Rhubarb & Apple Crisp Recipe {Low Sugar} | Cookin' Canuck (2024)

Treat your family to a perfectly tart and sweet fruit crisp, made with rhubarb, apples and a crumble topping that is low in sugar, but not in taste.

Whenever I cook with rhubarb, I can't help but conjure up the vision of my husband's grandmother standing on her back porch, BB gun in hand, ready to scare off any vermin who dared to enter her vegetable garden. Rumor has it that she was a wicked shot. I never had the opportunity to meet Steve's grandmother, as she passed away well before Steve and I met, but both her and her husband's spirits are alive and well in the stories told by his family.

Their farm and orchard was filled with vegetables and apple trees, but the most revered offering (at least by my husband) was the rhubarb. At every meal, a bowl of stewed rhubarb, appeared on the table. Sweetened with sugar and cooked until the chopped fruit practically fell apart, the fruit was the perfect accompaniment for chicken or pork, and even better when tucked inside of a flaky pie crust.

To this day, my husband would opt for a rhubarb pie over chocolate cake for his birthday. It's too bad his wife is such a lousy pie maker!

To redeem myself, I turn to simple crisps and cobblers. Almost as good as a pie, right? The crisp-making gene comes directly from my mum, who can make a mean crisp at a moment's notice. While I have made many a crisp that boast sweet fillings and crumbles packed with brown sugar, this one rivals all of those, with a fraction of the sugar. For another option, try out my Apple and Blackberry Crumble recipe (a favorite around here!)

So, what's the trick? I replaced the granulated and brown sugars with agave nectar and maple syrup, and threw in a naturally sweet fruit (apple) to offset the tart rhubarb. If I was dealing with a sweeter fruit than rhubarb, such as berries, it would have been easy to reduce the sugar even more. Rhubarb is not quite as forgiving. The maple syrup acted both as a sweetener, as well as a vehicle to moisten the oats and whole wheat pastry flour (along with the melted coconut oil), rather than the ½ cup (or more) of butter that I would typically use.

Of course, I can't claim that the ice cream on top is low in sugar, but hey...sometimes you just have to splurge a little.

The result? A tart and sweet dessert, with the perfect crumbly topping. More importantly, my husband and kids went back for second helpings.

Printable Recipe

Disclosure: This post contains links to my Amazon affiliate page. Any revenue made from sales through these links helps to support this blog. Thank you!

More Dessert Recipes