I cannot look at a big bowl of berries without thinking of my grandpa. He would have loved this super simple recipe that celebrates the simplicity of fresh strawberries. It is amazing how many memories a single food or recipe can capture. (More on that ahead!)

Strawberry Crisp Season. This vegan, gluten-free Simple Strawberry Crisp uses rolled oats, coconut oil, fresh lemon juice and a hint of coconut sugar to make a rich and rustic, sweet and lovely strawberry dessert. I love this crisp served warm with a scoop of vanilla coconut milk ice cream on the side (for extra decadence!)

Get the recipe, plus a FREE vegan dessert e-book and enter my $200 vegan baking giveaway..

Continuing on my vegan dessert trend this past week, I bring you another yummy and super simple recipe…

Simple Strawberry Crisp. This recipe uses fresh and gorgeous California Giant strawberries. I have been so proud to be able to collaborate with California Giant (and Natural Delights and Dandy) on our vegan desserts e-book project because I literally grew up with California strawberry brands like California Giant. Like literally… I grew up in Aptos (a small city in Santa Cruz) and “strawberry country” was just a few miles away near Watsonville. So it is pretty cool to be all grown up and working with a company like California Giant that brings back so many hometown memories for me.

Growing up in Santa Cruz, we had fresh strawberries in abundance. I remember when my grandparents would come visit us from back east, they would always get so excited to have California strawberries. We would go strawberry picking together, or just load up a big glass bowl or sweet, juicy berries and enjoy them all afternoon as we lounged on our sunlit front deck, a sweet breeze in the air and birds chirping in the swaying birch trees in our front yard.

Fresh, gorgeous berries were so commonplace for me that I never really understood their excitement until I grew up and moved away for a while.

And so now, all grown up, every time I break open a fresh pack of ruby red California strawberries, I think of my grandpa’s face lighting up as he devoured a plate of berries, enjoying the California sunshine on our front porch at our house in Aptos. It is amazing how many memories foods can capture.

Watch me make this recipe.. (And subscribe to my YouTube channel here!)

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Strawberry Lovers. I love this berry crisp because it captures the freshness of strawberries, by not adding too many other ingredients. Each bite of this rich and gooey, sweet and sticky berry crisp is all about those ripe, red berries.

Serves a Crowd! This scoop and serve dessert is so perfect for potlucks or family get togethers. You just scoop and serve. Add as much or as little as you’d like. And again, adding vanilla bean vegan ice cream – or coconut whip is a must try for adding more decadence.

I serve this recipe as a dessert, as well as a yummy strawberry snack.

I even love adding a scoop of it to morning oatmeal to make “Strawberry Crisp Oats.”

Who wants a free decadent desserts e-book? Let me help you decide this one.. If you love chocolate truffles, creamy berry ice cream, glazed lemon cake, strawberry crisp, tarts, chocolate fudgsicles and more, this e-book will be a treat for you and your family.

This free Vegan Decadent Desserts E-book is brought to you by my collaboration with three of my favorite produce brands: California Giant, Natural Delights Medjool Dates and Duda Farm Fresh, aka Dandy.

If you download our free e-book, you are eligible to enter my $200 vegan baking giveaway..

The Giveaway Prize ($200 value): Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch® Nonstick 6-Piece Essentials Bakeware Set, my Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen cookbook, Chloe’s Vegan Desserts cookbook (one of my personal fave vegan baking cookbooks) and also a bunch of fresh produce goodies from California Giant, Natural Delights Medjool Dates and Duda Farm Fresh. Giveaway ends 5/17.

Enter giveaway at the bottom of this post.

Check out a preview of some of the recipes in Vegan Decadent Desserts..

..get these recipes in the ebook: Get it here!

Simple Strawberry Crisp

By Kathy PatalskyPublished 05/09/2016
Strawberry crisp with super simple, vegan ingredients.

Ingredients

5-6 cups sliced California Giant Strawberries
2 small lemons, juiced+ pinch of zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, virgin, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup oat flour
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, coconut sugar and optional vanilla extract. Toss well.
Pour the berries into a large casserole baking dish. (Around 8 x 11 in size, but it can vary a bit.)
In the same large bowl, combine the oats flour , cinnamon, salt and coconut oil. Pour the oats over top the berries and flatten.
Bake the crisp at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the sides darken and start to look crisp and slightly browned. Serve warm and store leftovers in the fridge.
Garnish with fresh berries and serve! Add vanilla ice cream to make it more decadent.

Yield: 12 servingsPrep Time: 00 hrs. 15 mins. Cook time: 00 hrs. 40 mins. Total time: 55 mins. Tags: strawberries,dessert,easy,vegan,gluten free,oats,berries,summer