Blueberry Crumble (quick and easy)

Close up of white oval dish with eaten blueberry crumble with silver spoon. White background.

This easy-to-assemble dessert can be ready in under an hour. It has a layer of juicy blueberries with a crisp topping that you can make ahead. I added a variation with coconut and pecans, too. You can't go wrong with crumbles or blueberries.

Course Desserts

Cuisine International

Keyword blueberry crumble

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Servings servings

Calories 370kcal

Author Paula Montenegro

Ingredients

For the crumble:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt
½ cup sugar
½ cup unsalted butter cold and in pieces

For the blueberries:

4 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch optional but needed if you want a thick, syrupy filling
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

For the crumble:

Mix 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, pinch salt, and ½ cup sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Add cold ½ cup unsalted butter in pieces and integrate with your hands or a pastry cutter, until grainy and the butter is the size of peas. You can do this in a food processor; make sure you stop processing when it still has butter bits. Don’t turn it into a paste.
Cover and keep refrigerated while you make the filling orup to a week. Or frozen for a month.

For the blueberries:

Have ready an oven-proof glass or ceramic dish (I use an 8x11-inch oval one, but a 9-inch round or square baking dish also works).
Scatter 4 cups blueberries in the dish and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Grate ½ teaspoon lemon zest over them and stir to mix lightly.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice with ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract over the berries. If using the 2 teaspoons cornstarchdissolve them first in the juice. Mix lightly with a spoon.
Top the blueberries with this mixture. It will cover the surface irregularly and the edges will not have much. That’s fine.
Bake for about 40 minutes, until dry, golden, and the blueberry juices are bubbling.
Let cool on a wire rack until warm and eat with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Keep leftovers refrigerated, covered in plastic wrap, and warm slightly before eating.

Notes

Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use an oven thermometer to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.

Lemon: the amounts of juice and zest are easily customizable. Lemon zest is stronger and makes desserts more bitter, so you can use an extra squeeze of fresh lemon juice and reduce the zest, for example. Just follow your taste buds.

Coconut crumble variation: in a medium bowl, mix ½ cup flour with ¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut, ½ cup light brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Add 4 ounces (120g) of cold butter in pieces, and work with your hands or a pastry cutter until it's the size of peas. Mix in ¼ cup chopped pecans (optional). Sprinkle on top of the blueberries and bake as instructed above.

Ratio: the proportion of fruit and topping in these desserts can be adjusted to your personal taste. I like more fruit and a crisper topping, but my father likes a more floury topping (I know!), so I use less butter when he's coming over. Play around until you find what works for you and your family.

Nutrition