Strawberry rhubarb bars have a delicious oatmeal base, a strawberry rhubarb middle that’s both sweet and tart, and cinnamon oatmeal crumble topping. The perfect summer dessert – these are delicious with a midmorning coffee or a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
These strawberry rhubarb bars take everything you love about a strawberry rhubarb crisp – but in an easy, portable dessert. If you love an extra helping of the crunchy oatmeal crumble topping with your crisp or crumble, then you’ll love these bars. The base layer is essentially a thick and chewy oatmeal cookie. Then the strawberry rhubarb filling is the perfect combo of sweet and and just slightly tart. The toping is deliciously crunchy with a hint of cinnamon for the perfect flavor.
These bars are definitely more in the dessert category than a healthy oatmeal breakfast bar. But I’ve definitely eaten them for breakfast with zero reservations.
Making the Bars
For the Strawberry Rhubarb Filling
For this recipe, there’s no need to boil down the fruit before baking the bars. You’ll simply toss together the chopped rhubarb, sliced strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and a little freshly squeezed orange juice. The cornstarch helps to thicken the mixture, while the orange juice helps to bring out the juices of the berries and really complements the fruit.
Note that the strawberries and rhubarb will soften as the bars bake into one delicious fruity, jammy filling.
For the Oatmeal Base & Topping
The oatmeal base doubles as the crumble topping, with just 1 small addition.
- You’ll first stir together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder.
- Then stir in the melted butter. The mixture will be thick, which is expected.
- Then you’ll stir in the oats.
The mixture comes together with very little effort and without an electric mixer, which is a total win in my book.
Assembling the Bars
A little over half of the mixture is pressed into the bottom of your prepared pan. Then you’ll spoon/pour the prepared strawberry rhubarb filling overtop. The rest of the oatmeal mixture is sprinkled/crumbled overtop. You can pinch and crumble the mixture depending on how big of crumbles you’d like.
As these strawberry rhubarb bars bake, the fruit with soften and the rhubarb will become less tart. They will need to bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until the top looks golden brown and the juices from the fruit are slowly bubbling.
Baking Tips & Tricks
- I prefer to use fresh berries and rhubarb for this recipe as opposed to frozen. Frozen fruit will make the bake time about 10 minutes longer.
- The oatmeal mixture should feel slightly try and crumbly – that is expected and OK.
- Make sure to cool the bars fully before slicing. This allows the fruit filling to properly set and makes it much easier to slice the bars.
Love these strawberry rhubarb bars? Then be sure to try:
Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
Equipment
- 9x13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan*
Ingredients
Strawberry Rhubarb Layer
- 2 cups sliced strawberries measure after removing the cores & slicing
- 2 cups chopped rhubarb chopped about ⅕ - ¼ inch slices (about ⅓ cm)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (24 grams) AKA corn flour in the UK and Australis
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 ml) freshly squeezed
Oatmeal Crumble Base & Topping
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- 1 cup brown sugar (210 grams) light or dark
- ½ cup white sugar (100 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cup rolled oats I prefer large rolled oats
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking pan or line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang around the edges.
Fruit Filling Layer
- In a large bowl, toss together the sliced strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice so that the fruit is evenly coated. Set aside.
Oatmeal Crumble Layer
- In a very large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, salt and oats until you no longer see clumps of brown sugar and the mixture is even.
- Stir in the melted butter. The mixture should be slightly crumbly and dry.
Assembling & Baking the Bars
- Press a little over ½ of the oatmeal crumble layer into the bottom of the prepared pan to form an even layer.
- Spoon the fruit mixture overtop so that it evenly covers the oatmeal base. If there is a lot of juice in your bowl, you don't need to add it to the pan.
- Crumble the remaining oatmeal crumble mixture over top of the fruit layer.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 40-50 minutes, or until the top looks golden and you can see the fruit juices gentling bubbling through.
- Cool the bars completely before slicing.
- If you lined the pan with parchment, optionally lift the bars out of the pan using the overhang of the parchment paper (I always hold onto the long edges for easier lifting). Place on a cutting board and slice. If you greased the pan, slice the bars in the pan.
Notes
- Pan Sizes: This recipe can be halved and made in an 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) pan. The bake time will be closer to 35-45 minutes. There is not quite enough batter to half the recipe and make in a 9x9 inch (23x23 cm) pan.Â
- Frozen Fruit: I prefer to use fresh fruit as opposed to frozen for this recipe. If using frozen the bake time will need at least 5 extra minutes - you may need to tent a piece of aluminum foil over the pan to avoid the top overbrowning. I also find frozen fruit can introduce too much liquid into the fruit layer due to the ice crystals and therefore make the base too doughy.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bars can also be frozen. Thaw in the fridge.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 bar, assuming the pan is sliced into 15 equal-sized bars.Â
Nutrition
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