One of the easiest and most delicious dessert dishes is crumble, a fruit filling topped with a crumbly topping baked to crunchy perfection. The crumbly part of the crumble usually contains flour, sometimes oats, butter, and sugar. Even though apples are the most popular fruit fillings for crumble, you can also use berries or stone fruit; the sharper the taste, the better.
Here are some ideas for making the best vegan crumble, a delicious plant-based dessert.
Irresistible Vegan Crumble Recipes
Everyone has a favorite crumble recipe that brings back childhood memories of summer or autumn fruit harvests. Crumbles, crisps, or cobblers are easy to make because they require no pastry rolling.
One Green Planet is the place to start when looking for a collection of the best vegan crumble recipes. You can download their Food Monster App to access over 3,000 annual recipes or get ideas for 15 Crumbles, Crisps, and Cobblers here.
Try the Peach Cobbler, the Summer Strawberry Coconut Crumble, the Blueberry Plum Crumble, the Rhubarb and Amaretto Crumble, and the Baked Sweet Potatoes and Cranberries with Cinnamon Oat Crumble. They are all an irresistible surprise for ending a meal.
Easy and Delicious Vegan Crumble Ideas
You can serve crumbles throughout the year with seasonal fruits. Therefore, berry or stone fruit season is over; you can make apple or pumpkin crumble. The success of crumble lies in the combination of tartness and sweetness combined with its butteriness.
Additionally, crumble ensures you have a no-fuss way to present dessert. Make the fruit filling, layer it with the crumbly topping, and bake. Then, serve it warm, topped with vegan ice cream or cream. Delicious!
Creating delicious vegan crumble toppings is simple and versatile. Here are some of the best vegan crumble topping ideas:
Basic Oat Crumble
- Combine rolled oats, flour (almond meal for gluten-free crumble), vegan butter or coconut oil, and a sweetener like brown sugar, coconut sugar, or maple syrup.
- Mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Sprinkle the crumble over your favorite fruit filling and bake until golden and crispy.
Nutty Crumble
- Mix rolled oats with chopped nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.
- Add flour, vegan butter or coconut oil, and brown sugar or maple syrup.
- Combine until crumbly and use it as a topping for your fruit filling.
Coconut Crumble
- Combine rolled oats with shredded coconut.
- Add flour, vegan butter or coconut oil, and a sweetener like coconut sugar or maple syrup.
- Mix until crumbly and use it as a topping for your fruit crumble.
Spiced Crumble
- Mix rolled oats with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
- Add flour, vegan butter, or coconut oil, and sweeten.
- Combine until crumbly and use it as a topping for your fruit filling.
Gingerbread Crumble
- Combine rolled oats with ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for a gingerbread flavor.
- Add flour, vegan butter or coconut oil, and a sweetener like molasses or maple syrup.
- Mix until crumbly and use it as a topping for your fruit crumble.
Citrus Zest Crumble
- Add zest from citrus fruits like lemon, orange, or lime to your basic oat crumble mixture.
- Mix well to incorporate the zest, and top your fruit filling.
Chai Spice Crumble
- Mix rolled oats with a chai spice blend containing cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and black pepper.
- Add flour, vegan butter (or coconut oil), and your favorite sweetener.
- Combine until crumbly to top your fruit crumble.
Must-Try Vegan Crumble Variations
Vegan crumbles are versatile desserts with different fruits, nuts, and spices. Here are a few delicious variations to help you make the best vegan crumble:
Apple Cinnamon Crumble
- Mix sliced apples with cinnamon, a touch of sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Top with a crumble mixture containing oats, flour (almond flour for a gluten-free option), vegan butter, and a bit of maple syrup or coconut sugar.
- Bake until the apples are soft, and the crumble is golden brown.
Mixed Berry Crumble
- Combine your favorite berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries) with lemon zest and juice.
- Sweeten with maple syrup or agave nectar.
- Top with a crumble of oats, almond flour, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
- Bake until the berries are bubbling and the crumble is crispy.
Peach and Ginger Crumble
- Toss sliced peaches with minced ginger, brown sugar/maple syrup, and a pinch of cinnamon.
- For the crumble topping, mix oats, chopped almonds, coconut oil, and a bit of crystallized ginger for extra zing.
- Bake until the peaches are tender, and the crumble is crunchy.
Banana Nut Crumble
- Slice bananas and layer them in a baking dish.
- Sprinkle with chopped pecans or walnuts and sweeten if needed.
- Top with a crumble mixture of oats, almond meal, vegan butter, and a pinch of salt.
- Bake until golden brown.
Pumpkin Spice Crumble
- Mix canned pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup. Adjust the consistency with a little plant-based milk.
- Use a baking dish to spread the pumkin mixture.
- Top with a crumble made with oats, flour, chopped pecans or pepitas, vegan butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Bake until the pumpkin sets and the crumble is crisp.
