Rhubarb crisp is a simple, old-fashioned dessert. This crisp recipe is a perfect balance between sweet and tart with a saucy rhubarb filling and a buttery oat crisp topping.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: The perfect mix of sweet and tart rhubarb with a warm, buttery oat topping.
- Skill Level: Beginner-friendly and very forgiving.
- Time-Saving Tip: Prep it ahead and refrigerate up to 3 days before baking.
- Serving Suggestions: Don’t forget the ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream.
Ingredient Notes
- Rhubarb: You can use frozen or fresh rhubarb for this recipe. If using frozen rhubarb, add 1 tablespoon of extra flour to the filling and do not thaw it first.
- Topping: Flour helps thicken the juices so the filling stays saucy instead of watery. Old-fashioned oats give the best crisp texture. Quick oats can work, but the topping will be softer.
- Variations: Try a strawberry rhubarb crisp by replacing half the rhubarb with strawberries and adding a little extra thickener. For a warm twist, add a pinch of ground ginger to the filling. For a coconut-free version, you can simply leave it out with no other changes needed.
How to Prepare Rhubarb for Crisp
- When picking rhubarb, pull the stalk from the plant close to the root. Cut off the leaves and discard them.
- You do not have to peel rhubarb; however, if the stalk is quite thick, you can peel the tougher exterior if you’d like. I personally don’t usually bother peeling it.
You can eat the green stalk; however, the leaves are poisonous to eat, so discard them (for humans and animals alike).
How to Make Rhubarb Crisp
- Prep the rhubarb and toss it with sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
- Spread it into the baking dish.
- Mix the oat topping until crumbly and sprinkle it over the fruit.
- Bake (full recipe below).
Leftovers Worth Keeping
Cover leftovers and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat single servings in the microwave, or warm larger portions in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
To make ahead, assemble the crisp and refrigerate it for up to 3 days before baking.
Freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven before serving.
More Sweet-Tart Fruit Desserts
Did you enjoy this Rhubarb Crisp Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 6 cups rhubarb
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Crumb Topping
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cold unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup coconut flakes or chopped nuts, optional
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Rinse the rhubarb to remove dirt or debris and discard the leaves. Cut into ½-inch pieces. If the stalks are very thin, cut them into ¾-inch pieces.
- In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon. Toss well to coat and transfer to the baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, ⅓ cup flour, butter, and cinnamon with a fork or pastry cutter until it is well mixed and it begins to stick together. Sprinkle the topping over the rhubarb mixture.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the rhubarb filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.
- Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cream.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Delicious!!!
Wonderful. I did enjoy the addition of coconut to the topping. I melted the butter, unsalted, before stirring it into the topping mixture–it turned out perfectly crisp. This is a keeper for sure.
Can this be frozen and baked later?
Absolutely Julie. To bake rhubarb crisp from frozen, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake about 50-60 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Tasty – but 35 minutes was not NEARLY enough time to bake. At 35 minutes it looked just like it did went it went it, so I turned the oven down to 350 and gave it another 25 & it was perfect. I also substituted almond flour for the flour & slivered almonds for the coconut. Yum!
I have a bunch of frozen rhubarb. Should I thaw it first before baking?
You can also find this information in the post. Hope it helps:
Rhubarb itself freezes very well, simply wash, slice and place in a freezer bag. To use from frozen, just add directly to the recipe from the freezer (you may need to increase baking time slightly).
I’m new to doing anything with rhubarb, but have inherited a large plant. Was looking for an easy dessert recipe and this was it. I did do strawberry too and it was excellent. Jammy filling and just right amount of sweetness.. and so quick to out together!!
LOVED this recipe, and so did the friends we served it to! We made it dairy-free by using room-temperature coconut oil (plus about 1/4 tsp of salt) instead of butter. Thank you so much—we’re definitely making this again! ♥️
Very good! I cut the sugar with the rhubarb to 1/3 C., the brown sugar in the topping to 1/2 C., and the butter to 5 T. Worked brilliantly and tasted great. Obviously a little tarter, but was still sweet enough for me. Yummy!
Is the coconut sweetened or unsweetened?
Any coconut will work but I love using Sweetened coconut for this recipe.
Very, very delicious. I did half strawberries and half rhubarb and it was so jammy and tasty. Included the coconut in the topping and would definitely do so again. Could possibly cut the sugar in the filling but I’d be hesitant to change anything because it was so good as it is.
Did you use the melt butter or soften butter?
We do not use melted butter for the topping. Chilled butter helps to create the crumble topping. Hope that helps!
Perfect balance of flavors. Sometimes I add less cinnamon and use a a dash of ginger and nutmeg in the topping.
This is a wonderful dessert.❤️ I substituted toasted pecans for the coconut and it was delicious. Thank you for your delightful and great recipes, which I use a little lot. Thanks.
Love the new addition to your recipe, x1 x2 x3. So helpful no more guessing
Thanks, Betty! So happy we could add that feature for readers ❤️
This is, by far, my favorite rhubarb crisp recipe. It’s not too sweet, so it doesn’t drown out that luscious tang of fresh rhubarb! Thanks, Holly, for a rhubarb go-to recipe.
Do NOT cut the rhubarb. Pull gently away from thevtoot.
Agreed!
Resources that we’ve found indicate that you can either rip it off, or cut it. I was taught to cut it by my grandma!
If you pul;l it from thr root, it will send a message to produce more. If you ut it , the message is to stop and go to seed.
Thanks for sharing that, Chris!
This was great !
Is the butter for the topping to be at room temperature or straight from the refridgerator?
Thanks.
Hi Christine, for the crumb topping we cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or fork.
Can I make this in a thin baking sheet about 10×15?
Hi Makayla, we have not tried baking this recipe in a pan that size. Maybe another reader can offer some insight. You would most likely need to watch it carefully and reduce the cooking time to avoid overcooking though.
I thought this was a great recipe. I doubled the filling but not the topping and put in a 9 x 13″ pan.
Was good warm and cold. It was like eating an oatmeal cookie – so good.
So happy to hear that, Cat! Glad you enjoyed it.
Made this recipe for dessert tonight, used frozen rhubarb and coconut, smells and looks divine can’t wait to taste it!
Can you use frozen rhubarb & frozen strawberries? Someone gave me frozen rhubarb and I have strawberries frozen from the garden. Should you defrost before baking?
Hi Susan, as mentioned in the write-up, we just add in the frozen rhubarb directly. You may need to cook a little longer for frozen rhubarb.