Vegan Blueberry Crumble (Gluten Free)

This healthy, gluten free and vegan blueberry crumble is easy to make with just a few ingredients. It's the perfect dessert, snack or even breakfast. Serve it with a scoop of ice cream or coconut yogurt!

My husband, Gonza, loves to prepare this recipe at home. One afternoon we decided to make blueberry crumble at home since we had several packages of frozen blueberries in the freezer. We added these ingredients together and created a delectable treat that everyone loved.

Over time, we perfected this healthy blueberry crumble recipe so we could share it here. The recipe comes together easily and you can easily adjust to fit your own tastes. You can make it anytime of the year, not just during blueberry season.

Easy Vegan Blueberry Crisp Highlights

• Natural ingredients: This recipe comes together with easy-to-find ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen like juicy blueberries, oats, peanut butter, agave, and lemon. I also add coconut for more texture and flavor!
• Quick and easy: It just takes 10 minutes to prep before baking in the oven.
• Easy to adapt: Make your own flavor combination by using other fruit or add-ins. Ideas for other variations are below.

Ingredients You Need

• Frozen blueberries: Regular or wild blueberries work for this recipe. If you don't have frozen, you can use fresh blueberries. But you can skip the step of putting the blueberries in the oven before adding the crumble if the blueberries are fresh. You can also replace the blueberries with any other frozen berries like blackberries, raspberries or strawberries. Or use a mix of frozen berries.
• Gluten-free rolled oats: As always, it's important to choose certified gluten-free oats to ensure the oats are gluten free. Although oats do not contain gluten in their natural state, they are often processed at the same location as gluten products, resulting in cross contamination of the oats.
• Shredded coconut: If you don't have coconut or do not like coconut flavor, you can omit the shredded coconut in this recipe. But I love that it adds a subtle hint of coconut flavor and healthy fats.
• Peanut butter: In a traditional crumble, you will typically find butter or oils. We use peanut butter as a healthy fat to moisten the oats and make the crumble crunchy but not dry. If you are allergic to peanuts, you can replace the butter with any type of nut or seed butter such as almond butter, sunflower butter or sesame butter (tahini.) You can also use coconut oil.
• Agave: This is the natural sweetener used in this recipe. You can substitute with any other natural liquid sweetener such as maple syrup, rice syrup, honey, coconut nectar, etc. If you want to use a non-liquid sweetener like brown sugar or coconut sugar, you may need to add a little more water to compensate.
• Lemon zest: I do not recommend skipping the lemon as it adds a fresh flavor to the final result. You can substitute with orange or tangerine.

How to Make Vegan Blueberry Crumble

This recipe comes together easily. There are two options for how to spread the topping the blueberries. Both options are below.

1. Prepare the blueberries: Place the frozen blueberries in a glass or ceramic oven-safe baking dish. Bake in the oven at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes to defrost and soften the berries. (If you use fresh berries, you can skip this step.)
2. Prepare the crumble topping: In a large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, peanut butter, agave and lemon zest, until well combined. Add the water and stir until fully incorporated.
3. Combine and bake: Remove the blueberries from the oven and place the crumble on top, covering the entire surface. See notes below about crumble versus cobbler style topping. Lower the oven temperature to 390°F (200°C) an bake for 20 minutes, until the topping is golden.
4. Serve the crumble with a few scoops of vegan yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

The crumble style you see in these photos is similar to granola because it's loose. You can also make it with a more compact cobbler topping. The flavor is the same, but the presentation and texture is quite different. I love both options and alternate between the two.

Crumble Topping

For a crumbly topping, just break up the topping with your hands before placing on top of the blueberries. This will result in more of a crumbly texture.

Cobbler Topping

For a vegan blueberry cobbler topping, do not break up the topping with your hands. Instead, take large pieces of the oat mixture and press it down between your palms so that it compacts or forms large pieces. Place the pieces on top of the blueberries, covering the whole surface.

Variations and Substitutions

• Fruit: You can easily substitute the frozen blueberries with another type of frozen fruit like blackberries, strawberries, raspberries or peaches.
• Sweetener: I use agave as a natural sweetener, but you can substitute with maple syrup or honey. Or use brown sugar or coconut sugar and a bit of water to achieve the right consistency.
• Add-ins: If you're looking for more flavor or texture, add nuts or seeds like chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, chia seeds or hemp seeds.
• More lemon flavor: Add a squeeze of lemon juice for more fresh lemon flavor.

Storage And Make Ahead

Store the blueberry crumble in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You can eat it cold or reheat in the oven if you want to enjoy it warm.

Other Easy Vegan Desserts You'll Love

• Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake
• Health Date Bars
• Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

If you make this recipe, leave a comment below letting me know your thoughts.