Healthy Rhubarb Crumble

Healthy rhubarb crumble with oats is a lighter twist on a classic British dessert. This healthy version of the recipe has a not-too-sweet, crunchy oat crumble topping with delicious, tender rhubarb sweetened with a little honey. It's much lower in sugar than a traditional rhubarb crumble, and it's naturally gluten-free and flourless. Make the most of the season while you can, as this is one of the best healthy rhubarb recipes!

Recipe Summary: Healthy Rhubarb Crumble
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 5
Key ingredients: Rhubarb, oats, butter and a little honey and sugar
Nutritional highlights: Wholegrain oats, fresh rhubarb, low sugar
Allergy info: Gluten-free, nut-free, can be made dairy-free
Convenience: Easy to make, suitable for meal prep

Jump to:

• Why rhubarb crumble can be healthy
• Ingredients
• How to make healthy rhubarb crumble
• Wendy's recipe tips
• Serving and storage
• Frequently asked questions
• Other healthy crumble recipes
• More healthy rhubarb dessert recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

Why rhubarb crumble can be healthy

• This healthy rhubarb crumble is much lower in added sugar than most desserts. There's less than a quarter of the sugar in this crumble than in a traditional recipe.
• This rhubarb crumble recipe is made with wholegrain healthy oats, which are high in fibre and have proven health benefits.
• Rhubarb is also high in fibre and vitamin K1
• There's no flour in the recipe, and it's gluten-free
• If needed, you can switch to the topping from this apple crumble recipe with olive oil to make the recipe dairy-free and lower in saturated fat
• Less sugar also means less calories, and healthy rhubarb crumble has around half the calories of a standard recipe.

Of course, healthy rhubarb crumble is also delicious. There's a lovely contrast between the crunchy oaty crumble topping and soft cooked rhubarb, and this easy family dessert is popular with adults and children.

Ingredients

Rhubarb. For this healthy rhubarb crumble recipe, I like to use the robust maincrop rhubarb which is available in the UK in Spring. In some places, you might be able to buy forced rhubarb which is available earlier in the year in late winter. It is grown under pots which results in a paler colour and more delicate flavour.

I've got two varieties of rhubarb in my garden. One has beautiful, deep pink stems, and the other is greener, although sweeter in flavour. If you have a garden with a bit of space, I'd recommend growing rhubarb as it is very easy and produces an abundance of stems every spring. This healthy rhubarb crumble is one of my favourite ways to use the spring harvest.

If you are picking your own rhubarb, remember that although the stalks are edible, the leaves are poisonous!

Any leftover rhubarb can easily be turned into stewed rhubarb and apple.

Honey, ground cinnamon and ginger. These add a little sweetness to the rhubarb, and rhubarb and honey are a particularly delicious combination. You can adjust the quantity to suit your taste, and you can also use maple syrup or another sweetener if you prefer.

Gluten free oat crumble topping

Oats. I think porridge or rolled oats are best for this healthy rhubarb crumble as they give it a lovely crunchy texture (hence rhubarb crumble with oats is sometimes known as rhubarb crisp!) If you've only got instant oats, you'll end up with a much finer-textured topping with less crunch.

Provided that you use certified gluten-free oats (which are processed in a gluten-free factory), your healthy rhubarb crumble will be gluten-free. There is no flour in this recipe. Personally, I prefer to use oats instead of highly refined gluten-free flours.

Butter. This oaty crumble topping is mixed together with butter. You can use a dairy-free butter if you prefer, or make your crumble topping with olive oil.

Sugar. I've made this healthy rhubarb crumble recipe low in added sugar. But some sweetness is required to balance the tart rhubarb. Most types of sugar are suitable, depending on what you have in the cupboard: brown, demerara, granulated, castor or golden castor sugar. I prefer brown sugar or golden caster sugar, as it adds a lovely caramel richness.

How to make healthy rhubarb crumble

Preparing rhubarb is incredibly easy. Just remove the leaves, rinse the stems and chop them into 2cm pieces. If any stems are particularly stringy, remove the strings as you cut them. Add the rhubarb pieces to the baking dish, drizzle with the honey and sprinkle on the ground cinnamon and ginger.

There's no need to precook rhubarb to make crumble, which makes this recipe super-easy!

Add the oats, butter and sugar to the bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly until the ingredients are mixed. I like to keep the oats quite chunky so that the crumble topping has a good texture.

If you don't have a food processor to make the crumble topping, just melt the butter in a pan and stir in the sugar and oats.

Spread the oat crumble topping over the rhubarb.

Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes until bubbling. Check that the fruit is tender with the point of a knife.

Wendy's recipe tips

If you'd like to experiment using other fruit to sweeten your rhubarb, orange, strawberries and apple all complement rhubarb perfectly and help to balance the tartness. I sometimes add a dessert apple, finely sliced, or orange zest.

Variations

• Rhubarb and apple crumble: add 1 or 2 dessert apples to the mix and reduce the rhubarb to 200g. Slice the apple very finely so that it cooks through in the same time as the rhubarb.
• Rhubarb and strawberry are also a classic pairing. Replace 50g of the rhubarb with 100g of strawberries. Toss the fruit in 1 tablespoon of cornflour to thicken the juice from the strawberries and prevent the crumble from becoming watery or soggy.
• Vegan rhubarb crumble - use this healthy olive oil crumble topping.
• Healthy rhubarb crisp with nuts - use the topping from this apple and almond crumble recipe. The addition of ground almonds makes the crumble extra rich and crunchy, and contains healthy fats.
• You can also make a sugar-free rhubarb crumble by using sugar alternatives such as stevia, agave or granulated sweeteners. I prefer to stick to natural sweeteners.

Serving and storage

Healthy rhubarb crumble is delicious served hot or cold (or somewhere in between!), especially with a helping of easy homemade custard (or dairy free custard if needed!).

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

I prefer not to freeze cooked crumble as the topping can lose its delicious crunchiness. But raw rhubarb freezes well. Just chop it into pieces and pop it in a bag. Alternatively, you can also freeze cooked rhubarb.

You can also freeze uncooked crumble topping. Freeze it in an airtight pot and defrost at room temperature. That way, you can make a healthy rhubarb crumble in no time, in or out of season.

If you're a big fan of this recipe, you'll love these healthy rhubarb flapjacks which are a great way of turning crumble into an anytime snack.

Frequently asked questions

Other healthy crumble recipes

There's a crumble for every season! Gooseberry crumble will be an option shortly after the rhubarb finishes, and pears and blackberries will follow. Summer berry crumble uses frozen berries so you can make it all year round!

There are also lots more healthy crumbles and fruit desserts you can browse!

More healthy rhubarb dessert recipes

If you have lots of rhubarb to use up, there are plenty more healthy rhubarb recipes to try.

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Recipe

Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.