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, that's this wholesome strawberry crisp for us, guilty as charged. My partner and I even left one dedicated fork in the baking dish-because we could not stop sneaking bites. To be fair, we do this with our favorite apple crisp and, well, all the crisps (please tell me we're not alone!).
With its jammy, fresh strawberry filling and golden oat topping, this strawberry crisp is everything to love about simple spring and summer desserts. Perfect for potlucks, weeknights, or any moment that calls for something cozy and fruity. Let's make it!
Key Ingredients & Notes
- Fresh strawberries - Spring is strawberry season, so don't skip out on fresh strawberries for this one! At least two pounds is ideal, because they reduce quite a bit when baked.
- Arrowroot or tapioca starch - These ingredients are key to make a crisp filling thicken up into the perfect jammy filling that everyone craves with a crisp.
- Oats - Whole rolled oats are the best oats to use for this crisp because they create a thick and crumbly texture in the crisp topping.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375 and grease an 8 or 9-inch baking dish with butter or a light layer of oil. Place all of the slices strawberries into a large bowl and add honey, lemon juice and zest, vanilla extract, and tapioca or arrowroot starch. Stirring gently until the starch is dissolved and strawberries coated.
- Step 2: Transfer the strawberry filling mixture into your prepared baking dish, and set aside while you prepare the topping.
- Step 3: In your food processor, combine the cold butter, flour, salt, cinnamon, and almonds. Pulse to form a pebbly mixture.
- Step 4: Add coconut sugar, oats, vanilla, and pulse a couple more times - just enough to incorporate, but not obliterate the oats. We want to keep their lovely texture intact!
- Step 5: Pour the oat crisp topping in an even layer over the strawberries in the baking dish.
- Step 6: Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes. You'll know the crisp is done when it smells incredibly fragrant, and the strawberries are bubbling up the sides of the crisp topping. Cool for 10 minutes before serving!
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.
Tera's Sustainability Tips
- Make it seasonal. Fresh strawberries peak in May and June, so they're best in spring and summer! Depending on where you live, this season may be longer or shorter. With summer fruits being so bountiful and amazing, you'll have to make this wholesome and fresh peach crisp in July or August!
- Make it local. When you're able, local (and organic, if possible) strawberries are an amazing option for the environment and for your enjoyment of them. Not only are they as fresh as possible, but they also don't have to travel as far and therefore reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Plus, buying local helps you support and feel connected to your community of growers!
- Storing strawberries (plastic-free!). Store unwashed strawberries in a single layer on a paper or reusable paper towel in a container with a loose lid, in your fridge crisper drawer. Moisture is the enemy of strawberries, as it can make them spoil quickly, so I recommend waiting to wash until just before you eat!
Strawberry Crisp FAQs
You can! In springtime, the fresh strawberries taste incredible, so I definitely recommend doing fresh if possible. However, I totally understand wanting to make a recipe right now with what you have on hand. Use frozen strawberries in this recipe as you would fresh, but do not thaw them first.
Yep! A fully baked strawberry crisp freezes well for up to three months. When you're ready to enjoy it, thaw the crisp in the refrigerator overnight, then bake it at 350 for 20 minutes to heat the dessert through.
You can store this crisp in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for a day or two before moving it to the fridge for up to a week.
Fruit crisps are always good with vanilla ice cream, real whipped cream, or a bit of homemade coconut whipped cream. Store-bought works too (like So Delicious Dairy Free). I like my crisps at room temperature or slightly warm -- the latter especially when I'm enjoying it with ice cream.
More Ways to Use Up Fresh Strawberries
If you have more fresh strawberries that need to be used, try them in one of our other strawberry recipes!
Did you make this easy strawberry crisp? Don't forget to leave a star rating 🌟 and comment below, and tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so I can see what you made!
📖 Recipe
Fresh Strawberry Crisp That Tastes Like Summer
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 pieces 1x
Description
This wholesome strawberry crisp is an easy and delicious spring and summer dessert! Naturally sweetened, it's bursting with jammy strawberries and a golden oat crisp topping that'll leave you coming back for seconds.
Ingredients
Strawberry filling:
- 2 lbs. fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch (or tapioca starch)
Crisp topping:
- 1 stick butter, cold and cut into 8 pieces
- ⅓ cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ cup slivered or whole almonds
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut sugar (or unrefined brown sugar)
- 1 cup whole rolled oats
Instructions
- Preheat + prep. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and butter a 8 or 9-inch baking dish.
- Make strawberry filling. Combine strawberries, honey, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and arrowroot starch in a large bowl. Gently stir until the strawberries are evenly coated in the ingredients, and there are no dry starch patches. Transfer the strawberries to the prepared baking dish and set aside.
- Make crisp topping. In a food processor, add the cold butter, white whole wheat flour, almonds, salt, and cinnamon. Pulse to form a pebbly mixture. Then add coconut sugar, oats, and vanilla, and pulse to incorporate while also keeping most of the oats intact.
- Assemble. Pour the crisp topping in an even layer over the top of the strawberries in the baking dish. If desired, pulse a few more whole almonds and sprinkle over the top (or sprinkle more slivered almonds).
- Bake. Bake the crisp at 375 for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven. The crisp is done when the strawberries are baked through and bubbling up the sides, and the crisp topping is nicely browned.
Notes
- No food processor? No problem! To mix the topping, make sure almonds are roughly chopped first (you can just do this with knife on a cutting board). Combine all topping ingredients into one bowl and use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut the flour, sugar, and oats into the butter. Once a pebbly mixture forms and the ingredients look evenly distributed, you're good to go!
- Storage & freezing instructions. Crisp can be covered and stored at room temperature for 1-2 days, but should then be transferred to an airtight container and placed in the fridge. To freeze strawberry crisp, make sure it is completely cooled, then place in an airtight container or cover tightly and place in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees until heated through!
- Flour swaps. Feel free to use any flour in place of white whole wheat flour! I sometimes use whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, oat flour, or regular AP flour. Use a gluten free flour to make it GF.
- Oats. I do recommend whole rolled oats for this recipe! If you like a nicely textured crisp topping, I think they work best to achieve that result.
- Toppings. Whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or coconut whipped cream are all amazing.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 329
- Sugar: 22.5 g
- Sodium: 157.8 mg
- Fat: 16.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Fiber: 5.4 g
- Protein: 4.9 g
- Cholesterol: 30.5 mg
Would you like to save this post?
I'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Leave a Reply