These Blueberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars are loaded with blueberries and simply delicious. Made with whole grains and no refined sugar for a healthy snack anytime!
Sweet blueberries accented with a touch of lemon and a delicious crumb topping, these Blueberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars are perfect for summer. The bars are not overly sweet and are perfectly acceptable for a quick breakfast on the go or a healthy snack for the kids. And if you wanted to make it a bit more indulgent I think a scoop of vegan ice cream on top would do just the trick and be absolutely delicious.
These bars were inspired by my Apple Butter Oatmeal Bars and Spiced Pumpkin Oat Bars.
Ingredients
Theses bars are super simple to make with basic ingredients and no extra equipment, the kind of recipe I love.
- white whole wheat flour
- old fashioned rolled oats
- coconut sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- coconut oil
- flax eggs - See my guide for more information on how to make if you're unfamiliar.
- blueberries
- lemon
- tapioca or corn starch
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8x8 baking dish by lightly greasing with coconut oil or vegan butter. Combine the blueberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, ¼ cup coconut sugar, and tapioca or corn starch. Stir to thoroughly coat berries. Set aside and in another bowl combine flour, oats, salt, remaining coconut sugar, and baking powder. Use your fingers or a pastry blender to cut in coconut oil into flour mixture until only pea size pieces remain.
Add flax eggs or applesauce to flour mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Mixture should be crumbly. Press just over half of the mixture into the bottom of baking dish and spread to cover forming the bottom crust. Be sure to apply enough pressure that the mixture holds together. I placed a piece of parchment paper over top and rolled a small can back and forth.
Next, spread blueberry mixture in an even layer over bottom crust. Crumble remaining crust mixture over the top of blueberries. Bake for 55-60 minutes until crumb topping is lightly browned.
Hint: I used frozen blueberries because that's what I had on hand, but you could use fresh if you like. You'll likely need to shorten the baking time by about 10 minutes with fresh. If you use frozen berries don't thaw them, just use them straight from the freezer or things will get a bit messy.
Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares. The number of servings you get will depend on how the bars are cut. I cut the pan into 8 bars, but you can also cut them into smaller squares if you prefer.
Substitutions
- blueberries - you can use another type of berry such as strawberries, blackberries or raspberries.
- flour - all purpose flour can be used instead of white whole wheat flour.
- flax seeds - applesauce can be used instead of flax egg.
Top tip
The coconut oil is used to create the "buttery" crumb in these bars. The texture of the oil should be firm without being so hard you can't cut it into small pieces. If the oil is liquid put the needed amount into the fridge stirring every so often until firm. And if you forget about it in the fridge like I did (oops) and the oil is as solid as a rock just let it sit out at room temperature for a few minutes to warm up. Don't worry too much about the oil as long as it's not liquid and you can work it into the flour until only small pieces remain you should have no problem.
Equipment
No special equipment is needed for this recipe. A square baking dish and mixing bowls are all you need.
Storage
Store cut bars in a container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think! Leave a review and rating in the comments below. This helps me continue to provide great recipes for you.
Recipe
Vegan Blueberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars
Ingredients
Blueberry layer
- 10 oz blueberries, fresh or frozen I used frozen that I didn't thaw.
- ¼ cup coconut sugar, cane sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch or 2 teaspoon corn starch
Crumb layer
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup coconut sugar, cane sugar or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil, firm see note at bottom
- 2 flax eggs( 2 tablespoon ground flax + 4 tablespoon water) or ¼ cup applesauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8X8 baking dish.
- In a bowl combine blueberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, ¼ cup sugar, and tapioca or corn starch. Stir to thoroughly coat berries.10 oz blueberries, fresh or frozen , 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice , 1 tsp lemon zest, 1 tbsp tapioca starch or 2 teaspoon corn starch , ¼ cup coconut sugar, cane sugar or brown sugar
- In a separate bowl combine flour, oats, salt, ¼ cup sugar, and baking powder.1 cup white whole wheat flour , 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats , ½ tsp baking powder , ¼ tsp salt , ¼ cup coconut sugar, cane sugar or brown sugar
- Using your fingers or a pastry blender cut in coconut oil into flour mixture until only pea size pieces remain.¼ cup coconut oil, firm
- Add flax eggs or applesauce to flour mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Mixture should be crumbly.2 flax eggs( 2 tablespoon ground flax + 4 tablespoon water) or ¼ cup applesauce
- Press just over half of the mixture into the bottom of baking dish and spread to cover forming the bottom crust. Be sure to apply enough pressure that the mixture holds together. I placed a piece of parchment paper over top and rolled a small can back and forth.
- Spread blueberries in an even layer over bottom crust.
- Crumble remaining crust mixture over the top of blueberries.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes until crumb topping is lightly browned.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting.
- Store in a container in the fridge.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!