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This easy recipe for Strawberry Crumble Bars uses fresh summer strawberries and simple baking ingredients to make a buttery crust that sits on the bottom and gets crumbled right on top. Prep in 10 minutes, then bake and enjoy!
Hi! I’m Haley and I write the food blog If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen and today I’m sharing one of my favorite dessert recipes. Can I just say that I’m so happy strawberries are in season right now! They are 100 times better when they are in season. I’ll take a bright red, juicy strawberry over a spongy, dull strawberry any day. When I saw how perfect the berries looked in the store, I bought two pounds and headed home to start baking.
One of my favorite spring and summertime dessert is crumble bars. They are easy to make and I usually have all the ingredients at home. You can fill them with any flavor jam or fresh berries. I decided to use fresh strawberries for the ultimate spring and summer treat.
If you enjoy these, check out more easy recipes using strawberries!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A great way to use up strawberries. With the abundance of spring and summer fruit, you’ll have a great excuse to use up any extra strawberries.
- The crust is the same on the top and bottom. No need to complicate the crust and crumble, they are the same thing!
- They are hearty yet light. Even though these bars are a sweet treat, they are light enough to enjoy during the summer months.
- Freeze for later. Make a big batch and freeze any leftovers to enjoy as a treat another day.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- All-Purpose Flour – The main dry ingredient in the base makes a great crust and crumble.
- Baking Powder – Helps the bottom of the bars rise slightly.
- Salt – Enhances the flavor and helps activate the baking powder.
- Unsalted Butter – Gives the crust and crumble its buttery flavor.
- Light Brown Sugar – Adds a deep sweet flavor to the crust.
- Egg – Helps bind the crust together and makes it set properly.
- Vanilla Extract – Infuses a light vanilla flavor throughout.
- Fresh Strawberries – This perfect summer berry gives the bar a sweet flavor and pop of red color.
- Granulated Sugar – Sweetens up the strawberries.
- Cornstarch – Helps thicken the strawberries and sugar to turn them into a filling.
How To Make Strawberry Crumble Bars
Step 1. Prepare for baking. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Step 2. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the cold butter and use a pastry cutter to create a crumb-like mixture. Alternatively, the mixture can be combined in a food processor pulsing until pea-sized crumbs form, about 20 seconds.
Step 3. Assemble the crust and crumble. In a separate large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, egg and vanilla until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and using a rubber spatula (or your hands!) combine ingredients into a crumbly mixture. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of prepared dish. Make sure it is compact so it creates a sturdy crust for the strawberries.
Step 4. Make the strawberry filling. In a separate medium bowl, stir together chopped strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. Spoon strawberry mixture over crust. Top with remaining crumble mixture.
Step 5. Bake and serve. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble top is golden brown and the strawberry layer is bubbling at the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Cut bars into 1-1/2 inch squares and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Make them gluten free! This recipe can easily be adapted to fit a gluten-free lifestyle by swapping out the flour for a gluten-free 1:1 flour blend that contains xanthan gum.
- Chop strawberries into roughly the same size to keep the texture consistent while baking.
- To make it refined sugar free, swap out the granulated sugar for coconut sugar.
- Use cold butter. This helps keep it from spreading and will make a nice crunchy crust with lots of butter flavor.
- You can use frozen strawberries instead of fresh ones. Just make sure they thaw out completely before chopping and making the filling.
- Don’t like strawberries? Try out my recipe for Blueberry Crumble Bars with rolled oats!
Storing & Freezing
Storing Leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Freezing Leftovers: Wrapped cooled strawberry crumble bars in plastic wrap, then add to a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 4 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Other Strawberry Recipes
Strawberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Strawberry Crumble Bars
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed (11 tablespoons)
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups chopped strawberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the cold butter and use a pastry cutter to create a crumb-like mixture. Alternatively, the mixture can be combined in a food processor pulsing until pea-sized crumbs form, about 20 seconds.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, egg and vanilla until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and using a rubber spatula (or your hands!) combine ingredients into a crumbly mixture. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of prepared dish. Make sure it is compact so it creates a sturdy crust for the strawberries.
- In a separate medium bowl, stir together chopped strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. Spoon strawberry mixture over crust. Top with remaining crumble mixture.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble top is golden brown and the strawberry layer is bubbling at the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Cut bars into 1-1/2 inch squares and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post originally published in 2017. It was updated with process photos and tips in June 2021.
I made this exactly as written, except I added between 1/3 and 1/2 tsp of almond extract to the crust to give it a slight shortbread flavor. It wasn’t too overpowering. These are delicious!
Delicious!! Was gone in a couple days, definitely will make again!
Very easy recipe! I used frozen strawberries, too impatient to thaw them so just popped them in the microwave for a bit until they were soft enough to cut…came out better than expected!
Great recipe! Turned out delicious 😋 I used frozen strawberries since that’s all i had at the time. I just heat the strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and water in pan and simmered for 10 minutes. I will definitely use this recipe again. 👍
I made this and it was so yummy! Just curious- why do you recommend storing in the fridge?
The bars hold up a little better and last longer in the fridge. The strawberries retain water so it can make them a little soggy when left on the counter for a few days. So glad you enjoyed. Thank you so much for your feedback!
Hi! I only have frozen strawberries available to me. Would I defrost them and drain? Or is it strictly fresh strawberries? Thank you
I would not recommend frozen strawberries as they usually contain more liquid. You can definitely drain and press out as much liquid as possible, but it may alter the consistency of the bars. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out. Enjoy!