Get ready to fall in love with this blueberry and apple crumble. Warm, comforting and full of bright fruit flavors, this dessert combines juicy blueberries and tender apples under a buttery, cookie-like streusel topping.
Reasons to Love This Blueberry Apple Crumble
This crumble disappears fast — it’s warm, cozy and irresistibly delicious. It’s a straightforward dessert that’s perfect for weeknights, gatherings, or a comforting weekend bake.
- Simple fruit dessert: Easier than pie and just as satisfying. Combine the fruit filling, prepare a quick streusel, and bake.
- Comforting and versatile: The buttery streusel topping creates large, cookie-like crumbs that pair beautifully with the sweet-tart fruit. Serve it with vanilla ice cream, custard, whipped cream, or yogurt.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The recipe is split into a fruit mixture and a streusel topping.
- Fruit mixture: Fresh blueberries and chopped apples tossed with sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon.
- Streusel topping: A German-style butter streusel made from flour, butter, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. It produces large, buttery crumbs rather than a fine topping.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and full instructions.
How to Make Blueberry Apple Crumble
Fruit crumbles are wonderfully easy — here’s a clear, step-by-step approach.
Step 1: Prepare the fruit mixture
In a large bowl, gently combine the chopped apples, blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon. Set aside so the flavors meld while you make the topping.
Step 2: Make the crumble topping
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or in a bowl by hand), combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the softened butter and vanilla and beat until large crumbs form. If some pieces remain small, press them together by hand — you want substantial clumps, not a fine sandy texture.
Tip: The mixture may look sandy at first. Keep mixing until it comes together into large crumbs. If you don’t have a mixer, cut the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until clumps form.
Step 3: Assemble
Pour the fruit mixture into a lightly greased 9-inch (or similar) baking dish and spread it evenly. Scatter the streusel over the top so the fruit is well covered.
Step 4: Bake
Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for about 40 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbling and the topping is lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes so the filling thickens.
Step 5: Serve and enjoy
Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, custard, whipped cream or yogurt, or enjoy it on its own.
Tips for Success
- Use a kitchen scale: For consistent streusel results, weighing flour, sugar and butter gives better accuracy than cup measures.
- Protect your oven: Place a baking sheet under the dish to catch any drips if the filling bubbles over.
- Prevent over-browning: If the topping browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil and continue baking until the filling is done.
Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
This crumble is best warm, but leftovers are easy to store and reheat.
- Refrigerate: Store covered for 3–5 days. Reheat in the oven or enjoy chilled.
- Freeze: Cool completely, wrap tightly and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat; the topping may lose some crispness.
- Make ahead: Prepare the streusel in advance and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. When ready, mix the fruit and bake with the prepared topping.
Variations
- Extra spices: Add cardamom, nutmeg, ground ginger or allspice for warmth.
- Add nuts: Fold chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds into the streusel for crunch.
- Individual portions: Bake in ramekins for single servings.
- Adjust topping: Use less streusel if you prefer more fruit, or double the fruit to stretch the topping.
A Few Questions Answered
A crumble’s topping is typically flour, butter and sugar (streusel). A crisp includes oats and often nuts for a crunchier texture. This recipe uses a butter streusel, so it aligns with a traditional crumble.
Choose apples that hold up to baking: Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jazz, Jonagold or Braeburn are good options. Avoid very soft varieties like McIntosh and Red Delicious.
Yes. Thaw and drain frozen blueberries thoroughly, and consider adding a little extra flour to the filling to absorb excess liquid.
Absolutely. Swap blueberries for blackberries, cherries, peaches or plums to create different flavor combinations.
More Crumbles and Crisps
If you love crumbles, try other fruit combinations for simple, seasonal desserts.
- Plum and Apple Crumble
- Apple and Blackberry Crumble
- Pear Crumble
- Strawberry Coconut Crisp
- Butter Streusel Topping
Did you make this Blueberry and Apple Crumble? Please leave a comment to share how it turned out.
Blueberry and Apple Crumble
- Author: Vanessa Gilic
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 55 min
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American, British, German
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Get ready to fall in love with this blueberry and apple crumble. This warm dessert combines juicy blueberries and chopped apples with a buttery streusel that bakes into large, tender crumbs.
Ingredients
For the fruit mixture:
- 1 ½ pounds (about 680 g) apples, peeled, cored and chopped (approx. 4 medium)
- 1 pound (454 g) fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup (50 g) cane sugar
- 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the streusel crumble topping:
- 250 g (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 125 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) cane sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 170 g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat to 375°F / 190°C.
- Prepare fruit: Combine the apples, blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Make streusel: Mix flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and vanilla and beat until large crumbs form. If making by hand, pinch butter into the dry ingredients until clumps form.
- Assemble: Spread the fruit in a lightly greased 9-inch baking dish and scatter the streusel evenly on top.
- Bake: Bake about 40 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve: Enjoy warm with ice cream, custard, whipped cream or yogurt.
Notes
- Apples: Use baking-friendly apples like Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jazz, Jonagold or Braeburn.
- By hand: To make streusel without a mixer, whisk the dry ingredients, add pieces of butter and press/pinch to form large crumbs.
- Scale recommended: For consistent streusel texture, weighing ingredients yields better results than cups.
- Large crumbs: Aim for big, buttery clumps rather than a fine topping; press small pieces together if needed.