Simple Sweet Strawberry Crisp with Basil and Lime

A simple strawberry crisp flavored with basil and lime that will excite your taste buds with every bite. This is an incredibly delicious, easy to prepare dessert that everyone will love.

I have to say this recipe came about by accident. A simple strawberry crisp is usually made with strawberries, thickened with a starch, and sweetened with sugar. Then it’s topped with a streusel topping made with oats, flour, sugar, and butter. That’s pretty much it. But is it MY version of a strawberry crisp? Hell no.

I add lime juice to brighten up the strawberries and a little basil to make it ah-maze-ing. Strawberries and lime go very well together and the same goes for strawberries and basil; as you may know if you tried my incredible strawberry basil brie bites. So why not combine them all together in this strawberry crisp? 

A super simple to prepare strawberry crisp:

Make the topping by combining the oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts and salt. Toss.

Add the melted butter and toss until it’s all coated.

Hull, and slice strawberries and put them in a bowl.

Stack and then roll up the basil leaves like you would a…

starts with a J…

You Guessed It! A JELLY ROLL!

Then slice (julienne) the basil leaves. You can cut them again crosswise to shorten the strips.

Combine with the sugar, salt, lime juice, vodka, and cornstarch. Toss.

It’s amazing what vodka does here. It heightens and brightens the strawberries. If you are weary of using vodka, just remember, vanilla extract is made out of vodka. This is simply removing the vanilla. If you still freak out about the vodka, use water.

Transfer the strawberry filling into a baking dish.

Scatter the topping over strawberries.

Bake.

Take a bite.

Moan.

Take another bite and repeat.

Wait...Did you say vodka????

A note about the vodka. We're just using a tablespoon or two here and it is only intended to enhance the scent of the strawberries. When it smells good, it tastes good. Honestly, the last time I made this delicious strawberry crisp, I started to measure out the tablespoon of vodka and must have gotten excited because a hell of a lot more came out. I would guess it was about 3 tablespoons but I reacted quickly and ended up shooting down the overflowing tablespoon. It ended up being a nice afternoon after that. Chill baby, chill. After that wonderful accident, I increased the amount to two tablespoons, but you can add one if you like and substitute the other with water or use all water.

If you have reservations about using vodka because of who may be eating it, just realize that if you were using vanilla, you are using vodka infused with vanilla bean. Here, we are simply using plain vodka.

This is some good stuff! Of course you could serve it with ice cream or whipped cream. Or eat as is because really, it doesn’t need a thing.

Love this simple strawberry crisp? Then try:

Strawberry cream scones

Strawberry jam bars

Strawberry basil brie bites

Strawberry rhubarb crisp

Life is too short for mediocre food.

Have you seen these?

Simple Strawberry Crisp with Basil and Lime

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A simple strawberry crisp flavored with basil and lime that will excite your taste buds with every bite. This is an incredibly delicious, easy to prepare dessert that everyone will love.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Basil, crisp, Lime, Strawberries

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Natalie Gregory

Ingredients

Topping:

• 1 cup rolled oats*
• ¾ cup flour
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Filling:

• 2 pound strawberries
• 10 basil leaves medium/large in size
• 6 tablespoons sugar use 4 if strawberries are ripe and sweet
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons lime juice*
• 2 tablespoons vodka**
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

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Instructions

• Preheat oven 350°.

Topping:

• In a bowl, add the oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts, and salt. Mix to combine. Add the melted butter and mix to incorporate. Set aside.

Strawberry Filling:

• Hull the strawberries and slice them in half. If using large strawberries, slice them into bite-size pieces.
• Transfer strawberries into a bowl along with the remaining filling ingredients. Toss well until combined.

Assemble and bake:

• Pour strawberry filling into an 11-inch oval baking dish or a 1 ½ quart or 1 ¾ quart baking dish.
• Scatter the topping over strawberry filling. I like to grab a small handful, lightly squeeze it, then plop chunks evenly over the topping.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling around the edges.
• Let it cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes before serving to allow the filling to settle and thicken. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Notes

*Key lime juice - from the bottle - works great here and is what I normally use.

**It’s amazing what vodka does here. It heightens and brightens the strawberries. If you are weary of using vodka, just remember, vanilla extract is made out of vodka. This is simply removing the vanilla. I use 2 tablespoons but you can use one tablespoon of vodka and one of water, or substitute 2 tablespoons of water if you like.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @thegeneticchef and use #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!

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