These are just some of the ideas about how to make the best crumble. Feel free to experiment with the fruit combinations you prefer. The same applies to the sweetness and spices you prefer.
Vegan Crumble: A Plant-Based Dessert Delight
When looking for the best vegan crumble recipe, you will want to try this classic Vegan Crumble Recipe with apples developed by Caitlin for her blog, From My Bowl.
You will need a combination of sweet and tart apples, dairy-free butter, flour, and spices. Sweeten it with brown sugar, and construct your crumble. It takes about 15 minutes to assemble the crumble, and you need about 45 minutes of baking time. Well worth the wait!
Creative Ways to Enjoy Vegan Crumble
Fruit crumble is a versatile dessert with many creative ways to enjoy.
Serve With Vegan Ice Cream – Add a scoop of your favorite vegan ice cream to the warm dessert. The contrast between warm and cold is delightful. Try flavors like vanilla, coconut, or almond-based ice cream.
Layer In Parfaits – When layered with dairy-free yogurt or whipped coconut cream in a glass, fruit crumble becomes an even more delightful treat. Add fresh fruit slices or berries between the layers for extra freshness.
Use as Breakfast Oats – Use leftover fruit crumble as a topping for your morning oatmeal. Reheat the crumble and spoon it over warm oats for an indulgent breakfast treat.
Add to Pancakes or Waffles – Fold fruit crumble into pancake or waffle batter to create these breakfast classics with a twist. Top the pancakes or waffles with more fruit, maple syrup, and a spoonful of vegan yogurt.
Inside Crepes – Fill crepes with fruit crumble and a vegan caramel or chocolate sauce drizzle. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve the crepes with fresh fruit or vegan whipped cream.
In Smoothie Bowls – Crumble fruit crumble on top of smoothie bowls for added texture and flavor. It adds a satisfying crunch to the creamy smoothie base. For extra goodness, top with granola, nuts, seeds, or fresh fruit.
Mixed into Yogurt Bowls – Stir fruit crumble into a bowl of dairy-free yogurt for a quick and easy dessert or snack. Add fruit, nuts, seeds, or a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
Vegan Crumble: The Perfect Dessert for Plant-Based Diets
Vegan crumble is an excellent choice for plant-based diets since it provides flavor, texture, indulgent sweetness, and several health benefits. Here’s how the best vegan crumble is the perfect dessert for anyone on a plant-based diet:
- It contains no animal products, relying only on plant-based alternatives like vegan butter, coconut oil, and nut milk. It’s a dessert that aligns with the principles of a vegan diet, ensuring ethical, environmental, and healthy eating.
- It’s rich in fruit, the cornerstone of a plant-based diet. Providing essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants is a nutritious and wholesome dessert option.
- Vegan crumble recipes are versatile. Customize them to suit individual preferences and dietary needs. Besides the endless flavor combinations, you can easily accommodate gluten-free or nut-free diets with ingredient substitutions.
- Many vegan crumble recipes use plant-based fats like coconut oil or nut butter, rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats. These fats can help promote satiety and provide essential fatty acids.
- Despite being free from animal products, vegan crumbles are as delicious and satisfying as their non-vegan counterparts.
Indulge in Vegan Crumble Goodness
Here’s a recipe to create a vegan crumble by using the fruits you have on hand. The best fillings for vegan crumble goodness are sharp-tasting fruits like berries and apples or stone fruits like plums and peaches.
Use this recipe from School Night Vegan to make this simple Vegan Crumble Recipe. The recipe developer, Richard Makin, provides the following tips for making the best vegan crumble:
- The recipe is simple, meaning it’s imperative to focus on the quality of your ingredients, such as using organic fruits.
- If using stone fruits, go for ones that are just under-ripe because very ripe fruits become too mushy and sweeter, leading to a flat dessert with no texture or flavor contrasts.
- When preparing the fruit, remove the stones from stone fruits and core and dice apples. If the stone fruits are too sour, leave out the lemon juice but add it to the sweet fruit.
- Combos make excellent flavors, so try fruit combinations like apple and berry.
Vegan Crumble: A Sweet and Nutritious Treat
Apples and berries are popular combinations for making the best vegan crumble.
Follow this recipe from Happy Foodie for Vegan Apple Berry Crumble, a sweet and nutritious treat!
Remember, the secret to achieving a crunchy crumble is getting the right balance of wet and dry ingredients to create the topping. Ratios vary, but it’s approximately one part sugar to 2 parts butter and four dry ingredients. The fat hydrates the flour and makes a crumbly texture, giving it its golden, crunchy topping that perfectly contrasts with the fruit filling.
If your crumble doesn’t finish in one sitting, you can keep it in the fridge for up to five days or frozen in portions for up to three months. Thaw overnight and reheat.
Now that you know how to make this easy and delicious dessert, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t make some vegan crumble today!
