This recipe is a British rhubarb and blackberry crumble classic. But with my usual healthy twist. Crumble is just a super easy way of making a pie, without having to roll a crust. Oh my goodness does it ever taste delicious!

Rhubarb and blackberry crumble made healthy

OK so what are my healthy twists on this rhubarb and blackberry crumble? 

• Healthier sugar. Instead of regular refined sugar I am using coconut sugar… and not too much of it either. I prefer the natural sweetness of the fruits to shine through. Coconut sugar is lower on the glyceimic index than regular sugar. You can of course use any sugar if you want.
• Organic oats instead of wheat. Using oats to make a crumble as an alternative to wheat is especially healthy for anyone who doesn’t get on with wheat. There is a tonne of goodness in oats too. For anyone wanting to avoid gluten, simply get gluten-free oats and you are sorted. Article: What are gluten-free oats anyway?
• Fresh ginger. Ginger partners very well with both rhubarb and blackberries. It’s chock full of health benefits therefore making it a great addition to our daily cuisine. I couldn’t help but add some of the fresh stuff to this crumble recipe.
• Naturally sweetened with blackberries and rhubarb. Now both of these fruits are tart. Yet they do still have sweetness. I love making the most of that instead of loading the crumble up with unecessary sugars.

Ideally we are taking about fresh garden rhubarb and wild blackberries to use as the main part of the crumble. Magic!

‘my rhubarb and blackberry crumble with homemade vegan custard’

Where to get rhubarb from?

Most people I know get it from their garden, or someone else’s garden. You can however, buy in the supermarket or at a greengrocers. 

I finally got some rhubarb when some kind person left it at the end of their garden path on my street for passers by. They had too much in their garden and gave the rest away. Nice!

I’d just picked a load of blackberries… so rhubarb and blackberry crumble was my instant thought!

I know there are all sorts of rules when you should and shouldn’t harvest rhubarb, which is another story. Just know that there are early varieties and late varieties.

I don’t actually think that rhubarb is very popular unless people grow it themselves. But it should be popular. It’s abundant and awesome stuff and if any of us have gardens then we should definintely grow it (or grow it and share with our neighbours who don’t have gardens). 

‘chopped rhubarb in the pan read to stew’

Rhubarb: to peel or not to peel?

To peel or not to peel your rhubarb, that is the question.

It’s completely up to you! Some people peel, some people don’t. Others peel when the rhubarb is larger and tougher.

But others (like my no dig gardening friend Stephanie Hafferty from No Dig Home) NEVER peels. No matter how large the rhubarb has gotten. And she never has a problem with it. Steph is an expert gardener with a lifetime of experience. She knows a thing or two and is super recoureful.

I peeled mine for this rhubarb blackberry crumble recipe. However, if I’d have chatted with Steph before I probably left the skin on. Not peeling saves time and I assume it helps maintain all the goodness just beneath the skin. 

‘rhubarb peel to go in the compost – peeling is optional’

Rhubarb blackberry crumble: Where to get blackberries from?

Most people here in the UK who want blackberries forage them in the late summer and autumn. You can buy them in the supermarket or greengrocers too.

If you don’t have blackberries just use rasberries instead.

Stew the rhubarb and blackberries before putting the crumble on top

This is easy. You need to create the stew first with chopped rhubarb, blackberries, finely grated ginger, coconut sugar and vanilla.

It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes, turning everything to a gorgeous, tasty stew.

‘beautiful stew made with rhubarb and blackberries’

Continue to Content

Rhubarb and blackberry crumble with oats

Yield: 4 portions

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

An easy, healthy rhubarb crumble recipe with blackberries. Using oats and almonds for the topping. Sweetened with a hint of coconut sugar.

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Ingredients

• 250g rhubarb (or 3 large stalks)
• 200g fresh blackberries
• 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 heaped teaspoon of oats or ground oats

Oat crumble topping

• 150g oats
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (use vanilla if you don't have this)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• Hand full of almond flakes (optional but nice)

Instructions

1. The first thing you are going to do is stew the fruit.
2. You can peel the rhubarb if you want to or leave the skin on. It's a matter of preference (see article above on whether to peel or not to peel your rhubarb).
3. Chop the rhubarb into pieces and put into a sauce pan.
4. Use a fine grater to grate a teaspoon worth of fresh ginger.
5. Put the blackberries, coconut sugar, ginger and vanilla in the pan and bring to the boil.
6. Stir the contents of the pan frequently. Within 15 minutes everything should have turned to mush. You can leave it longer if needed.
7. You might find that there is a lot of juice coming off the fruits. In which case you can at any stage add a heaped tablespoon (or more) of quick oats or oat flour to thicken it up. If you do this then leave for a few minutes to let it thicken.
8. Decant your rhubarb and blackberry stew into an oven proof dish. You can use any sized dish for this. Round or square. If you have a larger one like mine (which was 22cm/9 inches diameter) then you will get a shallower pie, which is nice. You can use a smaller one if you want a deeper pie.

Make the oat crumble topping

Whilst the stew is cooking you can make your oat crumble.

1. Grind your oats in a blender for a few seconds. This will create a rustic oat flour. It only takes a few seconds and doesn't matter if there are some pieces of oat still in there (in fact that's nice).
2. Put your ground oats into a bowl.
3. Add the coconut sugar, almond extract, olive oil, water and almond flakes (the flakes are optional) into the bowl with the oats.
4. Combine until you get a crumble. This is easy to do with a spoon at first. But then it helps to use your hands, whilst creating a crumble with your fingers.
5. Gently and evenly put your crumble on top of the stew. Press down gently, not too hard.

Baking your crumble

1. Preheat your oven to 180/200C (350/400F). It's OK if the temperature varies, which means you can bake it when you are cooking something else at the same time.
2. Bake for about 20 minutes. You know it's done when the crumble starts to gently tan and you can see bubbling of the fruit on the edges.
3. Enjoy with custard, plant-based yoghurt or ice cream. I make homemade turmeric oat milk custard for ours. YUM!
4. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

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