Tangy rhubarb combined with sweet strawberries and blueberries makes for a delicious combination. This recipe for berry rhubarb crumble won a $5,000 prize, and after eating it I can see why!
Why this recipe works
I have a story to tell you about this tasty dessert and how I ended up with it. I run a recipe/food Facebook group for this blog. One of the members of that group is Pat Harmon, and she’s a “recipe contester”. That means she creates recipes and enters them into contests. And she doesn’t just enter, she wins!
Pat posted her “Very Berry Rhubarb Cobbler” in the group. As it turns out this recipe had been a $5,000 prize winner in 1997. Pat told me she had been a contester for a few years before entering into Reddi-Wip’s “50 Fruit Salute”. This contest offered $50 prizes, one winner per state, and a grand prize of $5,000.
She had already been a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off (and would go on to the finals two more times) before coming up with this recipe.
“I was a big fan of rhubarb and strawberries together, so I changed it up a bit by adding blueberries. Inspired by an apple crisp topping I had tried, I added almonds to mine. I received two letters in the mail the same day. One said I had been chosen for the $50 Pennsylvania prize and the other said I had won the grand prize as well!”
A little about the name. Pat’s recipe is titled Very Berry Rhubarb Cobbler and I’ve called it Prize Winning Rhubarb Crumble. There’s definitely some debate among bakers on whether something should be called a cobbler, crisp, crumble, grunt, etc.
A crisp usually has oats in the topping, a cobbler is a biscuit topping dropped on top of the fruit (it looks like a cobbled road), and a crumble doesn’t have oats, but can have nuts. So to keep the peace in Internetland, I’m going with “crumble”.
RELATED: Be sure to try our Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Bars too!
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
RHUBARB – You’ll want to pickup some fresh Rhubarb from your local farmers market or grocery store.
BERRIES – Stick with fresh strawberries and blueberries for this recipe. If frozen is all you have, make sure to thaw completely. You may need to increase the amount of cornstarch to thicken the mixture.
ALMONDS – I like to use sliced almonds as Pat’s recipe suggests, but pecans or walnuts would be great too, depending on what you like best.
How to Make Prize Winning Rhubarb Crumble
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Start by preheating your oven to 375º F. Grease up the bottom and sides of a 13×9 baking pan.
- Prep the fruit by chopping the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces and slicing the strawberries.
- In a large bowl, stir together rhubarb, strawberries, and blueberries.
- Add in the sugar, cornstarch and balsamic vinegar. Stir the mixture well, turning the fruit to make sure you get to the bottom of the bowl. Stir until all the fruit has a beautiful sugary coating.
- Place the sugared fruit mixture into your prepared pan and set aside while you make the topping.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt and almonds. Stir in the egg until the topping is nice and crumbly. Toss with your fingers to make sure it’s completely combined.
- Crumble the topping over the sugared fruit, then drizzle all over with butter.
- Place pan in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The topping should be golden brown and the fruit mixture will be vibrant and bubbly.
- Remove the pan to a cooling rack and cool to slightly warm. Serve warm topped with a big, chilly scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
Serving Suggestions
If you’ve been looking for a rhubarb recipe to try, this is it. You’ll be thanking Pat for it. Head over to my Facebook group and join and be sure to let her know if you tried it!
Serve warm with a big scoop of ice cream, whipped cream, or both! We aren’t judging!
More Cobblers and Crisps Recipes
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Prize Winning Rhubarb Crumble
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 cups rhubarb cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups fresh strawberries sliced
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Things You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º Grease a 13×9 baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, and blueberries.2 cups rhubarb, 2 cups fresh strawberries, 1 cup fresh blueberries
- Add sugar, cornstarch and balsamic vinegar. Toss and stir until well coated.1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Place sugared fruit mixture into prepared pan and set aside.
Make the Topping
- Mix together flour, sugar, salt and sliced almonds. Stir in egg until crumbly. Toss with your fingers to make sure it’s completely combined.1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup sliced almonds, 1 large egg
- Crumble over top of sugared fruit in pan. Drizzle with melted butter.3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and mixture is bubbly.
- Cool until slightly warm. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
The recipes on this blog are tested with a conventional gas oven and gas stovetop. It’s important to note that some ovens, especially as they age, can cook and bake inconsistently. Using an inexpensive oven thermometer can assure you that your oven is truly heating to the proper temperature. If you use a toaster oven or countertop oven, please keep in mind that they may not distribute heat the same as a conventional full sized oven and you may need to adjust your cooking/baking times. In the case of recipes made with a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, or other appliance, a link to the appliances we use is listed within each respective recipe. For baking recipes where measurements are given by weight, please note that results may not be the same if cups are used instead, and we can’t guarantee success with that method.
This post was originally published here on July 13, 2019.
