This Rhubarb Crisp Recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and tart, with tender rhubarb under a crispy oat topping. An easy dessert that comes together with simple ingredients but delivers big flavor!
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Why We Love This Rhubarb Crisp
- Easy to Make: No fancy steps or crazy ingredients, just an effortless dessert that’s as comforting as it is delicious.
- Crowd Pleaser: Whether it’s a backyard barbecue, family dinner, or a potluck this crisp will be a winner!
- Irresistibly Balanced: The tangy rhubarb paired with just the right amount of sweetness creates a flavor combo that’s sweet and tart.
- Versatile: Serve it warm, room temperature or cold. Whichever your favorite is!
- Make Ahead Dessert: A perfect dessert to make ahead and pop in the oven before serving!
- Seasonal Favorite: If you have an abundance of fresh rhubarb in spring or summer, this is one of the tastiest ways to enjoy it.
Rhubarb Crisp Recipe Ingredients
- Rhubarb
- White Sugar
- Corn Starch
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- Brown Sugar
- Salted Butter
Substitution Suggestions
- Rhubarb: Fresh or frozen rhubarb will work. You can use the rhubarb frozen or thawed. If thawed, drain any excess liquid.
- Cinnamon: The cinnamon is a must in almost all fruit crisp recipes, but you could spice it up with a touch of cloves, nutmeg, ginger or all spice. Apple pie spice is a good substitute too.
- Rolled Oats: For crisp toppings I use old fashioned oats or otherwise called rolled oats. You could use instant oats or quick oats but the texture of the crisp topping will be different. The rolled oats create the best texture.
- All Purpose Flour: You can use whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour.
- Salted Butter: You can use unsalted butter. I suggest adding a ½ teaspoon of salt to the oat topping mix.
This easy rhubarb crisp is the first thing I make when my rhubarb is ready! Get the printable recipe card below!
How to Make Rhubarb Crisp
- First, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Clean the rhubarb and discard the poisonous leaves. Pat dry and chop into ½ inch pieces.
- Next, in a large bowl combine the chopped rhubarb, white sugar, corn starch, cinnamon and salt. Mix it together well.
- Then, spread rhubarb mixture into an even layer in a 9x13 baking dish.
- In another large bowl, combine rolled oats, all purpose flour, and brown sugar.
- Now using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the softened butter until it resembles very course crumbs.
- Sprinkle the oat topping over the rhubarb mixture.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until crisp is golden brown and filling is bubbly.
- Serve warm, room temperature or chilled with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.
Crumble, Cobbler, Crisp and Brown Betty Knowledge Tip
Ever wonder what the difference between all these desserts are? The biggest difference between them all is the toppings. Let me break it down for you.
- Crumble: A crumble topping has a dense and crispy topping made from flour, sugar and butter and without oats.
- Cobbler: Cobblers have a biscuit or cake topping baked over or under the fruit.
- Crisp: Fruit crisp toppings are like a streusel typically made with oats, flour, sugar and butter. Some will have nuts as well.
- Brown Betty: A brown betty has a crumb mixture without oats and is usually layered throughout the fruit before baking.
Looking for more ways to use your rhubarb? Don't miss these other delicious rhubarb recipes:
Storing Rhubarb Crisp with Oats
Storing: The rhubarb crisp will be ok at room temperature tightly covered with lid, plastic wrap or aluminum foil for up to 2 days. After that store it tightly covered in the fridge. It will last another 2-3 days in the fridge. The topping will get a little soft, but it will still be delicious!
Reheating: To keep the topping crunchy, reheat the leftover rhubarb crisp in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. Remember you are only warming it through not cooking it again. If you are not worried about the topping staying crispy, you can reheat the crisp in the microwave or eat it cold.
Make Ahead Options
Make the crisp ahead of time. Prepare the rhubarb crisp, then cover and store in the fridge for a day.
Unbaked fruit crisps can also be frozen! Tightly wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap and foil. Then label, date and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in fridge before baking.
When ready to bake: remove crisp from fridge and let come to room temperature while oven preheats. Then bake following recipe instructions.
How to Freeze Fresh Rhubarb
Freezing rhubarb is so simple. It is a great way to not waste any fresh rhubarb during the rhubarb season. First wash the rhubarb stalks and pat dry, then trim and dice it up. Place the diced rhubarb in a freezer safe zip top bag. I like to freeze mine in 2 cup portions. Label and date the bag, then place in freezer. I like to lay them flat so they are easier to stack and store in the freezer. Rhubarb can be quite plentiful in the spring and being able to freeze it allows for it to be enjoyed all year long.
Heather's Favorite Tools for this Recipe
- My KitchenAid Stand Mixer is my favorite kitchen tool and appliance. It now has a new pastry beater attachment for cutting in butter. No more sore arms!
- This pastry blender is a great one!
- I love Pyrex baking dishes and CorningWare baking dishes.
- These nestled mixing bowls are my favorite!
- This ice cream scoop is the best. It makes dishing out hard ice cream easier.
Tips for Rhubarb Crisp
- Read the recipe from start to finish before you start. I am speaking from experience.
- Gather all the ingredients before you start preparing the recipe. It is so much easier to bake when all the ingredients are ready.
- Use room temperature or softened butter when making the crisp topping. It helps create a crispier oat topping.
- For a little more crunch in your crisp topping you can add ½ cup of toasted chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds.
- For individual servings, you can make the crisp in 4-6 ramekins.
- For an extra depth of flavor, you can toast your oats before making the crisp topping. Spread out oats on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 10 minutes stirring them half way. Let them cool before making topping.
- Serve it with Greek yogurt, whipped cream or my favorite, a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
FAQs
The best way to harvest rhubarb is to lightly pull at the bottom of the stalk and twist. Don't harvest all the rhubarb at once either. You want it to keep growing as you harvest so each year it will grow in abundance. Also, the leaves are poisonous so cut them off and discard them.
This is mostly a personal preference. I don't typically peel my rhubarb, unless it's later in the season and the rhubarb is more tough and stringy.
More Fruit Desserts:
- Easy Cherry Crisp
- Peach Crisp
- Very Berry Apple Crisp
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Peach Cobbler
- Strawberry Crumble
- Apple Cobbler
- Pumpkin Crisp
- Apple Crisp Pie
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Rhubarb Crisp Recipe
Ingredients
Filling
- 6 cups chopped rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teasponn salt
Topping
- 1½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup salted butter, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl combine the chopped rhubarb, white sugar, corn starch, cinnamon and salt. Mix it together well.
- Spread rhubarb mixture into an even layer in a 9x13 baking dish.
- In another large bowl, combine rolled oats, all purpose flour, and brown sugar.
- Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in the softened butter until it resembles very course crumbs.
- Sprinkle the oat topping over the rhubarb mixture.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until crisp is golden brown and filling is bubbly.
- Serve warm, room temperature or chilled with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.
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