Mixed Berry Crisp (Gluten Free)
This delightful berry crisp recipe is the perfect summer dessert. Make it with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and/or blackberries. It's gluten free!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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How about a fruity treat? On a summer evening, there’s not much better than a warm homemade crisp with cold vanilla ice cream. This mixed berry crisp is the perfect use for those wonderful in-season berries. It’s easy to make (far less fussy than a pie) and just as good.
You can make this berry crisp recipe with any combination of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries—use all four or just a couple. Or, use it as a template for a single-berry crisp (here’s a more straightforward blueberry crisp recipe). You can’t go wrong.
This mixed berry crisp is the latest addition to my growing collection of crisp recipes on the blog. Like most of the others, this recipe just so happens to be gluten free, easily made vegan, and naturally sweetened. Depending on your standards, this crisp could definitely qualify as healthy.
I love the combination of oats and almond flour in the topping—the result is golden and crisp on top, and tender underneath. The topping keeps well to enjoy leftovers for several days. I like to eat it for breakfast with plain Greek yogurt. Why not?
On a fruity crisp kick?
Try saying that five-times fast. Here are a few more summertime options:
- Blueberry Crisp
- Dark Cherry Crisp in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 198)
- Peach Crisp
- Plum Crisp
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Save these crisps for fall:
Watch How to Make Mixed Berry Crisp
Please let me know how your berry crisp turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you and hope you have a great weekend.
Mixed Berry Crisp (Gluten Free)
Make this delightful berry crisp with any mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. It’s the perfect simple and fruity summertime dessert. Recipe yields one 9-inch crisp, about 8 servings.
Ingredients
Mixed berry filling
- 2 pounds (32 ounces, about 5 cups) mixed berries, fresh or frozen*
- ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon orange or lemon zest (if you don’t love strong citrus flavor, scale back to ¼ teaspoon, or omit)
- 2 tablespoons orange or lemon juice
Gluten-free oat and almond topping
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats**
- ½ cup packed almond flour or almond meal
- ½ cup sliced almonds or chopped pistachios or pecans (optional)
- ⅓ cup packed coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek or regular), or additional melted butter
Plus vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse and drain the berries and pick through to remove any stems still attached. If you’re using strawberries, slice them into ¼-inch thick pieces. If you’re using particularly large blackberries, slice them in half.
- In a 9 by 9-inch baking dish, mix together the berries, honey, starch, citrus zest and juice. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal/flour, sliced almonds (if using), sugar and salt. Mix in the butter and yogurt. Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.
- Dollop spoonfuls of the oat mixture over the filling and use your fingers to break up the mixture until it is evenly distributed (no need to pack it down).
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is actively bubbling around the edges and the top is lightly golden. Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream (I insist!).
Notes
Recipe adapted from my blueberry almond crisp.
*How to use frozen berries: Defrost the berries in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 2 hours (no need to drain off excess juices). Or, while the oven is preheating, place the frozen berries in your square baker. Warm them up in the oven, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until they have defrosted to the point that they are cool to the touch but no longer frozen. (For frozen berries, no need to slice before using since they are so tender already.) Then add the honey, etc. and proceed with the recipe as written.
**Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it nut free: Omit the sliced almonds and use ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup oats instead of the almond meal and oats specified above. It will no longer be gluten free. If you want to keep it gluten free, I suspect that you could replace the almond meal with about ⅔ cup oat flour (haven’t tried that, please comment if you do!).
Make it vegan: I believe you could use melted coconut oil in place of the browned butter/yogurt (use 4 tablespoons coconut oil and add up to 3 more, until the topping mixture is moistened throughout) and maple syrup instead of the honey. I haven’t tried it, though.
What’s arrowroot starch? Arrowroot starch is a great thickener to use in place of corn starch, which is often genetically modified. It’s gluten free, too. Look for it in the baking section of well-stocked grocery stores or buy it online (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Any advice of how to make it in advance to take to a party the next day?
