you have a favorite rhubarb recipe? I’d love to hear about it if you do.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch
Ingredients
Fruit Filling Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped strawberries
- 2 cups thinly sliced and chopped fresh rhubarb frozen can be substituted if fresh is not available
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup orange juice
Crust Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour *
- 1½ cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F degrees. Place the fruit in a mixing bowl. Add the white sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cornstarch. Stir to coat and add the orange juice. Stir again and set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and then add the melted butter. Stir to combine. Press half of this mixture into a buttered 9×13 pan. Pour the fruit over the bottom crust and then sprinkle the rest of the dry mixture on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the crust turns golden brown. Serve warm from the oven or let cool completely and slice into servings. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- To make this recipe gluten-free: Substitute 1 1/3 cups brown rice flour and 2/3 cup tapioca starch for the all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally posted 6/15/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/6/22}
My husband is gluten free and I often user he all purpose gluten free flour. For this recipe would I still need to use the tapioca and xanthan gum with this flour? Thank you
If you’re using a GF flour blend, simply substitute that for the all-purpose flour in the recipe. Ignore the GF ingredients with the asterisk.
This may sound silly, wanting to make the recipe that is not gluten free, it’s says to substitute 2 cups off flour with each item that has a * by it… I see 3…. So use 6 cups of flour?! Thank you!
2 cups TOTAL. I hope that helps!
I would like to try this but it says arrowroot what is it
Cornstarch or arrowroot will work for this recipe. Enjoy!
This lookd great..I remember eating this in school way back in the day.
The instructions call for adding arrowroot, but that isn’t in the list of ingredients. How much should I use?
Cornstarch or arrowroot will work for this recipe. Thanks for catching that.
Strawberry Rhubarb Brown Sugar Crunch recipe
Instructions mention arrowroot, but it is not listed in the ingredients.
Instructions doesn’t mention cornstarch, but it is listed in the ingredients.
Florence
FLuceEvans@aol.com
Thanks, Florence. Cornstarch or arrowroot will work for this recipe. Thanks!
Looks awesome love to try !
This was very good but stuck to my pan, the crust was very hard when cooled.
It’s so wonderful to find easy gluten free recipes!
Love old fashioned recipes. I WAS raised on homemade desserts everyday and was never overweight. Its all the junk food that is so fattening. We had a big garden and froze our vegetables and canned our own fruit.
Could I use almond flour instead white flour ?
Almond flour won’t work exactly the same, but it should still work for the layers in this recipe. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Looks good gonna try it luv rhubarb desserts👍👍👍
Made this yesterday and found it toooooo sweet, so I would just cut out some of the sugar to half as much next time….I sprinkled sliced almonds on top too add some crunch…..
Can you freeze this recipe and bake it later?
I typically bake and then freeze, but it should work fine either way.
I grew up with a patch of rhubarb in our back yard. I remember Mum would stew the rhubarb with sugar and put it on our Weetbix (breakfast cereal). When we poured milk on it, the acid in the rhubarb would curdle the milk, lol, doesn’t make any difference to the taste, just looked funny. I also like to eat rhubarb raw, just dip the end in sugar, tastes great. Rhubarb goes really well with apples too. I’ve never tried it with strawberries before, sounds really good. I’ll have to try it. Btw that rhubarb patch is long gone. I googled the place where I grew up and it doesn’t exist anymore 😦
This recipe calls for one cup of flour, and yet you tell someone who asked to use 2 cups of flour instead of your GF ingredients. We used one cup of flour as the original recipe indicated. This turned out terrible. The flavor was fine, but it was impossible to get out of the pan, It was soggy and mushy. I am so thankful I did not make this for guests.
oh, Joan! I am so sorry for your hassle. That is my fault and I have no idea how it happened. My original recipe was written with the gluten-free ingredients in the body of the recipe card and the 2 cups all-purpose flour substitution at the bottom. I edited the post and reversed the placement a little while ago because I was getting a lot of questions about the traditional recipe vs the gluten free. And somehow I messed it up and only wrote 1 cup in the recipe card. Again, I am very sorry for that recipe failure. I hate it so much when recipes don’t work out and this time it was entirely my fault.
Can I substitute quick oats for the old fashioned oats?
The texture will be a little different, but it should work fine.
Sure wish you would have distinguished between sugar and brown sugar when giving mixing directions. Ended up mixing both sugars in the fruit mix, I’m going to assume, based on how terrible the topping came out, that the brown sugar was supposed to be mixed in with the flour and oats. Sadly you just say to mix remaining ingredients.
How many will thus serve?
I just love rhubarb crisps