We often discuss in our family (usually during dinner) what constitutes a great dessert. Of course, as expected, my children think dessert means loads of sugar, chocolate, caramel, etc, etc. They don’t believe me when I tell them fruit is the original dessert. I can’t blame them much; I would have balked at the notion myself at their age. Maybe I’m just getting old, or maybe I’ve just realized that I don’t need a ton of sugar to be satisfied by a dessert. I completely prefer fruit desserts over any other – the fresher the fruit, the better. The peaches this season have been so sweet and juicy. I just had to make this healthy fruit crisp with them. And of course, berries. Berries and peaches together make the very best crisps, I think.
Be sure to scroll down below the recipe and check out my Foodie slide show featuring Classic Desserts with a Healthy Twist. So many good ones!
We’ve had some fabulous white peaches here in Idaho. Tiny donut peaches and HUGE white peaches bigger than softballs. And the berries! Well, these were from Oregon because I’m still waiting for the next round of local berries.
Can we talk about the cream on top for a second? You’ll never guess what it is! Well, you might, if you knew that I had been making coconut milk kefir. I cultured a can of thick, creamy, full-fat coconut milk and then I whipped it. It’s like the best sour cream or creme fraiche you can imagine. It was perfect on top of the crisp. It sort of melted into puddles of tangy, creamy coconutty goodness. It’s a dangerous thing, I tell you!
The good news is, my family loved this. They don’t often love my vegan, gluten-free “experiments” as much as I do. Add to that a new resolve to lower sugar in everything too. But this? This they loved and have asked for again. There will be more. And more after that. And probably even a little bit more.
Revamped Classic: Naturally Sweetened Healthy Fruit Crisp
Lower in sugar, fat, but not taste! This crisp is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar. Gluten-free and vegan.
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup millet flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
- 4 cups sliced assorted stone fruit
- 2 cups berries
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup, grade B if possible
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- Whipped coconut cream or ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a medium bowl, combine millet flour, almond meal, pecans, 1/4 cup coconut sugar, salt, and coconut oil.
- Place the sliced fruit in a baking dish. Squeeze lemon juice over the top, and add maple syrup, vanilla and almond extracts. Briefly stir or toss the fruit. Top with the oat mixture in an even layer.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly. Let cool slightly and serve warm topped with a dollop of whipped coconut cream.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
7 Comments
I can’t get over the fact that you made coconut milk Kefir. I LOVE kefir and am totally obsessed with whipped coconut cream. This is blowing my mind.
As is the rest of this dessert. Plus, healthy? You win at life.
Pinned!
Yes! I have like half a dozen jars of random things fermenting right now. haha Thanks for the pin, Taylor! xo
This crisp looks wonderful! The colors, the flavors, and the fact that it’s such a simple recipe? I’m sold!
Thanks, Mary Frances!
This looks amazing
I tried this recipe and loved it. However, when I shopped for the ingredients, I was confused because the instructions refer to oats, but oats not listed in the ingredients list and not visible in the picture. I have an apple crisp recipe that includes oats in the topping. Wondering about adding a little oats to the topping mixture next time I do this recipe. Your thoughts? Is that a variation you have done?
★★★★★
Rita, thank you for brining that to my attention! I can’t quite remember, but I suspect that when I was recipe testing, I started out with oats and then decided to go with millet flour and then didn’t change it in the directions.
I do love oats in crisps and I do think you could add 1/2 cup to the mixture and it would be delicious. I’m going to make this again very soon so I can double check. What a silly mistake I made! Thanks for catching it. I’m glad you loved the recipe in any case. :)