We’ve got a recipe for healthy berry oat crumble bars are naturally sweetened, dairy free, gluten free & vegan! They make a fresh and nourishing dessert, snack, or breakfast (so versatile right?). They consist of a delicious oat crust, a layer of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in the middle and more oat crumble on top.
We can’t wait for you to try this deliciousness yourself so we’ve added a breakdown of all the ingredientsrequired followed by the simple steps to make these delicious crumbles bars.
Ingredients required:
The oat crust and crumble
• Oats: We recommend using rolled oats for this recipe for the best texture. They are a healthy source of carbs, and are rich in fiber and antioxidants.
• Almond flour: I like baking with almond flour mostly for its taste. It also helps keep baked goods moist and tender.
• Maple syrup: the crumble mixture is naturally sweetened with maple syrup.
• Coconut oil: coconut oil is my favourite substitute for butter.
• Other ingredients: vanilla extract, baking powder and salt.
The fruit filling
• Fresh berries: I used a combination of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for this recipe.
• Lemon juice: the acidity helps balance the sweetness of the fruit, and it also adds a note of freshness.
• Cornstarch: adding a bit of cornstarch to the fruit helps thickening the juices.
• Maple syrup: I included 2 tbsp of maple syrup for sweetness but I would adapt the quantities depending on how sweet your fruit are. If they are a bit more tart, add an extra tablespoon of maple syrup; and if they are really sweet, only add one tablespoon.
How to make the crumble bars:
1. Make the oat crumble mixture, which will be used for both the crust layer and crumble layer. Mix your oats, almond flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk your melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix.
4. Once all the ingredients are combined, pack 2/3 of the crumble in an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper, and bake at 180C for 10 minutes. This will ensure that your bottom layer is “strong” and doesn’t get mixed with the berry layer.
5. While the crust is baking, mix in a bowl your strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, lemon juice, maple syrup and cornstarch.
6. Layer your berry mixture on top of the baked crust. Crumble the last third of the dough on top and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Let the bars cool a bit at room temperature and then chill them for about 2 hours in the fridge. This step is really important to have nice solid bars.
8. Once completely cooled, remove the bars from the pan with the help of the parchment paper and cut them into 9 squares.
Once cut, store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days (that’s if they last that long)!
