These Blueberry Oatmeal Bars are so sweetly delicious. Made with fresh blueberries, a shortbread crust, and crunchy topping, you’ll love the textures and flavors of these awesome bars.
Love fresh blueberries? You have to try them in this blueberry pie (VIDEO) or blueberry muffins (VIDEO) recipe.
Table Of Contents
Blueberry Oatmeal Bars recipe details
Every summer my family and I go blueberry picking in easter Washington. We come home with buckets of juicy ripe blueberries, so we make the best blueberry dessert recipes like blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, and we even make french crepes with blueberry pie filling. These AMAZING blueberry bars have become a staple in our home as well.
- Taste- Buttery, fruity, and sweet, these Blueberry Oatmeal Bars taste heavenly.
- Texture- The crust is made of a buttery shortbread, and the mix of juicy berries and crunchy topping is delicious.
- Ease- Even with three different components, this recipe is super easy to follow. It’s a simple treat with lots of flavor.
- Time- These bars will take a little over an hour, but they can be made ahead and frozen for a snack or breakfast on the go.
What you’ll need
For the shortbread crust
- Wet ingredients- Unsalted butter (cold), Brown sugar, Vanilla extract, and Egg yolk
- Dry ingredients- All-purpose flour and Salt
For the Blueberry center
- Fresh blueberries
- Brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Fresh lemon juice
For the Oatmeal crumble topping
- Wet ingredients- Unsalted butter (cold), Vanilla extract, and Brown sugar
- Dry ingredients- All-purpose flour, Old-fashioned oats, and Flaxseed
- Sweetened coconut flakes
How to Make Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
- Make the dough for the crust. Combine the flour, cold butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and egg yolk and mix them into a dough. (You can scroll down to the recipe card for ingredient measurements.)
- Mold the dough. Press the dough into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Then puncture it with a fork about 30 times.
- Make the filling. Add the blueberries, brown sugar, flour, and lemon juice to a large bowl and mix together.
- Add the filling to the crust. Spread the berry mixture over the dough.
- Make the oatmeal topping. In a bowl, combine the cold butter, flour, oatmeal, flaxseed, coconut flakes, vanilla, and brown sugar. Mix until the dough can easily be pressed together in your hands.
- Add the topping to the berries. Evenly press the oatmeal mixture on top of the berries.
- Bake. Bake it at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes, or until the top turns golden brown. Let it cool before cutting into bars.
Blueberry Oatmeal Bar Recipe Tips
- Use cold butter- To get the right texture and consistency in the crust, make sure the butter is cold. This will keep the shortbread from becoming sticky or too soft.
- Don’t skip the lemon juice- To get the right texture of the filling and also balance the sweetness of the fruit and sugar, remember to add the lemon juice. It is an important part of making these oatmeal bars delicious.
- Poke the dough- The crust needs to be poked before it’s filled and baked because if you don’t, the steam created during baking will have nowhere to go and will create bubbles in the crust, leading to uneven baking.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Substitute frozen blueberries- If you have only frozen berries, check below for how to prep them for use in this recipe.
- Add other berries- For a fruitier bar, add raspberries or blackberries. Just take out as many blueberries so the proportions stay the same.
- Add nuts- Try these with chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans for more tasty texture and flavor.
- Make them vegan- Just substitute vegan butter and ground flaxseed (or your favorite vegan egg replacement) for the butter and egg yolks in this recipe.
FAQs
Yes, you can. However, frozen blueberries will have more water in them, so to avoid a soggy crust, thaw them first before using them. If you have to use them frozen, toss them in some flour to help absorb excess water and allow them to distribute evenly within the filling mixture.
It’s very easy to make this recipe gluten-free. All you need to do is substitute the all-purpose flour with gluten-free baking flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour) and make sure that the old-fashioned oats are certified as gluten-free (otherwise there is a possibility of gluten in them because of cross-contamination during processing). That’s it!
