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The quickest way to make a fruit dessert is by making a crisp. Nothing reminds me more of growing up than going outside for a big bunch of rhubarb to help Mom make a crisp. I love the sweet, almost sour flavor of rhubarb mixed with a crunchy oat streusel on top.
Often, we made one with a thickened sugar syrup that was poured over the top of the rhubarb. I loved it, but now realize the overabundance of sugar actually took away a lot of the flavor. To allow the rhubarb to shine through, I changed the method and made rhubarb the stand-out ingredient. Now, it’s just as irresistible, but so much better!
What is a fruit crisp?
A fruit crisp is a deep-dish baked dessert with fruit on the bottom and a streusel topping made from oats, sugar, and flour. This is different from a cobbler since a cobbler has pastry dough or biscuits on top instead of streusel. Crisp recipes can be made with pretty much any fruit. When done correctly, the result is a slightly thickened fruit filling and a toasted streusel topping.
Traditionally, rhubarb was always seen as too sour so old recipes used large amounts of sugar to sweeten it. Unfortunately, sugar has a way of removing flavor and only allowing taste buds to detect sweetness.
Well, that doesn’t work for me! In my crisp recipe, I reduce the sugar and allow the rhubarb to retain some of its tangy sour flavor. This wakes up the taste buds and really brings out the flavor.
How does the fruit become thick?
Whether making a pie or a crisp, thickening the filling can truly be an art form. Too much thickness and it’s gloppy. Too little and it’s thin and runny. Neither of those works for me.
I use an older method employing minute tapioca, which has many benefits. The word “minute” means that the tapioca is broken down into smaller pieces and thickens faster. Flour and cornstarch, which are common thickeners, both need to fully cool after baking to actually thicken the fruit. Minute tapioca, on the other hand, is thick straight out of the oven. Plus, cornstarch can lose some of its power when mixed with citrus, but tapioca maintains it perfectly.
All around, minute tapioca is just the right amount of thickness to complement the rhubarb.
Other rhubarb recipes you may like
Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Strawberry & Rhubarb Shortcakes
Rhubarb Wafer Cookies
Rhubarb Crumb Bars
Watch how to make this rhubarb crisp
Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped rhubarb
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp instant tapioca
- ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, white granulated sugar, instant tapioca, and orange juice. Stir to combine and pour into the prepared baking dish.5 cups chopped rhubarb, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 2 tbsp + 1 tsp instant tapioca, ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
- In the same large bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and add the butter. Using hands or a pastry cutter, rub the butter pieces into the mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal with pieces of butter the size of a pea or smaller.1 cup old-fashioned oats, ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup light brown sugar, 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
- Pour the streusel mixture over the rhubarb and spread it to an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling throughout, 40-55 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
Thank you
You are so welcome. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
like your recipes.
Amazing and simple recipe – I’m making it again tonight
I wish Kaleb would talk more about fruit. I have some saskatoon berries plants that i planted over 4 years ago and I’m only now getting some flowers on one of them..
I love your recipes and your style of delivery. Please compile a cookbook. I heard your video on Mother’s Day that you were thinking about it. Also, I hope you have recipes written down from your grandmother and your mother. I had only a few written down, but wasn’t expecting my mother to suddenly died. So many things I wish we had talked about.
Wow!! My husband is applauding over here. He was so excited over each bite. I couldn’t find rhubarb anywhere, so I did a strawberry/ blueberry combo and it was still amazing. I appreciated that it wasn’t overly sweet since we had it ala mode. Can’t wait to try the other recipes!
Yes Rhubarb!! Can’t wait to try your recipe. I’ve never used minute tapioca!
Caleb….. you are a breath of fresh air.!!! Can’t tell you how much I enjoy everything that you do! Don’t stop being you!! “ Well Hello”!!!!!❤️
Just made second one this week; only this one used up blueberries and strawberries. Last one was rhubarb and a few strawberries as I did not have a full 5 cups of fruit. Also did not have Old Fashioned oats but rather steel cut. The result was a very crunchy topping, and still delicious. Today I used the oats the recipe states. Cannot wait to eat Crisp Two! Easy and useful way to use up fruit – not just rhubarb. Did decrease sugar a bit in both with no issue.
Looks good
Thankyou for demonstrating how to repot the plant! I have a similar plant that I found a seedling growing along the bank of an area river stream and I’ve been misting it through the winter in my bathtub and noticed some yellow leaves in the middle. It looks like I must it a little too often. Hence because of the yellow slight dead smaller area of the plant! I think it also needs a bigger pot. Great advice of what products!
Here in Australia we call it Rhubarb Crumble and I grow Rhubarb as do many people. It seems to be quite common.
Definitely going to make this. Mom always made a jam/ jelly each year. But now that mom and daddy are both passed I need to start growing rhubarb for myself.
Love watching your videos. I’m watching from Ireland. Would ordinary tapioca work for this recipe.
Easy to prepare, I would use slightly less sugar, but it really depends on your rhubarb.
Excellent recipe! Best with big helping of whipped cream!
Yum! Thank you for sharing! We are also from Iowa, so much of what you cook, we do! Your recipes are HOME with improvements ❤️ I so enjoy watching your adventures with Kip! A bright spot in my day. Now your recipes are my go to as well! ☺️
Perfection! I’ve been making rhubarb crisp for years, first time I measured and well worth it. The tapioca is fool proof, no more oops with runny crisp. Thanks!
My favorite rhubarb crisp recipe! I will me making it every year!
I made this rhubarb crisp the day after watching Kaleb’s video and it was Outstanding! It came out just right and, as promised, wasn’t overly sweet, letting the rhubarb shine. I’m making it again tomorrow to share with friends. Yum!
I made this using oat flour in place of all-purpose flour, and I substituted corn starch for the tapioca as I didn’t have any tapioca. It still turned out delicious!
This is so easy and fantastic. I love how it’s made all together and is so moist. Everyone loved it. I’m making it again tonight. You’re the best. So fun too. Thank you.
This is the only rhubarb crisp recipe I use, and it is excellent!