Easy blueberry pie bars bursting with a delicious blueberry jam filling and the perfect oatmeal crumb topping. These yummy blueberry bars are gluten free and so easy to make. Everyone will love them!
The Best Easy Blueberry Pie Bars
Pie is great but you know what can be even better? Pie bars! They are perfect when you want all of the comfort and flavor of a pie but don’t have the time or energy to put into actually making one.
Watch How to Make This Recipe
These easy blueberry pie bars are a healthier version of your favorite blueberry pie in the form of a bar. They have the best crust, a delicious jammy blueberry filling, and the perfect crumb topping.
Not only are they delicious, these bars are also gluten free and made with simple real food ingredients. Sweetened with touches of maple syrup and brown sugar and bursting with fresh blueberry flavor, no one will be able to resist a bite.
The Ingredients For The Best Blueberry Pie Bars
OATS: use gluten free oats if you need to ensure that these bars are completely gluten free.
ALMOND FLOUR: for the best texture use blanched finely ground almond flour.
BROWN SUGAR: this recipes uses a little dark brown sugar for sweetness in the topping and crust.
Butter: to make things easier, dice the butter before using. It will make it much easier to make the crust and topping.
MAPLE SYRUP: this adds just the right amount of sweetness to the blueberry filling.
CINNAMON: the flavor of blueberries and cinnamon work so well together. You will add just a bit to the filling.
Lemon Juice: fresh lemon juice adds a pop freshness and amplifies the blueberry flavor even more. If you want even more lemon flavor, you add a little lemon zest to the jam.
VANILLA EXTRACT: you can’t have a blueberry pie bar without vanilla. Just a teaspoon adds so much flavor.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How To Make These Easy Blueberry Pie Oatmeal Crumble Bars
Step One: Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Add the almond flour, oats, sugar, and butter in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to work the butter into the flour, sugar, and oats until it is well combined and forms a dough like consistency.
Step Two: Press 2/3 of the crumb-crust mixture into a 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the crust for 15 minutes, remove from the oven, and set aside.
Step Three: In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla extract over medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash the blueberries and break them down. Bring the blueberry mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes while constantly stirring.
Step Four: When the blueberries have all burst and turned a dark purple color, whisk the lemon juice and arrowroot starch in a small bowl to make a slurry. Turn off the heat, and pour the slurry mixture into the blueberries. Stir until the blueberries have thickened into a jam like consistency.
Step Five: Pour the blueberry jam on top of the crust and use a spatula to spread it evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumb topping evenly over the jam.
Step Six: Let the bars bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the jam is bubbly around the edges and the top is golden brown.
Step Seven: Let the bars come to a complete cool. Slice into 9 squares and enjoy!
Ingredient Substitutions and FAQs
- What can I substitute for almond flour? – I have not tested these bars with any other flour besides almond flour. If you do not have almond flour you could try finely ground oat flour instead. Do not use coconut flour as it cannot be used as a 1-to-1 replacement.
- Could I use honey instead of maple syrup? – yes! honey, or the liquid sweetener of your choice will work here!
- Do I have to use butter? – nope! you can use coconut oil if you prefer. Your favorite plant-based butter alternative would also likely work well.
- Can I use frozen berries? – yes! just use them straight from frozen. Depending on the amount of moisture the frozen berries release, you may need to cook the blueberry jam a few minutes longer to ensure that it is thick enough.
- What can I use instead of arrowroot starch? – cornstarch is a great 1-to-1 replacement for arrowroot starch and will work in this recipe. If you need a grain free replacement, you can use tapioca starch.
Will Other Fruits Work?
Yes! I have several different recipes for you to choose from that use other fruits:
- STRAWBERRY OATMEAL BARS
- GRAIN FREE BERRY CRUMBLE BARS WITH LEMON GLAZE
- RASPBERRY OATMEAL BARS
- APPLE PIE CRUMBLE BARS
- CRANBERRY CRUMBLE BARS
Tips For The Best Blueberry Bars
- Use parchment paper. Grease the pan a bit before adding the parchment paper to help the parchment paper stick to the bottom of the pan so it won’t slip around while you are pressing in the crust.
- Let the bars come to a complete cool before slicing. It will be super tempting to cut these bars before they come to a complete cool, but to get the best results you will need to let them come to a complete cool before slicing. To help speed up the process you can stick the bars in the fridge while they cool.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the bars. A sharp knife will help you make a clean cut and get through the thick bottom layer of crust.
- Store the bars in the fridge. There is a good chance that these bars will not even last that long, but just in case you have any leftovers, store them in the fridge for safe keeping.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, diced
- 3 cups blueberries
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
Method
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the almond flour, oats, sugar, and butter in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to work the butter into the flour, sugar, and oats until it is well combined and forms a dough like consistency.
- Press 2/3 of the crumb-crust mixture into a 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the crust for 15 minutes, remove from the oven, and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla extract over medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash the blueberries and break them down. Bring the blueberry mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes while constantly stirring.
- When the blueberries have all burst and turned a dark purple color, whisk the lemon juice and arrowroot starch in a small bowl to make a slurry. Turn off the heat, and pour the slurry mixture into the blueberries. Stir until the blueberries have thickened into a jam like consistency.
- Pour the blueberry jam on top of the crust and use a spatula to spread it evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumb topping evenly over the jam.
- Let the bars bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the jam is bubbly around the edges and the top is golden brown.
- Let the bars come to a complete cool. Slice into squares and enjoy!
Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things
link: https://allthehealthythings.com/blueberry-pie-bars/