A Rhubarb and Berry Crisp with Pecan Streusel is a perfect mixture of sweet and tart. Rhubarb combined with blueberries and strawberries makes a fantastic and easy dessert for any summertime meal.
I was so disappointed when I learned that rhubarb couldn’t grow in North Carolina, this makes it harder to make rhubarb and berry crisp with pecan streusel. It requires a cold climate and it just can’t survive the Southern summers. I have such fond memories of using rhubarb while cooking with my grandmother who lived in Idaho where it was plentiful in her backyard. So I was delighted to find some fresh at our farmers market.
Can you grow rhubarb in a warm climate
The stalls at our farmers market have to have food grown in North Carolina. I’m not sure I agree with this as we are only one hour or less from the Virginia border but they don’t allow produce except from North Carolina. In any event, I knew that this had to be from somewhere close by. I asked the local farmer and he said of course we can grow rhubarb here. However, when I went back the next week, he was out and said that was all he had this year. So it does grow here but just doesn’t have a very long growing season. In colder regions it has a growing season of April through June. I can find it at the grocery sometimes and it freezes great if you are like me and can’t find it fresh for very long. If you have a good supply we love to make jam and upside down cake.
How to make a rhubarb and berry crisp with pecan streusel
So with fresh local rhubarb in hand and lots of yummy strawberries, I made a crisp. I found some tasty blueberries and threw those in also. When using rhubarb you need to add other fruit to compliment the tart flavor. Strawberries seem to be the fruit of choice but I really like adding some blueberries to the mix. All you have to do is cut up the fruit, and add some sugar and something to thicken it a bit.
Then add your favorite topping. It’s about the easiest type of dessert you can make. Taylor and I decided we would experiment with toppings. She used my favorite crisp topping with pecans for half of it and I used a more traditional oatmeal topping for the remaining crisp.
The pecan topping won hands down. I think it’s because the strawberries make this very juicy and the pecan topping was more solid and helped absorb the juice. We loved the fruit mixture regardless of the topping. I have included the recipe for the pecan topping here. It is my go-to topping for fruit crisps as it’s substantial but not doughy.
Here are some other fruit desserts you might also like:
- Apple Crisp
- Mixed fruit pizza
- Strawberry Cobbler
- Blueberry Cobbler
- Berry chiffon pie
- Blackberry Crisp
- Strawberry skillet cake
- Peach crumble
- Hand pies
- Peach and blackberry cobbler
Rhubarb and Berry Crisp with Pecan Streusel
Ingredients
- FRUIT
- 6 cups strawberries cut in half
- 2 cups blueberries
- 2 cups rhubarb chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- CRISP
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter melted
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Fruit: Mix together fruit in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and mix with fruit. Pour into a large 9 X 13 baking dish.
- Pecan Streusel Topping: Combine all ingredients and crumble over the fruit.
- Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and slightly brown. Let cool for a few minutes and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
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