This paleo & vegan strawberry crumble couldn’t be easier or more delicious! Made without refined sugar, grains, or dairy, it’s a healthy summer dessert that will make everyone happy. A big scoop of coconut vanilla ice cream makes it the perfect treat! Gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo and vegan.
As much as I love making multi-step dessert recipes sometimes – the ones that make you work for the payoff – I’m happy and relieved to day that this strawberry crumble is not one of those recipes. At all. In fact, it basically made itself.
I did take part in the eating of it of course, as did my husband Adam, who claimed it tasted just like one of those strawberry shortcake ice cream pops reminiscent of childhood (he ate it with the ice cream, of course) and that it was the best dessert I’ve ever made. He’s totally forgetting about those fudge brownies from a month ago, I’m guessing, but still, this strawberry crumble is very much welcome in my oven anytime.
But let’s rewind now to the beginning – the strawberries. Since we’re at the beginning of summer right now, the gorgeous ripe fresh strawberries that make this dessert irresistible aren’t hard to come by.
However, it’s totally possible you’re coming to me from, say, January (hey, no shame in eating berries year round!) and are wondering if the recipe will work with frozen strawberries. The answer is, yes, it should be all good as long as you thaw them first, BUT if you can get your hands on fresh, the flavor and texture will just be all around better. Is that an annoying answer to your question? Did you not even ask a question? Eek, sorry if this ramble didn’t apply to you at all!
So, we have fresh strawberries that get tossed with a bit of lemon juice, tapioca or arrowroot flour as a thickener (either will work) and maple sugar for incredible flavor. I’ve been crushing on maple sugar big-time lately (legitimate heart flutters), almost by accident, since I originally bought it to use in these cupcakes to give them a “vanilla color”, since coconut sugar turns everything brown.
I wound up loving the flavor so much that I use it just as often as coconut sugar, if not more, but essentially the two are interchangeable as far as baking recipes go, so by all means, use coconut sugar if that’s what you have on hand!
As for the crumble topping, it’s a mixture I love that’s somewhat similar to my apple crisp topping, except using maple sugar instead of syrup and almonds instead of pecans. The addition of almonds and flaked coconut gives the topping a bit of extra “toasted” flavor and texture, if that makes any sense.
Though you don’t technically need a blender/processor for the topping since you can just chop up the nuts finely, I recommend using one to make things extra easy. Blend – sprinkle over the strawberries – bake! I didn’t make my own ice cream to top this one, but did use my family’s favorite coconut vanilla ice cream (I purchase it at my local grocery store.)
I think the ice cream is pretty much essential if you’re going for that dessert-y feeling (is dessert a feeling? Deep thoughts…), however this strawberry crumble is honestly delicious simply on its own, so don’t necessarily listen to me – you’re winning either way! And is she finally done rambling now? I hope so…go slice those strawberries and let’s bake this!
Paleo & Vegan Strawberry Crumble
Paleo & Vegan Strawberry Crumble {Gluten-free, Dairy-free}
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 2 lbs strawberries a little more than 4 cups, washed, dried and sliced
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch arrowroot works as well
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup pure maple sugar* or coconut palm sugar
For the Crumble Topping:
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut oil soft (use refined if you want to avoid coconut flavor)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut
- 3 tbsp maple sugar* or coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
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Toss the sliced strawberries in a large bowl with the lemon juice, tapioca and maple OR coconut sugar and arrange in the bottom of a 9” pie dish or baking dish. Set aside in the refrigerator while you prepare the crumble topping.
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Add the almonds to a high speed blender or food processor and pulse until crumbs form. Add the remaining topping ingredients and pulse until a thick crumb mixture forms, don’t blend too long that it gets pasty, though.
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Sprinkle the topping generously all over the strawberries, then bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly
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Serve warm or room temp with a scoop of coconut vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*I loved the flavor that maple sugar added in this recipe, but coconut sugar will be just as good if that's what you have on hand!
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Paleo & Vegan Strawberry Crumble:
Want More Paleo & Vegan Dessert Recipes? Try One of These!
Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough “Nice” Cream
Tell Me!
Do you have a favorite dairy free ice cream? Or do you make your own?
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Can you use frozen strawberries?
I’m making this right now and after 10 min in the over, the crumble topping was completely burnt. It doesn’t say to cover it, but should it?? I’ve scraped everything off and will try again with foil on top. I hope I can save it.
like this dishes, thanks so much