Blueberry Bars Recipe - with Crumble Topping

This soft homemade blueberry bars recipe is bursting with sweet blueberries. Serve them for a healthy summer dessert, and watch how quickly they disappear.

Easy blueberry crumble bars

With a buttery shortbread crust, thick blueberry filling, and delicious crumble topping, these classic blueberry pie bars are pretty much impossible to resist.

Each time I serve them at a party or event, people always ask for the recipe.

If you’re looking for a dessert to make for blueberry season, you can’t go wrong with these bars. They are hands-down the best blueberry bar recipe I’ve ever tried.

Also try these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blueberry bar recipe ingredients

You will need flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, sweetener, butter or coconut oil, cornstarch or arrowroot, and blueberries.

Types of flour that work include white all purpose flour, spelt flour, or oat flour. I have not tried whole wheat flour and do not recommend coconut flour or almond flour.

If you wish to make your own flour with oats from scratch, simply pulse uncooked rolled oatmeal in a food processor or blender. Measure the oats after blending.

The bars can be refined sugar free if you use coconut sugar, date sugar, or granulated erythritol or xylitol for bars with no sugar added.

In the filling, any neutral granulated or liquid sweetener will do, including pure maple syrup, honey, agave, white sugar, unrefined sugar, or a stevia baking blend.

Watch the step-by-step blueberry bar recipe video, above

Fresh or frozen blueberries

Use whatever you have on hand, or whichever one is on sale at the grocery store, because either fresh blueberries or frozen fruit work.

If you choose frozen berries, thaw the berries and blot away excess water or ice with paper towels before beginning, so the finished bars do not turn out soggy.

Or for an even quicker and easier option in the recipe, canned blueberry pie filling can be substituted for the blueberries, sweetener, and thickener.

You may also substitute fresh or frozen raspberries, blackberries, pitted cherries, chopped peaches, mango, or strawberries for some or all of the blueberries to change up the flavor.

Here is a variation with apples: Apple Crumble Bars

Lemon blueberry crumb bars

As a fun flavor variation, stir the zest of one or two lemons into the blueberry filling.

Or you can stir the lemon zest directly into the shortbread crust and crumble topping. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the filling.

Garnish the old fashioned blueberry lemon bars with thinly sliced and curled lemon peels or fresh sliced lemons and powdered sugar if desired.

How to make blueberry bars

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an eight inch square baking pan with parchment paper, and set the pan aside.

*For a large family or to feed a crowd, double the recipe and bake the bars in a rectangular nine by thirteen inch baking pan for the same amount of time.

In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Using a pastry cutter, a fork, or a whisk, cut in the chilled butter, almond butter, or coconut oil. Continue to break up the dough until it forms small, even crumbles reminiscent of streusel. This can also be done in a food processor for a quick and easy option, if you wish.

Press about half of the dough very firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, using a sheet of wax paper or second sheet of parchment to help press more firmly. (Discard this second sheet of parchment paper after use.)

In a new bowl, toss the fresh or frozen thawed blueberries with the cornstarch or arrowroot and two tablespoons sweetener of choice until evenly mixed.

Spread the blueberry mixture over the dough in the pan. Then sprinkle the remaining streusel topping evenly over everything. Press down firmly.

Bake on the center rack of the oven for fifty minutes. The filling should look thick and bubbly, with a golden crust and topping.

Let the blueberry bars cool fully before slicing, because the fruit filling firms up and continues to set as it cools.

Is the recipe vegan or gluten free?

For dairy free and vegan blueberry bars, use plant based butter (or coconut oil or almond butter) and your favorite nondairy milk. There are no eggs required.

The bars can also be gluten free if you use gluten free oat flour. Some brands of gluten free all purpose flour may also work. Be sure to report back if you try.

While I’ve not yet done a keto version of the recipe, you can make fantastic keto blueberry bars if you use blueberry yogurt in these Keto Lemon Bars.

Baking tips for blueberry pie bars

For cleaner slices, I recommend chilling the bars in the refrigerator before cutting them. They should slice easily once cold.

If you prefer to measure ingredients with a food scale instead of using measuring cups and spoons, here are the amounts to use in grams:

200 grams flour, 2 grams cinnamon, 130 grams sugar, 150 grams butter or coconut oil, 45 grams milk of choice or additional butter, 360 grams blueberries, 6 grams cornstarch, and 30 grams sweetener of choice. Also add the salt and baking powder.

The coconut oil version will be a bit more crumbly. Using almond butter or the low fat milk option (instead of all butter) will result in slightly gummier crumbles before baking. The final results for each option turn out equally yummy.

My best baking tip is to make the recipe according to the directions the first time. Once you know how it should turn out, you can have fun experimenting with substitutions or cutting back on certain ingredients.

Next on my baking to-do list is to try adding cream cheese to the filling, turning the recipe into blueberry cheesecake bars!

The recipe was adapted from my Peach Crisp and these Strawberry Oatmeal Bars.

1 2/3 cup spelt, white, or oat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar (unrefined if desired)
3/4 cup butter, coconut oil, or almond butter
3 tbsp milk of choice or additional butter
3 cups blueberries
1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
2 tbsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Stir the first five ingredients, then cut in the butter or oil. (If using oil or unsalted butter, add an additional 1/4 tsp salt.) Press about half of the dough very firmly into the bottom of an 8 inch pan lined with parchment paper. Or double the recipe for a 9×13 inch pan. Toss the blueberries with the cornstarch and liquid sweetener. Spread this over the crust. Sprinkle all remaining dough evenly over everything. Press down firmly. Bake 50 minutes. Let cool, then chill in the refrigerator before cutting into bars.View Nutrition Facts