Rhubarb Crisp is Deliciously Sweet and Tart
Rhubarb Crisp Dessert is absolutely delicious. If you’ve never tried it, today is the day my friend! Also, try The Best Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp if you like the combination of strawberries and rhubarb together.
My parents have a giant rhubarb plant, and my mom always made Rhubarb Pie with it. I never ate the pie and thought I hated rhubarb. Then one day, but back when I was still living at home, she found a recipe in Taste of Home for Rhubarb Crisp, and I found out that rhubarb is actually totally delicious!
Delicious Fruit Desserts
- Magnolia Bakery Blueberry Jamboree
- The Best Fruit Pizza
- Lemon Blueberry Sheet Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Recipe
- Homemade Danish Dessert
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
I may or may not smuggle rhubarb in my suitcase every time I fly back from visiting my parents. It’s so worth it!
…also, serving it with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream is paramount!
HOW TO MAKE RHUBARB CRISP Dessert
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut in the butter (or squeeze it in with your hand) until the mixture comes together and is crumbly.
- Press 3 cups of mixture into an ungreased 9×13 pan. Set aside.
- If rhubarb is frozen, soak it in 1 cup of cold water for 3 minutes and then drain. If rhubarb is fresh, skip this step.
- In a saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, and remaining water (1/4 c if using frozen rhubarb that you soaked and drained or 1 cup of water if you are using fresh rhubarb).
- Add rhubarb, vanilla, and food coloring to the sugar mixture and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for approx. 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
- Spoon rhubarb filling over crumb crust and sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of filling.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 23-24 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve with ice cream if desired.
- Enjoy!
Tips for making Rhubarb Crisp
- The great thing about rhubarb is you can cut it up when it is fresh and put it in the freezer so you can enjoy this dessert any time of the year. To freeze rhubarb, follow these steps:
- Trim edges of stalks.
- Wash thoroughly.
- Cut stalks into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Place 2-4 cups in a freezer Ziploc bag. (I like to freeze it in amounts I know I need for specific recipes.)
- Write the date and time on the bag with a Sharpie.
- When sealing the bag be sure to squeeze out the extra air.
- Place blags flat (for easier stacking) in your freezer.
- Pull out and use in your favorite rhubarb recipes all year long.
- This recipe can be halved to make an 8×8 size instead of a 9×13 size.
- You can add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the crumb mixture if you like nuts.
- Quick oats work in this recipe, too, if you don’t have old-fashioned oats.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream.
Cook’s Tools for Making Rhubarb Crisp:
Strawberry Rhubarb Desserts
Rhubarb Crisp Dessert
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Sweet and tart, this buttery oatmeal-topped Rhubarb dessert will knock your socks off! You'll crave it.
Author: Taste of Home Magazine
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 1½ cups flour
- 1½ cups old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup cold butter or margarine
- 3 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
- 1¼ cups cold water, divided (only 1 cup of water if using fresh rhubarb)
- 1½ cups granulated white sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- red food coloring, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut in the butter (or squeeze it in with your hand) until mixture comes together and is crumbly.
- Press 3 cups of mixture into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Set aside.
- If rhubarb is frozen, soak it in 1 cup of cold water for 3 minutes and then drain. If rhubarb is fresh, skip this step.
- In a saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, and remaining water (1/4 c if using frozen rhubarb that you soaked and drained or 1 cup of water if you are using fresh rhubarb).
- Add rhubarb, vanilla, and food coloring to sugar mixture and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for approx. 5 minutes or until mixture thickens.
- Spoon rhubarb filling over crumb crust and sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top of filling.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 23-24 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve with ice cream if desired.
- Enjoy!
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This is very good. Maybe a little heavy on the sugar but a solid recipe none the less. Ive been trying several recipes trying to get close to what my mom used to make. Ive not gotten there just yet but I am getting close. Thanks for posting this for those in the search of home.
Confession. When you first made this for me the first time I was terrified to try it because I had only had rhubarb once and it wasn’t a good experience. I should never have doubted you though, because this crisp is delicious. I keep frozen rhubarb in my freezer just for this dessert. Yum!
I am from Wisconsin and now live in AZ. We may or may not have had our relatives bring some in their suitcase!!!! I’m sitting here with rhubarb in my fridge and I cannot find my 30+ year old recipe. (will tear the kitchen apart tomorrow) I’ve read hundreds of recipes and yours comes the closest to what I remember is the process for my rhubarb crisp. I’m excited to try yours, with one twist. Thank you for this post!!!!
I hope it works out! I love rhubarb crisp!
Because I struggle to estimate how much fruit to buy for a recipe that gives it in cups I measured the weight of 3 cups of cut rhubarb this time. It came out to just over ¾ pound (13.5 oz.).
With rhubarb I am very lucky to have friends who grow it and here in the Pacific NW late May & June are the height of the season. I love making pies and rhubarb sauce (which also mixes nicely with apple sauce and kicks the flavor up a notch). But my first rhubarb bake of the season every year is this recipe.
The only change I make is that I chop the butter with the flour, sugar, soda & salt in my food processor then toss in the oatmeal after. I didn’t do that the first time around and the nice texture you get in the topping from the oatmeal was chopped away. But it was still a great recipe. Thanks so much for posting this.
Oh, I love this comment Marj! So helpful and I love the tip about preparing the topping that way, I will give that a try next time.
Best,
Maria
This turned out fabulous….I’m from ND where rhubarb is plentiful! Now I live in Florida and no one has heard of it! I keep a good supply in my freezer and replace every year! I, too, have brought it home in my suitcase! A woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do!!! The neighbors love it when I bring them my comfort food treat!
PS….I left out the vanilla….I like the tartness and I sure don’t mix it with strawberries or some other fruit to soften that taste🥴
Yay! I love that you love Rhubarb as much as I do…as for never adding strawberries…that’s how I used to feel to until my practically forced me to make this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. I gotta admit it was fantastic. You might need to give it a try sometime.
I will admit that I enjoy rhubarb/strawberry and rhubarb/cherry jam that I randomly find in the grocery store!🥰
I’m starting to really appreciate rhubarb the older I get. 🙂