Fruit Crumble Bars · Raspberry Oat

Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars

One buttery oat crumb mixture does double duty as a press-in crust and a crunchy topping around a bubbly raspberry filling. Frozen berries work just as well as fresh.

New, no ratings yet0 reviewsby Simmerbee Kitchen

Prep
20 min
Cook
45 min
Total
3 hr 5 min
Serves
16 bars
Level
Easy

Ingredients

  • Oat crumb
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (155 g)
    Swaps for all-purpose flour

    Instead of all-purpose flour

    • Gluten-free 1:1 baking flour: The same amount, a blend that includes xanthan gum. A little grittier and more crumbly, browns faster and dries out sooner.
    • Bread flour: The same amount. More gluten: chewier cookies and bread, tougher cakes.
    • Whole wheat flour: Up to half of the flour. Nuttier, darker and denser.

    All 4 swaps for all-purpose flour

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • 1 cup rolled oats, old-fashioned (90 g)
    Swaps for rolled oats

    Instead of oats

    • Quick oats: The same amount. Softer, more cake-like cookies and bars with less chew; mushy in granola and overnight oats.

    More for oats

  • ⅔ cup brown sugar, packed (140 g)
    Swaps for brown sugar

    Instead of brown sugar

    • White sugar + molasses: 1 cup granulated sugar + 1 tbsp molasses (light) or 2 tbsp (dark). The same as store-bought.
    • White sugar: The same amount. Crisper, paler cookies with less caramel flavor.
    • Light and dark brown sugar: The same amount, either way. Dark brown sugar tastes stronger and makes bakes a bit darker and moister.

    All 4 swaps for brown sugar

  • ¼ tsp baking soda
    Swaps for baking soda

    Instead of baking soda

    • Baking powder: 3 tsp baking powder for each 1 tsp baking soda. It rises, but bakes come out paler and puffier, cookies spread less, and the extra powder can taste a little bitter.

    More for baking soda

  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
    Swaps for ground cinnamon

    Instead of cinnamon

    • Pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice: The same amount. Mostly cinnamon, with ginger, nutmeg and allspice or cloves: a little spicier.
    • Ground allspice or nutmeg: About ¼ the amount. Much stronger and different, but warm in the same way.

    More for cinnamon

  • ½ tsp kosher salt
    Swaps for kosher salt

    Instead of salt

    • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
    • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

    More for salt

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted (170 g)
    Swaps for unsalted butter

    Instead of butter

    • Salted butter: The same amount, with about ¼ tsp less salt per stick (½ cup) elsewhere in the recipe. Nothing noticeable once you cut the salt.
    • Plant-based butter sticks: The same amount. The closest swap.
    • Refined coconut oil: The same amount: solid when the butter is soft or cold, melted when it is melted. It is all fat, so bakes are a bit more tender and rich, with no butter flavor.

    All 4 swaps for butter

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • Raspberry filling
  • 2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen, not thawed (250 g)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar, 50 g
    Swaps for granulated sugar

    Instead of sugar

    • Less sugar: Up to ¼ less in cookies, muffins and quick breads. Less browning and spread, a drier, more cake-like texture, and bakes go stale sooner.
    • Brown sugar: The same amount, packed. Moister and chewier, with a caramel flavor and darker color.
    • Coconut sugar: The same amount. Darker and caramel-like, a little less sweet; cookies spread slightly less.

    All 4 swaps for sugar

  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
    Swaps for cornstarch

    Instead of cornstarch

    • All-purpose flour: 2 tbsp flour for each 1 tbsp cornstarch. Sauces turn cloudy instead of glossy and a bit heavier.
    • Arrowroot: The same amount. Very clear and glossy; can turn slimy in dairy sauces.
    • Potato starch: The same amount. Thickens fast with a clear gloss; don't boil it long.

    All 4 swaps for cornstarch

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    Swaps for lemon juice

    Instead of lemon juice

    • Lime juice: The same amount. A different, more floral aroma; works almost everywhere.
    • Bottled lemon juice: The same amount. More sour and flatter; fine in cooking and baking, less bright in dressings and drinks.
    • White wine vinegar or white vinegar: Half as much. Sharper, with no citrus aroma.

    More for lemon juice

Different pan? Written for 8x8-inch square; rescale the amounts for an 8x8, 9x13, round, loaf or sheet pan.