You could try and mix up the dry and then add the wet ingredients and bake before you need it. I do find the leftovers are delicious, but the top may loose some of it’s crunch.
Hi
Has anyone tried this with figs? I have an abundance and thought this might be a good use?
Thanks,
Marci
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure.
Can this crisp be frozen for serving later?
Your topping may not remain crisp, but it should still taste good. Let me know what you think if you try it!
Made this today for a get together with my friends, and we all devoured it! Absolutely amazing, wouldn’t change a thing!
Great to hear, Belinda! I appreciate your review.
This was truly the best crisp I have ever made. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I modified based upon the fruit that was coming out of my freezer and it was absolutely amazing!
That’s great to hear, Laura!
I made this last weekend. Wonderful dessert. Family loved it.
This is absolutely delicious! Mouth watering and not too sweet. I used frozen wild huckleberries that I picked last summer. My dinner guests and I found ourselves reminiscing about warm summer days and foraging for berries. Thank you Kate.
You’re welcome, Rhonda! Thank you for your review.
Made this tonight GF/DF and it was so good—adding to my recipe binder! I used solid coconut oil and coconut yogurt for the topping and the flavors/texture were just right. Was skeptical to have a really good DF crisp but I’m so pleasantly surprised.
Great to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Alyssa! I appreciate your review.
Excellent all around. My husband is not gluten free like me, and he “loves” the dessert. It’s delicious, fresh, healthy and easy to prepare. Thank you!
I have been making crisps for 30 years. This is, by far, the best crisp we have ever had… and we are not vegan. My husband could not get over it. Go you. It is the only one I will make from now on.
Hooray! I love to hear that, Renee. Thank you for your review.
Berries are everywhere down south. And I make berry crisp couple times a month. Kate, your recipe is great. I prefer maple syrup and sometimes a sprinkle of cinnamon. It’s a great low carb light dessert that’s easy to enjoy on our hot hot southern nights. Thank you!
I absolutely love this crisp…have made so many versions in my life and this is my favorite….and more healthy!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Melissa!
Thank you for the recipe! This is the best crisp! Addition of silvered almonds in the topping works great. Just pure berry perfection!
You’re welcome, Galina!
Can I use either coconut or oat flour in place of almond flour for a good result with your wonderful recipe?
I have used oat flour and it works great!
The berry crisp was a definite hit with my family. My daughter commented that it was the best crisp I had ever made. I had never used arrowroot before but did this time and the filling thickened up better than using cornstarch. I used a gluten free blend flour from Trader Joes for the topping and it worked very well.
I am allergic to almonds. What do you suggest as an alternative? Thank you!
You can use oat flour or whole wheat flour.
I mde this tonight but was out of almond flour and just used extra quick gf oats. It turned out amazing. Thank you for sharing a great recipe.
I mde this tonight but was out of almond flour and just used extra quick gf oats. It turned out amazing. Thank you for sharing a great recipe. I look forward to making it again.
Great to hear, Suzanne!
LOVE this. Such a satisfying gluten free dessert. And the use of orange zest and juice in place of lemon makes is genius and elegant. Can’t wait to make for company!
Hi. This looks amazing. I need to make something for 12 people. What would the equivalent be? I would like to make it in a 9×13 dish and doubling the recipe seems like it would be too much. thanks!
Doubling in a 9×13 should work. I hope it’s a hit!
I tried this recipe using frozen mixed fruit. It tastes really good! One thing, there was a lot of juice after thawing so the starch needed to increase or some juice discarded after thawing.
Great to hear, Mary!
The ingredients in this recipe are wonderful and made for a great flavor. However I felt that the batter was too thick. It ended up going on in little bits and didn’t make a solid crisp layer.
When I click on 2X , in the recipe directions the size of pan remains 9×9. I assume I need to use a larger pan? What size do u recommend? Thanks! Btw, this recipe is fabulous!
Hi Liz, Unfortunately, there are some areas that won’t change. You will want to increase your baking dish size. 9×13 should work.