Quick Fruit Crumble
Use what you've got!
Here’s my secret. I love sweets! So in order to have my sweets and eat them, too…I make sure to always have a few things in the fridge and pantry at all times. I always have fresh fruit when possible – especially apples because they keep well and I eat them almost daily. I always have bananas, because if they get too ripe I peel them, break them up, put them in a ziplock in the freezer to make Nice Cream or baked goods like muffins and banana bread. I also always always ALWAYS have bags of frozen berries and cherries in the freezer. Because they also keep well and are the perfect ingredient to make a quick dessert. Frozen peaches, mango, and pineapple are also great to keep around.
Other pantry essentials for dessert: rolled oats, nuts and seeds, unprocessed or minimally processed sweeteners like whole medjool dates, date syrup, date sugar, maple syrup, maple sugar, coconut nectar and coconut sugar. And of course, unsweetened plant milk. I also always have cinnamon, vanilla (alcohol-free liquid or plain vanilla bean powder). And for multiple uses arrowroot flour, tapioca starch, and corn starch.
This crumble can be made in under 30 minutes!
Quick Fruit Crumble
recipe from Lisa Rice's Kitchen Plantastic
Ingredients
Fruit filling
3 cups defrosted frozen berries, cherries, peaches or a combo (can also use fresh, or a combo of fresh and frozen) *if using apple, see note in instructions!
1 T granulated date, maple, or coconut sugar
1 T arrowroot powder or corn starch
Lemon zest and juice of half a small lemon
Crumble topping
1 cup mixed nuts (walnuts, pecans, sliced almonds, etc.) and/or seeds
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour of choice (I like whole wheat, einkorn, whole spelt, oat, or a combo)
2 T granulated date sugar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 T almond butter (or unsweetened apple sauce)
Unsweetened plant milk as needed, one Tablespoon at a time
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375
In a large bowl, mix the berries with the other filling ingredients. Spread evenly in a pyrex pie pan or an 8×8 square Pyrex or other baking dish.
In a food processor or chopper, pulse the first 5 ingredients (the dry ingredients) until crumbly. Transfer to a bowl and add the almond butter. Using your fingers to mix and pinch until a crumble begins to form. Then add a drizzle of plant milk and pinch and mix some more, adding enough milk one tablespoon at a time until it’s crumbly and slightly sticky – but not wet!
Spread the crumble on top of the fruit. Bake on the middle rack 20 minutes and check. The fruit should be bubbling and the top golden and crispy. If not, bake 5 minutes more or until done. Allow to cool a bit before serving.
*for the Super Simple Apple Crumble in-a-pan version, you will slice the apples and cook them in an oven-safe skillet with a little water, maple syrup, cinnamon and raisins, until they soften slightly. Then add a T of cornstarch or arrowroot, stir and cook another minute to thicken. Remove from heat and spread the crumble on top and pop the entire pan in the oven under the broiler until golden and crispy (don’t forget to use an oven mit to remove it!) usually 3-5 minutes.