These bars are absolutely delicious, with lots of fiber and vitamins from the fresh blueberries and oatmeal. But if you want to try a lighter version, you can make some changes to lower the sugar and incorporate healthier options, like using whole wheat flour, pure maple syrup in place of the sugar, or substituting applesauce or mashed banana for the butter.
Make these Blueberry Oatmeal Bars Ahead!
Make ahead: To make these bars in advance, wrap them individually with plastic wrap once they have cooled and been cut. They can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on how long you want to keep them.
Storing: Wrap the blueberry oatmeal bars in plastic wrap to keep them from sticking together and place them in an airtight container in the fridge. They will last for about 3 days.
Freeze: To keep them longer, place the container in the freezer and they will stay fresh for up to 3 months.
More yummy fruit dessert recipes!
Full Recipe Instructions
Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolk
- Pinch of salt
For the blueberry layer
- 1.5-2 pint blueberries
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
For the oatmeal topping
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 tbsp flax seed
- 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Combine together 3 cups AP flour, 1 cup cold cubed butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 egg yolks, and a pinch of salt. This will be the shortbread dough for the bottom layer of the bars. Note: If your shortbread dough seems too dry, add a tablespoon of ice cold water at a time to soften it up.Â
- Press the dough into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Then puncture it with a fork about 30 times.
- In a large bowl, combine 1.5-2 pint blueberries, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour, and 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice. Spread the blueberry mixture over the shortbread dough.
- In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cup AP flour, 1/2 cup cold cubed butter, 3/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal, 2 tbsp flax seed, 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Mix until the dough can easily be pressed together in your hands.
- Evenly press the oatmeal mixture on top of the berries.
- Bake at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes or until the top turns golden brown. Let it cool before cutting into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on June 24, 2016, but it has been tweaked a bit since then.
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Marianne says
Can frozen blueberries be used?
Dina says
Yes, you can. However, frozen blueberries will have more water in them, so to avoid a soggy crust, thaw them first before using them. If you have to use them frozen, toss them in some flour to help absorb excess water and allow them to distribute evenly within the filling mixture. I hope that helps 🙂
Lily says
These taste AMAZING straight out the oven. I do want to try it with less sugar.
Dina says
I am so glad that you loved these blueberry oatmeal bars Lily! I have not tested them with less sugar. If you give it a try, let me know how they turn out!
Donna says
Do you have to use flax seed in this recipe? Is there a substitute for it or can I just leave it out?
Dina says
Hi Donna 🙂 You can just leave the flax seed out for these blueberry oatmeal bars. Let me know how this recipe turns out! 🙂
Velvet Lang says
Recipe is delicious – just the right amount of sweetness with fresh picked blueberries. Have you tried making it with frozen blueberries? If so, how does it turn out? Is there any adjustments needed to the recipe when using frozen blueberries?
Dina says
Thank you so much for the fantastic recipe feedback! You can definitely use frozen blueberries, just make sure to thaw and drain them before using.
Irina says
Can I use frozen blueberries?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Irina, frozen blueberries will work too.
Tati says
Good idea overall; however, I am not sure that I would make these again without modifications. I thought there was way too much flour in this recipe, and they turned out quite dry. I would modify the flour content if I made them again. I was quite disappointed, and I bake a lot.
Natasha says
These were AMAZING! Not too sweet, yet full of flavor and not dry at all! I did add white chocolate drizzle on top for decor! I would recommend for anyone to give these yummy bars a try! 5 star for sure! Thanks Dina!
simplyhomecooked says
Natasha I’m so glad to hear the bars turned out well! Love the idea of adding a white chocolate drizzle!
Natasha says
Just made these and they are delicious! I would definitely recommend. I was worried it may be a little dry but the blueberries let out a bit of juice while baking that gives a great tangy complement to the streusel topping.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you for taking the time to write such a nice review Natasha! You’re so sweet 🙂
Marina says
Love the blueberry hills restaurant!! And their blueberries are the best I ever had.
simplyhomecooked says
I couldn’t agree more Marina!