It’s officially summer and my strawberry kick is going strong (hello, #AKStrawberryWeek!) After I made you this gorgeous brown butter strawberry coffee cake last summer I basically dreamt up this next strawberry dessert that’s going to knock your socks off.
Say hello to this wonderful strawberry crisp with a peanut butter oatmeal cookie crumble. Did she say peanut butter oatmeal cookie? For the topping? YES, yes she did.
This beautiful strawberry crisp recipe is bursting with fresh, perfectly jammy strawberries and while the topping doesn’t have literal cookies on top (though, that would be delicious) it has an oatmeal crumble topping made with creamy peanut butter that tastes JUST like cookies.
If you’ve made my strawberry crumble bars before you’re going to love this summer treat. I, of course, had to get a little extra with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of dark chocolate. WOW. The strawberry + peanut butter + chocolate combo was out of this world. Basically, a PB&J gone wild. We seriously could not stop sneaking bites all afternoon.
This one’s a must for the Fourth of July and you can even make it on your grill! Check out all of my tips below and remember to snap a pic of your creation so that I can swoon along with you.
Amazing strawberry crisp lightened up to perfection
You’re going to fall in LOVE with this healthier strawberry crisp recipe. Traditional crisps and crumbles tend to have lots of butter and sugar (which is perfectly fine!) but I chose to lighten up this recipe by reducing the butter and naturally sweetening the filling with a little pure maple syrup. This strawberry crisp recipe is also:
- Gluten free thanks to gluten free oat flour and rolled oats.
- Easily vegan & dairy free by simply using vegan butter!
Oh, and did I mention it’s absolutely DELICIOUS?
Everything you’ll need to make the best strawberry crisp
You’ll be surprised about how simple the ingredients are for this easy strawberry crisp, yet how incredible and *fancy* it looks when it comes out. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Strawberries: the star of the show is, of course, fresh strawberries! I recommend using bright colored strawberries that aren’t overly ripe.
- Sweetener: you’ll need some pure maple syrup for the filling, and some brown sugar for the crumble topping. Learn how to make your own brown sugar here!
- Flour: we’re using a mix of oat flour and rolled oats to make the perfect crumble topping. Feel free to use gluten free oat flour & rolled oats to keep the entire crisp gluten free.
- Peanut butter: what makes this strawberry crisp extra special is the peanut butter oatmeal cookie crumble. You’ll mix natural, creamy peanut butter right in with the rest of the crumble topping ingredients and the flavor combo tastes JUST like a peanut butter cookie.
- Butter: you’ll also need a little butter or vegan butter to create those nice clumps in the crumble topping.
- Baking staples: don’t forget a little cornstarch or arrowroot starch and vanilla for the filling, plus cinnamon for the topping.
- Optional topping: I love topping this strawberry crisp with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate chips melted with coconut oil. YUM.
Make your own oat flour
Easily make your own oat flour right at home with this simple tutorial! Hint: it just requires rolled oats, which you’ll also be using in the recipe.
Can I use regular flour?
Sure! While making your own oat flour is incredibly easy, you can also use regular, all purpose flour in the topping.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Sure! I’d recommend thawing your strawberries first, draining the liquid, then using them in the recipe. You may also need to quarter them as many frozen strawberry bags come with whole strawberries.
Perfect strawberry crisp in 5 easy steps
- Prep your pan. Grease an oven safe 10-inch skillet or a 9×9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. I love the look of this strawberry crisp in a skillet!
- Add the filling. Add your quartered strawberries and the rest of the filling ingredients straight to your pan or skillet and stir it all together well.
- Make the topping. Mix together the melted butter and peanut butter, then mix in the rest of the topping ingredients until a cookie dough consistency forms. Sprinkle the topping all over the strawberries.
- Bake & cool. Bake your strawberry crisp until the filling is bubbly and the topping is nice and golden brown. Let it cool before adding any toppings.
- Add the topping & devour. If you’d like, melt the chocolate chips with coconut oil in the microwave, drizzle it over the cooled strawberry crisp, scoop and serve with some vanilla bean ice cream.
