This crumble recipe with its oatmeal cookie topping and simple burbling blueberry filling that’s not too sweet and not too tart is exactly what you bring to a backyard bash when all you want is mad-crazy gratitude and an empty dish to take home.
It’s simple. It’s easy. And it’s the most crowd-pleasing summer dessert in our repertoire. One taste, and I think you’ll understand. Kindly note it also functions admirably as breakfast when topped with blueberry ice cream, which is essentially oatmeal with fruit and milk, yes?!
Why Our Testers Loved This
It was no surprise that the testers adored this classic blueberry crumble recipe. They fell for the juxtaposition of “warm fruit with the crisp, crunchy texture of the topping” and were delighted that it was such a quick and easy recipe. Lori W. has declared it “a new family favorite.”
Natalie Reebel calls this “one of the best fruit desserts–and not just blueberry–I’ve ever made.” High praise, indeed.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Fresh blueberries–If blueberries aren’t in season and you have a stash of frozen ones in your freezer, feel free to substitute.
- Lemon juice–The amount of juice you use will depend on how tart your blueberries are. I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Unsalted butter–If you use salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the crumble to 1/4 teaspoon.
How to Make This Recipe
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Butter a pie plate. Mix the blueberry filling ingredients in a large bowl.
- Dump the filling ingredients into the prepared pie plate. Arrange in an even layer in the pie plate.
- Combine the flour, oats, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a separate large bowl. Add the butter, and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to mix until well combined.
- Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the filling. Bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.
Common Questions
If the topping isn’t a rich all-over golden brown, it’s possible that you didn’t cook your crumble enough. Reducing the amount of butter in the topping will also result in a dry, crumbly topping. Butter, which encourages both browning and crispness, is the magic ingredient in getting your topping just right, so follow the recipe instructions.
Sure thing. We’ve made this recipe with only blueberries, with blueberries and raspberries, and with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. They’re all amazing.
You could absolutely substitute other berries or add pitted, sliced cherries. Just be sure to weigh your berries so that your crumble-to-fruit ratio isn’t affected–because you’re gonna want all of that buttery, crispy crumble.
As with most recipes, we recommend you make it exactly as it’s written the first time, then feel free to get creative on your second, third… hundredth times. But if and when you come up with a tasty new fruit combo, do let us know.
In my experience, fingers work way better than a pastry cutter. It’s faster and easier to get the right crumble texture with your hands.
Helpful Tips
- To make individual servings, divvy the filling and crumble between ramekins and bake until bubbling and golden.
- If making this with frozen blueberries, thaw and drain the blueberries before baking.
- Leftover blueberry crumble can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, for up to 3 days.
More Great Crumble Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Loved it!!! I followed the recipe exactly as written and had to make it again the next day as there weren’t any leftovers!
Nancy w.
Blueberry Crumble
Ingredients
For the blueberry filling
- 12 ounces (about 1 pint) fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, depending on how tart the blueberries
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the crumble
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened just a little, plus more for the pie plate
- Vanilla ice cream, preferably homemade
Instructions
Prepare the oven and pan
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Adjust the oven rack to the center position. Generously butter a 9-inch pie plate.
Make the blueberry filling
- Nibble a blueberry or three to determine how sweet or tart it is. Toss the blueberries with the sugar, flour, lemon juice, and salt, adjusting the amount of lemon juice according to the relative sweetness or tartness of the berries. Dump the berries into the pie plate.
Make the crumble topping
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Blend in the butter, using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, and mix until well combined. Crumble the topping over the berries in clumps of varying sizes.
- Bake the blueberry crumble until the berry filling is bubbling and the crisp oat topping is set and browned in places, 25 to 35 minutes. Let the crumble cool a little (but not a lot) before spooning it onto plates or into dishes and serving it warm with a scoop of ice cream plopped on top or on the side or wherever you choose.
Notes
- Individual servings–To make individual servings, divvy the filling and crumble between ramekins and bake until bubbling and golden.
- Use frozen berries–If making this with frozen blueberries, thaw and drain the blueberries before baking.
- Storage–Leftover blueberry crumble can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I have always shied away from blueberry crumbles and cobblers and crunches because they can be so sugary sweet. This one, however, is one of the best fruit desserts–and not just blueberry–I’ve ever made.
The easy-to-prepare crumble topping is absolutely wonderful. It bakes up golden brown and slightly crisp and adds just the right texture to the dish. The fruit portion of the crumble is perfectly balanced–not too sweet and not too tart.
