A year after leaving graduate school, my parents generously offered to drive up and help me start packing the house I was renting, so on Sunday morning, I ran around the house with a yellow legal pad and pen, scribbling down what could be packed that day and what needed to wait until the following weekend. (Pots! Pans! Photography equipment!)
When they knocked on the door, I invited them inside, still in my PJs. They unloaded Home Depot’s entire inventory of cardboard boxes, packaging tape, and Rubbermaid containers before scanning my list. As Mom started taping up the bottoms of boxes and Dad opened the first closet, I asked what I could do to help.
Mom replied, “Go shower and work on your blog. We got this.”
I know almost everyone says this, but… I definitely have the BEST parents in the entire world!
Six hours and 31 boxes later, half of the house had disappeared into various closets and corners. After lots of hugs good-bye, my parents hopped back into their car to head home as my dog and I waved from the front porch.
During the next few days, I worked on packing up food: sacks of flour, bags of sweeteners, a million canisters of sprinkles… Once I boxed up most of the nonperishables, I turned to the freezer.
Holy cow…
How many cartons of ice cream did I have?? Vanilla bean, caramel swirl, moose tracks, pumpkin pie…
And then I spotted the frozen fruit. Multiple bags of mixed berries, whole strawberries, mangoes, and blueberries stared back at me, reminders of all of the recipes I meant to try but hadn’t quite crossed off my baking list just yet. With the moving date clock rapidly ticking, I decided to change that and immediately set to work baking a dessert that had been rattling around in my mind for seven months.
This healthy blueberry mango crumble! A summery combination of sweet fruits with a lightly spiced oat topping, this easy dessert came together in mere minutes. Created with only wholesome, clean-eating ingredients, nobody needs to know this comfort food treat is actually low fat, low calorie, and vegan too!
CRUMBLE OR CRISP?
This is a really common question that I hear quite often… What’s the difference between a fruit crumble and a fruit crisp?
In a nutshell… Just that one word!
They both refer to desserts consisting of a layer of fruit sprinkled with a sweet streusel prior to baking. (No crust underneath — that would make them pies instead!) Although some people maintain that only crisps should have oats in their topping, much of the world (myself included!) thinks that both fruit crisps and crumbles can contain oats.
So use whichever word you feel most comfortable with to describe this dessert!
HOW TO MAKE A HEALTHY BLUEBERRY MANGO CRUMBLE
With that little English lesson out of the way… Let’s talk about how to make this healthy blueberry mango crumble! (Or crisp. 😉 )
Since I was cleaning out my freezer to bake this dessert, then you’ve probably already guessed that it starts with frozen fruit. You’ll mix that with cornstarch to thicken the juices as the crumble bakes. If your frozen fruit lacks sweetness, you can also add in a touch of your favorite sweetener — or just top your slice with vanilla ice cream! (That’s always a great summer dessert in my book!)
Note: I typically recommend using all fresh or all frozen fruit, instead of combining the two, to ensure your fruit crisp bakes evenly. Although I haven’t personally tried it yet, you could probably substitute both fresh blueberries and fresh mango and then use a little less cornstarch. (If you end up giving that a try, I’d love to hear how it goes!)
Because this crumb topping calls for melted butter and pure maple syrup (the real kind that comes from maple trees!), it’s much faster to mix up than traditional recipes that call for cutting in cold butter. That also makes it a bit wetter and clumpier, and it may stick to your fingers a little more as your sprinkle it over the fruit. (If you lick them afterward, I won’t judge!) Because I always look forward to the sweet cinnamony oat topping the most, I usually try to snag the portion with the thickest amount!
Tip: If you’d like to make this healthy blueberry mango crumble gluten-free, then check the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve included my top gluten-free flour recommendations there, so pick one of those — and make sure to use certified gluten-free oats too!
You’ll bake this healthy fruit crisp until the blueberry juices start to bubble around the edges of the pan. My mango chunks weren’t very juicy, so I barely saw any of their juice poking up at the rim. However, that just meant after my crumble cooled and thickened, it was a lot easier to serve each slice!
