This easy rhubarb crisp is made with a buttery cinnamon streusel topping—without oats, thank you very much—and beneath it lies just humble rhubarb, sugar, and orange zest. A quintessential spring dessert. Not too sweet. Not too tart. Just right. And superbly simple.
This rhubarb crisp goes beyond being a truly inspired dessert to also being a lovely breakfast dessert—so much so that some of us have been known to wake early and bake a batch especially for said purpose. (And while it’s perfectly lovely all on its own, although we wouldn’t kick it out of bed with a little ice cream, whipped cream, or yogurt. Do with that information what you will.)–Renee Schettler
Easy Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients
Email Grocery List- For the rhubarb filling
- For the streusel topping
Directions
If not using a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Use 2 knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture until what you have in the bowl resembles very coarse crumbs containing pea-sized blobs of butter.
Recipe Testers Reviews
It's almost summer and this rhubarb crisp recipe fits in just right. It's light and fresh, sweet and fruity, and very easy to make. Just cook the sliced rhubarb with some sugar and orange peel for 5 minutes, put it in a nice gratin dish, top it with streusel, and bake for 25 minutes. That's all. You can assemble it in advance and pop it in the oven just before dinner. We had some whipped cream with it, and everybody liked it.
Quite the tasty rhubarb crisp recipe! I grew up with rhubarb, so it's one of my all-time favorites. My mom would make pies, cakes, crisps, sauces, etc., as long as it grew in our yard each spring. Sometimes she'd plop me on the back steps outside with a stalk and a small bowl of sugar for dipping. Not sure I'd try that today, but I loved it as a kid!
I sliced the rhubarb stalks into 1/2-inch pieces, added the sugar and orange zest, and turned the flame on medium. It cooked for about 7 minutes and broke down into a chunky sauce. I combined the dry ingredients, added the chilled butter, and mixed until the butter was in pea-size bits. I poured the rhubarb into a 9-inch pie plate and added the crumbled butter mixture. It baked for 30 minutes, until brown on top.
After it cooled a bit, I tried some and found it to be very good, but I didn't really taste the orange zest or the cinnamon. Next time I'd double the zest and use at least 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon. I might even add some chopped nuts or oatmeal to the topping so it has more crunch. While rhubarb is in season, this makes a quick and easy dessert to throw together.
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Joan Osborne
The first thing I have to say is this will be my new go-to recipe for rhubarb crisp. We love rhubarb in this house (except for my son and son-in-law) and this was definitely a big hit here. Even though this is a really simple recipe, the orange zest really makes the rhubarb sing. My daughter smelled the filling simmering and said this smells amazing and asked what's in it. She couldn't believe it was just rhubarb, orange zest, and sugar. The topping is perfect, too, as it doesn't overwhelm the filling.
Whipped cream was a great addition to this warm dessert, but my daughter and I agreed it would be good even without the whipped cream.
In just a little over 45 minutes, with only about 15 of those hands-on time, you have a perfect dessert to top off most any meal. Next time I have a craving for rhubarb, I know what I'll be making.