Add a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and you have a dessert that looks humble but is so luxurious and satisfying. This recipe is well worth getting butter on your hands for.
Yum! Simple and sooo good. This blueberry crumble is much easier than a pie. The recipe makes a nice-sized dessert that’s great for a weekday meal. Next time I might put a little less flour in the filling, but otherwise, I wouldn’t change a thing.
This was one of those perfect-storm recipes with all the right elements coming together to make something amazing. The warm fruit with the crisp, crunchy texture of the topping paired with the creamy cold ice cream was perfect.
The only debate in the family was if the blueberry crumble should be on the side of the ice cream, underneath it, or on top, although maybe this was just an excuse for each of us to have three helpings. The majority felt side-by-side was best to allow you to have total control of the ratio of cold to warm in each bite. The recipe came together very quickly and was so easy. This is a new family favorite!
A 10 in my book. Excellent and loved by my hubby and our houseguest. We all ate the blueberry crumble as quickly as we could. Quick and easy and sure to be a stand-by during blueberry season.
If you want a dessert that’s quick and easy to put together and will delight your guests, make this blueberry crumble and serve it with vanilla ice cream or homemade cinnamon gelato.
The recipe works as-is. No need for any changes. The lemon juice brings a nice brightness to the richness of the dessert. The only trouble is that the recipe says it serves 6 to 8, but it’s more like 4 to 5 as everyone will go back for seconds!
This blueberry crumble takes no time to put together and can be divided, like I did, to make individual tarts. The topping was nice and crunchy.
I didn’t do the ice cream–we just ate it warm from the oven–although I’m going to fold the leftovers into some ice cream, just like the ice cream companies do! Enjoy this little recipe.
This blueberry crumble is a breeze to make and looks wonderful.
If you have sweet-toothed friends and family, then this would be great for them. Although my niece and others loved it, this was too sweet for my tastes. If I made it again for myself, I’d leave out some of the sugar.
This blueberry crumble is a delicious dish. I was going to call it a delicious dessert, but it proved to be a delicious breakfast, too. (Lunch, anyone?) It’s very quick and easy to throw together.
Although I sprinkled the crunchy topping on evenly, I found that it seemed to morph and clump up in spots. The very center of the crumble was still a bit wet, even after the berries were bubbling away and the outside of the crumble was browned. I removed it from the oven anyway. And it in no way stopped this from being a winner.
The finished product is excellent, even without ice cream.
The blueberry crumble recipe worked very well. I’d like to substitute crushed pretzels for the oats and take out the salt.
Why has it taken me so long to stumble upon your website and your recipes?! I made the crumble, one as a test and another as a gift for a couple with a newborn. My husband demanded that they not leave the house. He used words like “erotic” when describing this crumble. Living in the PNW, I make A LOT of crisps and crumbles. I don’t need to look any further for recipes. I’m getting ready to completely commit and laminate this recipe! Thank you!
Laughs. You’re very welcome, Ki Lan! I had the exact same reaction from my husband and nephew when I first made this crumble. (Well, okay, I only made one crumble, and there were no words like “erotic” uttered because our nephew was pretty young back then, but the sentiment and the accompanying demand for more were the same.) And welcome to our site, where all the recipes are tested over and over again in home kitchens before we share them on the site to ensure they’re sufficiently perfect. Happy crumble season!
Delicious and simple! Perfect for a busy housewife 🙂
Love your comment as much as I love this blueberry crumble, Karen J!
This recipe was super easy to make and I followed the ingredients to a tee except I didn’t use as much sugar with the blueberries as they were already very sweet and I also added a little cinnamon to the crumble dough. I doubled the crumble recipe and generously topped the dish. I probably have less than half the crumble left for another crisp or recipe. I did add some grated lemon zest (probably 4 swipes of the microplane’s worth as well in addition to a generous squeeze from an end cut of lemon) to the blueberries. The salt in the crumble topping was predominant as I used sea salt and it was delicious. We served it out of deep bowls with generous scoops of vanilla ice cream. I want to make this again and incorporate sliced almonds. I’m going to Maine at the end of the week and could make this crumble topping and have it baked off with fresh blueberries on top of ice cream, Greek yogurt parfaits, and of course warm and bubbly per the recipe. Perfect recipe to honor blueberry season!
Carlin, thank you so much for taking the time to let us know your tricks! We love it when readers make a recipe their own. Absolutely love it. Especially when they share what they do! Looking forward to hearing which recipe on the site you try next.