This fresh tasting Strawberry Crisp is a simplified version of Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. Use fresh or frozen strawberries to create this classic dessert. As one of the few easy desserts to make with strawberries, this strawberry crisp recipe saves time AND is kid approved!

Did you overstock on strawberries? Have a strawberry garden and need something to do with all that fruit?

If you haven’t thought of making a fresh strawberry crisp, I am begging you to try it out! It can be a great spring treat.

For a strawberry crisp recipe with oatmeal, healthy and ripe berries have the best results. However, it’s perfectly fine to use frozen strawberries if that’s all you have or that’s all you can get.

I’m also a fan going one step further than a strawberry crisp and love to make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp too! My Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp recipe is almost the same as this but with the addition of rhubarb!

Fresh vs. Frozen Strawberries

If you have the choice between fresh and frozen, Personally I love a good fresh strawberry crisp. Ripe berries that you’ve either picked yourself or purchased gives off the best results. However strawberry season is such a short season that using frozen strawberries when the berries aren’t quite in season is perfectly fine too!

Keeping fresh fruit around the house is sometimes and impossible task. Especially if you’re trying to manage a family’s meal plan. Either someone snacks on it or it sits around too long, getting gross and moldy.

There’s no shame in using frozen strawberries. Plus, if you keep a handful around, you can whip up this strawberry crisp dessert in a snap if you need an impromptu dessert!

But is there a technical reason to choose fresh over frozen, or vice versa? Besides preference?

Yep.

Berries hold a LOT of juice in them. This makes them great to cook with, but it also makes them hard to freeze and thaw properly. You know how ice takes up more space than water? So, when the juice in the berries expands, it sort of “pops” them during the baking process.

For a compromise, I recommend adding extra cornstarch to help absorb the additional water and juice that frozen berries produce.

What’s the Difference Between a Crisp and a Crumble?

This is a tricky one, and I’m sure I’ll get it wrong, too! There have always been hot debates about what separates a crumble from a crisp. Even the best answers still aren’t able to give definitive answers!

The way I see it, a fresh strawberry crisp is meant to be light and crunchy. This is why fruit crisps often include oats and nuts. A fresh strawberry crumble is a bit more like pie with a crumble topping, There are no oats in a crumble making it less crispy.

This strawberry oatmeal dessert is DEFINITELY a crisp. It is light, crispy, and would be hard to mix up with even the best strawberry crumble or crisp.

Can You Make a Crisp Ahead of Time?

Yes? No? Kind of?

Crisps shouldn’t sit around for too long. If you want to assemble it in the morning, so you can bake it fresh in the evening for a warm strawberry dessert, sure! Make it ahead of time.

If you want to make and freeze it to save for a week later, I’d suggest against that. Have you ever tried to microwave pizza? Like the kind that’s been out on the table for an hour, got cold, and you want to speed heat it? The edges that were previously nice and crispy with a good crunch… Yeah, say goodbye to that!

It’s all going to depend on time and moisture. If you leave something to sit out too long with wet and dry ingredients interacting, even if the dry is sitting on top of the wet, it’s going to soak up moisture. As such, it’ll come out soggy when you bake it.

If you freeze it, the topping won’t stay “crisp” and the fruit at the bottom can grow syrupy as it thaws.

So I suggest making it as you need it, or if using fresh berries, making it the morning of and baking it that afternoon. However if you use frozen berries, you’ll have to make it when you need it or the berries will be quite soggy tasting.

What ingredients are in a strawberry crisp?

• strawberries, fresh or frozen
• white sugar
• cornstarch
• flour
• old fashioned rolled oats
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• salt
• butter

How to You Keep a Crisp from Getting Soggy?

Less moisture! However, that’s hard to tell how much is ‘too much’ when you’re in the creation process. Baking can depend heavily on your environment. Sometimes the air is too humid, or your strawberries are so ripe they are extra juicy.

Knowing if your crisp needs more or less moisture often comes from experience. However with this easy strawberry crisp recipe, you’ll be able to easily know if you should add extra cornstarch (a thickening agent) to your crisp or not. If your berries are frozen or VERY ripe, then add a Tablespoon or two of extra cornstarch. If your berries are out of season ripe, then leave the recipe alone.

If you are really worried about it (which you shouldn’t be and are probably overthinking all this) I will give you one good tip: Let the strawberries sit in a bowl or on a paper towel for 5 minutes after rinsing them Any water you used to wash them – or berry juice sitting on top – will fall to the bottom. At this point, you can either:

1. Pour off the excess liquid after 5 minutes.
2. Just cook like normal. Since the liquid is at the bottom, when you add your crumble topping, it won’t automatically soak up the whole lot. As such, the moisture in the topping comes from the butter rather than the juice.

Overall, don’t worry about the moisture. Bake your frozen strawberries frozen and your fresh strawberries fresh and all will be ok. Your topping shouldn’t get soggy and if it does, I’d be shocked. I’ve made this so many times that a soggy crisp isn’t something I’ve ever had to deal with.

Why Are My Strawberries Turning Mushy?

When it comes to this fresh strawberry crisp recipe, you don’t have to worry about mushy strawberries. You want soft cooked berries with a crunchy crisp topping. This is 100% expected and normal.

However if your fresh berries are mushy before you even cook with them, it’s a sign that they are starting to decompose. Hurry and freeze them, eat them or bake with them!

Yield: 6 Servings

Fresh Homemade Strawberry Crisp

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This fresh tasting Strawberry Crisp is a simplified version of Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. Use fresh or frozen strawberries to create this classic dessert. As one of the few easy desserts to make with strawberries, this strawberry crisp recipe saves time AND is kid approved!

Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 35 minutes Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 32 ounces of strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (3 Tablespoons if using Frozen Strawberries)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup old fashioned roll oats
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. Spray an 9 x 9 inch square pan with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a bowl toss strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch.
4. Place berries into prepared pan.
5. In a separate bowl, mix flour, oats, 1/3 cup white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
6. Add melted butter and mix well.
7. Pour oatmeal mixture on top of berries.
8. Bake for 35 minutes or until topping is golden and berries are bubbly.
9. Serve immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Notes

When baking with frozen strawberries, do not thaw first. Bake frozen.

Recommended Products

Quaker Oats, Old Fashioned, 18 Oz

Frozen Organic Strawberries 4.5 lbs

Anchor Hocking 8-InchSquare Glass Baking Dish with Teal TrueFit Lid

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 466 Total Fat: 17g Saturated Fat: 10g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 41mg Sodium: 240mg Carbohydrates: 68g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 5g Sugar: 38g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 5g
© Janelle Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

Originally Posted: April 28, 2016

Text & Photos Updated: September 9, 2019

Check out all the other lovely strawberry recipes below from bloggers who took part in our 30 Day Strawberry Challenge.

• • • Strawberry Pound Cake by Lovefoodies
    • Easy Strawberry Creme Bars by Life Currents
    • Strawberry popsicles (ice lollies) by Culinary Ginger
    • Strawberry Pudding by The Kitchen is My Playground
    • Yummy Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed Angle Food Cake by Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
    • Fresh Strawberry and Peach Salsa by Hot Eats and Cool Reads
    • Glazed Strawberry Lemon Yogurt Loaf by Who Needs A Cape?
    • Strawberry BBQ Chicken by Savory Experiments
    • Strawberry Zabaione by Blessed Beyond Crazy
    • Frozen Strawberry Easy Dessert by Noshing With The Nolands

The post Homemade Fresh Strawberry Crisp Recipe appeared first on Num's the Word.