How to make strawberry crisp on the grill
When it’s too hot to turn on the oven, try grilling your strawberry crisp instead!
- Preheat your grill. Turn on a burner on only one side of your grill to 375 degrees F or medium high heat.
- Prep your crisp. Follow the strawberry crisp recipe up until you’re ready to bake it. Once you’ve added all of the strawberry filling and the crumble topping to a cast iron skillet, cover the skillet with tinfoil.
- Grill your crisp. Place the skillet on the opposite side of the burner that’s lit. This is so that you are indirectly cooking the strawberry crisp and avoid burning it. Bake the crisp for 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove & serve. Your grill mitts are especially useful here! Use them to remove the skillet from the grill, let the pear crisp cool and then serve warm.
Prep your strawberry crisp ahead of time
If you’re serving a crowd later or just want to save some time, you can actually make this strawberry crisp ahead of time! Just prepare the whole thing as directed but before baking it, cover it with aluminum foil, and place it in the refrigerator. Bake the strawberry crisp as directed whenever you’re ready to serve it.
Storing & freezing tips
- In the fridge: store any leftover strawberry crisp in an airtight container in the fridge. Simply warm it up a bit in the microwave or enjoy cold straight from the fridge.
- In the freezer: this strawberry crisp is freezer-friendly! Assemble the crisp but do not bake it. Cover it well with aluminum foil and transfer it to the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake the frozen strawberry crisp at 350 degrees for about an hour or until it’s golden and bubbly.
More fresh fruit desserts you’ll love
- Blueberry Pie Bars with Oatmeal Crumble (vegan & gluten free)
- Brown Butter Strawberry Coffee Cake with Lovely Strawberry Icing
- Gluten Free Peach Crisp with Salted Coconut Milk Caramel
- Almond Lemon Raspberry Poppy Seed Cake
- Almond Flour Blackberry Crisp for Two! (gluten free)
Get all of my fresh fruit dessert recipes here!
I hope you love this strawberry crisp with peanut butter oatmeal cookie crumble! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Strawberry Crisp with Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Crumble
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients:
- 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and quartered
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or arrowroot starch)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients:
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted (or sub vegan butter)
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- 1 cup oat flour (or sub all purpose flour)
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- For the topping (optional, but so good!):
- 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips, dairy free/vegan if desired
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch oven safe skillet or a 9x9 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place strawberries to the prepared pan and then add in maple syrup, cornstarch and vanilla extract. Stir until it’s well incorporated. I find that it’s easier to do this directly in the pan you are going to use to avoid additional dishes, but you are more than welcome to mix the ingredients in a bowl and then add to the pan.
- Make the topping: in a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and peanut butter until smooth and well combined. Add in the oat flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon mix until well combined and it forms into a ‘cookie dough’ consistency. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the strawberries, it’s okay if it doesn’t fully cover the fruit. We want those gorgeous strawberries poking through!
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the topping is nice and golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before topping with the optional chocolate drizzle.
- Once ready for the (optional) chocolate drizzle: add 2 tablespoons chocolate chips and coconut oil to a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until chocolate is melted. Drizzle over the strawberry crisp, then scoop it up into bowls and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Serves 9.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on June 22nd, 2022, and republished on June 7th, 2023.
33 comments
I came on your site this morning because I had a bunch of strawberries and was planning to look up the recipe for the strawberry crumble bars (which I’ve made before and absolutely love) and saw this one as soon as the site came up. Obviously I knew right away I had to try it and am sooo glad I did! Truly the recipe everyone needs right now- some comforting pb&j! So great and easy, put it together this morning, threw it in the fridge and then baked it tonight for dessert and everyone in the house loved it! Will definitely come back to this recipe! Thank you!
Oh PERFECT timing!! I’m so happy you tried and loved it, Betsy!
Yummy look recipe. I can try recipe
Can you make this with a different fruit ?
Sure! I think blueberries, raspberries or blackberries would all be delicious.
