4.9 from 28 reviews

Homemade Apple Rhubarb Crisp (gluten-free option)

By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Feb 20, 2020 (updated Jan 13, 2025) / 31 Comments Jump to Recipe

This easy apple rhubarb crisp gets sweet-tart flavor from pink rhubarb, a bit of zip from fresh ginger, and oat-flecked cobbles of salty streusel. A reader-favorite recipe since 2010, this crisp has lots of sweet reviews and comments, including variations on the streusel and fruit filling. I've included gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free, and paleo options too.

Find all of my favorite crisp and cobbler recipes here!

vegan gluten-free apple rhubarb crisp topped with ice cream

I first shared the recipe for this apple rhubarb crisp (a.k.a. apple rhubarb crumble) back in May of 2010 and it's since become a reader favorite! Brightly spiced, cozy, and lidded with a crunchy oat topping, it's so satisfying with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or ginger ice cream melting over the top.

If you love my almond flour apple crisp and gluten-free rhubarb crisp recipes, you're going to adore the way the two pair together in this apple rhubarb crisp!

Armed with a bunch of rhubarb plucked from my mother-in-law's garden, I recently revisited this apple rhubarb dessert to give it some fresh images. I used the gluten-free crisp topping that I developed for my cookbook Alternative Baker to test a GF option. My original recipe uses wheat flour from before I went fully gluten-free, and I've left it here. But see the recipe notes for how to make it gluten-free, vegan, and/or paleo using this almond flour crumble topping.

When I took a bite of crispy streusel and sweet-tart fruit laced with spicy fresh ginger, I was thrilled by how well this old favorite has stood the test of time.

Here's what one happy reader had to say about it:

5-Star Reader Review

“This was the best rhubarb crisp I've ever made. It's so great that adding apples means you can cut down so much on the sugar content. The texture and flavour were just perfect. I used Fuji apples. Everyone loved it - thank you!”
—Helen

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apples and rhubarb are arranged on a work surface

Apple and Rhubarb Desserts

I have Deborah Madison to thank for turning me on to the combination of apples and rhubarb with a rhubarb apple pandowdy recipe in her beautiful cookbook Local Flavors. Apples and rhubarb meet seasonally in the spring, when wintered over apples that have been stored since the fall coincide with fresh, field-grown rhubarb. They meet again in the fall when rhubarb grows its second cool-season crop and apples are beginning to ripen.

Though a lesser known combination than strawberry rhubarb, apples tame rhubarb's tartness the same way that berries do. Additionally, they provide structure that berry-rhubarb desserts can lack. Try this combination in any sort of baked fruit dessert with a silly name: pies, cobblers, crumbles, brown betties, pandowdies, or buckles.

Ingredients are arranged on on a plaster surface — Ingredients: apples, rhubarb, fresh ginger, maple syrup, butter, flour, oats, maple sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, pecans or walnuts

Method & Ingredients

Crisp is truly one of the easiest desserts one can make, and imminently satisfying too. Just prepare the apples and rhubarb, toss them with maple syrup, fresh ginger, thickener (flour or cornstarch), vanilla, and salt. Spread this mixture in a large baking dish. A 9x13-inch lasagna pan will make thin layers that cook well. Or for a deeper crisp, use a large oval gratin dish as shown here. You can cut the recipe in half and bake it in a 9- or 10-inch round baking dish or an 8- or 9-inch square dish.

To make the crumble topping, combine the oats, flour (or flours if making the gluten-free version), brown or maple sugar, cinnamon, salt, nuts (if using) and melted butter (or plant butter if vegan). Stir to combine until the topping forms large, moist clumps.

Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake the crisp in the lower third of the oven. This ensures that the fruit cooks fully without scorching the topping. If the topping is browning too quickly, lower the oven temperature. This crisp likes a nice, long bake to fully cook the fruit and crisp up the crumble, so be sure to let it go until the fruit is bubbling up vigorously around the topping.

Filling for apple rhubarb crumble in a bowl — Combine the apples and rhubarb with the maple syrup, cornstarch or flour, ginger, and vanilla. Transfer to a large baking dish.

