What do you make when you’ve been asked to bring dessert to a holiday cookout or gathering? If you own a copy of No Whine with Dinner, consider my recipe for Nutty Apple Crisp. It’s made with apples and blueberries and an oat-based crust. Or, if you happen to have rhubarb growing in your garden or recently discovered some at your local market, try my new crisp makeover made with apples, blueberries, strawberries, and rhubarb!
A Pink Lady apple, fresh rhubarb, blueberries, and strawberries come together naturally for my simple fruit crisp. By the way, your kids are going to love this recipe (well, at least, mine do)!
Several times a week I stop by Wilson Farm (in Lexington, MA) for their gorgeous produce or one of their wholesome take-out items, and just this week, I discovered their “own” rhubarb. I immediately grabbed some and got to work on a new recipe. The farm is walking distance from my house, and I’m so lucky to have it in my neighborhood. Wilson’s has been growing, as they say, since 1884, and I hope they’re around for a few more centuries.
Here’s what the crisp looks like before it gets topped …
And here’s what it looks like when the topping is layered over the fruit.
Getting kids to eat more fruits and veggies (did you know rhubarb is technically a vegetable?) is easy with this recipe for Apple, Rhubarb & Berry Crisp. I limit the amount of sugar to just 1/3 cup in the filling and 2 tablespoons in the topping. You can increase the brown sugar a bit if you prefer a slightly sweeter crisp. Rhubarb has a mouth-puckering, tart flavor, so you’ll need some sweetness added for sure.
- Serves: 6
- Calories: 270
- Fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 34g
- Sodium: 5mg
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 4g

- 8 ounces rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 8 ounces strawberries, quartered (you can cut smaller berries in half)
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 large Pink Lady apple (or any other sweet, firm apple), cut into ½-inch pieces
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ¾ cup quick-cooking oats
- ½ cup roughly chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds or ground flaxseed
- A few pinches kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons mild flavored vegetable oil (or EVOO)
- Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, optional
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, and apples in a large bowl and stir gently to combine. Add ¼ cup of the brown sugar, cornstarch, and ¼ teaspoon of the cinnamon and stir gently until the fruit is evenly coated.
- Place the fruit mixture in an 8 x 8-inch baking pan or dish and set aside.
- To make the topping, place the oats, pecans, the remaining brown sugar, pumpkin seeds, the remaining cinnamon, and kosher salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the oil and stir until the oat mixture is well coated. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit mixture.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden brown. (Cover with foil about halfway through to prevent the topping from browning too quickly.) Serve with vanilla Greek yogurt as desired.
I’m a pushover for pretty dishes, and this Juliska bowl really makes my day! I’m not sure my kids appreciated eating out of it, but for me, it made the crisp that much sweeter 🙂
On a final note, Wilson Farm is now carrying my cookbook, No Whine with Dinner. Here it is, as of today, in the farm’s new cookbook section! Stop by the farm if you’re ever in the area, and have an awesome Memorial Day Weekend!
The description mentions wheat germ in the topping, but there is no wheat germ in the recipe. It that an error or is the wheat germ optional?
Good catch. I updated the recipe a few months ago to make it gluten free. So you can ignore the wheat germ or use it instead of the pumpkin seeds or flaxseed. Enjoy. I make this dessert all the time!