This strawberry vanilla crisp features loads of fresh strawberries cooked down into a sweet jammy consistency. Of course this quick and easy summer dessert wouldn’t be complete without a crumbly and crisp oat streusel topping. Brown sugar sweetens the topping and seeds from vanilla bean add richness and depth to the strawberry layer underneath.
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
There’s little in life that one could love more than simple fruit crisp on a warm summer day. The juicier the fruit, the crumblier the oat streusel, the colder the vanilla ice cream, the better. You see, fruit crisps are dessert saviors. After you chop your fruit, this dessert comes together in minutes. No pie crust chilling or fancy pie crust designs needed. Most of the work is done in the oven, so you can sit back, put your feet up, and relax while you take in how massively delicious your house smells and how little work you did to get it that way.
This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipesโready in 1 hour or less!
Let’s make strawberry vanilla crisp!
One reader, Amy, says: “This was SO delicious. I couldnโt stop eating it. Loved serving it at room temperature with French vanilla ice cream. And, youโre so rightโthe vanilla beans were SO worth it. โ โ โ โ โ ”
Strawberry Vanilla Crisp Details
- Flavor: This is a dessert where strawberries shine. In fact, it’s one of the first suggestions I make when readers ask me about using their buckets of freshly picked strawberries. Pair the strawberries with flavors that bring out their natural flavor rather than cover it up. Vanilla bean seeds add fanciful flavor and depth (like bourbon does in cherry crisp), while the lightly cinnamon-spiced brown sugar oat topping tastes like nostalgic comfort food. If I could sum it up, this dessert is your summer staple.
- Texture: Strawberry crisp boasts a medley of textures! If you crave texture like I do, you’ll enjoy the combination of juicy, jammy strawberries, crumbly crisp oat streusel, crunchy almonds, and creamy vanilla ice cream. Even if you skipped the almonds and ice cream, you still have that powerhouse texture duo of SOFT and CRISP.
- Ease: I always say that if you like pie but want to do half the work, make a fruit crisp. I remember telling you that apple crisp is convenient and manageable and the same goes for today’s strawberry vanilla crisp. You donโt have to wait for anything to come to room temperature, chill, or cool down. Enjoy it warm from the oven!
And finally, there’s no eggs. Many readers have been asking for egg-free baking recipes like this.
Recipe Improvements
Like many bakers out there, I’m always trying to improve and perfect my recipes. When I prepared this strawberry dessert recently, I made 2 small changes and updated the recipe accordingly. Here’s what I did:
- More Strawberries: I added an extra cup of chopped strawberries so there’s more fruit. Luckily it can all still fit in the same size pan! I added more fruit so there’s a better balance of strawberries and oat topping.
- Reduced Salt: With 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the oat topping tasted pretty salty. Perhaps my tastebuds have changed over the years, but 1/4 teaspoon of salt is plenty in the topping!
How to Perfect the Strawberry Vanilla Crisp Layers
The full printable recipe and step-by-step photos are below.
- Strawberry Layer: Chop the strawberries into 1/2โ3/4-inch pieces. The strawberry mixture also includes flour to soak up some juices and thicken, sugar, and vanilla. (This recipe would be a wonderful place for vanilla sugar and homemade vanilla extract!) To really amp up the vanilla flavor, use both vanilla extract and vanilla bean in the strawberry layer. Vanilla bean is on the pricier side, but it lends the most flavor. And aren’t the black specks so pretty and satisfying? I love the added flavor it adds to grapefruit Greek yogurt cake, too. If you want a recommendation, I use and love these Madagascar vanilla beans. If needed, feel free to leave the beans out or add a little more vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste like we use in strawberry quick bread. See recipe Note below.
