Gluten Free Berry Rhubarb Crisp

This gluten free Berry Rhubarb Crisp is made with rhubarb and all your favorite berries and topped with an almond flour-based crumble that makes for the ultimate gluten free dessert. 

Three cheers for berry rhubarb crisp! I’ve probably said this a million times, but ever since giving up chocolate, I’ve become a HUGE fan of fruit-based desserts. I mean, I already liked them, but now I love them and they tend to be my dessert of choice. As much as I love all things fall, I strongly prefer summer produce–give me all the berries! This gluten free berry rhubarb crisp screams summer and will get everyone in the mood for warm weather. *This post originally appeared in 2017, but has since been updated with new photos!

VEGAN GLUTEN FREE BERRY CRISP

Ok so let’s talk about the fact that this berry crisp is not only delicious, but it’s vegan AND gluten free! Here’s the thing: even if you yourself aren’t vegan and/or gluten free, it’s nice to have a dessert on hand for any friends/family/guests who might be. I’ll admit that making gluten free cakes can be a little tricky, but making gluten free crisp is EASY, I promise.

So what makes this recipe vegan? Well, there’s no egg in it and it uses dairy free butter. Essentially it’s made with berries, “flour” and sugar. The topping uses brown sugar, and I’ve learned that not all brown sugar is created equal, so if you aren’t sure if your brown sugar is vegan, simply use regular sugar instead. Ok, but what makes it gluten free? Instead of regular flour, it uses almond flour and arrowroot starch, both of which are gluten free. 

HOW DO I MAKE GLUTEN FREE RHUBARB CRISP?

• Chop and coat the berries: This recipe calls for blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and rhubarb, so you’ll have to chop both the strawberries and rhubarb so they’re bite-sized. Otherwise, you’ll be left with large chunks of those and you want them to be similar in size to the blueberries and blackberries. Once they’re chopped, add them to a large bowl and then pour the arrowroot over top and use a spoon to stir everything together. You want the berries to be completely coated with arrowroot. SUBSTITUTION: if you don’t have arrowroot, you can use tapioca flour instead.
• Make the topping: The topping consists of almond flour, brown sugar, dairy free butter and cinnamon (optional). Again, if you’re strict vegan, use granulated/cane sugar instead of brown sugar. The cinnamon adds a nice touch, but it’s optional depending on whether you like cinnamon+fruit together. You’ll stir the dry ingredients together, then pour the melted butter over them and stir. The mixture should be a little chunky–that’s a good thing! 
• Add the topping and bake away: Pour the berries into your prepared dish (I used a pie pan) and then add the almond flour topping over the berries. You may need to use your hands to evenly distribute it, but you want the topping to be covering the berries. Last, bake the berry crisp for 35-45 minutes or until the berries are bubbling along the edges. Every oven is different, so I recommend checking the dessert after 35 minutes and going from there. 

OTHER GLUTEN FREE DESSERT RECIPES

• chocolate popcorn cake
• homemade Nutella
• chocolate peanut butter chickpea cookies