These Vegan Berry Crumble Bars are totally gluten-free and packed with juicy berries. These easy to make bars are made with an oat base that’s also used as the crumble. Delicious for breakfast, a healthy snack, or dessert.
When the markets fill up with the season’s prettiest berries, I am dreaming of new ways to bake with them. And since my strawberry crumble bars were a hit, I thought it was time to make a vegan version and used mixed berries.
You’ll fall in love with these berry crumble bars that are packed with fresh and sweet blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries!
Best chilled, but guaranteed to disappear before you can totally chill them!
What ingredients are in vegan berry crumble bars?
- old-fashioned rolled oats
- Gluten-free Baking Flour
- brown sugar packed
- sea salt
- margarine melted (I used Earth Balance Vegan sticks)
- vanilla extract
- strawberries
- blueberries
- raw sugar
- lemon
- cornstarch
How do you make vegan berry crumble bars? (full printable recipe below)
It starts out with making the no-fuss crust, which is also the crumble topping.
Crumb Topping for Berry Crumble Bars
First step is to put together the crust. Mix all the ingredients together and press 2/3 into your prepared baking pan, reserving the rest for the crumble topping. I highly recommend using your hands to mix and get those nice chunks.
Bake up the crust until it’s lightly browned (10-13 minutes…every oven is different).
I’ve made these bars without prebaking the crust. But do suggest to bake before adding the filling. Baking the crust before adding the filling will help it keep its shape when you slice the bars.
Fresh Mixed Berry Filling
Here is how you make the berry filling. I used fresh berries, as I had blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries on hand. You could use whatever combination of fresh berries that you prefer.
Add the berries to a bowl with cornstarch, lemon juice, and your sweetener. I used maple syrup. The cornstarch is important, as it will help thicken up the filling as it bakes.
Once you have spooned the berries into the crust, the final step is to sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture on top.
Bake it up until the fruit is juicy and bubbling, and the crust is a golden brown.
The best thing is once the pan has cooled down, to place it in the fridge to chill for a few hours. This will help to get clean slices. If you rush to slice it as soon as it’s baked, it may fall apart (which is what we do!).
Can I make these bars with dairy?
Yes, if you’re not dairy-free/vegan, use unsalted butter in the place of the margarine. I used vegan butter sticks by Earth Balance to keep this dairy-free.
What sweetener is best in the filling?
I used maple syrup. You could use whatever sugar you like or have on hand. If you’re vegan, be sure to use a vegan sugar.
You could even omit sweetener from the filling. The berries are naturally sweet. Just depends on how sweet you like it. I do prefer it with some sweetening and the maple syrup is just perfect in this recipe.
What can I substitute for cornstarch?
You could thicken the filling also with arrowroot powder. For the 2 teaspoons of cornstarch replace it with 2 teaspoons of arrowroot powder. Another substitute is tapioca flour (sub the same amount of cornstarch).
Can I make these bars with all-purpose flour?
Yes, if you’re not making these gluten-free, replace the 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour with all-purpose flour.
Can frozen berries replace fresh berries in these crumble bars?
Yes, if it is not fresh berry season, go ahead and use frozen berries. But I prefer the filling texture with fresh berries.
Could I use other fruit in these bars?
Yes, I love to bake them with berries (I prefer fresh), but go ahead and sub with apples, peaches, or even plums.
How to store berry crumble bars
Highly suggest storing the bars in the refrigerator. You could leave it out on the counter the first day (cover the pan with aluminum foil).
But second day, it needs to go in the fridge. Store it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
One last thing…I promise!
Just a quick request: if you enjoyed these vegan berry crumble bars as much as we did, would you kindly leave us a 5-star rating and a short (or long!)comment–the ratings are what helps get our recipes and hard work discovered, so we can keep leaving you more delish recipes!
Your comments mean the world to me….and I really SMILE when I read them. Thank you so much! XX
Some other bar recipes to try:
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Vegan Berry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- For the crust and crumble:
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¾ cup Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour or all-purpose if you’re not gluten-free
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 Tablespoons margarine melted I used Earth Balance Vegan sticks, or use unsalted butter if you’re not vegan/dairy-free
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the filling:
- 2 cups finely mixed berries I used blueberries, raspberries and strawberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or whatever sweetener you like
- Zest of one lemon around 1 tablespoon
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line an 8"x8" baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add in the melted butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan sticks)and vanilla; stir until combined.
- Reserve about 1/3 of the oat mixture for the topping. Spoon in the remaining 2/3 of the crumble mix into your prepared baking pan and press to form a crust.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the edges of the crust begin to lightly brown. Meanwhile, prep the filling.
- For the filling:
- In a small bowl, stir together the blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries (hull and cut the strawberries in small pieces) with the sugar, lemon zest and cornstarch. Spoon the berry filling over the warm crust and spread evenly with a spatula.
- For the crumble:
- Sprinkle the rest of the crumble mixture over the berry filling and try to cover as much of the berries as you can. There will be spots that aren’t completely covered.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust and the crumble are golden and strawberries bubble just a little (mine was ready at just about 32 minutes. Every oven is different).
- Cool completely before trying to remove from the pan. Let chill for a few hours in the refrigerator before slicing or you could dive right in as we did. If you choose to not wait, it will be very tricky to slice them and they will not stay intact.
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