Well, almost too easy… I devoured two whole servings of this healthy blueberry mango crumble as soon as I finished its photo shoot! That cozy spiced crumb topping kept tempting me to sneak bite after bite… But with so much fruit, it’s basically healthy enough for breakfast!
And I can never refuse dessert for breakfast. 😉
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy blueberry mango crumble!
Healthy Blueberry Mango Crumble
Ingredients
FOR THE STREUSEL
- ¾ cup (90g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ¼ cup (30g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter or stick-style vegan butter, melted (see Notes!)
FOR THE FILLING
- 3 cups frozen mango, diced
- 2 cups frozen blueberries
- 3 tbsp (24g) cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat an 8”-square pan OR 9”-round pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the streusel topping, whisk together the oats, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the maple syrup and melted butter. Stir until fully incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, toss together the frozen mango, frozen blueberries, and cornstarch until thoroughly combined and the cornstarch has completely dissolved (with zero visible white specks – and the fruit often sticks together, so pry it apart when needed!).
- Transfer the filling to the prepared pan, and gently press down with a spatula or the back of a spoon until the top is even and flat. Sprinkle evenly with the streusel. (The streusel typically clumps a LOT, so break it up into really small, itty bitty pieces as you go!) Very gently press the streusel into the filling with your hands. Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until juice bubbles around the edges and the mangoes are very fork tender. Cool completely to room temperature; then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving to allow the juice to fully thicken.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Crumble
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Peach Crumble
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Apple Crumble
♡ Healthy Mixed Berry Crumble
♡ Healthy Cranberry Apple Crumble
♡ Healthy Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy fruit crumble recipes!
Hi Amy! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Do the fruits have to be frozen? How would the recipe alter if fresh?
Thanks!
I’m honored that you’d like to try making this crumble Asia! If using fresh fruit, I’d recommend adding 2-3 tablespoons of water to the fruit filling and then starting to check on it after 30 minutes of baking. It may take the full amount of time to finish baking, but it’s always easier to stick the pan back in the oven than it is to salvage an overbaked dessert! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this crumble!
Hi Amy, thanks for your recipe! Any substitute suggestions if we don’t have butter or margarine? Would some derivative of oil work in this case?
It’s my pleasure Dorothy! If you don’t have butter or margarine, then coconut oil would be the next best alternative. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this crumble if you try making it!
Hello Amy, We meet again!
In my math class, we had a project to make any recipe we wanted and turn it into an unpublished website. I chose this recipe as I had been craving a dessert with fruit in it. I made this dish for Thanksgiving, and I truly enjoyed it! I followed the ingredients and instructions, and it turned out fantastic. I made a few modifications in my process by using honey instead of Agave and using oat flour in whole wheat. The smell that filled my kitchen was warm and comforting! I would say that all of Amy’s Healthy Baking recipes are easily modified to your needs, which is no different from this recipe. The taste of these crumble bars were similar to any pie you like except with WAY better ingredients!! It is essential to let yours chill for at least 2 hours to let the juice thicken and create a much more excellent overall dessert. I had this for dessert the day after Thanksgiving and for breakfast the next morning. After the first few days, the cornstarch thickens quite a lot, and your juice becomes similar to a jello consistency, which I wasn’t a fan of, but I knew it would occur. Unfortunately, I did not finish serving this recipe because the texture was not very smooth. Also, keep in mind that this recipe does mold quite fast since it has fruit, which wouldn’t be an issue if we had more people to eat. I would make this again as it was very yummy. As always, I recommend Amy’s dishes to anyone, so if you’re hesitant about making something fall to her to meet all your baking expectations. Have a great day!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this crumble, Millie! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. That means a lot! 🙂
That’s so strange that your crumble molded so quickly, though! Did you store it in the refrigerator, as I recommended in the text directly underneath the recipe title in the recipe box? I haven’t had any issues with mold appearing when stored in that manner!