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This easy Oat Crumble Topping is a fabulous gluten-free and vegan alternative to top your desserts with! Using only three ingredients and taking just a couple of minutes, you’ll be ready to enjoy this oaty crumble on your next fruity dessert! Love oats for breakfast too? Try my Banana Oat Pancakes.
Oat Crumble Topping at a Glance
James's tipUse cold dairy free butter and rub it in with your fingertips. Stop while it still looks like rough crumbs.
Key ingredients
- Gluten free rolled oats
- Maple syrup
- Dairy free butter
Why you'll love it
- Just 3 ingredients
- Gluten free and vegan
- Works on any fruit
Quick summary
This oat crumble topping blends some of the oats into flour, then rubs them together with whole oats, maple syrup and dairy free butter. It takes 5 minutes, needs just 3 ingredients and tops a crumble for 6 that bakes in about 25 minutes. Gluten free with certified oats, vegan and free from refined sugar.
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Why this recipe works
When you look for a basic crumble topping, you’ll often find recipes involving flour, sugar, and oats. I wanted a healthier and gluten free crumble topping, so I got to work! Instead of using typical flour, I use some of the oats and blend them into a flour. In place of sugar, I use syrup as a natural sweetener. The result is a delicious crunchy crumble topping perfect for your favourite fruit crumble!
Don’t stop with a berry crumble, though! Try it on a baked apple pudding, or for another easy apple dessert, my Puff Pastry Apple Tart. It is also lovely with some homemade jam on top of ice cream!
This was inspired by my Peanut Butter Granola, and pairs well with my Pear Crumble, Apple and Blackberry Crumble and Cashew Cream.
Ingredients to make Oat Crumble Topping
- Gluten Free Rolled Oats – Oats are naturally gluten free but are often grown and milled alongside wheat. If you are coeliac, use oats labelled gluten free. If you have some spare do try making my Baked Oats.
- Maple Syrup – is an excellent natural sweetener.
- Dairy Free Butter – I use a vegan block. Use a firm dairy free block, straight from the fridge. Cold fat makes a crisp, crumbly topping. Soft spread makes it greasy.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Maple Syrup – Honey and agave syrup are both great substitutions for maple syrup. Use agave to keep it vegan.
Variations
- Deluxe – For a little extra flavour, add a pinch of salt, 1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice, and a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Kid friendly – This is already very kid friendly! Serve it up on their favourite ice cream, dessert, or even these Autumn Applesauce Pancakes.
- Breakfast – Bake it on its own and scatter over yoghurt. Love oaty breakfasts? Try my Peanut Butter Breakfast Flapjacks.
For another easy bake using oats, try my Oat Cookies.
How to make Oat Crumble Topping
Step 1: Put ⅔ of the oats into a blender for about 30 seconds until it blends into a flour.
Step 2: Combine the oat flour with the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and rub together with your fingertips until it looks like rough crumbs.
Step 3: Scatter loosely over your fruit (do not press down) and bake at 180C (160C fan, gas 4) for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges.
Hint: Don’t stop at fruit crumbles! Sprinkle it over porridge, my Baked Pears or a scoop of ice cream.
Hint: To use as a granola-style topping, spread on a lined tray and bake at 180C (160C fan) for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway. Cool before storing.
Leftovers
If uncooked, you can store this crumble topping recipe with oats in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or so. If it has been cooked, it will keep for a couple of days in the fridge or in the freezer for up to three months.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, sort of! I take oats and blend them myself to make an oat flour. It gives the consistency needed without having to add a separate flour ingredient. To make the crumble mix oats with the oat flour, butter, and syrup.
A crumble topping with oats is typically used on top of a fruit crumble, but there are so many other ways to use it! It is great on top of porridge, muffins, pies, sweet breads and more.
Cold dairy free butter is the best for making a crumble topping. It helps the topping to bind together at first and then spread perfectly in the oven.
A typical crumble topping is a combination of flour, sugar or brown sugar, and butter. I add in oats and blend some of them into my own oat flour. I also use maple syrup rather than sugar as it is a healthier replacement and just as delicious!
Enough for a 20cm to 23cm dish, about 600g to 800g fruit, serving 6.
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Oat Crumble Topping
Equipment
Ingredients
- 240 g gluten free rolled oats, 3 cups (certified gluten free if coeliac)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 75 g dairy free butter, cold, firm vegan block
Instructions
- To a blender add 160g (⅔ of the oats) and blend into a flour (takes 30 seconds).
- Add this oat flour to a large mixing bowl along with the leftover 80g of whole oats, the dairy free butter and maple syrup, and rub together with your fingertips until it looks like rough crumbs.
- Scatter loosely over your fruit (do not press down) and bake at 180C (160C fan, gas 4) for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges.
I always use James’ crumble on any fruit I happen to have. It’s more nutritious as well as delicious.
Thank you 🙂
When you say “I used gluten-free oats, but regular oats will work just fine” I thought oats were, by their nature, gluten free?
Hey Tim, you’re right oats are naturally gluten-free but are often cross contaminated with wheat in fields so for those sensitive to gluten or coeliac is best practice to only buy gluten-free certified oats. Hope that helps 🙂
Gorgeous and so simple. I added walnuts and cinnamon. I used it as a topping for stewed applesauce and blackberry
Thank you Janice 🙂
I haven’t tried making this recipe , because it doesn’t state what temperature to bake at – surely a basic essential to any baking instructions?
Hey Annabel, this is a recipe just for how to make an oat crumble topping but you’re right it should give suggestions for how long to bake it for. You can bake this for 25 minutes at 180C/360F. Amended the recipe now 🙂 enjoy!
The best crumble topping ever,I added nuts to,this is my recipe to go now thanks
Yay 🙂 thanks so much Lisa
Just the recipe I needed to make an apple crumble this weekend. Thanks James
Thank you Susanna 🙂