Strawberry Vanilla Crisp Recipe

This strawberry vanilla crisp features loads of fresh strawberries cooked down into a sweet jammy consistency. Of course this quick and easy summer dessert wouldn’t be complete without a crumbly and crisp oat streusel topping. Brown sugar sweetens the topping and seeds from vanilla bean add richness and depth to the strawberry layer underneath.

There’s little in life that one could love more than simple fruit crisp on a warm summer day. The juicier the fruit, the crumblier the oat streusel, the colder the vanilla ice cream, the better. You see, fruit crisps are dessert saviors. After you chop your fruit, this dessert comes together in minutes. No pie crust chilling or fancy pie crust designs needed. Most of the work is done in the oven, so you can sit back, put your feet up, and relax while you take in how massively delicious your house smells and how little work you did to get it that way.

This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!

Let’s make strawberry vanilla crisp!

Strawberry Vanilla Crisp Details

• Flavor: This is a dessert where strawberries shine. In fact, it’s one of the first suggestions I make when readers ask me about using their buckets of freshly picked strawberries. Pair the strawberries with flavors that bring out their natural flavor rather than cover it up. Vanilla bean seeds add fanciful flavor and depth (like bourbon does in cherry crisp), while the lightly cinnamon-spiced brown sugar oat topping tastes like nostalgic comfort food. If I could sum it up, this dessert is your summer staple.
• Texture: Strawberry crisp boasts a medley of textures! If you crave texture like I do, you’ll enjoy the combination of juicy, jammy strawberries, crumbly crisp oat streusel, crunchy almonds, and creamy vanilla ice cream. Even if you skipped the almonds and ice cream, you still have that powerhouse texture duo of SOFT and CRISP.
• Ease: I always say that if you like pie but want to do half the work, make a fruit crisp. I remember telling you that apple crisp is convenient and manageable and the same goes for today’s strawberry vanilla crisp. You don’t have to wait for anything to come to room temperature, chill, or cool down. Enjoy it warm from the oven!

And finally, there’s no eggs. Many readers have been asking for egg-free baking recipes like this.

Recipe Improvements

Like many bakers out there, I’m always trying to improve and perfect my recipes. When I prepared this strawberry dessert recently, I made 2 small changes and updated the recipe accordingly. Here’s what I did:

How to Perfect the Strawberry Vanilla Crisp Layers

Just like my peach crisp recipe, it will look like a lot of topping before you bake it. Don’t get nervous; a lot of the topping seeps down into the filling to create a super buttery flavor.

You can make this strawberry crisp in a pie dish, oven-safe skillet, or even in ramekins as individual crisps. Instead of all strawberries, try subbing in some sliced rhubarb or even peaches, raspberries, or blueberries. Add homemade whipped cream for a perfect finishing touch!