Hi! I just got back to Raleigh after being out of town for the past 5 weeks, spending most of that time in Arkansas for an internship. On my drive home, I stopped for a few days in Atlanta and my next post will be all about Atlanta adventures. For now, though, I wanted to share a recipe for this healthy mixed berry crisp before summer’s over!
I came up with the recipe while I was housesitting for my grandparents in Arkansas. I wanted to use some of my free time to bake and test a few recipes for the blog, but I was the only one there to eat the things I made. What a dilemma, right? 😉 The berry crisp turned out even better than I expected, and after several days of eating it all by myself in Arkansas, I’m actually planning to make it again for a family dinner tomorrow night.
I used inspiration from a few other recipes to come up with my recipe for this summer-y, healthy mixed berry crisp. For the filling, it’s just berries, lemon juice, and cornstarch. I actually found organic cornstarch in the bulk bins at Whole Foods, which is a plus if you have a WF nearby and don’t want to have buy an entire box of cornstarch that’ll end up sitting around in your pantry.
For the topping, it’s oats, almond meal, pecans, cinnamon, butter or coconut oil, and just a dash of maple syrup or honey instead of sugar. I used coconut oil and added coconut chips to the topping, which is totally optional, but it’s a fun twist on traditional berry crisp if you’re a fan of coconut.
Since berries are so naturally sweet, especially when baked, there’s no need to add extra sweetener to them. They also have a wide range of healthy benefits, which you can check out in this post about blueberries from Foodal.
To make the crisp, I mixed the filling ingredients together in a medium bowl, added them to my baking dish, and then used the same bowl to mix together the crumb topping ingredients. After 10 minutes and using just one bowl and spoon, the berry crisp was ready for the oven.
The filling is naturally sweet and juicy, the topping is crunchy and delicious, and there’s no refined sugar in the whole dessert. As much as I sometimes tend to turn my nose up at “healthy” desserts (i.e. applesauce substituted for oil in chocolate cake), berry crisp lends itself very well to healthy adaptations and you’d never know that this one’s on the healthier side. It’s not a low-calorie recipe by any means, but it’s made with all real ingredients.
I loved topping my healthy mixed berry crisp with homemade whipped coconut cream, but of course, regular homemade whipped cream or ice cream would also be wonderful. When served warm, the berry crisp slowly melts the ice cream or coconut cream on top and it’s just incredible. Hope you love it as much as I did (do!)
If you try out the recipe, feel free to let me know in a comment or take a picture and tag me @livbane on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!
Healthy Mixed Berry Crisp
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh blueberries (see Note if using frozen berries)
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (~ 1/2 lemon, depending on its juiciness)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or chips, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) or 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup or honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, mix together berries, lemon juice and cornstarch. Add to buttered or greased 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish.
- In the same bowl, mix together oats, pecans, almond meal, coconut flakes or chips, cinnamon, butter or coconut oil, and maple syrup or honey. Mix until mixture comes together and add to top of baking dish.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top has lightly browned and the filling is beginning to thicken. Let rest for 15-20 minutes before serving to allow the filling to thicken. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
Inspired by this recipe and this recipe
Apple crisp is my favourite so I’m sure this will be just my cup of tea! And single serving…even better!
Megan recently posted…Random ramblings #2
This actually makes a full pan of berry crisp, but I did eat it all by myself over the course of a few days when I was living alone for a few weeks! 🙂
I love crisps! Crumble topping totally has my heart. And your have to use the awesome summer fruit while it’s around, so this is perfect 🙂
I LOVE apple crisp but I think this summer was the first time I tried making a berry crisp. So perfect for summer and the crumbly topping is always so good.
This looks super fresh and delicious! I also love that you didn’t use raspberries because while I loveee strawberries and blueberries, I really don’t like raspberries for whatever reason 😛 I can’t wait to hear all about your Atlanta adventures, Liv!
Claire @ My Pink & Green Life recently posted…Travel: Lake Huron, Forest, Ontario {Part 2}
Glad I could be accommodating 😉 And thanks so much, Claire!
This looks delicious! I have been taking advantage of all the fresh fruits this summer so this will be the perfect thing to make 🙂 🙂
Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie recently posted…What I Eat in a Day at Work
I don’t want berries to ever go out of season!
CANT WAIT FOR TOMORROW NIGHT!!! Yum yum yummm,
I’m excited, too!! 🙂
omg Liv i am so jealous. this looks like a dream!! love the addition of coconut flakes on top, and homemade whipped cream sounds incredible. Pinning!
Beverley @ Born to Sweat recently posted…The Lazy Girls Lower Ab Workout
I couldn’t get enough! And thanks for pinning, Beverley!
Berry crisps are the best! I think I love making healthier versions of them because of the sugar rush that follows! Love that you used the natural sweetness of the berries in addition to honey!
We certainly needed for you to make more of this dessert for us. Byron’s favorite!
I know he loves apple crisp! I wanted to make it for you the night before I left town but I ran out of time, unfortunately 🙁
We need this dessert at our house. So yummy!
This sounds so good Liv! Definitely would make such a great topping for so many things 🙂 Hope you had a great weekend!!
Alyssa recently posted…Mental Health Monday 7/18/19: Our internal critic
Thanks, Alyssa! Hope you had a great weekend, as well!
Looks so fresh and tasty Liv! I would eat this for breakfast 🙂
Ellie recently posted…Apple Music and When Stuff Isn’t Vegan
So would I! 🙂
Looking at this is making me go, ‘Oh boy, oh boy…’ Cause fruit desserts have a really special place in my heart. I love pies and crisps with ALL The real ingredients plus icecream? It’s amazing, because fruit lends so much sugar to a recipe that it doesn’t really need any extra. God made all these cool forms of sugar. Fruit is one of my favorites. 🙂 And Liv, you just always blow me away with your delicious descriptions and incredible looking recipes.
Emily recently posted…My Cup Is Full When It Should Be Empty
Fruit is the BEST kind of natural sugar 🙂 And thanks so much for your kind words, Emily!
THAT TOPPING SOUNDS TO DIE FOR, I may just have to make a huge bowl of that!
You totally could– it’s a lot like granola!
Crisps are my favorite dessert ever! Growing up my grandma always made rhubarb crisp…AMAZING! I’m going to have to try this recipe <3
Diana @ Live Lean Eat Green recently posted…One Meal Two Ways- Eating Healthy While Satisfying Everyone Else
Yum, rhubarb crisp sounds delicious!
I love crisps! Pinning this for a nice weekend breakfast/brunch. I love how you did it in one bowl – that totally motivates me even more. Lots of bowls to clean is not fun!
Sarah @ BucketListTummy recently posted…Day in the Life
As few dishes as possible is the way to go! Thanks for pinning, Sarah!
This looks seriously delicious and I loveeeeeee that you added coconut into the mix!
This is definitely the perfect summer dessert – especially so if you add a scoop of icecream… you know… to cool it down 😉
Kristy from Southern In Law recently posted…Free Printable “You Know” Card Game to Make Learning Fun
Oh, of course– to cool it down 😉
Oooh this looks so good! I bet I could easily eat the entire thing by myself too 🙂
Megan recently posted…Dieting vs. Intuitive Eating: How to Handle Hunger
yum, i LOVE berry crisp! if you use a wee bit less oil and sugar, i call it breakfast 😉
masala girl recently posted…A Venezian Bellini
Almost like baked oatmeal, right? 😉
oh my gosh this looks amazing! i never take the time to make a big dish, but totally should do this instead just a quick bowl
You’ll have leftovers for days to come! 🙂