- Oat Streusel Layer: To prevent it from melting too soon and losing texture, use very cold butter. Like we do with pie crust, take it right from the refrigerator and cut it into cubes. Use a pastry cutter or fork to mix it into the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Donโt overcomplicate this step because the mixture should be messy, crumbly, and coarse. Stir the oats into the topping mixture *after* you cut in the butter. You donโt want them to break down too much. The almonds were an afterthoughtโI didn’t add them the first time I made the crisp and the dessert certainly doesn’t need them. But they’re an easy way to introduce another flavor and some extra texture.
Just like my peach crisp recipe, it will look like a lot of topping before you bake it. Don’t get nervous; a lot of the topping seeps down into the filling to create a super buttery flavor.
You can make this strawberry crisp in a pie dish, oven-safe skillet, or even in ramekins as individual crisps. Instead of all strawberries, try subbing in some sliced rhubarb or even peaches, raspberries, or blueberries. Add homemade whipped cream for a perfect finishing touch!
More Summer Dessert Recipes
- Berry Cobbler & Peach Cobbler
- No Bake Cheesecake Jars
- Fruit Pizza
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Blueberry Crumble Pie & Blueberry Pie
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake or Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Strawberry Vanilla Crisp
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This warm strawberry vanilla crisp with buttery brown sugar oat streusel comes together quickly. Review the recipe notes before starting.
Ingredients
- 6 cups (1080g) chopped strawberries*
- 1/3 cup (41g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean*
Streusel Topping
- 2/3 cup (84g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 2/3 cup (133g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 2/3 cup (57g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats (or quick oats)*
- optional: 1/3 cup (35g) sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Lightly grease a 9-inch baking dish (circle or square or any similar size pan that can hold about 2 quarts). Set aside.
- Make the filling: Combine strawberries with the flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla beans in a large bowl. Toss gently until combine, then spoon and spread into prepared baking dish.
- Make the topping: Whisk the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together. Cut inย the butter usingย aย pastry cutterย or fork until the mixture becomes super crumbly. Stir in the oats. Sprinkle over filling. It seems like a lot of topping, but it will cook down. Top evenly with almonds, if using.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the strawberry juices are bubbling around the edges. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and cool for 5 minutes before serving. Tastes excellent with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
- You can serve this dessert warm, room temperature, or cold. Cover leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked crisp freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm in a 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) for 20 minutes or until heated through. I do not suggest preparing the crisp and storing it, unbaked, in the refrigerator because the topping will get soggy. You can, however, prepare the crisp through step 3 and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 4.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Baking Dish (like this 9-inch Round Cake Pan or 9-inch Square Cake Pan) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Pastry Cutter | Cooling Rack
- Baking Pan: Any baking pan that holds about 2 quarts is best. You could also divide the filling and oat topping up in individual oven-safe ramekins. Bake them on a baking sheet. The bake time and yield depends on their size, but bake until the topping is lightly browned and strawberry filling bubbles up on the sides.
- Strawberries: Cut the strawberries into 1/2 – 3/4 inch pieces. You can use frozen chopped strawberries if needed. Do not thaw.
- Vanilla: If you don’t have vanilla bean, feel free to skip it and add another 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the filling. If you have vanilla bean paste, you can use that instead of vanilla bean. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste with the vanilla extract. If you want to replace the vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste too, use 2 teaspoons paste.
- Oats: Whole oats are best, but you can use quick oats if needed. The crumble topping will just be a little more powdery. (Donโt be tempted to reduce the flour, thoughโ the topping may turn out greasy.) Use a 1:1 swap from whole oats to quick oats.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Another great recipe from Sally! Amazing in the summer with a bit of vanilla ice cream
I have made this a couple times using gluten free all purpose flour and it comes out perfect!
I’m so happy I found this recipe! I’ve loved each of Sally’s recipes I’ve made and waited for strawberry season to make this crisp. It was so delicious and easy to make. I’m definitely making this again.
SO good! Fast, delicious. I never thought I’d like a cooked strawberry dessert so much! Took a risk, but it’s never really a risk with you, Sally! and it paid off!
Quick, easy & delicious…all the things you want in a dessert. Excellent strawberry flavor & the vanilla is just a hint but comes through beautifully.
