This easy gluten-free blueberry crisp with juicy bubbling blueberries and a buttery almond flour topping is the perfect fruit forward dessert. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, whatever you have on hand! This dessert is just as good as blueberry pie, but with half the effort and time. Serve warm with scoops of vanilla ice cream that melts into all the jammy pockets.
This post is sponsored by Andronico's Community Markets, a long-term partner of Snixy Kitchen, but the opinions are all my own.
If I made a Tinder profile for summer desserts, my list of preferences would include:
- Requires little attention (10 minutes tops)
- Great at parties
This gluten-free blueberry crisp would be my perfect match. With less than 10 minutes of hands-on time, it's a little effort, high reward kind of dessert that I LOVE.
This blueberry deliciousness is a spin-off of my jammy gluten-free blueberry cobbler. I've swapped out the fluffy biscuits for a crisp buttery almond flour topping with rolled oats and sliced almonds. Serve warm with my favorite homemade vanilla ice cream and you've got yourself the quickest most delicious summer dessert.
Why you'll love this easy blueberry crisp
- Crisp buttery almond oat topping made with simple ingredients that has the perfect crunchy texture. It's what I use for my brown sugar gluten-free peach crisp, too.
- Tart, lightly sweetened blueberries that release their juicy sweetness as they burst in the oven. They're so flavorful!
- Quick and easy dessert with less than ten minutes of hands-on time and just ONE BOWL to make the topping.
How to Make Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumble with Almond Flour
This recipe takes less than 10 minutes of hands-on time! Start by preheating the oven to 375°F.
Mix together all of the dry ingredients for the filling, except for the sliced almonds.
Add the melted butter and mash the filling together.
Add the sliced almonds and mix again.
Use your hands to thoroughly mix the topping until it is evenly moistened and clumps together when pinched.
With your fingers, clump the topping and crumble it over the top of the blueberries.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the blueberries have burst and are bubbling on the edges, rotating the pan halfway through.
Tip: Each oven is calibrated differently and ovens may have hot spots that affect baking. While this did not happen in my oven, if you notice the topping getting too dark before the blueberries are bubbling, lightly cover it with a piece of foil while you continue baking.
Make-Ahead Crisp
If you want to save even more time, you can make the crumbles entirely in advance and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. You can use them straight from the fridge, or if storing them in the freezer, defrost them on the counter first.
Recipe Testing Notes!
I tested this gluten-free blueberry crisp six different ways to find the most flavorful crispiest topping. While the recipe posted here had the best balance of texture and flavor in taste tests, for each of the substitutions listed, the results were incredibly similar and very delicious!
- Super-fine blanched almond flour: The flavor driver of this cookie-like crisp is almond flour, adding sweet nuttiness that pairs with the buttery crumbles and jammy berries. I do not recommend substituting the almond flour in this recipe.
- Sweet rice flour: Also called mochiko, sweet rice flour is the same flour used to make mochi. It has the stick-it-together power that helps mimic gluten when used in combination with more delicate flours like almond flour. It's what makes the biscuits on my gluten-free peach cobbler so soft and delicate, too.
- Substitute: For a grain-free version, you can replace the sweet rice flour with additional tapioca flour by weight.
- Tapioca flour: Tapioca flour helps with binding and also absorbing moisture to give your crumbles the ideal crispy crumble topping texture.
- Substitute: You can substitute the tapioca flour in both the topping and the filling with corn starch by weight.
Recipe
Juicy Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp (with almond flour)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs (8 cups) fresh blueberries, (4 pints)
- 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 28 g (¼ cup) tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 85 g (¾ cup) gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
- 100 g (½ cup) light brown sugar
- 85 g (¾ cup) super-fine blanched almond flour
- 40 g (¼ cup) sweet rice flour, also called mochiko, distinctly different from brown rice flour or white rice flour
- 28 g (¼ cup) Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 50 g (½ cup) sliced almonds
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Mix together all of the dry ingredients for the topping, except for the sliced almonds.
- Add the melted butter and mash the filling together with a silicone spatula or spoon. Add the sliced almonds and mix to combine. Use your hands to thoroughly mix the topping until it is evenly moistened and clumps together when pinched.
- In 2-quart baking pan (metal, glass, or ceramic will all work! I recommend a 9x9 or 7x10 baking pan or a 10-inch round baking dish), toss together blueberries, sugar, tapioca flour, and lemon juice.
- With your fingers, clump the topping and crumble it evenly over the top of the blueberries. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the blueberries have burst and are bubbling on the edges, rotating the pan halfway through.
Notes
Carla -
Great way to use up slightly overripe blueberries at the end of the season. Served this for guests and everyone loved it, thank you!
Steph T. -
This looks lovely! Would you have a recommendation for a nut flour substitute please?
Sarah Menanix -
Hmm - this is a good question! While I haven't tested it, I would recommend replacing the almond flour with 75% of the amount of oat flour, by weight (so, 63g, or 1/2 cup, gf oat flour).
Stephanie Tsouloufis -
Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to making this in a couple of days for friends. I appreciate you reply and suggestion amounts for the oat flour, I was thinking oat flour but the amount is very helpful.
Nissa -
Crisps are my favorite, but I have never tried with blueberry. It’s a fresh, summery option! Crumble topping is perfect w/the tartness of blueberries. Thank you!