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This irresistible blueberry crumble recipe pairs juicy berries with buttery cinnamon topping for the ultimate summer dessert! Ready in just over an hour with fresh or frozen berries, it’s the nostalgic treat that outshines cobbler every time—in my opinion!
Every July, my family visits Michigan’s blueberry farms and comes home with an armload of berries. So as a cookbook author who adores blueberry desserts, I went on a mission to create the perfect blueberry crumble recipe. After testing many times, I finally discovered the magic formula: a precise butter ratio and the unexpected addition of allspice alongside the cinnamon.
Now this blueberry crumble has replaced blueberry cobbler as our go-to summer dessert! It’s easier than a pie and works beautifully with both fresh and frozen berries. Every time I serve it, people scrape their dishes clean. When something this simple creates that much joy, you know you’ve struck gold.
Ingredients in this blueberry crumble
What’s the difference between a crumble and a crisp? Technically, a crisp has oats or nuts in the topping and a crumble does not: it’s essentially butter, flour and sugar. The lines have blurred in modern definitions of these recipes, so often you’ll see crumbles with oats. As much as I love oats, I went with the classic definition of a crumble here. Here’s what you’ll need for this blueberry crumble:
- Blueberries: Fresh or frozen work well
- Granulated sugar: Sugar is integral to the texture of the topping; you can substitute maple syrup or honey in the filling.
- Cornstarch: This thickens the berry juices into a glossy sauce rather than watery. Substitute arrowroot powder if desired.
- Unsalted butter: It’s simple to substitute vegan butter or coconut oil for vegan.
- All purpose flour: Flour is important for a crumble; it can be replaced with gluten-free 1:1 flour if desired.
- Cinnamon, allspice and lemon zest: These three make a flavor complexity that makes people ask, “What’s your secret?”
5-star reader review
“Delicious! Easy, quick, and no mess. Will be making again!” -Haley
Use fresh or frozen blueberries
This recipe calls for 4 cups fresh blueberries, which I had on hand from blueberry picking in Michigan. Don’t have access to that many blueberries? You can use frozen too! You can add frozen berries right to the crumble: no need to defrost. Store-bought frozen berries can be a little more tart than fresh berries, so you may want to add a hint more sugar to the filling.
When baking with frozen berries in blueberry muffins or blueberry scones, there’s a risk the berries can bleed and dye the baked goods purple. But with a crumble, there’s no need to worry! This crumble is also a great place to use fresh blueberries that you froze to preserve them.
A note on the butter quantity
This recipe calls for 7 tablespoons butter. If you bake a lot, you’ll notice most crumble and crisp recipes call for either 6 tablespoons of butter or 8 tablespoons. But trust us! Seven is the magic number here, and it makes for absolutely perfect crumbles.
Want to make this blueberry crumble vegan? Just use vegan butter in place of standard butter: it works like a charm.
Ways to serve it
Blueberry crumble tastes great straight out of the pan. But like most crumble recipes, it tastes even better topped with vanilla ice cream! The contrast of cold cream against warm berries is perfection. Here are a few of our favorite toppings for this easy dessert:
- Go with purchased or homemade ice cream (or vegan cinnamon ice cream)
- Top with homemade whipped cream or vegan whipped cream
- For a rich and tangy topping, try purchased or homemade creme fraiche
- For an unexpected dose of double citrus, try lemon curd
Storing leftovers
Want to save this blueberry crumble? This dessert saves well at room temperature, refrigerated or frozen.
- Keep the crumble for 1 day loosely covered at room temperature. This helps to maintain the crumble texture.
- Refrigerate for up to 3 days. It holds up pretty well in the fridge, and tastes even better when reheated.
- Freeze up to 3 months. Freeze for up to 3 months in a sealed container. Reheat it in a 350 degree oven until bubbly.
Dietary notes
This blueberry crumble recipe is vegetarian. For vegan and plant-based, use vegan butter.
Blueberry Crumble
This blueberry crumble recipe is a favorite! The nostalgic summer dessert stars a sweet tart fruit filling topped with buttery crumbles.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen*)
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or vegan butter)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix the blueberries, ½ cup sugar, cornstarch, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, allspice, and lemon zest. Pour into a round 9-inch pie pan, 9 x 9 inch baking dish or 7 x 11 baking dish.
- Make the topping: In a medium bowl, add the remaining ½ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Mix together with a fork. Pour in the melted butter while mixing with the fork until a crumbly mixture forms. Use your fingers to sprinkle the crumbles evenly over the filling.
- Bake: Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the top is evenly golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 1 hour, then serve. You can leave it out on the counter for up to 1 day (covered, at night) so the topping can stay crisp. After 1 day, refrigerate any leftovers. It also freezes well for several months in a sealed container; reheat it in a 350 degree oven until bubbly.
Notes
*No need to defrost frozen berries before using. Note that storebought frozen berries can be a little more tart than fresh berries; if desired, add a hint more sugar to the filling (to taste).
Other blueberry desserts you might enjoy
This blueberry crumble is a favorite of our top blueberry desserts. Here are a few more to try:
- Try a blueberry pie or simple blueberry galette
- Go classic with blueberry cobbler, blueberry cake or blueberry crisp
- Mix up a pan of blueberry pie bars
Can you make this with gluten-free flour. thank you!
Yes!
Hi Guys,
I wrote a great comment to thank you and it somehow it had gotten erased… but in short I wanted to express that you guys “Rock” and all the recipes I’ve made from you are always a big hit!!!
So, THANK YOU!!!!!
Wow how kind! Thank you so much for these kind words! We appreciate it so much, thank you for making our recipes :)
Forgive me!! I think the BB Crunch must be delicious. However the combined recipe is too hard to separate topping and berries. So much easier to have two parts. I keep going back and forth and still unsure I’ve got them right. But I’ll keep trying. I wrote a cookbook “Recipes of Mother’s and Others” quite a few years ago. Still cooking @ 90yo. Keep up the good work.
Delicious! Easy, quick, and no mess. Will be making again
So glad to read you can use the frozen blueberries! It’s so handy! Love it