Easy Berry Crisp with Frozen Berries

Berry crisp is an easy dessert that can be made in an instant using a frozen berry mix. The best thing about a berry crisp is its simplicity.

The crisp can be in the oven within minutes, and the ingredient measurements don’t have to be exact. The recipe is easy to adapt based on what happens to be available in the pantry or how many people will be enjoying the dessert.

Why it’s so delicious

1. What I love the most about mixed berry crisps is how easy they are to make! It only takes a couple of minutes to whip up.
   
2. It’s pretty healthy. Oats and berries are packed with nutrients and fiber, and there isn’t much of added sugar.
   
3. It’s very versatile—you can use whatever mixed berries you prefer. Buy a bag of ready-made berry mix or create your own favorite mix.
   
4. It can be made gluten-free. Use gluten-free oats for the crisp.
   
5. It can be made sugar-free. Just replace the sugar in the recipe with a granulated sugar-free alternative.

Ingredient Notes

• For a frozen mixed berry crisp, you obviously need some berries! Three types of berries usually make a good combo, but you can use more or less according to your preference. I used the local classic mix of strawberries, black currants, and blueberries.

• For oats, old-fashioned rolled oats are the best, but you could also use quick oats. For a gluten-free crisp, make sure to choose gluten-free oats—check the packaging to ensure they are clearly labeled as gluten-free.

• Hazelnuts give the crisp a lovely extra crunch. You can use walnuts, almonds, or pistachios instead, or leave them out completely.

• The crisp calls for butter, but you can make it vegan by substituting the butter with a vegan alternative.

• I love the caramelly taste of coconut sugar, and I’m not a big fan of white sugar, so I use and recommend coconut sugar. Table sugar or cane sugar works great too, or you can make a sugar-free berry crisp by swapping the sugar for a granulated sweetener.

• I used vanilla to enhance the berries, but cardamom or cinnamon also work very well with them.

Useful tips:

Don’t thaw the berries! Put them into the baking pan frozen; that way, you’ll get the best result.

To avoid the berries from getting too soggy, mix a spoonful of cornstarch into them while they’re still frozen.

For an even crumblier crisp, don’t melt the butter—instead, mix it with the oats while it’s still cold. You can do this in a food processor, but to prevent the oats from breaking, it’s better to pinch the oats into the butter using your hands.

Making Ahead Instructions

You can make the berry crisp ahead and warm it in the oven when it’s time to serve. Let the baked crisp cool completely, cover it with tin foil, and keep it in the fridge. The crisp will keep for at least three days.

If you want to prepare the crisp ahead and bake it right before serving, you need to put the prepared pan into the freezer. Otherwise, the berries will thaw, and the oats will start to absorb the juices, resulting in a very soggy and less crumbly crisp. Make sure to use a pan that can go directly from the freezer to the oven. Also, work quickly: prepare the crisp first and take the berries out of the freezer just before adding them to the pan because once they start to thaw, you can’t freeze them again. Then crumble the crisp layer into the pan, cover with double foil, and place it in the freezer. Once it’s time to bake the crisp, preheat the oven and put the baking dish into the heated oven straight from the freezer. Note that the baking time will be longer.

How to Store:

Baked crisp keeps well in the fridge for about 3-5 days and in the freezer for about 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge and heat in the oven before serving.

What to Serve with a Crisp:

Crisp is great as is, but it’s even better served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a generous splash of vanilla custard, or with Greek yogurt.