Raspberry oat crumble bars made with real ingredients like whole raspberries, oats and whole wheat flour are perfectly sweet, wholesome, and a simple summer dessert! (vegetarian, nut-free, dairy-free option)

Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars on a wire cooling rack with oats and raspberries scattered around them.

Given a choice between a chocolate dessert and a fruity dessert, I'll never pass up the chocolate option. However, I'm also smitten with a buttery, oat-filled dessert, especially when it's made with real fruit. And that's exactly what the delicious raspberry oat crumble bars offer up!

Why You'll Love These Raspberry Crumble Bars

These raspberry dessert bars are simply to die for. The raspberry layer is made with real raspberries, not preserves or jelly. It's extra thick and jammy and not overly sweet. As much as I love the raspberry filling, I'm also a sucker for a good buttery crumb topping. This one delivers in a major way, with the brown sugar and whole grain mixture pulling double duty as both the sturdy base and the crumbly topping. All together, it's dessert perfection!

overhead view of ingredients needed for raspberry oat crumble bars.

How To Make Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars

Make the Raspberry Filling

three image collage showing steps for making raspberry filling for crumb bars.

Place frozen raspberries in a colander to thaw. Once thawed out, use a spatula to gently press any excess liquid out.
Stir drained raspberries with sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Set aside.

Make The Oat Base

four image collage showing steps for making oatmeal crumble crust.

While the raspberries thaw, mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
Add the melted butter and almond extract and stir to combine.
Reserve ¾ cup of the mixture for the topping and press the rest into a parchment-lined square pan.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes.

Fill and Bake

four image collage showing last steps of adding raspberry filling and crumb topping, baking and cutting raspberry crumb bars.

Remove crust from the oven and spread the raspberry filling evenly over the top.
Sprinkle remaining oat mixture evenly over the raspberry filling.
Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, until edges are set and crumble topping is golden.
Remove from the oven and let the bars cool completely before cutting.

3 Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars stacked on top of each other.

Tips and Ingredients Substitutions

I love frozen raspberries in this recipe because they're available year-round. If you only have fresh raspberries, you can use them, too! Just lightly mash them with a fork and skip the thawing/draining step.
For a dairy-free version, use coconut oil in place of the butter.
You can use all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour.
This recipe works best with a metal pan as they tend to bake more evenly than ceramic or glass pans.
Store bars at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Raspberry Oat Crumble Bar with a bite taken out of the corner.

More Delicious Dessert Recipes

If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating in the comments!

Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Author: Kaleigh
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 12 bars 1x
Category: dessert
Method: baked
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

For the raspberry filling:

4 cups frozen raspberries (about 18 oz)
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the crumble:

¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Place raspberries in a colander to drain until completely thawed. Lightly press with a spatula to release any extra juice.
In a small bowl, combine raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Set aside.
Heat oven to 350°F. Line a square 8x8" baking dish with parchment or spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour, baking powder and salt. Add almond extract and melted butter. Stir until the dry mixture is completely moistened.
Reserve about ¾ cup of the crumble mixture for the topping, and tightly press the rest into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove crust from oven. Spread evenly with raspberry mixture. Sprinkle the reserved crumble mixture evenly over the raspberry layer. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes, or until edges are set and topping is golden.
Remove from oven and let cool for at least 2 hours to set before cutting into bars.

Notes

I love frozen raspberries in this recipe because they're available year-round. If you only have fresh raspberries, you can use them, too! Just lightly mash them with a fork and skip the thawing/draining step.
For a dairy-free version, use coconut oil in place of the butter.
You can use all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour.
This recipe works best with a metal pan as they tend to bake more evenly than ceramic or glass pans.
Store bars at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Keywords: raspberry oat crumble bars, raspberry crumb bars