Crumble is being stirred together in a bowl — Stir together the crisp topping ingredients until large clumps form.

The topping has been added to the fruit — Crumble the topping over the fruit.

The crisp has been baked and is being served up with ice cream — Bake until the fruit bubbles and the topping is brown and crisp.

Bowl of apple and rhubarb dessert with ice cream — Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.

Crisp For Everyone

I've updated this apple rhubarb crisp recipe with vegan and gluten-free options, so that everyone can enjoy some! I originally adapted the topping recipe from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook. I love that it gets simply stirred together with melted butter rather than rubbing the butter into the topping, and that it forms crispy clusters of varying sizes.

In the gluten-free version, I've swapped teff flour combined with sweet rice and tapioca flours for the all-purpose flour. This is the same crisp topping I use in my cookbook for cranberry pomegranate apple crisp, a lovely fall variation that's perfect for fall feasts.

For a vegan variation, simply swap in plant butter (such as Miyoko's) for the dairy butter and serve this with your favorite dairy-free ice cream.

Looking for a paleo apple rhubarb crisp? Try this grain-free almond flour crumble topping here instead!

close-up of easy apple rhubarb crisp in a baking dish

Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this apple rhubarb crisp recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

4.86 from 28 reviews

Homemade Apple Rhubarb Crisp (gluten-free option)

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An easy, cozy apple rhubarb crisp sweetened with maple, laced with ginger, and topped with crunchy oat streusel. See the recipe notes for how to make this gluten-free, vegan, and/or paleo-friendly!

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 1

Total: 1 25

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

The fruit:

4 large semi-tart apples, such as Pink Ladies, Honeycrisp, Cameos, or Fujis (1 1/2 pounds / 680 g, 4 cups prepared)
1 pound rhubarb, leaves trimmed away, in 1" slices (4-5 large stalks, 4 cups prepared)
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger root
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or 1 tablespoon cornstarch)
½ cup (120 ml) maple syrup (more if your apples are very tart)

Crisp topping:

1 ¼ cups (110 g) old-fashioned rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
1 cup (140 g) whole wheat, spelt, or all purpose flour (see variation for gluten-free option)
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (70 g) maple sugar (or brown sugar)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter, melted (Use plant butter for a vegan option. Omit salt if using salted butter.)
½ cup (55 g) coarsely chopped nuts, optional (sliced almonds, pecans, or walnuts)
vanilla ice cream, for serving

Instructions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.
If the apple skins are red and pretty, leave them on; or peel them, it's your call. Cut the apples off the core and into 1-inch chunks; you should have 4 cups. Toss the apples and rhubarb in a very large bowl with the ginger, vanilla, salt, flour, and maple syrup. Scrape into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, an 8 x 12-inch gratin dish, or the equivalent.
In another large bowl, combine the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt (and nuts, if using). Stir to combine, then add the melted butter and work with your fingers until it begins to clump into a gravelly texture. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit.
Bake the crisp for about an hour, until the crisp in golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up furiously around the sides. Remove and let stand for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Store leftover crisp in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat before serving, or enjoy cold with yogurt for breakfast.

Notes

Adapted from Local Flavors and The Moosewood Cookbook.

Gluten-Free Version:

Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch in the filling instead of flour. In the topping, increase the brown or maple sugar to 1/2 cup (80 g of maple sugar, 100 g brown sugar). Use certified gluten-free oats. Omit the flour and use:

1/2 cup (80 g) teff flour
1/4 cup (37 g) sweet rice flour or GF AP flour blend
2 tablespoons (15 g) tapioca flour

Dairy-Free Vegan Version:

Use plant butter in place of dairy butter. My favorite brand is Miyoko's.

Paleo Version:

Use this almond flour crumble topping recipe.

Nutritional values are based on 1 of 10 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 261kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 4gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 259mgPotassium: 325mgFiber: 5gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 365IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 1mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

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Comments

4.86 from 28 votes (18 ratings without comment)