These better-for-you Blueberry Lime Crumble Bars are a little bit of summer in bar form! Bursting with fresh fruit and the sweetness of oatmeal cookies, these delicious, little bars are naturally vegan and can easily be made gluten-free by using your favorite GF all-purpose flour!
Vegan Blueberry Lime Crumble Bars
It’s been a long minute since I baked anything this fruit heavy – I’m basically on a permanent chocolate and cookie kick over here. But we love berries at our house. And blueberries have been on sale all summer, which means we’ve been hoarding an abundance of them in our fridge. Sometimes we don’t get to them in time before one of the little suckers starts to sprout a bit of fuzz, so instead of rushing to down a whole carton of blueberries, I’m baking them up in these easy Blueberry Lime Crumble Bars!
These bars are seriously simple. Plus, it will look like you spent more time on them than you will. You’ll whip up an easy dough that will be the base and topping for these bars. Then you’ll toss your blueberries in a few things, put it all together and throw it in the oven! I promise it really is that simple.
And they’re vegan and can easily be made gluten-free! In fact, my first recipe test for these was with an all-purpose GF flour blend. Totally delicious. The base of these bars is sweet and chewy and the blueberry lime filling is perfectly tart. The crumble adds a bit of texture and really rounds it all out. I love these so much I actually ate three of them the day I baked them, so I’m sure you’ll love them, too.
Some of the ingredients + substitutions for Blueberry Lime Crumble Bars:
Vegetable oil is necessary to hold the oatmeal cookie base and crumble together. Feel free to use melted coconut oil, melted vegan butter, or whatever liquid oil you’d like!
Coconut sugar is my go-to, low GI sweetener. It replaces regular granulated sugar 1:1, so, if you prefer, you can use your fave cane sugar instead (raw, brown, and white will all work!).
Maple syrup adds sweetness and moisture. Agave works well in its place!
All-purpose flour can be replaced with your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. OR you can use a ratio of 1/2 AP flour + 1/2 whole wheat or spelt flour for a healthier option.
Lime juice adds zest and a wonderful citrus flavor to these bars! Of course you can use lemon in its place.
Tapioca starch is a corn-free alternative to corn starch. It thickens the blueberry layer in these bars so you can cut them into clean bars without a ton of fruit juice leaking out. You can use corn starch instead, but you will halve the amount (I’ve added the exact amount to the ingredient list for you).
Vegan Blueberry Lime Crumble Bars
Better-for-you Blueberry Lime Bars bursting with fresh fruit and the sweetness of oatmeal cookies! These delicious, little bars are naturally vegan and can easily be made gluten-free by using your favorite GF all-purpose flour!
Ingredients
Crust + Topping
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil (liquid coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, etc)
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or white or brown granulated sugar)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (or agave)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour (or GF all-purpose flour)
- 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 tsp salt
Blueberry Lime Layer
- 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (rinsed and patted dry)
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar (or white or brown granulated sugar)
- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- Zest from 3 limes
- 4 1/2 tsp tapioca starch (or 2 1/4 tsp corn starch)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and spray an 8×8″ baking dish with olive oil – or other non-stick spray. Line sprayed dish with parchment paper, being sure to cut the piece long enough to leave “handles” hanging over two of the edges.
- In a small bowl, combine the oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a large wooden spoon or spatula until just combined - it's okay if it's crumbly.
- Set aside 3/4 cup of the dough for your topping. Then, firmly press the rest of the dough into the bottom of your prepared baking dish; set aside.
- Rinse your fresh blueberries and pat dry (if you haven't already). In a medium bowl, combine the coconut sugar, lime juice, lime zest, and tapioca starch until no longer lumpy. Add the blueberries and mix until fruit is well coated.
- Add the blueberry mixture to your baking dish, spreading the fruit in an even layer. Be sure to scrape any extra liquid into the dish. Sprinkle the reserved 3/4 cup of dough over the blueberries.
- Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until fruit is bubbling. Allow the bars to cool completely before removing from the dish. Using the parchment paper handles, gently lift the entire dessert up and out of the baking dish. Carefully slice into 16 squares.
- Store the bars in a sealed container at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Bars can be frozen ahead of time and then thawed in the refrigerator – be sure to pop them in the oven for a couple of minutes to re-heat and serve fresh!
Notes
- Feel free to replace the lime with lemon for Blueberry Lemon Bars. If you're looking for a less citrus-y dessert, leave out the zest.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g
calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate
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