Blueberry Crumb Bars

24 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Easy Blueberry Crumb Bars are a tasty summer treat on the go! Melt-in-your-mouth buttery shortbread-like crust and crumble with a fresh blueberry filling.

With all the fresh berry flavor and buttery crust of a Blueberry Pie that you can take on the go, this is sure to be a new go-to Dessert Recipe during blueberry season!

Blueberry Crumb Bars in stack

BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS

Blueberries are one of the absolute best fruits to bake with! Not only are they naturally sweet and so delicious but they are so easy to use. There’s no peeling, hulling, or slicing, just rinse your berries in cool water and they are ready to go for easy recipes like these Blueberry Crumb Bars!

This tasty dessert could easily be called Blueberry Pie Bars with their double flaky crust and the jammy, homemade pie filling inside. Made with either fresh or frozen berries, you’ll love how easy this recipe comes together with simple pantry ingredients and about 10 minutes of prep time.

You can even make this Blueberry Crumble Bar recipe by hand, no stand mixer or food processor needed. Pulsing the cookie crumble ingredients in a processor makes this step faster, but you can also use a fork or pastry cutter to make the crumb dough. Whatever is easiest for you, that’s what will work for this recipe!

Blueberry Crumb Bar in baking dish

Blueberry Crumb Bars are so simple and are less sweet than many blueberry desserts. You can serve them for breakfast with some greek yogurt on the side. For a summer dessert, try them warmed up with Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream. If you don’t want to wait for them to cool, you can scoop the crumb bars from the pan like a Blueberry Crisp.

Tips for Blueberry Crumb Bars

  • Cold butter is key to getting the crumbly texture that you need for crumb bars. It makes the crust and topping flakier, closer to a pie crust than a typical crumble. Cold butter also adds richness to the dough too.
  • Use either fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. There’s no need to thaw the blueberries before hand, just add an extra tablespoon cornstarch to absorb the juice. Frozen blueberries will take a little longer to bake, about 10 minutes.
  • Cool your Blueberry Crumble Bars completely before trying to cut them. If you cut them while hot, the filling will ooze out and the crumble will fall apart.  It can take 1-2 hours, depending how warm the room temperature is.
  • If you want to make Blueberry Crumb Bars ahead of time, it’s better to freeze them unbaked and reheat from frozen. The crumble topping softens as baked Blueberry Bars thaw or are refrigerated. They are still delicious though, just less firm up top.

MORE DELICIOUS BLUEBERRY RECIPES

Blueberry Crumb Bars in baking dish

VARIATIONS ON BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS

  • Raspberry: Swap raspberries for blueberries in equal amounts to make Raspberry Crumb Bars. You can also use diced strawberries or blackberries.
  • Oats: Give the topping extra crunch by adding ½ cup rolled oats to the dough. Don’t use quick oats or instant oats, they will dry out the batter.
  • Cookie Mix: For the shortbread dough, use one bag sugar cookie mix and a ½ cup cold butter as a super easy hack for Blueberry Bars.
  • Lemon: Lemon goes really well with blueberries, enhancing their flavor and adding tartness. Use 2 tablespoons lemon juice in the filling and add lemon zest to the crust dough for Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars. 
  • Icing: Another way to add lemon is to do a lemon icing. Combine 1 cup powered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice, making thick enough to glaze. Drizzle over cooled bars.

MORE EASY SUMMER DESSERTS

HOW TO STORE BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS

  • Serve: These Blueberry Bars are best served at room temperature and can be kept covered for up to 4 days in a cool, dry place. Line your container with paper towels to help absorb moisture.
  • Store: Keep Blueberry Crumb Bars in an airtight container lined with paper towels for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
  • Freeze: Cool bars completely if freezing already baked. Cover baking pan with tightly plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 6 months. Bake uncooked Blueberry Bars from frozen at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Blueberry Crumb Bars in stack

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Blueberry Crumb Bars

Easy Blueberry Crumb Bars are a tasty summer treat on the go! Melt-in-your-mouth buttery shortbread-like crust and crumble with a fresh blueberry filling.
Yield 24 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

Shortbread Crumb:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar , packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup unsalted butter , cold, cut into cubes
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Blueberry Filling:

  • 4 cups fresh blueberries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with baking spray.
  • In a food processor, combine ½ cup white sugar with brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Add the butter and egg to the food processor and pulse until a crumbly dough forms.
  • Press half of the dough into the prepared pan.
  • In a separate bowl, gently toss the blueberries in remaining sugar and cornstarch until well coated.
  • Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust.
  • Crumble remaining dough over the blueberry layer.
  • Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown and blueberry filling is bubbling.
  • Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 260IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

Blueberry Crumb Bars collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Comments

  1. These were so easy to make. Tasted just like summer! And looked so beautiful. That rich blue color is all heart-eyes!! Thanks for this yummy treat recipe.

  2. Oh, wow. These bars are incredible! And with the blueberries I can almost justify eating them for breakfast! Maybe I will anyway…without the justification!