Strawberry Rhubarb Skillet Crumble ~ a delicious and naturally gluten free dessert made with the juiciest strawberries and tart rhubarb ~ be sure to save a piece for breakfast!
We’re smack dab in the middle of the early spring paradox. By noon the sun is warming the backs of our necks, we slip on flip flops and get all excited about the 2 for 1 strawberry sale. But by 5 pm we’re slamming the windows shut and grabbing our thickest cardigan and fuzzy socks. A cold strawberry isn’t going to cut it. What we’re really craving is a bubbling cauldron of ruby red fruit oozing out from under a sizzling crumble crust, tamed by a single, swirling stream of melting vanilla ice cream.
I’ve been plotting to make this crumble for a while now, just waiting to pounce when the first rosy stalks of rhubarb made their appearance. Rhubarb is an early spring crop, and it only seems to show up in stores during its season. Technically it’s a vegetable. I found mine wedged in next to the chard…keep a sharp eye out. The day after tomorrow is California Strawberry Day, so this crumble combo is pure serendipity.
Fresh strawberries are almost always too sour for me except for maybe one or two weeks a year. But who cares if the berries are freakishly large and a little pale inside… once you cook them they become sweet and jammy and really really good. The sweetness of the strawberries with the tart of the rhubarb balance each other out so well.
This is my favorite way to cook. It’s not fussy in the least, and it showcases the ingredients beautifully. For this one you only need rinse and rough chop the fruit, and toss it with a little sugar and lemon juice. You don’t need to be precise, just fill the bottom of your baking dish or skillet.
I usually toss together crumble toppings by eye. To make this one easy to remember I kept the amounts equal all around. I used oat flour, which I love for the flavor, but you can substitute regular flour. The hazelnut meal adds a rich note to the crust, but of course you can use any nut you like.
I say lay a big scoop of vanilla on it asap, and eat it while it’s steaming hot— just be careful not to scald your tongue or get brain freeze. (Even if you do, it’ll be worth it.)
TIP: A cast iron skillet is a fabulous pan to have in the kitchen, they’re inexpensive and wear like, well, iron! I love Lodge brand, they’re the classics. You can find them here.
If you love rhubarb, try my NO BAKE RHUBARB DREAM BARS ~ they have a heavenly texture. And if you’re more partial to strawberries, I love my STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SCONES,
Strawberry Rhubarb Skillet Crumble (naturally gluten free)
Ingredients
- 1 lb strawberries, washed, hulled and chopped
- 1 lb rhubarb, washed, trimmed, and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 Tbsp oat flour
topping
- 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided, at room temperature
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- For the fruit filling, mix the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, and oat flour together in a bowl. Put it in a 10 inch cast iron skillet or baking dish of your choice.
- Mix the dry ingredients together and then, using your fingertips, mix in 4 Tbsp of the soft butter and the vanilla extract. Break up the butter into small pieces and keep mixing until there is no longer any dry flour, and the topping has a nice large crumbly texture.
- Scatter the topping over the fruit evenly.
- Dot with the last Tbsp of butter
- Bake for 45 minutes until golden browned and bubbling like crazy.
Notes
- You can do this with all strawberries, or even all rhubarb if you like. If you go with all rhubarb you may need more sugar.
- This makes a FABULOUS breakfast.
Nutrition
Don’t forget to pin this gluten free strawberry rhubarb crumble!
This recipe is outstanding, made exactly as written. The best strawberry rhubarb crumble by far.
Made your fabulous Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble today, oh so good, perfect!
Thanks Cheryl!
My favorite combo since I was a kid is Strawberry Rhubarb. Could I use frozen fruit? I froze a whole bunch of each. Also can I leave out the ground nuts? Thanks
Yes to all! Frozen fruit will work, and you can leave out the nuts. Use more oat flour if you like.
Hi Sue,
Love your recipes and am going to try and re configure this strawberry rhubarb. recipe for low carbs. I’ll let you know how I make out.
Also, For some reason Im not getting your daily emails?
Thanks !
Good luck with your experiments, I can’t wait to hear what you come up with. As for the emails, I’ll check your address on my list and make sure it’s still there.
any chance I can use the oats, but substitute almond flour? or gluten free a/p flour?
Crumbles are super forgiving, Kathy, so I think almond flour or gluten free would work just fine. I think I have a peach crumble somewhere on the blog that uses almond flour, it’s delicious!
Love! This looks incredible!!
Would luv to try this but my wife absolutely dislikes Rhubab. Any suggestions for replacement,? raspberry
You could use all strawberries, or raspberries would be a great substitution.
this looks magnificent; we had a crap crop of rhubarb here last year, and none of it was fit for cooking, at least that i could find. this year – like just yesterday – I found the deepest, darkest red rhubarb amongst, yes, the chard, and i can’t wait to make something with it. This will be on the list, and you know, rhubarb really needs a longer season.
side note; since i took a wee break from blogs while on vacation, i totally missed you. However, how much fun have i had catching up this morning with all your posts that happened while i was away? SO MUCH FUN, Sue. I adore you and your food.
I love the flavor of strawberry and rhubarb but have never tried baking with rhubarb before. This crumble looks so delicious that I have to give it a try! Thanks!
I can’t wait to cut my very first stalks of rhubarb this year. I planted some a couple of years ago and this will be the first season it’s okay to pick some. This sounds delicious!