Rhubarb Crunch – A Step By Step Guide To Making Rhubarb Crumble With Oats

Trying to decide how to use some of your spring rhubarb? Look no farther than Rhubarb Crumble with Oats.  This old fashioned recipe is just like Grandma used to serve.

Rhubarb Crumble with Oats Recipe

I have a rule of thumb that I tend to follow when it comes to desserts.  In my humble opinion, fruit has no business in a dessert. Chocolate, yes.  Butterscotch, yes.  Vanilla, yes.  Caramel, yes.  My one exception to this rule is any type of old fashioned fruit cobbler, crumble, crunch, or crisp.

This particular rhubarb crunch recipe reminds me of Grandma’s Apple Crumble with oats.  The combination of oats, brown sugar, butter and flour sprinkled on top of fruit and then baked in the oven until bubbly.  That’s a fruit dessert that I can get behind.

Rhubarb is naturally very tart in flavor.  Keeping that in mind, there’s two types of rhubarb desserts.  Some like our Rhubarb Cobbler have less sugar to keep a bit of a tart flavor, and others like Grandma’s Rhubarb Pie have more sugar for a very sweet flavor.  You inevitably are in control. If you like a bit of tartness, add less sugar, and if you want it to be sweet, add more sugar.  This rhubarb crumble with outs falls perfectly in the middle, not too sweet and not too tart.

More Rhubarb Recipes

• Grandma’s Rhubarb Pie
• Old Fashioned Rhubarb Coffee Cake
• Rhubarb Muffins
• Strawberry Rhubarb Jam with Jello
• Rhubarb Bread
• Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel
• Rhubarb Donuts

What is rhubarb?

Are you new to rhubarb?  Let me tell you a bit about it.  Rhubarb is a vegetable that grows every year (called a perennial).  It has red and green stalks that are reminiscent of celery stalks, and big, green leaves at top. Even though rhubarb is a vegetable, most rhubarb recipes use it in similar ways as a fruit.  The natural flavor of rhubarb is very tart, so most recipes contain quite a bit of sugar to balance out the tart flavor.

The stalks are ready to harvest in the spring when the stems are approximately a foot long.  To harvest, take a knife, and cut the stalk from the bottom.  Cut the leaf from the top and discard. The rhubarb leaves contain large quantities of oxalic acid which is poisonous when eaten.

What happens if you don’t peel rhubarb?

Nothing bad will happen! If you don’t peel rhubarb, it’s generally not a problem. The skin of rhubarb is edible and doesn’t have to be peeled before cooking. However, it can be quite fibrous and tough, so peeling it can make it more enjoyable to eat. If you prefer not to peel it, just make sure to chop it into smaller pieces to make it easier to chew.

Ingredients

• Granulated sugar
• Water
• Cornstarch
• Vanilla extract
• All purpose Flour
• Brown sugar
• Rolled Oats (old fashioned oats)
• Melted butter
• Ground Cinnamon
• Diced rhubarb stems

How to Make Rhubarb Crunch with Oatmeal

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a small saucepan, cook sugar, water and cornstarch over medium heat until thick, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, oats, melted butter and cinnamon (optional).
4. Press half the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared dish.
5. Layer diced rhubarb over the oat mixture.
6. Pour sauce over rhubarb,
7. Sprinkle the remaining crumble topping over the top.
8. Bake for 1 hour or until bubbly and browned.

For the full recipe for rhubarb crunch, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• When picking rhubarb, only use the stems.  The leaves are poisonous.
• Cinnamon is optional. I actually forgot it the first time I made this rhubarb crunch recipe, and it was delicious nonetheless.
• Substitute melted margarine for butter, if desired.
• Be sure to use rolled oats and not quick or instant oats as the rolled oats retain their texture better than quick/instant oats. Although, in a bind, quick oats will work.
• An 8 x 8 inch baking dish can be used instead of a 9 x 9 inch.
• Serve easy rhubarb crumble with ice cream, whipped cream or even drizzled with half and half like my Grandpa ate it.

Our Favorite Fruit Desserts

Peach Batter Cake

Blackberry Batter Cake

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler

Grandma’s Apple Crisp

Blueberry Muffins

Easy Cherry Crisp

Linking up to Weekend Potluck.