Featuring a juicy blueberry filling and a buttery, crumbly brown sugar streusel, there’s much to love about these blueberry pie bars. The filling and streusel come together quickly, and the crust and crumble topping are made from the same mixture, so there’s no need to dirty an additional bowl. They’re easy to make, transport, serve, and freeze!
If you love blueberry crumble pie, but making pie crust from scratch intimidates you, this blueberry pie bar recipe is the answer. You’ll get the same delicious flavors, but with the welcome ease of making a single “dough” that becomes both crust and toppingโno finicky pie crust chilling, shaping, or latticing today! Dessert is served. ๐
These Blueberry Pie Bars Are:
- Quicker than many fruit fillingsโno pitting, peeling, or chopping!
- Easier than pieโcrust & topping made from the same 1-bowl mixture
- Super flavorful, with a jammy blueberry filling between layers of buttery brown sugar oat crust
- A great make-ahead dessert
- Another egg-free baking recipe
- Easy to transport, slice, serve, and freeze!
One reader, Cami, commented: “A family favorite and a hit at get togethers! Made with fresh blueberries and it turned out fantastic…will make over and over again! โ โ โ โ โ “
Grab Your Blueberry Pie Bars Ingredients
This is everything you need for juicy blueberry bar perfection:
Crust & Topping Made From Same Mixture
This step really couldn’t be easier. You need 1 bowl and a spatula (no mixer required!), and you’ll use this dough for both the crust and the crumble topping.
- All-Purpose Flour: Flour is the base of the crust/crumble.
- Oats: Feel free to use either whole rolled oats or quick oats here. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of oats to add to the crumble topping before sprinkling it on top of the blueberry pie filling.
- Brown Sugar: I love using brown sugar in a dough/crumble like this, because of the moisture and flavor it provides.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder keeps the crust/crumble on the lighter side. Without it, the texture would be a little too hard and dense.
- Salt, Cinnamon, & Lemon Zest: Small amounts but definitely necessary for flavorful bars. The lemon zest brightens up the blueberry flavor, and a touch of cinnamon adds a warmth that’s reminiscent of homemade pie, like apple pie.
- Melted Butter: Using melted butter makes this a stir-by-hand mixture (just like these chewy chocolate chip cookies!). It binds the ingredients together and provides the most delicious buttery flavor. Y-U-M.
Stir everything together until it’s formed large crumbles, with no visibly dry parts. Reserve about 1/3 of this mixture to use as the crumble topping, and press the remaining 2/3 into a 9-inch-square baking pan lined with parchment paper (which makes the bars easy to lift out and slice). I use the same tip when making rice krispie treats and M&M cookie bars, too.
Success Tip: Here’s a neat way to line square baking pans.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, to give it a head-start before you top it with the filling. While the crust bakes, make the filling.
Blueberry Pie Bar Filling
Grab these 4 ingredients:
- Blueberries: You need about 4 and 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries. If using fresh, give them a rinse. If you want to use frozen, expect a juicier filling. No need to thaw.
- Granulated Sugar: Just enough to sweeten the berry filling.
- Cornstarch: This is the thickening agent that works to set the filling and make these blueberry pie bars perfectly sliceable. It’s essential in classic blueberry pie and cobbler, too.
- Lemon: Zest it first, and then juice itโyou need both zest and juice in the filling. The fresh lemon brightens up the flavor. Without it, the blueberry filling tastes a bit… meh. (And we don’t have time for meh desserts!)
Stir most of the ingredients together on the stove for just a couple minutes, to begin dissolving the sugar and cornstarch. Cook and stir only until the berries are coated and look evenly wet. This doesn’t take longโwe’re not going for blueberry sauce here! After you take it off the heat, stir in the lemon zest.
Pour the filling over the pre-baked crust. Stir an additional 2 Tablespoons of oats into the remaining crumble mixture, to give it a little extra volume. Then sprinkle the topping all over the blueberry filling.
Now comes the hardest part of this recipe: the waiting. The bars need to bake for 45โ55 minutes, and then cool completely before you can slice them. I know, I’m sorry!
One silver lining: this is a great make-ahead recipe!
How to Cut Neat Squares
Cool baked bars completely, just like you would let a pie cool completely. If you cut the bars into squares while they are still warm, they’ll completely fall apart. If I’m serving these at a party or event, I prepare them the night before just so I know they’ll cool long enough to yield neat squares.
