I love strawberries! When they come into season I know that summer is around the corner. I’ve really been enjoying the strawberries that I have been getting over the last few weeks – using them in my green smoothie or over top Greek yogurt. And I bring you another strawberry recipe – Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble.
This recipe idea came to me when I was at the farmer’s market. I found this beautiful dark ruby rhubarb and I was intrigued. I’ve never cooked with rhubarb before – but I knew the classic strawberry rhubarb combination – so challenge accepted!
I set out to make a slightly healthier version of a strawberry rhubarb crumble. I decided to lower the sugar content, both in the fruit filling and in the crumble. I also used white whole wheat flour for an extra fiber boost in the crumble and added in pecans for texture.
However, I think this crumble is really unique as I did not use any butter! Instead I used olive oil (so a heart healthy fat). One thing I noticed in my research was that typically the amount of butter was equivalent to the amount of oats or flour in the crumble. Instead, I only used 1/4 cup of oil. The rest of the moisture was made up with the use of maple syrup to help my crumble achieve that beautiful crumbly texture. I was going to add a sugar to the crumble anyways – I might as well have it do two jobs! The crumble still has lots of flavor with maple and cinnamon.
Also, I want to share my fail – I first tried making this strawberry rhubarb crumble using fresh orange juice to add sweetness in the filling to be able to use less added sugar. I also thought adding the orange zest would be a good idea. While it smelled amazing as I was assembling the dish and while it was baking, which got my hopes up for a home run on my first attempt – the whole dish tasted of orange. And not just orange, somehow I replicated the flavor of fake orange. Tang to be exact.
So anywho, this version of this recipe is orange (Tang) free. It is summery and cozy all at the same time. I hope you enjoy and try in out as we still have a few weeks left of strawberry and rhubarb season!
Enjoy! – CK
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced into large pieces
- 1 lb rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tbsn cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Crumble
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a large bowl, add the sliced strawberries, rhubarb, white sugar, corn starch and vanilla extract. Mix together until the fruit is well coated. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the oats, flour, pecan, olive oil, maple syrup and cinnamon. Mix until a crumble forms.
- Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add fruit mixture in a single layer. Sprinkle with crumble topping.
- Baked for 45-50 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the fruit mixture is bubbling. Let crumble set for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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