Hi. This question is in reference to the strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting recipe (I came here because that recipe is not allowing the option right now to comment).
I am excited to make this. Iโm also wondering if a blueberry cake could be made with the same idea. Can blueberries be reduced down in the same fashion for the cake and freeze dried blueberries be used to make a blueberry cream cheese frosting in the same manner? Thanks!
Hi John, yes, many readers have reported success making a blueberry version with blueberry puree in the cake and freeze dried blueberries in the frosting. Enjoy!
I am out of brown sugar, what substitute do you recommend for the topping? will golden sugar work? thanks in advance!
Hi SG, golden sugar *should* work in a pinch. Let us know if you try it!
I tried making it with golden sugar and it turned out fantastic! maybe the topping was a tiny bit crunchy, but delish nonetheless! it is in high demand now-I’ve made it 2 times in 3 days
i even used pink strawberries and it was still very pretty!
thanks
Hi Sally! Can I successfully use almond flour in place of all purpose flour in this crisp? Thanks!
Hi Andi, that would require some testing. Let us know if you try anything!
This was so delicious. I followed the recipe but doubled it and used 3 lbs of strawberries in a 9 x 13 deep dish. It thickened perfectly and was just the right sweetness as the strawberries were in season. I served it with vanilla bean ice cream. So easy. I will definitely make it again and again.
Made a modified version tonight *heatwave โbakingโ FTW!* and it was great!
We have a tonne of super ripe strawberries to get through before they spoil (what happens when you take a kindergartener berry picking) so I was really excited to find this recipe for a crisp without rhubarb.
But weโre in the middle of a heatwave so I actually modified it by โbakingโ it in the Instant Pot and then finishing it under the broil for just a couple of minutes. Didnโt quite crisp up the exact same way as a usual crisp but the oats in the topping kind of melted together in the IP to make a more solid layer than a more chunky traditional crust.
I also substituted some of the flour in the berries with oat flour, to help meet some nutritional needs for a family member, and didnโt notice anything different than what Iโd expect with AP.
I am up to my elbows in fresh strawberries, so I doubled this recipe and it turned out pretty good. Only issue was that the flour turned the strawberries juice pink, which is not appealing to me. I read many of the comments and didn’t see this mentioned.
Also, I put aside 1/2c. Of the juice (pre-flour) and drizzled it over the topping just before putting the crisp in the oven. It adds crunch and flavor to the topping!
if the juice was pink, the flour wasn’t cooked long enough.
Made this last night for tonightโs dinner. Would reduce both sugars and used about 1 cup of blueberries since large package didnโt yield the 6 cups required. The NYTimes had a strawberry cake in the Sunday magazine that waxed euphoric about fresh strawberry season but the cake only used strawberry jam. Found this referenced in the strawberry quick bread recipe but wanted more fruit. SO glad I did. Kudos for the recipe. The almonds and the oatmeal added after the topping was mixed were brilliant additions!
I made this last Sunday, and it came out amazing! I did change it a tad & winged it lol – I did 4 Cups of Strawberries, 2 Cups of Rhubarb ( 2 reg size stalks ) and added some nutmeg ( on accident ooops ) My co workers loved it! Perfect combo of sweet & tart! Which I have been craving a good summer treat
Soooo good! Made this yesterday and it’s gone already. Can’t wait to make it again when the local berries are in. I used vanilla bean paste as listed and it was perfect. The crumble top is a good ratio to the amount of fruit. I did cube my butter and set it in the freezer while prepping the rest. This recipe is a keeper, for sure!
This is such an easy and delicious recipe. I used firm berries and served at room temperature with ice cream. Perfect textureโฆnot goopy. I will definitely make it again. Looked very pretty in a white pie plate.
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, Marg!
Iโm dividing into 8 oz ramekins, how long should I bake the crisps?
Hi Pat, we’re unsure of the exact bake time, but bake until the topping is lightly browned and strawberry filling bubbles up on the sides.