Healthy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Today is Father’s Day. In honor of my father, who died almost 21 years ago of Melanoma, I always make some sort of Strawberry Rhubarb dessert. It was his favorite and he always loved this time of year. So much so, that he grew his own rhubarb each year. We made strawberry rhubarb sauce, strawberry rhubarb pie and strawberry rhubarb crisp. It always brings a smile to my face thinking of him enjoying all the goodies we would make from his rhubarb plants. This crisp recipe is a healthier version of the original. I use alternative sweeteners to keep the glycemic load down, as well as using arrowroot instead of cornstarch to thicken it. Corn is generally made from GMO corn and heavily sprayed with Glyphosate. If you have organic corn starch I would feel comfortable using that as long as it is not inflammatory for you. I also use almond flour and gluten free oats with vegan butter in the topping, again to lessen the inflammatory markers and increase the nutrient density. If you prefer to make it grain free, no problem! I added notes at the bottom of the recipe to make it grain free. Enjoy!
Original recipe!
With grain free topping!
Ingredients:
3 cups organic strawberries, trimmed and halved
3 cups rhubarb, cleaned and cut into 1/2” slices
2 Tbsp. Arrowroot powder (can be substituted with organic cornstarch)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup Lakanto monk fruit sweetener
Topping:
3/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. vegan butter (I like Miyoko’s), cut into 1/2” pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Add the strawberries and rhubarb to a large mixing bowl. Toss with arrowroot powder, sweetener and vanilla extract. Set aside.
Combine all topping ingredients, using hands to combine until butter is in small pea sized clumps and all is well combined.
Pour the fruit mixture into an 8x8” baking dish, evening it out. Top with all of the crumble topping, ensuring that all the fruit is covered. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet to ensure that any spillage does not get into the oven.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Top with vanilla ice cream (I like Nada Moo - dairy free), whipped topping (coconut cream makes a great whipped dairy free whipped topping) or just enjoy as is!
* To make grain free: substitute the topping above for 3/4 cup almond flour, 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, 3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are delicious here), 1/2 cup coconut sugar + 2 Tbsp. additional coconut sugar or substitute monk fruit/allulose, 4 Tbsp. vegan butter (cut into 1/2”pieces), 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Combine as above and continue with the recipe as written!