This easy apple and strawberry crumble is the perfect dessert if you're looking for a simple, comforting dish. It combines the tartness of Granny Smith apples with sweet juicy strawberries for a warm, cozy treat. Also, the oat topping adds a wonderful crunch and texture to every bite of this fruit crisp.
If you're a fan of strawberries, my site has more of where this came from.
From my strawberry filled vanilla cupcakes to these strawberry sandwich cookies, I think strawberries basically make everything better.
But if you're looking to change up this recipe a bit and sub out the strawberry, my cherry apple crumble is another excellent option.
🍏 For some more apple-themed treats, try:
Jump to:
- Simple Ingredients in this Apple and Strawberry Crumble
- Variations and Substitutions
- Best Results: Baking in Grams
- 📋 Step-by-Step Instructions for this Crisp Recipe
- 🍓 Using Frozen Strawberries
- Common Questions about Crumbles and Crisps
- Minimizing Added Sugar in this Apple Strawberry Dessert
- 💭 Serving Instructions and Tips
- Storage
- More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas
- Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
- 📖 Apple and Strawberry Crumble
Simple Ingredients in this Apple and Strawberry Crumble
For the crisp topping, you'll need:
- Old-fashioned oats
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (use half as much table salt if that's what you have on hand. This article will explain why many cooks and bakers prefer using Diamond Crystal Kosher salt)
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Pecans, chopped
- Cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes
For the apple strawberry filling, you'll need:
- Cooking apples (like Granny Smith)
- Strawberries, hulled and quartered
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Pure vanilla extract
- Lemon juice
Variations and Substitutions
- Dairy-free - Swap out the butter for coconut oil in the topping, which is what I do with my blueberry pear crisp. This oil is a great alternative to using salted or unsalted butter because it adds an amazing smell and the fat needed to moisten the crumble topping.
- Nut-free - I include nuts here for some texture in this strawberry apple crumble, but you could ditch them entirely. Or swap in slivered almonds if you prefer.
- Gluten-free - While I haven't tested this recipe with a GF flour, I've heard good things about King Arthur.
Best Results: Baking in Grams
If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.
While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.
I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.
📋 Step-by-Step Instructions for this Crisp Recipe
Step 1: Start with your fruit filling. Hull and quarter your fresh strawberries or wait for them to thaw if frozen strawberries are what you have on hand. They can come to room temperature as you work on the rest of the recipe.
Step 2: Next, peel and chop your apples into chunks that are between ¼ – ½ inch thick. If you prefer the taste of the peel or are short on time, no need to remove the apple's skin.
Step 3: In a small bowl, stir together flour, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and granulated sugar.
Step 4: Next, in a medium or large bowl, toss chopped apple chunks and hulled strawberries with your vanilla extract and lemon juice. Sprinkle the top with your dry ingredients (i.e. your flour/sugar mixture) and stir to evenly coat fruit mixture. Transfer to a 9” by 2" pie dish.
Step 5: Then begin working on your topping. In a medium bowl with a whisk, mix together the old fashioned oats, flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, and ground cinnamon.
Step 6: Use your hands to distribute the cubed cold butter into the mixture until it’s crumbly and appears similar to wet sand.
Step 7: Fold in the chopped pecans and distribute crumble mixture evenly over the apple strawberry filling in your baking dish.
Step 8: Bake apple and strawberry crumble uncovered at 350˚F for 45-50 minutes, or until pecans are golden brown and fruit juices are bubbling at the edges.
After baking, let fruit crumble cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
🍓 Using Frozen Strawberries
I used fresh strawberries for this strawberry and apple crumble, but if they're not in season where you are, no problem.
Buy sliced frozen strawberries and let them thaw before adding them to your dish here.
Drain any excess liquid from the berries before baking.
Common Questions about Crumbles and Crisps
This great article from Kitchn explains what cobblers, crumbles, and crisps have in common.
They're baked fruit dishes topped with some kind of pastry. However, baked biscuits usually top cobblers.
Crumbles and crisps are similar, each covered with a crumbly streusel-like topping.
However, it used to be that oats were included in the topping and would make the dish crisp as it bakes. But often nowadays, people interchangeably use the terms "crumble" and "crisp."
I tend to use Granny Smith apples. I love sweet apples for eating, but a tart apple is really nice here to balance out flavors.
Plus, they hold their shape and aren't mushy after baking in the oven.
If you prefer sweetness, then Honeycrisp apples might be better for you. Jonagold and Braeburn could also work.
This Food Network article is a handy guide on choosing the apple that's best for you.
