Rhubarb crunch is a warm rhubarb dessert topped with an oatmeal cookie crumble. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is optional (not optional.)
rhubarb crunch is a classic country dessert
You can never have too many rhubarb recipes on hand for spring. This one’s a one bowl recipe that is a cinch to do ~ just chop up some fresh rhubarb, toss with sugar and a thickener, and spread it out in your most homey pan. Mix together a crunch topping out of brown sugar, oats, flour, and butter (using your fingers, naturally.) Almond extract and sliced almonds are a little upgrade I brought to the party.
why is it called a rhubarb crunch, rather than a crisp or a crumble?
Good question! This topping is decidedly a little crunchier than it normally is on the other two, so I think that’s the answer. The crunchier topping is a really nice contrast with the warm rhubarb and the cold ice cream (you do plan to put ice cream on yours, right?)
what you’ll need for rhubarb crunch
- a big bunch of rhubarb to make 5-6 cups thinly sliced ~ doesn’t matter one bit whether your rhubarb is red or green, both have almost exactly the same flavor.
- granulated sugar
- clearjel thickener or cornstarch ~ clearjel is a supercharged thickener (you can find it on Amazon, and a jar will last you a season or two.) It works great for juicy fruits like berries and rhubarb.
- brown sugar
- rolled oats
- flour
- butter ~ the amount of butter is an open question. I made this crunch with one stick the first time around, and 2 sticks the second time. The first time resulted in a dry crumbly crust, which I liked. The 2 sticks yielded a richer, more cookie-like topping, which I also liked.
- sliced almonds
- almond extract
the one bowl method for rhubarb crunch (details in the recipe below)
- Thinly slice the rhubarb and put in a bowl with sugar and thickener. Toss to combine. Turn into a 9×13 baking dish.
2. In the same bowl mix together the brown sugar, oats, flour, almonds, and butter using your fingers to get all the butter incorporated. The mixture will be lumpy. The topping for rhubarb crunch reminds me of oatmeal cookie dough!
3. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the rhubarb and bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden.
4. Serve your rhubarb crunch warm with vanilla ice cream. Heaven!
cook’s notes for rhubarb crunch
Don’t skimp on your rhubarb as this recipe makes a large amount of topping and you want enough fruit to balance it out. 5-6 cups is good. If you don’t have enough rhubarb, halve the recipe and bake in a 9×9 square pan.
I like my fruit desserts on the tart side, but if you prefer sweeter, you might want to add a bit more granulated sugar to the sliced rhubarb. I count on the ice cream to add sweetness, so keep that in mind.
If you like you can use half strawberries and half rhubarb for the filling. Peaches or raspberries make a good pairing with rhubarb, too.
If you don’t want to use almonds, leave them out and substitute vanilla extract for the almond flavoring.
Rhubarb crunch is amazing served hot from the oven, but you can reheat, covered in foil, in a 300F oven until hot. Single servings can be microwaved.
rhubarb mania
This rhubarb crunch dessert follows in a long line of rhubarb recipes here, have a look!
- Rhubarb Crumble Tart
- Easy Rhubarb Breakfast Cake
- Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jelly
- Perfect Rhubarb Muffins
- Norwegian Rhubarb and Almond Cake
- Rhubarb Crumb Bars
Rhubarb Crunch
Equipment
- 9×13 pan
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups thinly sliced rhubarb, red or green rhubarb will work
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp clearjel thickener, or cornstarch, Buy clearjel here
topping
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Toss the rhubarb with the sugar, extract, and thickener, and turn into your pan.
- In the same bowl, mix the topping ingredients with your fingers until completely combined and crumbly.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the surface of the rhubarb.
- Bake for about 40 minutes until the rhubarb is bubbling and the topping is golden.
- Serve your rhubarb crunch warm, in bowls, with ice cream, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
This was easy and yummy. I had 4 stalks of rhubarb begging me to do something with them. It wasn’t quite enough fruit for the recipe, so… to the garden to pick a handful of small strawberries, an even smaller handful of service berries and I also through in a small handful of chopped dehydrated apples I had. A modge-podge to be certain, but it’s what I had. Came out delicious. Thank you.
Sounds perfect 🙂
Doesn’t say what size pan. That a pretty important piece of info. I won’t be gussing
The size of the pan is in the recipe, under equipment, it’s 9×13.
Wonderful recipe, love the crunch topping!
?? added an extra 2 cups of halved strawberries a spritz of lemon juice, and an extra 1/2 Tablespoon flour. My new BEST crisp recipe! I was just looking at my rhubarb thinking I need to pick it and bake something and this was in my email this morning! Thanks Sue!
Yay Janet!