• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Mile High Mitts logo

  • About
    • About
    • Disclosures
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Recipes

Strawberry Crumb Bars (gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options)

May 6, 2020 · 2 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
stack of 3 crumb bars.

Strawberry Crumb Bars are a fun way to have a pie-like dessert, with a much easier recipe! With a crispy bottom crust, strawberry jam middle, and crumble topping, these sweet Crumb Bars are a must-bake for the Summer.

Have you ever had a Crumb Bar before?

I went back and forth between calling these a “Crumb Bar” and a “Crumble Bar.” It seems like there’s two different names here, even though they are the same dessert. Crumb Bar seemed more popular though, even though Crumble Bar is more catchy in my opinion. πŸ˜‰

You see, I didn’t grow up eating these scrumptious bars. My mom always made chocolate-themed desserts for us chocoholics.

But, a couple months ago I had a gluten-free Blueberry Crumb Bar at a hotel and I knew I had to recreate one soon after.

But, the one at the hotel was pretty thin, very buttery, and probably had a ton of butter and sugar.

I tried several different Crumb Bar recipes online, and mushed a few together to create these gluten-free (and easily made dairy-free and vegan too) Strawberry Crumb Bars.

They’re nice and thick, with a crispy and lightly buttery crust on the bottom, filled with sweet strawberry jam in the middle, with a crumble topping.

These bars are incredibly easy. You see, the crust and crumble are made of the SAME mixture. And, of course strawberry jam is easy enough to spread in the middle!

If you love fruity pie, but want a more simple recipe, give these Strawberry Crumb Bars a shot. They’re a great Summer dessert, that are very versatile, lightly buttery and sweet.

top view of crumb bars with a strawberry.

Let’s talk ingredients.

This recipe is incredibly flexible, so there’s a lot of opportunity here for different diets and flavors.

First, you can use gluten-free all purpose flour (with xantham gum) and oats, or regular flour and rolled oats. Both work great. Please don’t try and go vogue and use any other types of flours in this recipe. πŸ™‚

Next up: Sugar. I try to give options to make my dessert recipes a little healthier, if possible. For your healthier option you can use coconut sugar, and the maple syrup in the recipe.

For the best flavor (think buttery pie crust) I recommend brown sugar, and the maple syrup (or more brown sugar, if you prefer). The choice is yours.

The almond butter in the recipe helps to hold the bars together better, without using even more butter. I would recommend a more natural (drippy and oily) almond butter, or another similar and neutral-flavored nut butter (think cashew, or sunflower if you’re allergic to others).

Last, but most importantly, read the labels for whatever jam you decide to buy. Quite often the cheap jam’s are filled with corn syrup (which if you haven’t heard the warnings lately, it’s not the best thing to be eating!).

I prefer to use my own homemade raspberry jam or even homemade chia jam. Chia Jam is the healthiest option and still works beautifully in these bars, even though it does take a little extra work it’s a great way to help cut back on added sugars and additives.

And hey, feel free to use whatever flavor of jam you like best! Strawberry seems to be the most people-pleasing around here, so that’s what I chose. πŸ™‚

To keep these bars dairy-free (and vegan!) be sure to use a dairy-free butter alternative in place of the stick of butter. Coconut oil should work okay too, but the flavor won’t be the same so I wouldn’t recommend it.

stack of 3 strawberry crumb bars with a bite taken out of the top bar.

Trust me when I say, these easy Strawberry Crumb Bars are filled with the perfect sweet Summer flavors that anyone would love! I hope you grab a jar of your favorite jam and give these a try. πŸ™‚

In case you need a good summer breakfast too, check out my gluten-free Lemon Loaf, Oatmeal Pancakes, and Peanut Butter Muffins.

A plate of bars on a table, with Strawberry
Print
Strawberry Crumb Bars (gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options)
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 
Servings: 16 bars
Calories: 221 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular flour)
  • 1 cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted (or dairy-free butter alternative)
  • 1/3 cup almond butter (cashew or sunflower butter)
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup (or another 1/4 cup of brown sugar)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup strawberry jam (or blueberry, raspberry, etc.)
Instructions
  1. To begin, line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper, with two ends sticking out for easy removal. Preheat your oven to 350.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt and stir them together.

  3. In a small mixing bowl, add your butter, almond butter and maple syrup and whisk together till smooth.

  4. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and stir together. It should be crumbly. Take 2/3 of your batter (about 2 1/2 cups) and add it to the bottom of your 9×9 pan. Spread it out into a thin, even layer, along the bottom to form a crust. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

  5. Take the pan out of the oven, and add your strawberry jam on top of your crust. Spread it out into a thin even layer, leaving a 1-2 inch gap from the sides of the pan. Take the rest of your batter and sprinkle it evenly across the top of your jam. Bake in the oven for another 25-30 minutes, or until the crumble on top is cooked through and golden.

  6. Let cool entirely before cutting the bars!

  7. Devour!

Recipe Notes

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, these last about a week.

stack of strawberry crumb bars. top view of bars.

All Recipes, Desserts, Gluten-free & Dairy-free, Gluten-free & Vegan, Spring Dessert, Summer Dessert

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. kamia says

    December 28, 2022 at 3:32 am

    Thank you for this amazing piece on Strawberry Crumb Bars; I love your writing style and feel every line of your writing.

    Reply
  2. Sharon says

    May 20, 2020 at 5:14 am

    Yum!!! I’m going to give these are try today!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

ABOUT ME

Hey, I’m Chelsea! I'm a Colorado Mom baking up simple, gluten-free recipes at over a mile high above sea level. Here you'll find healthy breakfasts and snacks, decadent desserts, and fun drinks. Join me, whether you bake in the mountains or not! Read More…

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Tweet
Pinterest
Instagram

Get NEW RECIPES sent straight to your Inbox every month!

As an Amazon Affiliate, some of the links on Mile High Mitts are affiliate links. If you click on one of the links and purchase the item I will receive a small percentage of commission, at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Copyright © 2023 Mile High Mitts on the Cravings Pro Theme