Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Fruit Dessert Recipes Rhubarb Crisp 5.0 (1) Tart rhubarb and a buttery oat topping combine for the ultimate easy spring dessert. Close Credit: Jacob Fox Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins Total Time: 1 hr Servings: 12 Jump to recipe This buttery rhubarb crisp recipe is the perfect dessert to make when the tart, springy stalks appear at the market. The three-ingredient filling comes together instantly, and you can make the crisp topping using either a food processor or a mixing bowl and your hands. We call for a mixture of oats and flour, which lends the topping a toasty, biscuity contrast to the tangy filling. If you’re short on rhubarb, you can swap in another fruit like berries or apples with great results—just be sure you’re using roughly two pounds of fruit to ensure you have enough to fill the baking dish. Enjoy the crisp warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream to celebrate the arrival of a new season. 41 Rhubarb Recipes, From Sweet Custard Tarts to Savory Pork Chops What's the Difference Between a Crisp and a Crumble? While crisps and crumbles are both baked fruit desserts with buttery, crunchy toppings, there is one main difference that sets them apart: the addition—or lack—of oats. Fruit crisps: Like this recipe, fruit crisps feature an oat-based topping that lends a toasty, biscuity flavor to the dessert. Fruit crumbles: These desserts are typically topped with a mixture of butter, flour, and sugar. Due to the lack of oats, the topping for a fruit crumble is usually less crunchy and a bit more tender than that of a crisp. Buying and Using Rhubarb Though it's often treated like a fruit, rhubarb is actually a vegetable (and a member of the buckwheat family, along with similarly tart sorrel). The pink and green stalks taste bright and puckery, like a cross between a tart green apple and parsley. When cooked, their assertive flavor mellows out and takes on a subtle sweetness (though you'll definitely still want to add some sugar into the mix). Shopping for Rhubarb Look for firm, shiny stalks that aren't bruised or blemished. Don't worry too much about the color—it's a less reliable indicator of sweetness than you may think, so feel free to grab some good-looking stalks, whether green or pink. Store rhubarb wrapped in plastic or a produce bag in your crisper drawer, where it will stay good for up to three weeks. Preparing Rhubarb If your rhubarb still has leaves attached, trim and discard them as they contain a toxic compound (oxalic acid) that can be harmful to both humans and pets. When you're ready to prep your stalks, rinse them well and trim off the very tops and bottoms. Use a sharp knife to slice them crosswise into bite size pieces (about three-quarters of an inch for this recipe). Directions Credit: Jacob Fox Preheat oven; combine rhubarb, sugar, and 1/4 cup flour in baking dish: Preheat oven to 400°F. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, combine rhubarb, sugar, and 1/4 cup flour; set aside. Credit: Jacob Fox Make topping: In the bowl of a food processor, combine remaining 1/2 cup flour and the butter. Pulse until the butter pieces are pea-size. Add brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon. Pulse to combine. If you don't have a food processor, you can make the oat mixture in a large bowl instead. Use your fingers, a pastry cutter, or two knives to work the butter into the flour before adding the rest of the dry ingredients. Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox Bake: Sprinkle topping over rhubarb. Bake until rhubarb is tender and topping is golden, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired. Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox How to Store and Reheat Leftover Rhubarb Crisp If you find yourself with leftover crisp, you can refrigerate it, covered or in an airtight container, for up to 4 days. Enjoy it cold, room temperature, or gently rewarmed. Reheating To reheat, pop it into a preheated 350 degree oven until the filling is warmed through and the topping regains its crunchiness, 10 to 15 minutes. Variations Rhubarb pairs beautifully with other fruits like pears, apples, and berries, so if you're short on stalks or just want to mix things up, consider working another type of fruit into the filling. (Plan to use about 2 pounds of produce either way). If using apples or pears, peel and core them first, then chop them into pieces about the same size as the rhubarb. You can leave raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries whole but we'd recommend halving or quartering strawberries. For even more flavor, try adding up to two teaspoons of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste into the filling or stir in a teaspoon of grated lemon or orange zest to the fruit. 5 More Fruit Crisp Recipes to Try Blueberry Crisp Raspberry-Almond Crisp Apple Crisp Sour-Cherry Pistachio Crisp Plum Oatmeal Crisp Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.