Easy Vegan Rhubarb Crumble with Oats

This easy vegan rhubarb crumble is sweet, tart and topped with a crumbly and chunky oat streusel topping. A simple dessert for spring that is dairy-free and also happens to be lower in sugar than traditional rhubarb crumbles, yet every bit as good. This recipe is wonderful served with warm dairy-free plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

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• 5 Star Reader Review
• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
• Step By Step Guide
• Helpful Tips
• Storage
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Recipes like this
• Easy Vegan Rhubarb Crumble with Oats

Why This Recipe Works

Traditional crisp and crumble recipes will use butter in the topping, however, coconut oil or vegan butter work just as well. The addition of full fat dairy-free yogurt in the crumble topping adds moisture, softness and binding power to the crumble topping as well. Rolled oats create a hearty texture to the crumble and ground almonds adds a slight nutty flavour and additional crisp texture to the crumble.

This recipe is also adaptable to your preferences for sweetness—some people, like myself, love the mouth puckering sourness of rhubarb, and so this recipe contains less sugar than most other vegan rhubarb crumbles. However, feel free to add additional sugar if you prefer it sweeter. This recipe is perfect to serve warm with dairy-free plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

For the full detailed list of ingredients and the quantities of each, please head down to the recipe card further along in the post.

Fresh rhubarb: red or green rhubarb varieties will work for this recipe; there is no major flavour or sweetness difference, although the ruby pink colour of red varieties are more attractive in this crumble. Make sure to wash them well and remove all the leaves because they are toxic to consume. See the recipe FAQs below for information on choosing the best rhubarb for this recipe. You can also use frozen rhubarb if you have it on hand.

Arrowroot powder: this helps thicken the juices in the crumble. Alternatively, use cornstarch in equal measure.

Lemon juice: adds additional bright and zesty flavour to the crumble and plays off the tartness of rhubarb.

All purpose flour: this adds binding power and structure to the crumble topping. You can substitute whole wheat flour or spelt flour in equal measure.

Rolled oats: this adds body and crunch to the crumble topping. Quick oats can replace the rolled oats in a pinch.

Almond flour: This adds texture and flavour to the crumble topping.

Ground cinnamon: this adds a warming, cozy flavour to the crumble topping.

Sea salt: helps balance the tart and sweetness of this recipe.

Granulated sugar: rhubarb needs sugar to offset it natural tartness. You can add up to 3-4 more tablespoons of sugar if you prefer this recipe to be sweeter. Alternatively, you can use brown sugar in equal measure; this will give the crumble light caramel undertones.

Coconut oil: this acts like butter would in traditional crumble recipes. It adds moisture, binding power and softness to the crumble topping. Use refined coconut oil to prevent any coconut oil flavour coming through in the final recipe. Alternatively, use cold vegan butter or margarine in replace of the coconut oil. However, because most vegan butters contain salt, I suggest reducing the salt measure by half.

Full fat plain yogurt: this also acts as a binder in the crumble topping and helps create nice chunks of crumble. I use a thick dairy-free coconut milk based yogurt which works best; you want one that mimics the viscosity of full fat (4%-6%MF) plain Greek yogurt.

Step By Step Guide

The most time consuming part of this recipe is washing and preparing the rhubarb. Otherwise, the prep is fairly minimal and this recipe comes together in about an hour. For the full detailed directions, please see the recipe card.

1. After preparing the rhubarb and preheating the oven, add the rhubarb to a large bowl and stir in sugar, arrowroot powder and lemon juice.
2. In another bowl combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender (or clean hands) work the coconut oil and yogurt into the oat mixture until you have a texture resembling wet sand with various sized chunks.
3. Spoon the rhubarb mixture and all the juices into a 9" glass pie plate and spoon the crumble evenly over top. Bake it in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is slightly golden and the juices are bubbling.
4. Let it cool before serving with vanilla or plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

Helpful Tips

• Use a baking tray under the dish while it bakes. This will help catch any juices that bubble over and prevent them from landing on the bottom of your oven.

• Let the rhubarb, starch, sugar and lemon juice mixture sit for up to 20 minutes to help extract more juices from the rhubarb. However, if you're using frozen rhubarb, skip this step because frozen fruit always produces more juice during baking.

• Use softened but not liquefied coconut oil. This will help with blending it into the crumble topping.

• The crumble is ready once the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. I like using a glass pie dish for this reason so the bubbles are visible around the edges. If you don't have a glass baking dish, you can just look for bubbles breaking through the surface of the crumble.

Storage

Storage: This recipe should be stored covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Note that the crumble topping will lose some of its crisp texture after a day. To reheat it, pop it in the oven at 250°F for about 10 minutes or until it is warmed through.

Make Ahead: while I don't suggest freezing this recipe once baked, you can instead purchase rhubarb while it's in season, slice and freeze it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. You can use the rhubarb frozen, however, because frozen fruits release more juice while baking, you will need to place a large baking sheet underneath the baking dish while it bakes to prevent it spilling out onto the bottom of the oven. You will also need to adjust the baking time by 5-10 minutes to account for thawing time once in the oven—keep a watch on it to make sure the crumble isn't over-browning or burning and if need be, carefully cover the top loosely with tinfoil during the last 10 minutes of baking.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Recipes like this

If you like my vegan rhubarb crumble recipe, you may also enjoy these other favourites:

Vegan White Peach & Rhubarb Lassi

Vegan Baked Apples with Easy Oat Streusel

If you made my Easy Vegan Rhubarb Crumble with Oats, leave me a comment below with a star rating; it helps others who are interested in making the recipe. For more from The Simple Green, follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Consider becoming a subscriber to receive emails of new recipes and posts.