Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumb Bars

These Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumb Bars are a sweet, tender, and buttery treat that's vegan, allergy-free, and healthy! Made with a shortbread crust, layered with homemade blueberry jam, and topped with a soft buttery crumble. Like a bite of blueberry pie, these streusel-topped dessert bars are delicious served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or straight from the fridge!

Sweet and juicy blueberries paired with a soft and buttery crust and crumble; like a healthy slice of blueberry pie without all the work or sugar! Make with a simple gluten-free flour and oat-based crust and crumble, with an inner layer of 2 ingredient blueberry chia jam! Vegan allergy-free, and naturally sweet, these blueberry crumble bars are soft and tender like a Nutri-Grain Bar, sweet enough for dessert, but healthy enough for breakfast or brunch too!

Why You'll Love These Healthy Blueberry Crumb Bars

These bars are the perfect dessert to make during peak blueberry season in the summer, but you can also make them with frozen blueberries when you just have to have some during the winter! Using my homemade blueberry chia jam, these bars are naturally sweet, however, you can use store-bought and still end up with a healthy and delicious treat! The shortbread-style crust and crumble are completely gluten-free and dairy-free. A simple blend of gluten-free flour, quick oats, and dairy-free butter. No nuts needed!

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
• Low in Sugar & Naturally Sweet
• Kid-Friendly
• Quick & Easy, 10 Ingredients (including blueberries and chia seeds!)
• Make-Ahead & Freezer-Friendly
• Perfect Fruity Dessert, Breakfast, Brunch, or Afternoon Snack

Ingredients For Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumb Bars

• Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: The crust and crumble are the same mixture and gluten-free all-purpose flour is the base ingredient you need for a sturdy but tender bite!
• Gluten-Free Quick Oats: Certifed gluten-free quick oats blend seamlessly into the crust mixture with the flour. No need to break out the blender to grind up large rolled oats for this quick dessert!
• Baking Powder + Salt: Just a bit of baking powder adds enough lift to this soft and tender crumb and a pinch of salt.
• Vegan Butter: A buttery shortbread crust and crumble needs butter! Dairy-free butter adds moisture to the crust and clumps the mixture for that crumble topping.
• Vanilla Extract: A nice hint of vanilla pairs beautifully with the sweet blueberry jam.
• Lemon Juice: The lemon juice adds the slightest hint of zestiness to balance the blueberries.
• Cinnamon: Believe it or not, cinnamon adds a wonderful warmth to these sweet bars. You can leave it out, but I don't see why you would want to!
• Brown Sugar: You can use sugar-free brown sugar sweeteners like Swerve or you can use regular brown sugar in these crumb bars. Light brown sugar is best as to not overpower the simple berry sweetness.
• Blueberry Chia Jam: If you're making the jam from scratch you'll need a pint of fresh blueberries (or frozen) and chia seeds! You can add sweetener to taste but that is all outlined in this post.

Ingredient Swaps & Substitutions

• Gluten-Free Oats: Swap the oats with quinoa flakes for an oat-free crust! You'll get the flavor of the quinoa, but oats are a touchy subject. If you only have rolled oats, blitz them in a blender to grind them into the lighter texture of quick oats.
• Blueberry Jam: Blueberries and chia seeds, that's all you need. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. You can also use store-bought jam. I recommend a healthy variety like
• Vegan Butter: You can try using melted coconut oil if you prefer. Opt for refined coconut oil so you don't get the coconut taste. I haven't tried this recipe with it though.
• Sweetener: If you don't use brown sugar or sugar-free brown sugar and opt for a liquid sweetener like maple syrup, you'll need to add a few extra tablespoons of gluten-free flour to keep the crust texture crumbly.

How To Make Blueberry Crumble Bars

1. Add the gluten-free flour, quick oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to a large mixing bowl.
2. Use a fork to break up and mix together the dry ingredients until you have a uniform mixture.

3. Add the melted vegan butter, vanilla, and lemon juice to the dry mixture.
4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, using a fork, until the mixture is wet and clumps together.

5. Press the crust mixture into a lined 8x8 baking pan, setting aside ¾ cup of the mixture for the crumb topping.
6. Bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350°F to par-bake it before adding the jam.

7. Add the blueberry jam evenly over the half-baked crust.
8. Use your fingers to crumble the reserved crust mixture evenly over the top of the blueberry jam.

9. Bake the blueberry jam bars in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
10. Remove the bars from the oven when the crumb topping is golden brown. Allow them to cool in the pan slightly before using the parchment paper to lift the block of bars out and cool completely before slicing.

How To Slice The Bars

The easiest way to cut seamless bars is to refrigerate the bars before slicing them! Allow the baked blueberry jam bars to cool on a wire rack before transferring them into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to an hour. You can place them in the freezer for 15-30 minutes for quicker cooling. Once cold, take the block of uncut bars out of the fridge and place it onto a hard flat surface. Then use a very sharp knife to cut 9 squares. Two even cuts down and two cuts across. You can make smaller bars by slicing 3 vertical and 3 horizontal cuts.

Baking Tips & Tricks

• Line your baking pan: You must line your baking pan with parchment paper. This will allow you to easily lift the block of uncut bars out of the pan and prevent them from getting stuck in the pan (not to mention easy clean up!)
• Do not attempt to cut the bars while they're still warm. The jam bars need time to set after baking, otherwise, they will fall apart.
• When pre-baking the crust, don't overbake it! It just needs 10 minutes in the oven to get a head start on firming up before you add the west blueberry jam.

How To Serve Gluten-Free Blueberry Jam Bars

You can eat these blueberry bars cold or warm! If you're enjoying them cold from the fridge, allow them to come to room temperature slightly so the flavors can be more pronounced. If you enjoy them warm, you can put them in the microwave and then add a scoop of your favorite dairy-free vanilla ice cream!

How To Store Leftovers

Once your baked bars have cooled to room temperature, you can store them in a closed container in the fridge for up to 7 days. Enjoy them cool or reheated in the microwave.

How To Make Ahead & Freeze

You can make these crumb bars ahead of time and freeze them for later! Simply bake the bars as instructed before allowing them to cool to room temperature. Slice the bars into your desired amount of servings, and wrap them in plastic and foil, before storing them in an airtight container or storage bag for up to 6 months in the freezer. Allow the bars to thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.

More Gluten-Free Blueberry Recipes:

• Blueberry Bread
• Blueberry Yogurt Banana Bread
• Maple Blueberry Powdered Sugar Doughnuts
• Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins
• Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp
• Skillet Blueberry Crisp For Two
• Best Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancakes
• Easy Blueberry Waffles

Print

That buttery, soft, slightly crisp shortbread crust, paired with berrylicious blueberry jam, topped with that slightly cinnamony streusel-like crumb, what else could you ask for?

So tell me:

+ What's your favorite blueberry baked good?

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