Bursting with sweet summer fresh blueberries, this single-serving blueberry almond crisp will be your new favorite summer dessert! Topped with quite possibly THE BEST crisp topping you’ve ever had…and it’s even made with healthier, wholesome ingredients! Not to mention, it uses almonds FOUR different ways. The perfect recipe if you don’t want a ton of leftovers laying around, but can also easily be doubled/tripled, etc. if you need to serve more!
Bonjour from Paris!! Have you been following along with me on Instagram? I still can’t quite believe I’m in Europe. It’s honestly somewhere I never thought I’d have the opportunity to go to! Chris is lame (if you’re reading this [doubtful haha], I love you!) and has no desire to ever go to Europe. He doesn’t enjoy vacations or traveling nearly as much as I do. His ideal vacation is camping. LOL While I’m definitely not opposed to camping, I’m not sure I’d consider that a “vacation.” All that to say, this was a perfect opportunity to visit Europe with my mom, aunt, and cousin since they’d all enjoy and appreciate it more than Chris would.
I am so excited to share today’s recipe with you! It was one that took many trials to get JUST right…but Chris and I definitely didn’t mind eating all those test batches. 😉 I may have mentioned this before, but I grew up eating ALL the chocolate desserts, while Chris’s family always made fruit desserts. Chris’s parents have beautiful fruit trees: apple, pear, peach, and plum. They also grow various berries in their garden. It’s pretty much my dream to someday have that abundance of fruit growing in my backyard! All that to say, Chris LOVES fruit desserts…and I usually prefer chocolate (kinda ironic since I’m the RD haha). Even thought this isn’t chocolate, this is AMAZING.
Smaller Batch
While I LOVE having leftovers from dinner for quick lunches (or let’s be honest, to not have to cook dinner another night), I don’t always appreciate leftover desserts as much. This has nothing to do with extra dessert lying around; it’s honestly just because I enjoy baking so much that I’m always wanting to bake something new! It’s a fairly common occurrence for me to bake things faster than we can eat them, so what often happens is that they end up in the freezer. There have been many times when our freezer is nearly overflowing. 😬
Every time I’ve made this, I used larger ramekins (mine are actually 14-ounce ramekins!) for 2 large servings. Chris and I have no problem each eating half of this recipe. However, you can also use four smaller ramekins to make more appropriately-sized servings haha. Or if you don’t have ramekins, no worries! Baking this in a loaf pan would also work great.
Whatever you do, you MUST try this a la mode topped with ice cream! SO GOOD. I was so excited to try this blueberry crisp with Halotop’s new blueberry flavor ice cream! Classic vanilla ice cream is always a good choice too.
Substitutions
I tested this recipe various ways to give you all more options. I’m happy to report that this recipe is very adaptable/forgiving based on your preferences and what you have on hand at home!
Blueberry Filling
I tested both fresh and frozen blueberries, and they both worked great! If using frozen, I’d recommend not thawing the berries ahead of time, and you may need to bake for a few minutes longer until the filling is bubbly and warmed through. To thicken the blueberry filling, you can use either cornstarch or tapioca starch.
Crisp Topping
The crisp topping is naturally gluten-free, vegan, AND paleo! Win win win. I prefer using almond flour, as this has more fat than whole-wheat or all-purpose white flour which contributes to a better taste and texture. If using the whole-wheat or white flour, the topping will be a bit more dry/crumbly, so you may want to add a tiny bit of extra almond butter (I’ve made it both ways).
I also tried both almond and vanilla extract…note the almond extract is very strong and definitely has a strong flavor! I like it, and it went with the almond theme (almond flour, sliced almonds, almond butter, and almond extract!), but you can also use vanilla extract instead.
I haven’t tried this, but I’m guessing you could try using butter or coconut oil in place of the almond butter if that’s what you have on hand and you’re open to experimenting a bit!
Hope you enjoy this blueberry almond crisp!! 😊 Let me know if you try it; I love hearing from you!
- For the filling:
- 1 pint (2 cups) fresh blueberries*
- ½ tablespoon tapioca starch**
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- For the crisp topping:
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons almond flour***
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract****
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 2 large (or 4 smaller) ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine filling ingredients: blueberries, tapioca starch, lemon juice, and maple syrup.
- In a separate small bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using a fork or pastry cutter, add in almond butter and almond extract and mix until it forms a crumb mixture.
- Divide blueberry filling evenly between ramekins and top with crisp topping.
- Bake in oven-save ramekins at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until blueberry filling is bubbling and topping is crisp.
**or sub cornstarch
***can substitute white whole-wheat, all-purpose, gluten-free all-purpose blend, or oat flour
****or substitute for vanilla extract
Sarah Swygart
Brittany, ever since you made this recipe for us at your home, I have made it multiple times. I LOVE it. I think it is now one of my favorite desserts.
Audra's Appetite
Yay!! I am so happy to hear you’ve made it so many times! 🙂 I think it would be a fun idea to switch out the fruit for different seasons…I may have to try making this using apples here soon.
CL King
I am a big fan of breakfast, and I am always looking for different recipes to spice up my mornings. And I believe there is no better way to start your day than with some warm, crunchy waffles. And my favorite waffles are blueberry waffles with some warm, sticky buttery maple syrup.
Audra's Appetite
I would say this recipe is definitely breakfast material! I’ve eaten it for breakfast before 😊
Chris Swygart
Chris doesnt sound lame to me. Everything that I have heard about him makes him sound like a pretty cool guy.
Audra's Appetite
You’re not lame…maybe just a little bit wth traveling? 😉 it figures you read this post…love you! 😘