Healthy Strawberry Crisp

This healthy strawberry crisp recipe is made with fresh strawberries and wholesome, clean ingredients! An incredible jammy strawberry filling meets a naturally sweetened, buttery, irresistible crisp topping... all taken over the top by some lemon juice + zest and toasted almonds.

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You know those desserts that you just have to take a bite out of every time you walk by them sitting on your kitchen counter or in your fridge? Well, this healthy strawberry crisp is guilty as charged. Just sitting there on that kitchen counter, all delicious-looking with its jammy strawberries and buttery crisp topping. Did we conveniently dedicate one fork to living in the dessert dish for a sweet-toothed passerby? Sure did.

Friends, I think this strawberry crisp is exactly what we need to celebrate the strawberries of spring and early summer!

Jump to:

• The Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions & Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Strawberry Crisp FAQs
• If you liked this strawberry crisp...
• Healthy Strawberry Crisp

The Ingredients

• Fresh strawberries - Spring is strawberry season, so don't skip out on fresh strawberries for this one! At least two pounds is enough, because they reduce into a jammy goodness when baked.
• Lemon juice + zest - Fresh lemon juice and zest honestly might be what makes the dish. It brightens up those strawberries so much and the acid from lemon makes the flavors POP.
• Honey - Just a drizzle over those strawberries for a little extra sweetness.
• Vanilla extract - In the strawberry filling and the topping. Ohh yeah.
• Arrowroot or tapioca starch - Just a small amount of starch keeps the strawberry filling from becoming too runny, and helps the strawberry filling thicken up once it cools after baking.
• Butter - For that delightful crisp topping! We'll use chilled butter for this healthy strawberry crisp.
• Coconut sugar or unrefined brown sugar - We love using unrefined sugars in desserts because they are less processed. Our favorite brand for coconut sugar or unrefined brown sugar is Wholesome!
• Whole wheat flour - Or white whole wheat flour, which is typically what I have on hand.
• Oats - Whole rolled oats are best for a thick and crumbly texture in our crisp topping.
• Slivered or whole almonds - No need to toast them! They'll get perfectly toasted in the oven while the crisp bakes. Sometimes I'll use slivered, whereas other times I'll give whole almonds a blitz in my food processor to break them into smaller, rustic pieces.
• Cinnamon - At first I didn't think cinnamon and strawberries until I tested this recipe, and whoa. Game-changer.
• Salt - The most important counterpart to all the sweetness, as it makes the flavors explode!

Instructions

First, you'll preheat your oven to 375 and grease an 8 or 9-inch baking dish with butter or a light layer of oil.

Then, you'll get right into that strawberry crisp filling. If you haven't already, wash and hull the strawberries before slicing them lengthwise into fourths. Place all of the slices strawberries into a large bowl and add honey, lemon juice and zest, vanilla extract, and arrowroot starch. Stirring gently, make sure the starch gets fully dissolved and the strawberries well-coated. Pour the strawberry filling mixture into your prepared baking dish, and set aside while you prepare the topping.

For the crisp topping, I love to use a food processor, but not to worry if you don't have one! Simply use a pastry cutter or two forks to form a crumbly mixture.

In your food processor, combine the cold butter, white whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon, and almonds. Pulse to form a pebbly mixture, then add coconut sugar, oats, vanilla, and pulse a couple more times. I like to keep my pulsing time brief once I've added in the oats, as this incorporates them but maintains their shape for the best texture.

Pour the oat crisp topping in an even layer over the strawberries in the baking dish. Finally, sprinkle on the slivered almonds, and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. You'll know the crisp is done when it smells incredibly fragrant, the strawberries are bubbling up on the sides of the crisp topping from the heat, and the almonds are nicely toasted on top. Allow the crisp to cool for 10 minutes before serving it up!

Hint: Fresh strawberries become SUPER jammy when baked, so allowing the strawberry crisp to cool for at least 10 minutes allows the filling to firm up.

Substitutions & Variations

You can make the following substitutions and variations to make this healthy strawberry crisp recipe work for you!

• Gluten free - Use a gluten free flour instead of the whole wheat flour, and make sure your oats are labeled as certified gluten free.
• Vegan - Use vegan butter instead of dairy-based butter, and swap the honey for maple syrup or agave.
• Strawberry rhubarb - Swap half the strawberries for diced up rhubarb to make a delicious, sweet-tart strawberry rhubarb crisp.
• Nuts - Swap the almonds out for pecans or walnuts -- yum! If you have a nut allergy, feel free to omit the nuts or try sunflower seeds or pepitas instead. I haven't tried either of these in a crisp yet, so I can't vouch for results, but I imagine it would still be delicious.

Equipment

Most of your standard baking equipment will suffice for this strawberry crisp, but one piece of equipment I do love to use for crisp toppings is my food processor. If you don't have a food processor, a pastry cutter (or two forks) is a great tool for cutting the ingredients into the butter. Slivered or sliced almonds will be your friend here, although you could use whole almonds but putting them in a bag (reusable, if possible!) and smashing them with a rolling pin.

Storage

You can store strawberry crisp on the counter for a day or two before moving it to the fridge for up to a week.

To freeze strawberry crisp, allow the fully baked crisp to cool completely. Then, transfer it to an air-tight container and store it in the freezer for up to three months.

Strawberry Crisp FAQs

If you liked this strawberry crisp...

You might also like one of our other crisps!

• Healthy peach crisp (with an oatmeal cookie topping)
• Almond butter apple crisp (with a wholesome oat + spelt topping)

If you make this recipe, make sure to let me know in the comments below!

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