Cooking for a crowd? Pans, timing and salt for 12 to 50.

Missing something? Tap Swaps next to an ingredient, or see all substitutions.

Steps

Kid helper. A child can do steps 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7: no knife, no heat. Steps marked “Grown-up” use a knife or heat. Cooking with kids

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
    Line (how to line a pan) Line a pan Cover the bottom (and sometimes sides) of a pan with parchment or foil so food doesn't stick and lifts out easily. 1. For a sheet pan, tear parchment the size of the pan and lay it flat.2. For a round cake pan, trace the bottom on parchment, cut the circle out and press it in.3. For brownies and bars, leave two long sides hanging over to make handles (a "sling").4. A little grease under the paper holds it in place. Done when: The paper lies flat with no folds where the batter could run under it. How to line a baking pan with parchment: mistakes to avoid
    an 8x8-inch pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides.
    350°FGrown-up: heat
  2. In a large bowl, stir the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
    Kid step
  3. Pour in the melted butter and stir until the mixture forms damp, clumpy crumbs.
    Kid step
  4. Scoop out 1 cup of the crumbs and set it aside for the topping.
    Kid step
  5. Press the rest of the crumbs firmly and evenly into the pan with your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup.
    Kid step
  6. Bake the base until it is just set and lightly golden at the edges.
    350°F⏱ Bake base: 12 minGrown-up: heat
  7. Meanwhile, gently toss the raspberries with the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a bowl.
    Kid step
  8. Spread the raspberry mixture over the warm base, then scatter the reserved crumbs on top, squeezing some into small clumps.
    Grown-up: heat
  9. Bake until the topping is golden and the filling bubbles thickly around the edges.
    350°F⏱ Bake bars: 33 minGrown-up: heat
  10. Cool completely in the pan on a rack so the filling sets.
    ⏱ Cool: 2 hrGrown-up: heat
  11. Lift out by the parchment and cut into 16 bars.
    Grown-up: knife

Tap an underlined word for how to do it, or see all techniques.

Tips

  • Blueberries, blackberries or chopped strawberries all work in place of raspberries.
  • Use frozen berries straight from the freezer. Thawed berries make the filling runny.
  • Short on time? Spread 3/4 cup of jam over the base instead of the fresh fruit filling.

Storage

Covered at room temperature 1 day, or in the fridge up to 5 days.

Make ahead

Freeze cut bars in a single layer, then bag them up to 3 months.

Quick answers

Can I freeze it?

Freeze cut bars in a single layer, then bag them up to 3 months.

What can I swap?

Blueberries, blackberries or chopped strawberries all work in place of raspberries.

Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

Answered from this recipe's own storage, make-ahead and swap notes.

Estimated nutrition per serving

Calories
190
Protein
2 g
Carbohydrates
25 g
Fiber
2 g
Sugars
12 g
Fat
9 g
Saturated fat
5 g
Sodium
80 mg

Whole recipe, 16 servings: about 3,020 calories.

Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 11 of 11 ingredients.

How we estimate

We add up USDA FoodData Central values for each measured ingredient as written and divide by the recipe's 16 servings, so changing the servings or units here doesn't change a serving. Brands, swaps, trimming and cooking all change the real numbers.

Estimated cost

About $0.50 a serving

About $8.10 for the recipe as written (16 servings).

Estimate; prices vary by store and region. U.S. average prices for September 2026 from BLS Average Price Data and USDA ERS Purchase to Plate prices updated with the BLS Consumer Price Index. Priced: 7 of 11 ingredients, 99% by weight.

How we estimate

Each measured ingredient is weighed as in the nutrition estimate and priced at the U.S. average: BLS's average price where BLS publishes one, else USDA ERS's Purchase to Plate price for 2017-18 raised to September 2026 with the CPI for that food group. Whole packages, store brands, sales and regions all change the real cost: treat it as a ballpark.

  • raspberries $5.20 ERS
  • unsalted butter $1.50 BLS
  • rolled oats $0.55 ERS
  • brown sugar $0.50 ERS
  • all-purpose flour $0.20 BLS
  • granulated sugar $0.10 BLS
  • lemon juice $0.10 ERS

Not priced (no official average price we can match, so not in the total): baking soda, ground cinnamon, kosher salt, cornstarch.

More dishes for less: cheap eats.

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Cleanup score 4/5 (easy cleanup): 2 things to wash, 8x8 pan, mixing bowl.

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