Nothing says spring and summer quite like Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp made with fresh produce! Our recipe is perfectly sweet and tart, capturing the fruity flavors of the season. Our crisp recipe is also gluten free, vegan, and nut free.

One of the first things that comes to mind for seasonal recipes in the spring and summer is strawberries and rhubarb. It’s not very often I’ve had rhubarb without strawberries, they seem made for each other!
I originally created this post and strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe back in 2016, and I have been wanting to rewrite it for a little while now. Since it’s spring and I now have access to all kinds of fresh rhubarb, I knew it was a great time to revisit this recipe.
My husband loves strawberry rhubarb pie, but when I’m short on time, fruit crisps are easier to make, so this is perfect when you don’t have time to make a pie crust. And rhubarb is technically a vegetable, so maybe we can count this Strawberry Rhubarb crisp as a serving of veggies, too. 😉
Allergy notes:
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Nut free (depending on what kind of dairy free butter you use)

How to make gluten free strawberry rhubarb crisp
Originally I tried to make this a one-step recipe without cooking the filling ahead of time. But after remaking my original recipe a couple weeks ago, I knew I could make the recipe with an even better taste and texture.
Our updated recipe for rhubarb crisp is made by creating a thick filling (just like pie filling), then baking with gluten free and dairy free crisp on top.
Here are the steps to make this recipe. This is just an overview, the full recipe is at the end of the post!
- Wash and cut up the strawberries and rhubarb, then add them to a 2 quart saucepan with the sugar and water.
- Heat over medium-low heat until it begins to simmer, and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the fruit begins to soften.
- Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the liquid into a small bowl and whisk in the cornstarch until smooth.
- Pour the cornstarch slurry back into the fruit and continue cooking until it begins to thicken up, stirring regularly. It should be similar in thickness to pie filling.
- It will only take a few minutes to thicken up the fruit filling. Stir regularly to prevent scorching.
- Once it is thick, take off the heat and allow to rest and thicken more for a few minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- While the oven is heating up, mix together the crisp: combine the oats, flour, and brown sugar and mix. Melt the dairy free butter and add the butter and vanilla to the oats and mix well.
- Pour the filling into an 8×8-inch glass baking pan, and spoon the crumble over the filling.
- Bake for 20 minutes then allow to cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

When you’re adding the crisp topping to the filling, don’t worry if the crisp topping isn’t spread super evenly. It will spread out as it bakes.
I liked the amount of crisp topping on this recipe, but you can do extra crisp topping by 1.5X the crisp part of the recipe if prefer a thicker layer of crisp on top!
How to reduce the sugar in this recipe
Our original version of this recipe reduced the sugar by replacing half of it with baking stevia. If you want to cut the sugar, you can try swapping some of the sugar with any granulated sweetener like Swerve/erythritol, allulose, etc.
Just be aware that you may have to add a little bit more corn starch to the recipe since some sugar alternatives might not thicken with dissolving as well as sugar does.

We have not tried reducing the sugar in this current recipe, so if you do try it, comment and let us know!
This post was originally written on July 13, 2016. We recently revised the recipe, re-wrote the post, and added new photos!
Check out our other strawberry and rhubarb recipes:
- Strawberry Rhubarb Mocktail
- Gluten Free and Dairy Free Strawberry Recipes
- Allergy Friendly Rhubarb Recipes


Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Vegan)
Ingredients
Strawberry Rhubarb Filling
- 2 ½ to 3 cups quartered fresh strawberries
- 1 ½ cups sliced fresh rhubarb
- ⅔ cup unbleached cane sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Crisp topping
- ½ cup gluten free quick oats
- ¼ cup King Arthur gluten free all-purpose baking mix (we used the King Arthur Flour all purpose baking mix)
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup dairy free butter, melted (we used Country Crock plant butter sticks)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a 2 quart saucepan, add the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, water, and lemon juice.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes until the fruit begins to soften.
- Scoop out about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the liquid from the simmering fruit into a small bowl and whisk in the cornstarch.
- Add the cornstarch and juice slurry back to the pot with the fruit and stir.
- Simmer for a few more minutes until the fruit mixture thickens, stirring regularly to prevent scorching or sticking on the bottom of the pan.
- It will only take a few minutes for the mixture to thicken up. Once the fruit is thickened up like pie filling, take it off the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. While the oven is heating up, mix up the crisp topping mixture.
- Combine the oats, baking mix, and brown sugar. Mix.
- Melt the dairy free butter and stir in the vanilla. Add the butter and vanilla to the oat mixture, and stir until crumbly and combined.
- Scoop the fruit filling into an 8×8-inch baking pan (glass is best due to the acidity of the filling), and crumble the filling evenly on top of the filling.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving, the filling will be hot.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.
Video
Nutrition

Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.
Thank you for this awesome recipe. It is delicious!
Thank you so much Debra!