Easy Freezer-to-Oven Fruit Crumble
This easy dessert can be made with any kind of frozen fruit, and is topped with a buttery brown sugar-oat crumble.
Serves6
Prep15 minutes to 20 minutes
Cook35 minutes to 40 minutes
Freezing is one of the easiest ways to preserve summer fruit. While most vegetables require a quick dip in boiling water and then a cool down in an ice bath, fruits — such as berries, peaches, cranberries, and cherries — will actually last longer if you skip the water altogether and pop ’em straight into the freezer (also known as dry freezing).
The best way to freeze fruit is to arrange the berries or sliced stone fruit on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer (they shouldn’t be touching). Once they’re frozen solid, transfer them to a ziptop bag or straight-sided jar and return to the freezer. The one (optional) extra step is to toss the fruit in sugar before you freeze it, which will help it last longer. You’ll toss the fruit with sugar and stir until dissolved, then pack it into containers with a little extra room for expansion.
My favorite thing to do with frozen summer fruit, sugared or unsugared, is to bake it into a crisp, crumble or pie. This recipe can be made with any frozen fruit, and the fruit goes directly from the freezer into the baking dish. It doesn’t get much easier!
Easy Freezer-to-Oven Fruit Crumble
This easy dessert can be made with any kind of frozen fruit, and is topped with a buttery brown sugar-oat crumble.
Prep time 15 minutes to 20 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes to 40 minutes
Serves 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
For the fruit filling:
- 1 quart
canned fruit, or 2 pounds frozen fruit (if you’re using sugared fruit, skip the additional sugar)
- 1/2 cup
granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup
all-purpose flour
For the crumble:
- 1 cup
all-purpose flour
- 1 cup
rolled oats
- 3/4 cup
packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon
salt
- 1/2 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
- 8 tablespoons
(1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 2 to 3 tablespoons
milk
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
Make the fruit filling: Place the fruit into a 12-inch ovensafe skillet or 8x8-inch baking dish. Add the sugar and flour and toss to coat.
Make the crumble: Place the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor bowl fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until the dry ingredients are well mixed, 3 to 4 pulses. Add the cubed butter and pulse until the butter is distributed throughout the flour and oat mixture, 6 to 7 pulses.
With the motor running, stream in 2 tablespoons of the milk. If the topping still looks very dry, stream in the last tablespoon of milk.
Crumble the crisp topping on top of the fruit, taking care to keep the topping rough and nubbly so that you have plenty of opportunity for browning.
Bake until the fruit is bubbling up around the edges and the topping is firm and deeply browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days. Rewarm in a low oven.
Weeknight Preserving is your beginner’s guide to preserving the best of the season even if you have a small kitchen or a couple hours on a weeknight. We asked Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars for a true beginner’s guide to preserving, from pickles to jams to freezing to fermenting. You (yes you!) can make a pickle or a jam to be proud of this summer. Share your preserving triumphs with us by tagging #thekitchn on Instagram.
Wondering what to do with the pickles you’ve made? Check out Marisa’s latest book, The Food in Jars Kitchen. It contains over 100 recipes to help you cook, bake, transform, and share your homemade preserves!
Follow Marisa on Facebook, Instagram, and by visiting her website Food in Jars.