This strawberry crumble is quick and easy to prepare and makes the most of ripe, sweet strawberries. The strawberries cook down into a thick and sticky strawberry sauce that is topped with a crumble of oats and cinnamon and smells incredible while baking. Serve this dairy free and vegan winter crumble with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream for the ultimate dessert!
I am lucky enough to live in an area where winter is defined by beautifully warm sunny days. There are significantly less rainy days than in the summer months, and we have an abundance of locally grown, in season strawberries. The perfect Queensland winter day could easily be mistaken for summer anywhere else in the world.
At the end of every winter, for just a couple of dollars a punnet, you can get some of the best locally grown, sweet and ripe strawberries. They are something that I look forward to every year and honestly can’t get enough of!
This strawberry crumble is one of my all time favourite desserts. It’s so simple but it really highlights the fresh flavour of the strawberries, and is a warming, comforting, cinnamon spiced dessert that doesn’t leave you feeling heavy. Plus it’s super easy to prep making it easy enough for a weeknight but still delicious enough to serve at a dinner party when you don’t want to spend all night in the kitchen.
This strawberry crumble, or strawberry crisp depending on where in the world you are, is a layer of jamy, saucy strawberries topped with a crunchy mix of oats, almond meal, cinnamon and coconut oil. This recipe is also dairy free and vegan making it a great dessert for everyone.
If you love a cosy crumble recipe, definitely try my vegan apple crumble next, and make sure to serve both with some homemade vegan vanilla ice cream for the ultimate dessert!
Key Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients that really highlight the natural flavour of the fresh strawberries. There are two components to this recipe, the strawberry mixture and the oat crumble topping.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Strawberries – fresh, ripe strawberries work best in this recipe. You can also swap them for any other berries such as blueberries or raspberries or use a combination for a mixed berry crumble.
- Cornflour – when the strawberries release their liquid, the cornflour or corn starch as its also known, helps thicken it into a sweet and sticky sauce that is incredible.
- Sugar – white sugar is combined with the strawberries to help create the sweet jam-like texture while brown sugar is added to the crumble topping.
- Vanilla – helps enhance the flavours of the strawberries and adds a little extra.
- Lemon – just a little lemon juice added to the strawberry mixture helps add brightness and balances out the sweetness.
- Rolled oats – you want the old fashioned rolled oats, not the quick cooking oats.
- Almond meal – gives the crumble topping a delicious nutty flavour.
- Cinnamon – adding cosy, warming, spiced flavour that is so delicious with the strawberries.
- Coconut oil – used instead of melted butter in this recipe to keep it dairy free and vegan.
TIP! If your strawberries aren’t super sweet, just increase the amount of white sugar to ⅓ – ½ cup to balance the flavours to your tastes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To make this vegan strawberry crumble you’ll need a couple of bowls and a baking dish. I am using a round, pie / quiche dish but I’ve also used a 24.5cm x 6 cm square baking dish which is a great size.
Start by chopping up the strawberries. Remove the tops and quarter them. For smaller berries you can just halve them as you still want the strawberries to have texture after being baked.
To the chopped strawberries, add the cornflour, white sugar, vanilla extract and a squeeze of lemon. Mix well to combine. The strawberries will start to break down, a process called maceration. This helps make our strawberries sweeter and softer in texture which is exactly what we need for this recipe. Set the strawberries aside while you make the crumble topping.
Mix all the crumble topping ingredients together in another bowl and you are ready to assemble.
Add the macerated strawberries and the released juices to your baking dish (there is no need to grease the dish first) and sprinkle the crumble over the top.
Place the strawberry crumble in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the edges are a deep red and a thick, sticky looking sauce is bubbling up and the topping is a deep golden colour. Also, fair warning the smells of this cooking is absolutely glorious. If they made a candle that smells like this strawberry crumble baking, I would 100% have it burning all the time.
Now the impulse to dig in as soon as you take it out of the oven is real, but I am asking you to wait. Just a little bit. Let it cool for maybe 15 minutes minimum so that the sauce keeps thickening. Serve it out with a large spoon, remembering it is supposed to be messy, and add a scoop of your favourite dairy free vanilla ice cream.
Is this strawberry crumble gluten free?
Australia has some of the best food labelling laws in the world, and it is vastly different to those of the US. As there is no regulated test for detecting gluten in oats, our food labelling laws will not allow oats to be labelled gluten free.
Basically, oats are ‘probably’ going to be fine for those who are sensitive to gluten due to the very small amount of wheat that may be present, however it is not something that is 100%.
If you suffer from gluten intolerance, you will likely know if oats are ok for you. If you are making this for a friend, it is best to ask. Most people who are sensitive to gluten will be fine with oats, however those with celiac disease may not be ok with it, so it is definitely best to check.
If you are in the US or Europe, the above will not apply to you so it is best to confirm locally if your oats are free from gluten, especially if you are wanting to make this for someone with celiac disease.
Storage and reheating instructions
This strawberry crumble keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days. I usually just wrap the dish tightly in plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge. You can also transfer it to an airtight container.
If you’ve kept it in the baking dish, it’s really easy to just pop it in the oven to reheat which will allow the crumble topping to become crispy again.
But honestly, I always just reheat in the microwave until it’s bubbly and then top with vanilla ice cream and it’s incredible.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More cosy, winter desserts:
Vegan Sticky Date Pudding With Caramel Sauce
Butterscotch Self Saucing Pudding
Caramel Apple Galette
Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding
Strawberry Crumble
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 kg fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch
- ¼ cup white sugar/granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- squeeze of lemon juice optional
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup almond meal
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Quarter strawberries and add them to a large glass mixing bowl. Add in cornflour, white sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice and toss using a rubber spatula until strawberries are coated. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together oats, almond meal, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt with a spatula or spoon. Add in melted coconut oil and mix to combine.
- Add strawberry mixture to a 24cm square ceramic baking dish and spread out evenly. Place crumble topping over the top of the strawberries and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden and crunch and the strawberries are thick and bubbling up the sides of the pan.
- Let cool before digging in as this will allow the strawberries to continue to thicken. Serve while still a little warm in the centre with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
This post was originally published on the 22th July 2019. It has been republished to include better instructions, more helpful information and new photos.
Michelle says
Just made this for my vegan daughter and she loved it really good
Sally says
So glad she loved it Michelle!
Sylvie says
I absolutely adore Strawberry Crumble, it is for me the perfect definition of comfort food: the sweetness of the fruit, the crunchiness of the crumble,… it is all there to make an epic dessert!
Sally says
I totally agree Sylvie!
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes says
Such a beautiful dessert, Sally! I am a huge crumble fan 🙂 It is such a warming and comforting dessert!
Sally says
Thanks Alexandra!