Some crisp and crumble recipes call for dark or light brown sugar in the topping because it gives it more moisture.
If you prefer a crispier, crunchier topping, try tweaking the recipe by substituting some granulated sugar for the called for brown sugar. The topping will be paler and crunchier because it won't have the color or moisture that comes from using brown sugar.
Also, adding too much butter or oil can create a soggy, mushy topping.
Minimizing Added Sugar in this Apple Strawberry Dessert
I try to minimize the amount of sugar I add to recipes when and where I can. Sometimes you really do need sugar for the roles it plays in certain baked goods. There's a science to it.
Because the sweet strawberries pair well with the tartness of Granny Smith apples, you don't need a ton of sugar here.
💭 Serving Instructions and Tips
Serve it fresh - If you want to serve it fresh from the oven, let the apple and strawberry crumble cool for at least 15 minutes on a cooling rack so it's not too hot to eat.
Scoop servings onto plates, bowls, or individual ramekins with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Reheating this crumble - This dessert is also delicious when reheated on day two.
Scoop the number of servings you need from the dish. Then heat them up in the microwave on individual plates.
If desired, add a topping after heating. Whipped cream, scoop of vanilla ice cream, or yogurt would be delicious on this dessert.
Storage
While keeping this crumble in the refrigerator between servings, be sure to cover your dish with aluminum foil or preferably plastic wrap. This will keep it at its freshest.
More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas
If you liked this strawberry apple crumble, I have more breakfast and brunch suggestions for you!
You may like my recipe for mini apple Bundt cakes or white chocolate raspberry loaf cake.
And if you're looking for a something more fruity than chocolaty, take a look at these mini lemon Bundt cakes.
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Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
📖 Apple and Strawberry Crumble
This apple and strawberry crumble is bursting with delicious fruit and flavors. It tastes fantastic, with just the right amount of sweetness on its own. Feel free to serve it with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or yogurt for additional flavor.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 9-inch baked crumble 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Crumble topping
- ⅔ cup (65 grams) old-fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup (45 grams) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (70 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (or ¼ tsp of table salt)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (30 grams) pecans, finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons (80 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes
Apple Strawberry Filling
- 3 large cooking apples (like Granny Smith), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks that are ¼ – ½ inch thick (850 grams)
- 2 cups (about 260 grams) of strawberries, hulled and quartered
- ¼ cup (55 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp of nutmeg
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 T lemon juice
Instructions
For the Apple Strawberry Filling:
- Before diving into the recipe, start by preheating your oven to 350˚F.
- Hull and quarter your strawberries.
- Peel and chop your apples into chunks that are between ¼ – ½ inch thick
- In a small bowl, stir together flour, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and granulated sugar.
- In a medium bowl, toss chopped apple chunks and hulled strawberries with your vanilla extract and lemon juice. Sprinkle the top with your flour/sugar mixture and stir to evenly coat fruit. Transfer to a 9” by 2" pie dish.
For the Topping:
- In a medium bowl with a whisk, mix together the old fashioned oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and ground cinnamon.
- Use your hands to distribute the cubed butter into the mixture until it’s crumbly and appears similar to wet sand.
- Fold in the chopped pecans and distribute crumble topping evenly over apple strawberry filling.
- Bake uncovered at 350˚F for 45-50 minutes, or until pecans are golden brown and fruit juices are bubbling at the edges. Let crumble cool at least 15 minutes before serving; the fruit juices will thicken as it cools - it's even better the second day!
Notes
- This dessert is delicious when reheated on day two. Just scoop the number of servings you need from the dish and heat them up in the microwave on individual plates.
- If desired, then add your topping (like whipped cream or ice cream) right before serving.
- If you don't have Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, use half as much table salt (¼ teaspoon here) instead. This article may convince you to buy some Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, though!
- I used fresh strawberries, but if they're not in season where you are, no problem. You can buy sliced frozen strawberries and let them thaw before adding them to your baking dish.
Note that the nutritional values are approximate and can vary based on specific ingredient brands and measurements. This crumble will provide approximately 8 servings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scoop
- Calories: 291 kcal
- Sugar: 27.9 g
- Sodium: 1.25 mg
- Fat: 11.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.25 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.4 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
Chelsea Brown
This is great! Strawberries and apples make such a good pairing in this. Have you tried with different fruit??
Susan
I couldn't agree more! Also, funny you ask about other fruits because I have a new recipe along those lines coming soon. 🙂
For now, you can also check out my cherry apple crumble recipe - another great option!