Strawberry Crumble
Strawberry Crumble couldn’t be easier to make. Seasonal strawberries are baked under a brown sugar crumble topping. It’s the perfect dessert for casual summer dining. Bake it in a skillet or casserole dish.
You’ll love this super simple recipe that can be thrown together in minutes with ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
What could be easier than piling fruit and sugar into a cast iron skillet or casserole dish, covering it with a simple topping and letting it bake?
Much more forgiving than a pie or tart that requires a rolled dough, a crumble (like it’s cousins the crisp and the cobbler) is one of the simplest fruit desserts to bake.
What’s the difference between a crumble a crisp and a cobbler?
Often the terms crisp and crumble are used interchangeably. Both are made with a streusel topping baked over fresh fruit. A crisp will include oats or nuts in the topping, while a crumble topping is made with flour, butter and sugar.
A cobbler is made with a biscuit or batter topping that bakes up more cakey than crumbly.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Strawberries – I highly recommend making this recipe with fresh seasonal strawberries for the absolute best flavor and texture. In a pinch you can use frozen berries.
- Lemon Juice – A dash of lemon juice sparks the flavor of the berries.
- Corn Starch – This recipe uses just enough starch to slightly thicken the juice. You want the berries to be nice and saucy under the crumble topping.
- Brown Sugar/Granulated Sugar – Using a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar creates a crumble topping that is soft yet crisp. Molasses in the brown sugar has a lovely flavor and softens the crumb. Granulated sugar is drier and helps the crumble stay crisp. You can make the crumble topping with all brown sugar or all granulated sugar. The flavor and texture will be different, but it will work.
- Butter – Use cool butter for best crumble texture.
How to make Strawberry Crumble
See the recipe card for exact measurements and detailed instructions.
- Toss the berries with sugar and set aside to macerate. Macerating will draw out the juice from the berries.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a mixer bowl. Slice the butter.
- Mix the dry ingredient to combine.
- Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix until the topping resembles wet sand.
- When you grab a handful of the topping it should clump together.
- Sprinkle the cornstarch over the macerated berries.
- Toss the berries to mix the cornstarch with the berry juice.
- Pour the strawberries into a preheated cast iron skillet or a 13×9 baking dish.
- Grab the topping in big clumps and break it over the surface of the berries.
- Bake the crumble until the juices are bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
Pastry Chef tips for making Strawberry Crumble
- This recipe makes a big cobbler than can feed about 12 people. For a smaller group you can halve the recipe and bake it in an 8″ skillet, small casserole dish or cake pan.
- To work ahead you can mix the crumble topping and refrigerate it for up to 2 days or freeze it for up to a month. Allow it to return to cool room temperature before crumbling over the fruit.
- Bake the crumble until you see the juice bubbling in the middle of the pan. The juice needs to boil to activate the starch’s thickening power.
- Strawberry Crumble is only better with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream! But you already knew that, didn’t you.
FAQs
Use cool butter to mix your crumble topping. If the butter is too soft the topping will spread and melt in the oven instead of forming distinct clumps. The topping should look like wet sand when it’s mixed and create clumps when you grab a handful.
Cornstarch thickens the fruit juice in the filling.
Strawberry Crumble is best enjoyed warm from the oven or within a few hours of baking. It can be stored at room temperature 1-2 days or refrigerated for 2-3 days. For the best flavor rewarm in a low oven to re-crisp the crumble topping before serving.
More Strawberry Recipes
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Tiramisu
- Strawberry Panna Cotta
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Tall Cake
- Strawberry Mousse
- Chocolate Strawberry Tart
- Homemade Strawberry ice Cream
- Strawberry Angel Food Cake
More Crisps & Cobblers
- Peach Cobbler
- Sour Cherry Cobbler
- Peach Dumplings
- Apple Cobbler
- Blueberry Cornbread Cobbler
- Savory Tomato Cobbler
- Chili Cornbread Cobbler
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.
Strawberry Crumble Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh strawberries (hulled, larger berries halved)
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- ¼ tsp table salt
- 6 oz granulated sugar (¾ cup)
- 1 tbsp corn starch
Crumble
- 7 ½ oz all purpose flour (1 ½ cups)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 oz brown sugar (⅓ cup)
- 3 oz granulated sugar (⅓ cup)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 6 oz unsalted butter (cool, sliced ½" thick)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Place a 12" cast iron skillet into the oven to preheat (if using a 13" x 9" baking pan you don't need to preheat the pan).
- In a large bowl, combine 3 pounds fresh strawberries with juice from 1 lemon, ¼ tsp table salt and 6 oz granulated sugar. Toss to combine. Set the bowl aside for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the topping.
- Combine 7 ½ oz all purpose flour, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 3 oz brown sugar, 3 oz granulated sugar and ½ tsp vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine the ingredients.
- With the mixer running on low speed, toss in 6 oz unsalted butter slices and mix on until the the dough resembles wet sand and clumps together when squeezed. If you don't have a mixer the butter can be added by hand. Work the butter in with your fingers until it is broken down into bits smaller than a pea.
- Toss the 1 tbsp corn starch with the the strawberries then pour them into the preheated 12" cast iron skillet or a 13"x 9" baking pan.
- Grab a big handful of the topping and squeeze to form a large clump. Break the clump into smaller pieces over the strawberries. Continue to crumble the rest of the topping over the fruit in an even layer.
- Slide the pan into the oven. Place a sheet of foil on the shelf beneath the cobbler in the oven to catch any juice boil over.
- Bake until the topping is golden brown and baked in the middle and the juices are bubbling, about 30-35 minutes.
- Serve warm or room temperature.
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I made this with mixed berries from the garden (mostly strawberries with some blueberries and mulberries thrown in). It was wonderful! I liked the top so much that next time I will make more and indulge. The recipe is indeed as easy to whip up as Eileen says. Smiles…Kathryn