Enjoy an easy recipe for Healthy Strawberry Crisp made with an oatmeal crumble topping that's perfect for summer! This dessert is completely gluten free and vegan, and can be made in less than one hour.
A mouth watering vegan strawberry crisp
There's something about strawberry crisp that just screams summer, right? I mean a warm berry crisp straight out of the oven is guaranteed to brighten your day. Throw a few scoops of vanilla ice cream on top and you've got yourself a delicious dessert that's perfect for helping you cool down!
This healthy strawberry crumble is filled with warm, juicy strawberries in each bite. The ooey gooey berry taste mixes perfectly with the crumbly texture, and the vanilla ice cream melts right in!
The crumble part is made with gluten-free oats and almond flour, making the entire thing gluten free. The only sweetener used in this whole dessert is coconut sugar, and because the strawberries during spring and summer are SO good and naturally sweet, the flavor is top notch!
Summer desserts are some of my favorite, and you better believe I'm going to be enjoying this one outside late at night, barefoot in the grass.
Ingredients in healthy strawberry crisp
This dairy free dessert is made in two parts: the filling and the crumble. For the filling, we're using loads of strawberries, vanilla, and lemon juice, and for the crumble we're using a base made of rolled oats and almond flour.
Filling
- Strawberries: First up, you'll need 5 heaping cups of sliced strawberries. If they're super ripe, they'll contribute even more flavor!
- Arrowroot powder: Next, add 2 tablespoon of arrowroot powder to help thicken up the recipe. You can also use cornstarch.
- Vanilla: Add 2 teaspoon of vanilla for delicious flavor!
- Lemon juice: Add a slight tart bite with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Coconut sugar: Finally, finish off the filling with 2 tablespoon of coconut sugar.
Crumble
- Rolled oats: Begin the crumble with 1 cup of rolled oats. Use certified gluten free oats if aiming for a gluten free crumble!
- Almond flour: Next, combine that with 1 cup of almond flour to thicken things up.
- Coconut sugar: To sweeten the deal, add ⅓ cup of coconut sugar.
- Salt: A dash (¼ tsp) of salt adds a delicious flavor.
- Cinnamon: Throw in ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon for a nice cinnamon swirl.
- Almond butter: Thicken things up with ⅓ cup of almond butter. This adds so much yummy flavor!
- Coconut oil: Include ⅓ cup of melted coconut oil to help the ingredients bind together.
- Vanilla: Last but not least, finish things off with 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
Kitchen tools you need for this recipe
To make strawberry crisp, start with some nonstick spray and a skillet. From there, you'll need two mixing bowls, a fork, and measuring cups (¼ tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, ⅓ cup, and 1 cup).
How to make healthy strawberry crisp
To begin, preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare a skillet with nonstick spray (I used a well-seasoned 10.25 inch cast iron skillet).
In a bowl, mix together the sliced berries, arrowroot powder, vanilla, lemon, and coconut sugar until the berries are completely coated.
While the berries sit, prepare the crumble topping by mixing together the oats, almond flour, coconut sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Next, add the almond butter, coconut oil, and vanilla, and using a fork or your hands, mix everything until it sticks when pinched together.
Pour the berries into the skillet and sprinkle the crumble topping over the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Let the bake cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream!
An easy summertime strawberry dessert
This is a lazy girl's dessert if I've ever heard of one!
The base is very simple. Seriously. It's a mixture of sliced strawberries, coconut sugar, vanilla, arrowroot, and lemon.
The crumble is very simple, too. It's just a mixture of oats, almond flour, almond butter, coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla.
You assemble it but layering the strawberries flat in a greased cast iron, then adding the crumble on top, and then baking. That's seriously it!
How to eat gluten free strawberry crisp
When making this crisp, you'll know it's ready to remove from the oven when it starts to bubble and your house takes on a delicious, heavenly strawberry smell.
You'll want to dig in right when it comes out of the oven, but be sure to let it cool! If you can wait 10-15 minutes for the berries to settle and avoid burning the roof your mouth, I highly suggest it.
When ready to enjoy the crisp, serve it up with a big ol' scoop of vanilla ice cream, or pair it with coconut cool whip. And yes, you can totally do both!
Recipe Tips
How do you store leftover vegan crisp?
If you wind up with leftovers (I'll be shocked!), you can store them in a container and keep them in the refrigerator. When you're ready to enjoy a serving, heat it up in the microwave!
What if you don't have a cast iron skillet?
You can make this in any dish, really. I've made it in an 8x8 inch brownie pan for a thicker crisp. A 9x13 inch pan would also work well!
If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!
We have plenty of berry-filled desserts over here at Erin Lives Whole. There were so many to choose from that I could only narrow it down to five favorites! Try your hand at one of these, and dig in!
- Mixed Berry Bars
- Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Paleo Blueberry Scones
- Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake
- Healthy Raspberry Oat Bars
All recipes by Erin Morrissey and Photos by Sierra Inn
Healthy Strawberry Crisp (Gluten Free, Vegan)
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare skillet with nonstick spray (I used a well seasoned cast iron 10.25 inch)
- In a bowl, mix together sliced berries, powder, vanilla, lemon, and coconut sugar until completely coated.
- While berries sit, prepare crumble topping by mixing together oats, almond flour, coconut sugar, salt. and cinnamon.
- Add in almond butter, coconut oil, and vanilla, and using fork or hand, mix well until can pinch together and it sticks.
