The BEST Mixed Berry Crisp Recipe

This Berry Crisp Recipe is a classic, foolproof EASY mixed berry dessert. Sweet, tart berries are layered underneath a buttery, crunchy topping. Perfect with a scoop of ice cream or all on its own.

Are you ready for your go-to summer dessert recipe? This Berry Crisp is always a crowd pleaser and is perfect when berries are in season, but is also fantastic all year long because you can just as easily use frozen berries! I have some pretty great recipes on my site for berry season, like my Blueberry Muffin Cake and my Berry Ambrosia Salad but Berry Crisp really is a must-make. So many sweet, tart berries topped with a generous portion of buttery, oat crisp!

I’ve worked hard to perfect the oat crisp topping, and it’s amazing! It’s thick, buttery and has the perfect amount of sweetness. You can pair this crumble (streusel) topping with just about any fruit, just like my Apple Crisp!

What Ingredients Do You Need For Berry Crisp?

The best thing about this Berry Crisp Recipe is that it uses simple, everyday ingredients. Here are a few of the main ingredients you will need:

• Oats: I like to use Quick Oats in this recipe, but you can use Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats instead if that’s all you have. Quick Oats are just oats that have been roughly cut, so they cook faster. I prefer the texture in the oat topping, but again, you can use either!
• Brown Sugar: I love using brown sugar in the crisp topping, but you can sub this out for granulated sugar as well. The brown sugar gives the crisp a more golden color and also a richer taste, in my opinion.
• Orange Juice: I squeeze a little fresh orange juice into the berry mixture before it’s baked. The citrus flavor is very subtle, but I think it adds a nice complexity to the berries. You could also use lemon or lime juice!
• Berries: Obviously the berries are the star of the show! I really love the mixture of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

Can You Use Frozen Berries?

YES! What makes this recipe so great is that you can make it all year long thanks to frozen berries. Whether they are berries you picked during their season, or packaged frozen berries from the store, they are a great alternative to fresh berries. And a lot of times, they are cheaper.

Can I Use Different Berries Than The Recipe Calls For?

Like I said above I like using 4 different types of berries when I can. I have found that 2 cups of strawberries, 2 cups of blueberries, 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup of blackberries is my favorite mix. I don’t like adding too many raspberries or blackberries because they have a lot of seeds that get stuck in my teeth!  But if you don’t prefer a certain kind of berry in this recipe, so ahead and use what combo you like. Just use a total of 6 cups.

How Do You Make A Fruit Crisp?

What’s so great about any sort of crisp recipe, is that is supposed to be rustic, so there’s no need to worry about it looking “perfect”. The beauty is in the messiness, in my opinion! Here are the simple steps:

1. The streusel mixture on the top of the Crisp is so important. You want there to be enough of the mixture that you get streusel in every bite. You also want to make sure it’s buttery enough that it’s no dry, but not too buttery that it’s greasy! My recipe for the crisp topping is totally perfect! Just make sure that when you mix it up it will hold together when squeezed.
2. You mix the berries with a little sugar, some citrus juice, and vanilla. You will want to lightly toss the berries with 1/4 cup of flour. This will help thicken up the juices that the berries release while they are baking.
3. All you do to assemble this is spread the berries in the bottom of the pan and then spread the crumble mixture evenly on top! That’s it! It’s really a fantastically easy dessert that will impress guests.

Is It A Crisp, A Crumble, a Buckle or a Cobbler? What’s The Difference?

Cobblers, Crisps, or Crumbles are all very similar desserts. They all traditionally have a fruit filling, and some of the small nuances are more regional.

A Crisp or a Crumble are basically the same thing, it just depends on what part of the country you are in! They have a fruit bottom and are topped with a buttery, streusel-type topping that typically includes oats, like today’s Berry Crisp Recipe.

A Cobbler is is similar but instead of the streusel topping it has a cake-like or biscuit-style topping dropped on top of the fruit before it bakes. As it bakes it puffs up to look like cobblestone streets.

Buckles are more cake-like and rise up around a fruity center, which causes it to “buckle” around the fruit. The more you know 🙂

Looking for More Berry Recipes? Try These:

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