Lift the bars out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper lining and place the whole thing on a cutting board. Slice squares with a sharp knife and wipe the knife clean between each cut.
Serving Blueberry Pie Bars
I love the handheld nature of dessert bars, but remember, these are blueberry pie bars. They’re gooey, juicy, crumbly, and a bit messy. So I do recommend a fork and plate… or at least a plate and a napkin. Unless you’re willing to risk purple-stained fingers and clothing! *Sally’s Baking Recipes is not liable for blueberry stains.*
These bars are delicious served cold or room temperature, or warm one up and top with vanilla ice cream for an ร la mode experience! You can also top them with whipped cream.
For another easy but delicious alternative to blueberry pie, try my lemony blueberry galette next!
More Fruit Bar Recipes
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
- Lemon Strawberry Crumb Bars
- Cranberry Crumble Pie Bars
- Oatmeal Lemon Crumble Bars
- Apple Pie Bars (with Salted Caramel!)
- Raspberry Streusel Bars
- Cherry Pie Bars
And here is even more inspiration for dessert recipes that use blueberries.
Print
Blueberry Pie Bars Recipe
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes (includes cooling)
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is blueberry pie without the hassle of making a homemade pie crust! To prepare these easy blueberry pie bars, layer a buttery brown sugar crust, jammy blueberry filling, and a crumbly oat topping. The crust and crumble topping are made from the same mixture, so there’s no need to dirty an additional bowl. Cool completely before cutting.
Ingredients
Crust + Topping
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 cup (85g) + 2 Tablespoons old-fashioned whole rolled oats, divided
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 10 Tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 4 and 1/2 cups (about 640g) blueberries, fresh is best*
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (15g) cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line a 9-inch square baking pan (I love this one and this one) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Set aside.
- Make the crust: Whisk the flour, 1 cup (85g) oats, brown sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and stir until the mixture resembles moist crumbly sand and no dry spots remain. You will have a little more than 3 cups of crust mixture, or about 520g. Press 2/3 of the mixture (about 2 cups/345gโdoesn’t have to be exact) into the prepared baking pan. Press it into the pan with your hands, a large spoon or spatula, or the bottom of a measuring cup to form a crust. Bake for 10 minutes, and then remove from the oven to slightly cool.
- Make the filling: Place the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove and stir gently to combine. Cook and stir for 2โ3 minutes until the cornstarch and sugar begin to dissolve and the berries look evenly wet. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest.
- Pour/spread the filling over the warm crust. Stir 2 Tablespoons oats into the remaining crumble mixture, then sprinkle it all over the filling, and lightly press it down with the back of a large spoon or flat spatula.
- Bake for about 45โ55 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the blueberry filling is bubbling around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Feel free to cover and refrigerate the cooled bars for up to 1 day before cutting into squares.
- Lift the cooled bars out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into squares.
- Cover and store leftover blueberry pie bars at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can refrigerate the cooled bars before cutting into squares, see step 6. Baked and cooled bars freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan (like this one or this one)ย | Glass Mixing Bowl | Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer
- Can I Bake This in a 9×13-inch Pan? You can, but I have had better results baking a smaller batch, as written, in the 9-inch pan. If you want to make a larger batch, double each ingredient (only use 8 cups of blueberries) and bake in a 9ร13-inch pan. Increase crust pre-bake time to 18 minutes. Increase the bake time after adding the filling & crumble topping to 1 hour, or until filling is bubbling.
- Fresh Blueberries: It’s best to use fresh blueberries in this recipe. If you’d like to use frozen, follow the recipe as written and sub in frozen blueberries (do not thaw). Keep in mind that the filling will be much juicier.
- Update in 2023: This recipe used to call for 3 cups (about 525g) of blueberries in the filling, and 1 peeled and sliced apple. To make the blueberry apple version, follow the recipe instructions above through step 3. After spreading blueberry filling onto the warm crust in step 4, top evenly with sliced apple, and then sprinkle remaining crumble mixture on top. Continue with the recipe as written.
- Looking for a vegan and gluten-free version? Try my healthy berry streusel bars.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Humidity didnโt cooperate with the meringue roulade for this monthโs challenge but I loved these blueberry pie bars! Simple but impressive. Also adapted incredibly well when I made it with vegan butter and King Arthur 1:1 gluten-free flour
Super simple recipe but delicious!
