Finish off your family dinner with an easy strawberry crumble that boasts delicious fresh strawberries and the perfect crumble topping. Did I mention that this is a fast and simple recipe?

I love having those staple meals and desserts that are seasonal and something to look forward to.

In the summer, we love devouring strawberry desserts and peach treats, such as peach cobbler pound cake, to really soak up the best of what the season has to offer.

The best way to enjoy this crumble dessert is after a good meal like grilled chicken sandwiches or even my favorite grilled smoked chicken thighs.

What Is Strawberry Crumble?

Strawberry crumble is one of our family favorite desserts. It takes the juicy strawberries of the summertime season, and combines them with a cinnamon crisp topping.

Baking them together lets the juices of the strawberries turn into a sweet filling, while the small pieces of butter in the topping melt into a crumble of dreams.

This warm dessert pairs wonderfully with a scoop of ice cream.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Strawberry Crumble Recipe

It’s simple! – The ingredients are few and affordable. The process is simple as can be.
It’s seasonal! – Summertime is strawberry time. Let’s use them in everything we can!
It’s a crowd-pleaser! – This is the perfect dessert to bring to potlucks and cook outs. Everyone enjoys strawberry crumble!

strawberry crumble in a round white dish

Tell Me About This Strawberry Dessert

Taste – This summer dessert has all of the best flavors. Sweet strawberries! Cinnamon! A little lemon juice!
Texture – The strawberry filling is smooth and juicy. The crisp topping has a crumbly crunch.
Ease – Most of this recipe is just stirring and layering. That’s as easy as it gets!
Time – The strawberries can be sliced ahead of time. The filling can be made ahead of time. The crumble can be mixed and placed in the fridge to keep the butter chilled. It all comes together in a flash!

Ingredients For Strawberry Crumble Filling

Strawberries – Fresh strawberries are the star of this show! Look for the crunchiest supermarket strawberries, or head out to a farmer’s market!
Cornstarch – This helps solidify the filling. It works similar to a prepackaged strawberry gelatin mix.
Lemon Juice – Every sweet dessert needs a dash of sour.
Sugar – I use granulated white sugar to supplement the sweetness of the berries. Maple syrup or honey would work too!
Vanilla – Vanilla adds depth to every baked recipe.

strawberry crumble topping in a bowl with a pastry cutter

Ingredients For Strawberry Crumble Topping

Flour – All purpose flour works great. You can substitute almond meal to avoid gluten.
Oats – Look for old-fashioned oats. They maintain the best chewy texture in the crispy topping!
Brown Sugar – Dark brown sugar has a heavier molasses flavor. It’s your personal preference which you choose to use.
Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon gives a bit of flavor to the crisp crumble. You can use nutmeg as well!
Baking Powder – You need some air in your crumble to help it crisp up!
Butter – The butter should be unsalted and cold. You want small chunks of butter that don’t melt until it hits the oven.

How to Make Strawberry Crumble In 4 Easy Steps

Mix Your Strawberry Filling – Stir the berries, corn starch, lemon juice, sugar, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl.
Mix Your Crumble Topping – Stir the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder together in a separate bowl.
Cut In The Butter – Cut the cold butter into small cubes, and then cut it into the crumble mixture with either your fingers, a fork, or a pastry blender.
Layer And Bake – Pour the strawberry into a buttered dish, and then sprinkle an even layer of the crunchy crumble on top. Bake and enjoy!

strawberry crumble with ice cream in a white dish

How To Get Your Crumble Topping Crisp

The flakes of cold butter is key to getting a crunchy topping. The butter will create small pockets within the crumble as it melts.

This helps the topping become crisp and crunchy by increasing the amount of air within the crumble.

If you use melted butter from the beginning, rather than using a pastry cutter to incorporate the cold butter, the topping is more likely to burn and become hard.

We want a crisp crumble, not a buttery rubble!

Substitutions For Fresh Strawberries

Strawberries can be a tad pricey outside of strawberry season. While fresh berries are always preferred, there are other ways to get that strawberry flavor!

Frozen Strawberries – Be sure to let them thaw out first!
Strawberry Pie Filling – This option likely has some flavoring already, so taste it before you add cinnamon and lemon juice.

Fruit Substitutions For A Fruit Crisp

This delicious dessert tastes just as fantastic with other fruits substituted for – or even added to! – the strawberries.

Blueberries
Raspberries – both red and black!
Blackberries
Cherries
Peaches
Apples

Add Ins For Strawberry Crumble

This easy dessert can stand on it’s own, but it also pairs well with toppings to make a full sweet dish!

Ice Cream – Doesn’t every dessert taste best alongside a big scoop of vanilla ice cream?
Whipped Topping
Fresh Fruit – The pairing of cooked berries with fresh berries makes a fun texture!

Tips For Making This Strawberry Crumble Dessert

Don’t cut corners as you cut in butter! Arguably the best part of strawberry crumble is the topping. To get that light, crunchy texture, you need to cut cold butter into the oat mixture until it reaches coarse consistency, with pea-sized crumbs. A pastry cutter is best for this, although you can use a fork if you don’t have one on hand. While you can also use your fingers to break up the butter, your body temperature will cause the butter to soften as you work it. The crispiest topping can only be achieved when the butter is still firm and cold as you place it in the oven!
Slice the strawberries thinly. This will help you achieve a more even distribution of strawberries throughout the filling, so that you can get a forkful of strawberry with every bite.

How to Store Leftover Crumble

If your baking dish has a lid, simply pop it on top and place the leftover strawberry crunch in the fridge. Otherwise, spoon the leftovers into any airtight container.

How To Reheat Strawberry Crumble

Cold strawberry crisp tastes just as delicious cold the next day! But it can be nice to warm it up again.

Spoon a serving of the dessert into a small bowl.

Make sure the bowl is microwave and oven safe!

You can either use a microwave to reheat the strawberry crumble – 30 seconds will do it – or put it into a warm oven for a couple minutes.

Strawberry Crumble Recipe