Fresh tart rhubarb combines with sweet strawberries to create a delightful fruity filling. Topped with a thick buttery streusel for a classic dessert with a luxurious twist. This recipe has Brown Butter and almost twice the crisp for an easy and delicious dessert for you and your family to enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Brown Butter Streusel

Sweet juicy strawberries combine with fresh tart rhubarb in a thick filling, underneath an extra thick layer of crispy Brown Butter Streusel. This recipe is my twist on a classic family favorite!

Every year I get so excited for summer to roll around! Because that means Farmer's Markets and that is one of my happy places. Surrounded by small business owners and local farmers selling their plants, produce and baked goods. I've never been upset about having to go to the Farmer's Market. I love them so much I seek them out, because one in town once a week is sometimes just not enough to get my fix. Anyways, right around mid June to early July around me you are guaranteed to find rhubarb, even at the grocery stores and I am always thinking about this delicious dessert when I see it. So naturally I picked up a bunch of it and here I am sharing this lovely recipe with you! I always look at these classic recipes and think of how to make them better. With this one my theory was everyone loves a crisp oat streusel, so why not give them more? My other thought was to accentuate the flavor of the streusel by using a combination of regular butter and brown butter. You're in for a treat if you make this recipe..

To Make This Recipe You Will Need...

For the filling you will need:

Fresh Strawberries and Rhubarb (I recommend your local Farmers Market)

Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed for the win!)

Corn Starch (this will help with thickening)

Sugar

Vanilla

Salt

For the topping you will need:

Oats (Instant Oats)

Brown Butter (recipe here)

Butter (keep butter in the fridge until ready to use)

Brown Sugar

Flour (all purpose)

Cinnamon

Salt

What Is Brown Butter?

Brown Butter is just butter that has been cooked past its melting point, adding an incredible toasty flavor to recipes. For detailed instructions, check out my new post How to Make Brown Butter.

1. To make the filling you will want to start by washing the strawberries and rhubarb stalks. Cut the tops off the strawberries and slice them in half the long way. Then cut the halves once more going the long way for quartered strawberries. Cut the tops off the rhubarb and cut vertically into roughly one inch pieces. Add the fruit to a cast iron skillet, or see my suggestions if you don’t have a cast iron. Add the sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, and lemon juice to the top of the fruit and stir until combined evenly.

2. To make the streusel topping, you will first want to make the brown butter! Learn How To Make Brown Butter. This step is optional, but I highly recommend doing this! It only takes a few minutes and enhances the flavor profile drastically. If not using brown butter, use an equal amount of regular butter in its place.

3. The rest of the Streusel topping is as simple as combining all of the remaining ingredients. Add the instant oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, to a medium sized bowl and mix to combine. Then add the cold cubed butter and use clean hands to combine, until only small butter balls remain. Add the browned butter into the bowl, and make sure to get all the cooked bits into the bowl as well!

4. Add the streusel topping to the cast iron in an even layer and cook uncovered for 40-45 minutes. If you’re using a cake pan, check at this time. An additional few minutes might be needed for desired crispiness.

Ingredients

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:

• 3 c Fresh Strawberries
• 3 c Fresh Rhubarb
• ¾ c Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Corn Starch
• 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla
• 1 tsp Salt

Brown Butter Streusel

• 1 c Instant Oats
• ¼ c Brown Butter
• ¼ c Salted Butter (cubed)
• ¾ c Brown Sugar
• 1 c All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut Strawberries into quarters and Rhubarb into roughly 1” pieces and place in a Cast Iron Skillet.
• Add Sugar, Corn Starch, Salt, Vanilla, and half of a freshly squeezed lemon to the Cast Iron and mix to combine.
• In a separate bowl combine Oats, Brown Sugar, Flour, Cinnamon, and Salt.
• Add the cubed butter and mix only until the butter shrinks to roughly pea-sized pieces.
• Mix in the Brown Butter and all those delicious Brown Butter Bits.
• Evenly coat the Strawberry Rhubarb filling with the Brown Butter Streusel, and place in the oven uncovered for 40-45 minutes.

How To Serve

Let sit for at least 10 minutes out of the oven, to let the filling thicken. Serve warm topped with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Consider enjoying it after making one of my delicious dinner recipes like my Beef Short Rib Croquettes!

Substitutions and Suggestions

• This recipe should work perfectly fine with flour substitutes!
• If you can’t find Rhubarb, or it’s not in season you can use a mixture of berries such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or extra strawberries. Just make sure to add more lemon juice to give it the tartness.
• You can top this dish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a sweet treat without ice cream.
• If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, use a glass cake pan but check the cooking time!

That’s all for this recipe, thanks for taking a look! To watch the video for this recipe head over to my TikTok account @theculinarycat. There will also be a link at the bottom of this post for my other socials, so head over to my Pinterest and Instagram for more content! Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe and how it turned out for you. Until next time! 😊