This Rhubarb Haskap Crisp Adapts All Year — Here’s How to Make It

Why Rhubarb Is Edmonton’s Unsung Food Hero

Rhubarb is one of the first signs of spring in Edmonton gardens – sturdy, tart, and unapologetically bold. Its arrival marks the start of another growing season and offers a powerful reminder that food security can begin just steps from our own back doors. This rhubarb crisp recipe is a celebration of what’s possible when neighbours learn to grow, harvest, and preserve what thrives right here.

Consider this recipe as a starting point for seasonal creativity.

What begins with rhubarb and haskaps in spring can evolve with whatever fruit is ripening in your yard or neighbourhood over the entire year.

From sour cherries in July to apples or pears in September, this crisp invites you to follow the rhythm of Edmonton’s growing season – using what’s fresh, abundant, and often overlooked. It’s more than a dessert. It’s a year-round food rescue tool for every home cook.

From Backyard to Baking Dish: A Recipe with Real Purpose

This crisp isn’t just dessert – it’s a celebration of early-season abundance and the joy of using what we already have.

Rhubarb grows prolifically in Edmonton’s backyards and boulevards, and too often goes unused. With just a few pantry staples and some fresh-picked rhubarb, this recipe transforms that overlooked bounty into something warm, comforting, and deeply satisfying.

Why You’ll Love This Crisp

• Seasonal & Local: Showcases one of Edmonton’s earliest and most abundant crops, often growing untended in backyards and alleys.
• Waste-Reducing: Offers a delicious use for surplus rhubarb that might otherwise go unharvested.
• Comforting & Flexible: Crisp topping brings warmth and crunch; recipe adapts easily to include other rescued fruits like apples or saskatoons.
• Adaptable Base Recipe: Built as a foundation that evolves with the season – mix and match with whatever fruit is ripe, abundant, or in need of rescue.

Rhubarb Haskap Crisp Recipe

Ingredients

Crumb Topping:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 to 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Fruit Filling:

• 3.5 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1.5 cups haskaps (or a mix of haskaps and other berries)

Sauce:

• 1 cup sugar
• 3.5 tsp instant tapioca
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Butter an 8×10″ baking dish (use a larger dish and scale ingredients if needed). Place it on a cookie sheet to catch any bubbling.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter with a fork until crumbly.
4. Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the buttered pan.
5. Spread chopped rhubarb and haskaps evenly over the base.
6. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, tapioca, vanilla, and water. Stir until it thickens slightly, forming a syrup.
7. Pour the sauce evenly over the fruit.
8. Top with remaining crumb mixture.
9. Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling.
10. Let cool slightly before serving.

Keep it super local: Get your rolled oats for this recipe from Gold Forest Grains, a vendor at Edmonton’s Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market. This family-run farm in Sturgeon County grows only ancient and heritage grains — no modern wheat — using certified organic, non-GMO practices with zero pesticides or herbicides. Their flour is stone-milled fresh each week, rooted in a commitment to healthy soil and nutritious, local food.

Rhubarb: The Vegetable That Acts Like a Fruit and Saves the Season

Rhubarb is one of Edmonton’s most generous perennials. Hardy, low-maintenance, and rich in fibre, it’s often the first harvest of the year and a powerful symbol of early-season abundance. Turning it into crisp is not just a nod to tradition – it’s a strategic choice in our food-waste reduction efforts.

By harvesting and preparing what already grows in our neighbourhoods, we keep good food out of the landfill and on local plates.

Our organization has a long tradition of gathering rhubarb the community way: by bicycle.

For years, teams of volunteers pedaled through Edmonton’s neighbourhoods, stopping at homes that offered up their surplus stalks. It was more than a glean — it was a moving celebration of sustainability, friendship, and action.

Charities often benefited from these harvests too, including Ronald McDonald House, which once received a donation of crisp-ready rhubarb grown just a few blocks away.

One Recipe. Four Seasons. Endless Combinations.

This base recipe is just the beginning. As the seasons shift, so can your fruit choices. Crisp is a forgiving, flexible dessert that adapts beautifully to whatever Edmonton’s urban orchard has to offer.

Substitute Fruits by Season:

• Spring: Rhubarb, haskaps
• Summer: Saskatoons, raspberries, sour cherries
• Late Summer: Apples, plums, apricots (Yes! Apricots in Edmonton!)
• Fall: Pears, crabapples, frozen berries

Delicious Combinations to Try:

Fruit Combo	Flavour Profile
Rhubarb + Saskatoons	Tart and earthy
Apples + Haskaps	Sweet-tart with a juicy texture
Raspberries + Peaches	Bright and aromatic
Plums + Rhubarb	Deeply fruity with a tangy finish
Pears + Frozen Blueberries	Mild and sweet with berry pops

Stay tuned for more ways to mix, match, and rescue Edmonton’s seasonal fruit.

And remember — haskaps aren’t just for spring! We love folding frozen haskaps into our fall zucchini loaf for a tangy twist that celebrates the full arc of Edmonton’s harvest. It’s a flavourful reminder that seasonal eating doesn’t end with summer. Check out our Zucchini Haskap Loaf recipe for another delicious way to put rescued fruit to work.