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This delicious, made-from-scratch Blackberry Crisp is a delicious end to any summer meal. With a buttery-crisp walnut topping and plenty of juicy berries, you’ll love this dessert solo or “a la mode,” with a scoop of ice cream.
I love fruit desserts of all kinds, but crisps might be my favorite. This Blackberry Crisp is extremely forgiving: Toss your fruit with sugar and spices, then add a simple butter-oat topping, and bake until the fruit is juicy and the topping is crunchy.
What makes this recipe so easy is the method for the topping. Typical crisp recipes call for cutting pieces of butter into the topping (with a pastry cutter or 2 knives, like you would for a pie crust) until you have pea-sized cubes of butter throughout.
Instead, we melt the butter, toss the topping in it until evenly coated, and refrigerate until chilled. Way easier, and a great make-ahead strategy too! All you have to do is mix up your fruit, add the topping, and you’re ready to bake.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Rolled oats: Also known as “old-fashioned” oats. Quick-cooking oats can work in a pinch, but do not substitute steel-cut oats.
- Walnuts: Walnuts add a wonderful flavor and crunch to the topping, but it’s okay to leave them out. I’ve also done testing with raw pecans and raw cashews, and they were both delicious.
- Blackberries: Blackberries look like large, shiny black raspberries, but the two fruits are different. Either one works in this recipe, though, so if you’re lucky enough to have a bush of wild black raspberries growing in your yard, grab a basket and start picking!
Step-by-step instructions
- To make the crisp topping, in a medium bowl, add flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle butter over mixture and toss to combine. Cover an refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or rub with butter. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add blackberries and toss well to coat.
- Pour intro prepared baking dish and sprinkle with topping.
- Bake until the fruit juices are bubbling and the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Blackberry Crisp, enough for 8 servings, ¾ cup each (plus ice cream).
- Storage: Cover the Blackberry Crisp with foil or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Make the topping a day in advance and keep refrigerated until baking time.
- Freezer: Fully-baked Blackberry Crisp doesn’t freeze well. Unfortunately, the crunchy topping turns mushy upon thawing.
Recipe FAQs
A crisp without oats is considered a crumble. But it really doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you try it. Both crisps and crumbles are easy, delicious desserts that go great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Oats are naturally gluten free, so just make sure they are processed in a facility that maintains GF standards. Substitute your favorite GF flour blend for the all-purpose flour.
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Blackberry Crisp
Ingredients
For the crisp topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see note 1)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped (see note 2)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter melted (1 stick)
For the blackberry crisp:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups blackberries fresh or frozen (about 32 ounces or 2 pounds, see note 3)
- Vanilla ice cream for serving, optional
Instructions
- To make the crisp topping, in a medium bowl, add flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle butter over mixture and toss to combine. Cover an refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or rub with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add blackberries and toss well to coat. Pour intro prepared baking dish and sprinkle with topping.
- Bake until the fruit juices are bubbling and the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Notes
- Rolled oats: Also known as “old-fashioned” oats. Quick-cooking oats can work in a pinch, but do not substitute steel-cut oats.
- Walnuts: Walnuts add a wonderful flavor and crunch to the topping, but it’s okay to leave them out. I’ve also done testing with raw pecans and raw cashews, and they were both delicious.
- Blackberries: Blackberries look like large, shiny black raspberries, but the two fruits are different. Either one works in this recipe, though, so if you’re lucky enough to have a bush of wild black raspberries growing in your yard, grab a basket and start picking!
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Blackberry Crisp, enough for 8 servings, ¾ cup each (plus ice cream).
- Storage: Cover the Blackberry Crisp with foil or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.