- Pour berries into skillet and sprinkle crumble topping over top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
- Let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, and store remainder in fridge.
Kay says
This is one of the most delicious, healthy, and versatile recipes I've encountered. I use it with all kinds of fresh fruits and sometimes canned red tart cherries. I especially love the topping of clean and yummy ingredients. It's a real crowd pleaser! Too bad the world doesn't bake more like this!!!
Erin says
Hi Kay, so glad you liked it and made it your own! 🙂
www.fooddoz.com says
It is indeed a healthy strawberry crisp recipe.
Erin says
Hi, so happy you liked it!!
Abbie says
SO DELICIOUS.
Erin says
Hi Abbie, so glad you liked it! 🙂
Kim says
Made this tonight and it will now be a staple in our house. Both my husband and I LOVED it!! Everyone needs to make this, I already sent recipe to friends & family 🙂
Erin says
Hi Kim, so happy you both loved it and thanks for sharing with others!!
Cath says
This is my go-to dessert recipe. I always use it if I have extra fruits. 10 out of 10.
Super easy to make and delicious every time. Easy to play around with it.
Erin says
Hi Cath, so happy you loved it so much! 🙂
Melissa says
If using frozen berries, should we thaw them first or bake from frozen? Excited to try this!
Erin says
Hi Melissa, you do not have to thaw them first. You can use them frozen. Let me know how it comes out!!
Aly says
The BEST crisp recipe. In the summers I make this weekly for my husband.
Erin says
Hi Aly, so happy you love it!!
Erin says
All of Erin's fruit crisp recipes are fantastic!! I was running low on almond flour, so I used the oat-based topping from the Apple Crisp recipe (the only Thanksgiving dessert for me now!) and paired it with this strawberry filling! I also had some beautiful rhubarb from the farmers market and added that in.
Erin says
Hi Erin, so happy you loved it and made it your own!! 🙂
Alexis says
Made this a few weeks ago and it was delicious! The perfect summer dessert and SO easy to make, I will definitely be making again!
Erin says
Hi Alexis, so happy you loved it!
Eliza says
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was so delicious! The flavors were perfect - everyone came back for seconds! Will make things again and again and again!
Erin says
Hi Eliza, thank you for sharing! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Kate says
No words, sooo good. This is my favorite of Erin’s toppings. I use the RX bar vanilla almond butter in this recipe and I could eat this all day. Frozen strawbs work just as well!
Erin says
Hi Kate, thank you so much for your kind words! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
Wendy says
Can I freeze this for later? If so, do I cook it now or later? Thaw?
Erin says
Hi Wendy, yes you can! It is up to you. You can bake in advance, freeze and thaw before you want to serve it or wait and cook sooner to when you want to serve it so it is fresh. Let me know what you decide and how it goes!
Dee says
This is so delicious. We’ve been making weekly crumbles with our farmers market berries, and this one was much better than the (less healthy) ones we tried from NYT, Bon Appétit, etc full of butter & sugar. We LOVE this. Erin is a genius & magician in the kitchen, as always.
We used a mix of fresh & frozen strawberries and bit of blueberries to reach the 5 cups, and subbed brown sugar for coconut sugar. I love some crunchy nuts in my crumble, so might swap out half the oats for walnuts or pecans next time. The almond butter & flour create such a delicious flavor along with the vanilla, and the coconut oil adds a hint of sweetness oh its SO GOOD.
We choose this crumble for the texture and flavor, and the fact that it happens to be healthier is just such a nice bonus!
Erin says
Hi Dee, thank you so much for your kind words!! I am thrilled you loved the recipe so much and make it your own. 🙂
Erin N says
okay guys, this recipe is no joke. if you're looking for a delicious warm cobbler paired with that cold vanilla ice cream, THIS IS IT. So freaking gooooood! By the way, I used about half fresh frozen strawberries and half frozen store bought strawberries and it turned out perfect!!
Erin says
Hi Erin! Thank you so much for your kind words!! I am thrilled you love it so much!!
Ari says
Want to try this, but trying to not go to the grocery store. Two questions:
1. Thoughts on using frozen strawberries instead of fresh? They will likely have more liquid - perhaps reduce the amount of coconut oil?
2. Would regular sugar be a 1 to 1 replacement for coconut sugar?
Erin says
They will be more liquidy for sure, but it will work.
Brown sugar is a good replacement.
Erin says
I didn't have any almond butter so I used peanut butter instead and it was SO good! Like make for your non-vegan friends good. Thanks for the recipe!
Erin says
YAY! Love to hear that! Thank you for sharing.
Virginia says
Any suggestions for almond flour substitutes ? I've got an almond sensitivity in my house 🙂
Erin says
Try a gluten free flour! Should work great!
Mayle says
I love this crisp and had no idea it was already on here! I made it last night for the first time and it was so easy and exactly what my tummy ordered as a dessert 🙂
Thank you for making baking fun for a non baker Erin!
Erin says
Yay!! Got a little makeover with photos, but I'm so happy that you enjoyed it!!! Makes me thrilled to hear!
Erin says
1/3 cup oil plus 2 Tbsp! Sorry about that!
Hope says
Absolutely delish!! Made this for the fam for the 4th of July. They loved it!!
I believe I can use other fruits to make it versatile. #peaches
Erin says
I am so happy to hear that you loved it!! You can use many different types of fruit! 🙂