So easy, so dang delicious
Yaaay I’m so glad you loved it! ❤️
This is my favorite website for recipes. I love AK. But this recipe just didn’t do it for us. There’s nothing wrong with it but it’s just not what I’ve come to love and expect from AK recipes. Nothing special and pretty bland.
Hi, Jen! Thanks so much for the feedback — I really appreciate it! Sorry you didn’t love it. Have you tried my strawberry crumble bars?
Looks yummy! Do u have nutritional info by chance for this recipe? Thanks!
Sorry, I haven’t calculated it for this one! Feel free to copy/paste the ingredients list into an online nutrition calculator 🙂
This was delicious. Wasn’t 💯 sure about the peanut butter even though i am a HUGE fan but trusted the recipe and went with it. It was a hit! Will definitely make it again 😊❤️
EXCELLENT recipe! I was blown away with how incredible this tasted. The vanilla ice cream with the warm strawberries, peanut butter cookie, and chocolate drizzle was a fantastic and decadent combination. The whole family loved this and will definitely be making again.
Not like I’m surprised, but it’s a other winner! I used country crock plant butter with olive oil so my topping was more crumbly and less cookie dough-y, but it didn’t affect the delicious flavor. I used tapioca starch instead of cornstarch too. I actually preferred it without the chocolate drizzle when I topped it with ice cream, but I loved the chocolate when I ate it on its own. My sister’s boyfriend loved it so much that he took the leftover half a pan home with him after our gathering today!
I made this recipe exactly as stated. So good and simple to make. I used the baking pan since I don’t have a cast iron fry pan. Delicious and will make again!! Love it! 😍😋
Delicious! The cookie crumble topping is to die for! I added rhubarb to the filling because when I first read the recipe I thought I saw rhubarb listed in the ingredients. It was a delicious mistake! Great, easy recipe!
Monique, this was SO good. We made it for our Father’s Day dinner. Served with vanilla bean ice cream. Everyone loved it! The chocolate drizzle, which turns hard over the ice cream- yum! Don’t skip it. Will be making this every summer when berries are in season.
Ahhh this is seriously the best, Chelsea. I am so glad this recipe is a hit for you and your family. Thank you for your review, appreciate it ❤️
This absolutely knocked my socks off!! For a second I thought there was a little too much flour in the crisp topping, but after a few more bites decided no, that makes it taste more cookie dough like! Amazing, thank you!!
Amazing! I am so glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you ❤️🙂
I’m so excited to hear that you’re on a strawberry kick, especially during #AKStrawberryWeek! 🍓 This strawberry crisp with a peanut butter oatmeal cookie crumble sounds absolutely divine. The combination of fresh strawberries, creamy peanut butter, and that oatmeal cookie crumble must be a taste of summer perfection.
If you’re looking for more delightful recipes, be sure to visit Secret Recipe(https://secretrecipebd.com/) for a treasure trove of culinary inspiration. Enjoy your summer treats!
This is AMAZING! Made the filling and oat cookie topping exactly as is but topped it with Jeni’s cinnamon roll ice cream at the end instead of the chocolate. Incredible flavor and I like that it’s on the healthy side. Another winner!
Ah yay! I am so glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out delicious for you!
Could you sub coconut oil for the butter?
Hi! Hmmm I think it might make the topping too crumbly. Let me know if you give it a try, but I’d suggest sticking with melted butter or melted vegan butter.
This looks amazing! Do you have any suggestions on how to make it refined sugar free?
You could try using coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar but I worry that the crumble topping won’t hold together as well!
This one is SO freaking good and easy. It’s a must make summer dessert *chef’s kiss*.
The best!! Glad you enjoyed!
OH MY GOD. this is the best dessert ever!! and that chocolate drizzle, 10/10 will definitely make again, me and my family gobbled it up😂😂
So good!! Glad it was a hit!
Such a great combination of flavors. The peanut butter adds a great touch to the crumble topping, and the suggested ice cream and chocolate drizzle toppings add to the decadence of this dessert, do not skip them! I also appreciated that although there are several steps, each is straightforward, quick and not overly complicated! If you have big family double the recipe!
Such a great dessert! So happy you loved it!