Easy Blueberry Bars are the best dessert. Blueberry Pie Bars are quick to make and have a delicious filling, buttery crust and crumb topping!
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When you're craving a fresh blueberry pie but don't want to fuss with pie dough and the hard work that comes with that- these blueberry pie bars are a must try!
These Blueberry Crumb Bars are so easy to put together and even easier to eat!
Blueberry Pie Bars
Whether you've recently gone blueberry picking and you're wondering - what can I do with too many blueberries? Or you've got frozen berries to use up - blueberry crumb bars are a must try.
They're great with fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries - either one will work!
Why We Love Blueberry Pie Bars
These Blueberry Pie Bars are one of the best desserts!
- Delicious: Some of the best recipes are simple and still have a ton of flavor. Even though this recipe is made with only a few fresh ingredients it’s loaded with blueberry flavor.
- Cheap: With grocery store costs rising, this is a delicious, budget-friendly meal. Especially if you've hand-picked your berries or bought frozen berries!
- Total Comfort Food: When you need something comforting, this is the ultimate recipe! It's like blueberry pie - in crumble bars form!
Are blueberry bars healthy? These aren't a healthy blueberry bar recipe. They have lots of sugar and butter, which makes them delicious! If you're looking for a healthy recipe - check out this Healthy Blueberry Crisp.
Blueberry Crumble Bars Ingredients
To make blueberry pie bars you'll need:
- salted butter
- all purpose flour, white sugar
- fresh or frozen blueberries
- cornstarch
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon, ground ginger, salt
How to Make Blueberry Crumb Bars
Making blueberry crumble bars is easy! Here's how to make them:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking dish.
- Assemble the crust. Cube the butter using a sharp knife. Using a fork, combine butter, all-purpose flour, and sugar until a crumbly crust forms.
- Press the crust in the greased pan and bake for about 15 minutes until it’s golden brown.
- While the crust bakes, prepare the filling.
- In a large nonstick sauté pan, stir together blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the blueberries start to burst. Set aside.
- Prepare the crumble topping. In a bowl mix together melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and flour
- Remove the crust from the oven and pour the filling. Spread evenly. Top with streusel topping
- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until streusel is golden brown
How Do You Store Blueberry Bars?
Storing: Blueberry Pie Bars will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container. We don't recommend storing these bars on the counter as they can easily get moldy.
Freezing: You can freeze blueberry bars in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Serve a slightly thawed blueberry bar with ice cream!
Warm them up: You can pop your blueberry bars in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Can you make Blueberry Pie Bars ahead of time?
Yes! you can totally make Blueberry Pie Bars ahead of time. These bars are actually best made 24 hours in advance so that they can set a bit.
What is the best way to eat a blueberry bar?
These blueberry bars are delicious on their own as is! They really don't need anything, but if you want to warm them up and serve them with vanilla ice cream - they're even better!
Substitutions for Blueberry Bars Recipe:
Salted Butter: Butter is essential to this recipe. We haven't tried it with dairy free butter but it might work!
White Sugar: We don't recommend substituting white sugar unless you have to, but White sugar can be used interchangeably with brown sugar.
You can add 1 teaspoon of molasses to white sugar to make brown sugar. Check out this post on Sugar Substitutes for Baking for other ideas.
All Purpose Flour: We don't recommend substituting the flour, but you can check out this article on Cake Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour or Substitutions for All-Purpose Flour
Vanilla Extract: Helps to add flavor, we don't recommend substituting.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is essential in bringing the blueberry filling together, we don't recommend substituting this.
Ground Cinnamon: Helps to add flavor, we don't recommend substituting.
Ground Ginger: Helps to add flavor, we don't recommend substituting.
Salt: We don't recommend leaving out the salt. Salt is necessary for balancing sweetness and bringing out those flavors.
Fresh Blueberries: Fresh store-bought blueberries, fresh wild blueberries, and frozen blueberries will all work beautifully in this recipe.
Tips & Variations for Berry Bars
- Pie on the go: Wrap individual servings to take on the go. Pop one in your lunch, or bring a few on a picnic!
- Use lemon zest: To further enhance and brighten the blueberries, add 1 tablespoon of lemon zest or a little bit of lemon juice.
- Swap out filling: Swap out the blueberry filling with a lovely Homemade Fresh Peach Pie Filling, Homemade Apple Pie Filling or try this Homemade Cranberry Pie Filling or Cranberry Pie Recipe for a holiday pie bar!
Blueberry Pie Bar FAQ:
Frozen blueberries can be used interchangeably with fresh blueberries in this recipe. There is no need to thaw frozen blueberries first as the filling gets cooked anyway.
Pie bars are a fruit-filled dessert with a crust on the bottom and a streusel on top of a fruit filling. Baked and cut into bar shapes for a pie on the go!
Yes, you can use canned blueberries instead of fresh in this blueberry pie bar recipe. However, fresh berries are so much better than blueberry pie filling!
It's best to use cornstarch in a blueberry pie. The cornstarch really helps to thicken the berries and leaves you with a rich, jelly like filling that is perfect for pies!
Other delicious dessert recipes:
- Easy Pumpkin Bars
- S’mores Brownies Recipe
- Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling
- Mini Cherry Pies
- Easy Blackberry Cobbler
Blueberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- ½ cup salted butter softened, 1 stick
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar
Filling:
- 3 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Streusel Topping:
- ¼ cup salted butter melted, ½ stick
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a greased 9x13 baking dish.
- In a large nonstick sauté pan, stir together blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the blueberries start to burst. Set aside.
- While the filling cooks, make the crust.
- Assemble the crust. Cube the butter using a sharp knife. Using a fork or the whisk attachment on a mixer, combine butter, all purpose flour, and sugar until a crumbly crust forms.
- Press the crust in the greased pan and bake for about 15 minutes until it’s golden brown.
- Prepare the crumble topping. In a bowl mix together melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and flour
- Remove the crust from the oven and pour the filling. Spread evenly. Top with streusel topping
- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until streusel is golden brown
Kyle
So delicious and easy to make!!
Ellen Brookhart
These bars are delicious!!! They were also so easy to make! We used frozen blueberries and cooked them straight from the bag frozen and it still turned out amazing. You will not regret making these!
Pat
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for mentioning frozen berries. Didn't know whether to use them or not.
Pat
Liz @ Tasty Treats & Eats
Yes, you can use frozen berries - it says it in the post.
Kris
I made these. I thought they were delicious, but I had to make 2 adjustments. First- the crust would just not come together for me without adding liquid. In this case, I added about 3 tbsp milk. Second- I had to bake the crust longer as well as the bars longer. I added about 10 mins to the baking time for each. Maybe it was just me, but I thought I would pass along. Thanks!
Sandy
Has anyone tried to make these delicious looking bars gluten-free? If so what changes did you make or what flour did you use?
Liz @ Tasty Treats & Eats
I haven't tried it but maybe Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF flour would work?