Recipe: Persimmon oat crumble (gluten-free)

Last Updated on December 23, 2022 by Aaron von Frank

Find out how to turn your soft, ripe Japanese persimmons into a delicious breakfast or dessert with our gluten-free persimmon oat crumble! 

It was a bitter sweet day at Tyrant Farms… we said goodbye to the last of the Japanese persimmons we picked from our trees in 2020. 

Very ripe Japanese persimmons, perfect for baking.

After a couple months of room temperature storage, our Japanese persimmons were wrinkly, soft, and intensely flavorful. Combined with their low moisture content, this condition makes them perfect for using in baked goods. That’s why this gluten-free persimmon oat crumble recipe was born. 

For the record, we eat plenty of gluten; we’re fortunate not to have averse reactions to the stuff. However, there’s no reason to use wheat-based flours in this recipe, so it’s gluten-free.

And for those folks searching for a delicious gluten-free recipe to make with very ripe Japanese persimmons, we hope this one will do the trick! 

Tyrant Farms’ gluten-free persimmon oat crumble drizzled with backyard honey and served with a side of yogurt.

Recipe tips:

A few tips to help you make this persimmon crumble recipe: 

1. Use very ripe persimmons or… 

The persimmons we used for this recipe were harvested 8 weeks prior to us using them. That means they’re soft, have a very low moisture content, and are more intensely flavored than less ripe persimmons. 

However, you can still make this recipe with younger soft persimmons or even crunchy persimmons. Your crumble filling might just be a little more watery and less custard-like than ours, unless:

a) you first cook them down a bit in a saucepan to remove about 40% of their water content, or

b) add an extra egg to help the persimmon mixture thicken up when baked. 

Or you can just make a slightly moister crumble… your call. 

2. Pan-toast your oats.  

We recommend pan-toasting your oats first for better flavor and to incorporate the butter into the crumble topping. (See instructions in the recipe card below.)

This step is just a little extra touch to make the recipe better, but if you’re in a rush, you can skip it. 

3. Add nut flour.

We add nut flour to our baked goods every chance we get because nuts add wonderful flavor and are great for your health.

We used our own homegrown and homemade chestnut flour for this recipe, but we realize that’s a hard-to-find ingredient. Not to worry: organic almond flour works just as well and tastes amazing in this recipe. 

4. Add 2/3rds crumble on the bottom 1/3 on top. 

The pictures for this article show a persimmon crumble that had half the crumble put on the bottom of the pan (under the persimmon layer) and the other half of the crumble put on top of the persimmon layer.

Do better than us! Put 2/3 of your crumble on the bottom of the baking dish under the persimmon layer and 1/3 of the crumble on top.

Afterwards, we realized this recipe would be better with more crumble on bottom and less on top. That’s because the liquid from the persimmon mixture will sink down and make a nice delicious crust out of the oat crumble, but won’t be able to do the same with the crumble on top. (Because gravity.) 

We couldn’t remake and re-photograph because, well, we’re now out of persimmons. Curses. However, when you make your own version of this recipe, you can do it better than ours. 

5. Serve with a drizzle of honey and your favorite fermented dairy product. 

This isn’t a very sweet recipe on purpose. If you want to add a little extra sweet, drizzle a bit of honey or maple syrup on top when serving. Lastly, for best results, let the crumble completely cool and come together in your fridge before serving. 

If you want a sweeter crumble, drizzle a bit of honey or maple syrup on top before serving. Serve with a side of yogurt or milk kefir for a wholesome breakfast.

This persimmon crumble also pairs really well with yogurt, milk kefir, or the non-dairy fermentation of your choice. We enjoyed a week of breakfasts using this advice, and hope you will too!  

Now to the kitchen! 

Recipe: Gluten-free persimmon crumble with oats & nut flour 

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Gluten-free persimmon oat crumble

Course: Breakfast, brunch

Keyword: gluten-free persimmon recipe, Japanese persimmon recipe, persimmon crumble

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 10

A delicious dessert or breakfast crumble made with ripe Japanese persimmons, oats, and nut flour (such as almond flour)

Ingredients

For oat mixture: 

• 2 cups organic old fashioned oats 
• 1/2 cup nut flour (we used homemade chestnut flour but almond flour is a good alternative) 
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 cup butter (plus a bit more to butter baking dish) 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional - and don't add if you use salted butter)

For persimmon mixture: 

• 4 REALLY ripe asian persimmons, blended skin and all (quantity: a little under 1 1/2 cups ) 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon zest 
• 1/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
• 1 duck or chicken egg 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Start by preparing your oat mixture as follows: In medium sized sauce pan or skillet over medium heat (about 4 on our stove) melt butter, then stir in oats. Stir constantly with spatula until oats are slightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Then remove oats from heat and pour into mixing bowl. Immediately add coconut sugar while oats are hot and stir in with spoon until evenly mixed. Then stir in nut flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Next, make your persimmon filling as follows: Add persimmons, vanilla, zest, lemon juice, and egg to blender and blend until smooth.

4. In a buttered 7" x 11" baking dish, spread 2/3 (2 cups) of your oat mixture evenly in baking dish. Pour all of your persimmon mixture over top then evenly spread with a spatula. Next, spoon/sprinkle in the other 1/3 (1 cup) of the oat mixture over top.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool then cover and refrigerate. Best served after it's had a chance to cool for half a day or more. Serving tips: drizzle with honey and serve with a side of fermented dairy such as yogurt or milk kefir for a great breakfast.   

We hope you love this Japanese persimmon crumble recipe! Let us know how yours turned out. 

KIGI,