Simple Rhubarb Crisp Recipe – An Old Fashioned Spring Treat

Around here, spring signifies that it is rhubarb time and there’s nothing our family likes better than a good rhubarb crisp!

This is one of those spring indulgences that celebrates the bright, tangy flavors of fresh rhubarb with a rich and buttery crunchy topping. It has the perfect balance of sweet and tart that will leave your tastebuds fully satisfied!

It isn’t, however, a recipe for the health fanatic. But like all things in life, it’s all about moderation! Besides, life isn’t worth living if you can’t enjoy the sweeter parts occasionally!

One of the reasons why this is one of my favorite dessert recipes is because it can be frozen and kept for enjoying months later. If you’re lucky enough to have a family member or neighbor who has a surplus of rhubarb, you can put together this simple crisp and then just throw it into the oven when you need a quick but delicious last-minute dessert months from now.

The “hardest” part of the entire recipe is shredding the cold butter. If you can handle that, then this is a perfect recipe for you to try this spring!

How To Make A Simple Yet Indulgent Rhubarb Crisp

*Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the full recipe, including exact measurements and amounts. You can also print out the instructions. I go into a bit more detail about the recipe here first, just in case you need it.

Tips On Using Rhubarb

You can use fresh or frozen rhubarb for this recipe. When using fresh, remove the leaf entirely and only use the stalk for recipes. While the stalks are edible, the leaves contain oxalic acid, which can cause stomach issues when consumed. I just toss the leaves into my compost pile so they aren’t going to waste.

Rhubard stalks are typically either red, green, or a combination of both. The color depends on the variety of rhubarb plants being used and has no bearing on flavor. (My plant produces mostly green stalks.)

When harvesting fresh rhubarb, gently twist and pull the stalks from the base of the plant instead of cutting them off. This helps trigger the plant to keep on producing additional stalks.

Only remove up to a third of the stalks each time. Do not harvest stalks from rhubarb plants that are in their first year after planting and only harvest a few in the second year.

Wash and dry the rhubarb stalks before cutting. You’d be amazed at how dirt and bugs can hide in the tiny crevices of plants!

Cut each stalk into half-inch pieces or smaller if desired and place in a 9×13 baking dish. Add the sugar and mix well. I don’t always end up using the full amount of sugar. If you prefer a more tart dessert, reduce the amount of sugar used by about a fourth.

Sprinkle the sugar and rhubarb mixture with flour. This will help to create a thicker sauce so the dish doesn’t end up super runny from the juice.

Making The Topping – Simple Rhubarb Crisp

The best part of this rhubarb crisp (besides the rhubarb, of course) is the rich and crunchy, buttery topping. I have worked on several different versions of this topping to get it just right, and this one is the keeper!

Start by mixing together the packed brown sugar, uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal, and flour. Do not use instant oatmeal as this will result in a mushy topping. I made this mistake once when I didn’t have any old-fashioned oats on hand. While it still works, the topping doesn’t have the same wonderful texture and flavor.

Cutting In The Butter

Next, I like to shred my cold better before using it. Frozen butter shreds well and you don’t have to worry about it melting quickly before you get the entire stick shredded. If you have a softer butter to begin with, you can skip shredding. This is the most tedious part of the recipe.

Then I like to get in there and “cut in” the butter into the flour mixture with my hands. You can use a pastry knife or fork to cut the butter in, but I find I don’t get good, crumbly results without using my hands. Plus, it’s a great way to get the kids involved with making the recipe!

Keep working the butter in until you get a nice and crumbly mixture. It should feel moist and workable like chunky playdough.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the rhubarb. You should have enough to cover the whole thing completely.

Baking Or Freezing

At this point, you can choose to freeze the rhubarb crisp to bake at a later time or bake it right away.

When baking the rhubarb crisp fresh, place it into an oven at 350º Fahrenheit. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the topping has a nice golden brown coloring and the rhubarb mixture is bubbly.

Serve immediately with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream. Keep any leftovers in your refrigerator. You’ll often find me digging straight into the cold leftover rhubarb crisp using a fork and no plate the next day!

For freezing, I like to prepare the crisp in aluminum pans. Whatever you use, make sure it is a freezer-safe container.

Wrap the entire pan in a tight layer or two of foil. Then place the crisp into a large ziplock bag, removing all the air inside. Label and date the bag so you know what is in there months from now (don’t ask me why I know this is needed!). (Product Link: 2-gallon Freezer Ziplock Bags)

When baking frozen rhubarb crisp, remove the pan from the bag and the foil wrapping. Bake from frozen at 350º F, adding about 15 more minutes to the baking time.

I hope you enjoy this simple rhubarb crisp recipe as much as I do during the spring! If you are looking for a great fall dessert, check out my “Skillet Cinnamon Apple Slices.”

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea

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