These were easy to make and so delicious – especially when paired with ice cream!
Great recipe. Fantastic flavor! Easy to make, delicious treat. Recommend serving warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
These blueberry pie bars are delicious! They arenโt too sweet and the lemon zest really adds to the crust and filling. They taste good warm or cold and with or without plain Greek yogurt. Iโll definitely be making these again!
Fantastic recipe! So tasty, better than pie which I can never get right and now I donโt have to!!! Thanks for another great recipe Sally!!!
These are even better than pie! I baked it in an 8″ square dish for one hour. The 8″ dish worked, but the crust was a little too hard. Next time I would not increase the time in the oven. That was a problem with my method though, not the recipe!
Super easy and super yummy!
These Blueberry Pie Bars were a huge hit with my family, and they were so much fun to make. I did heap the cornstarch a little because my berries were frozen. The bars made the whole house smell incredible as they baked. Because my berries were frozen, I also chilled the bars in the fridge before cutting them, and they held together great. My partner and parents, who I shared them with, have been warming them up and topping them with vanilla ice cream as a little dessert in the evenings. My partner has also been taking them in the mornings for breakfast! This is a recipe I will be making many more times!
THESE are GOOD. Couldnโt resist and ate a few spoonfuls while they were still warm and oh my. YUM. I put them in the fridge now and canโt wait to try them after theyโve completely cooled as well. I used frozen blueberries and i think it worked great!
I made these a year ago and wasn’t that happy with them because they were mushy. But since it was the alternate recipe for this month’s baking challenge, I wanted to try again with a tweak. I substituted the 1 cup rolled oats for just over 1/2 cup flour. The crust came out great, and it wasn’t mushy this time. These are delicious with my one tweak. While these are delicious, I still prefer blueberry crisp, because it has fewer calories with all the blueberry flavor.
These pie bars were super easy and delicious without being overly sweet. I did use frozen blueberries and still ended up with a great result!
I made these blueberry pie bars and we love them! They arenโt too sweet and taste so good!
This recipe has been tempting me for some time, but due to past failures with berry recipes
I have resisted. I finally gave in and was not disappointed. Thank you Sally and team!!
This recipe is a fantastic treat, especially with a little whipped cream! We are blueberry fans and the pie bars had a ton of classic blueberry pie flavor.
I did not have a 9×9 square pan but used a 9โ pie pan instead – this worked out pretty well!
This recipe was so simple and turned out delicious!!! Definitely could see myself making this several times in the future. Such a fun alternative from a traditional pie!
These blueberry bars are spectacular! The hint of lemon made the depth of flavor light and delicious. Not only that, but they were simple to make and does not contain a whole lot of sugar!! We will make them many times over!!! I have a feeling they’ll quickly become a spring and summertime favorite!!
Sounds great! Thinking of making a blondies version of this. Blondies base then the blue berry filling then the crumble or do you think I need to put a layer of the crumble on top of the blondies, so blondies base then proceed with the pie as it is on top? Thank you!
Hi Rania, we haven’t tried it, but don’t see why you couldn’t give it a go! Let us know how they turn out!
Very easy and tasty! These are my husbandโs favorite flavors, so it was an obvious choice for the challenge. No fresh berries available yet, but frozen worked perfectly and did not create any problem. I will try it again with fresh berries when they appear.
Delicious! I used a mix of berries, part butter/part coconut oil, halved the recipe and made in muffin tins – perfect single servings. Loved how flexible the recipe is – and the easy cleanup.
Made this with frozen blueberries, worked well. I only had lemon juice, no lemon for zest. Sadly, it was missed, and my bars were a bit meh, exactly as the recipe warned, lol! I added some rosemary after the fact to try to make up for it. Definitely a different vibe than the zest would have been, but saved them from the meh-ness. Next time I will go get the darn lemon!
I thought this was a very nice and easy recipe for fruit bars. I did not remember to take out some of the crust for the topping until it had been in the oven a few minutes, but it turned out fine, I just readjusted the bottom crust. Next time I will definitely listen to the recipe and use parchment paper. I lost the first barโs crust trying to get it out without parchment. Lesson learned. Overall tasty recipe if followed correctly, haha!
Yum! I didnโt have enough blueberries so I added dragon fruit + strawberries haha. It worked!
The filling is a little thick, so maybe I would remove the cornstarch or cut down on it next time?