Amanda Davis
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Jan Bunker says
Absolutely delicious! My family loved this dish. Everyone was sneaking spoonsfull after it came out of the oven! I prepared it per the recipe with no alterations. It was tart and full of flavor.
Thank you for the delicious recipe to help me use up my plentiful supply of rhubarb!
Donna Britt says
Can this recipe be put together in advance without the baking being done and put in freezer?
Amanda Davis says
We have not tested that with this recipe. However, should you decide to experiment we would love to hear your results!
K Neal says
Could a half box cake with butter be a good substitute?
Amanda Davis says
We have not tested that with this recipe. However, should you decide to experiment we would love to hear your results!
Donna says
Wanting to try this recipe for an event where there are gluten free guests. Have you ever made this with gluten free flour in the topping?
Amanda Davis says
We have not tested that with this recipe. However, should you decide to experiment we would love to hear your results!
Renda says
Why is there an egg in the topping? Never seen that before!
Amanda Davis says
It helps the topping come together and stick, it also helps it bake up a little crunchier.
Jane Shropshire says
Scrumptious!
I also reduced sugar by 1/2 with the fruit and by 1/4 in the topping and it was plenty sweet enough.
Excellent way to use the summer bounty of fruit.
Willow says
Tastes great but ran short on sugar so subbed brown sugar for half of the sugar for topping. I found that the topping was not getting crumbly so instead of putting melted butter on top, I mixed it into topping…perfect! Next time I make it, I will double the cornstarch next time as it came out watery. Even chilled it was too thin. It is delicious, well worth making again.
Ashley says
Absolutely hands down our favorite dessert! The last time I made it though, the topping came out rock hard!!?! I don’t know where I went wrong.
Michelle says
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I only added 3/4 cups of sugar to the fruit instead of the 1 1/2 cups and it was still plenty sweet. I used frozen rhubarb and made sure it was plenty thawed and drained. Definitely recommend!
Rebecca Bourgeois says
Hi! Just discovered your wonderful recipe and intend to try it for.Easter Sunday.
Unfortunately, the leg of lamb will be requiring the oven.
Can the crumble be prepared beforehand, and left to rewarm slowly in the oven as we eat lunch?
Lynn Ryan says
a huge hit at our July 4th celebration – a winner on it’s own but topped with homemade vanilla ice cream it was outstanding!
Pat says
This is my new favorite dessert. Loved the combination of the fruit. Delicious!
Amanda Formaro says
Hooray, so glad you loved it!
Tiffany A says
I was looking for something easy and sweet to make with all my rhubarb and this was perfect! I really like the addition of blueberries and the balsamic added flavor without a vinegar taste. Didn’t use all the sugar because the ice cream on top gave it added sweetness. So, so good! We loved it!
Amanda Formaro says
That’s awesome Tiffany, thank you so much for the great review!
Pat Harmon says
Thanks, Amanda. I just made it again a couple of weeks ago when a friend gave me some rhubarb.
Amanda Formaro says
Everyone loves it, thanks so much for letting me share it!
Ruth says
The crumble recipe had balsamic vinegar in it! I almost left it out then figured, why not! It makes onions sweet, it was fantastic! My non-rhubarb loving husband loved it
Will definitely make again!
Amanda Formaro says
Balsamic is a magical ingredient, especially for strawberries! :)
Naomi says
Very tasty! I had fresh rhubarb but used frozen mixed berries instead of fresh and still worked out great. A bit sweet though for my taste. Prefer to enjoy the tart of the rhubarb a bit more so think I’ll cut the sugar to 1 c. next time with the fruit. Still worthy of a remake.
Amanda Formaro says
So glad you liked it!
Fran says
Very nice dessert! My rhubarb is at its best right now so that came fresh from the garden. I didn’t have any strawberries or blueberries but I had some frozen sour cherries from last summer. They were a perfect match with the rhubarb! Otherwise, I followed the recipe and it made a really good dessert for Sunday dinner! We particularly liked the sliced almonds in the crumble, it sure adds a nice crunch. Thanks for a great new recipe!
Amanda Formaro says
Oh I love the cherry substitution, so glad you loved it!
Pam Dawson says
The crumb part still looks like flour crumb. Not sure what to do to get it covered by the fruit juice or butter.
Deidra says
For the crumble, I mixed all crumble ingredients together, including the melted butter. It was easier to spread around and turned out nicely.
Willow says
I did the same.
Pat Harmon says
Thanks for the recognition, Amanda. I don’t often repeat a lot of my prize-winning recipes but this one I usually make every spring….even if it is a smaller version just for myself since I am alone now.
Amanda Formaro says
Well we absolutely loved it here, thanks Pat!!
Natalie says
Looks so delicious and perfect for the summer!