Raspberry Bars

These Raspberry Bars are sweet and delicious, made with a buttery crust, fresh raspberry puree, and a crumbly topping. They make for a stellar summer treat!

There is nothing quite so tasty as fresh fruit, especially when it’s in season. When it’s berry time I make as many fruit treats as possible! For some tasty berry dishes, try Classic Strawberry Shortcakes, Mini Berry Cobbler Skillets, and Berry Coconut Cheesecake Fools.
 
Raspberry Bars stacked on a cake stand

Delicious Raspberry Crumble Bars

Can you believe that it wasn’t until I met my husband that I started to like raspberries? For some reason the seeds and the tartness never really appealed to me.

Now I’ve come to really love anything with raspberries in it, though I’m still not a fan of those pesky seeds. Well, I went to Target the other day in search of some nice fresh fruit and they had a ton of raspberries! I picked up a carton and knew that half would be devoured, and I could make something yummy with the rest.

I remembered how good those blueberry-lemon crumb bars were, so I decided to make a slightly different version with raspberries. They turned out beautifully! Sweet, crunchy and delicious.

Step by step pictures for raspberry bars recipe

How to Make Raspberry Bars

CRUST. Whisk together the flour, ⅓ c. granulated sugar, and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in the 8 tbsp of butter (mixture will resemble wet sand). Sprinkle half of the mixture into the prepared pan, reserving the other half for the topping. Press into an even layer.

*Note on the Crust: 

  • Most recipes use a shortbread crust, where you crumble the butter into the flour mixture. You can do this with a food processor as you pulse the ingredients together. It will be a similar crust texture to what you would use for lemon bars. 
  • Or you can do a sugar cookie crust with a pre-made dry mix from the store

BAKE. Bake the crust at 350 degrees until the edges begin to brown (15-17 minutes). Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

PREP TOPPING. Meanwhile, combine the remaining flour mixture, oats, nuts, and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Mix until small clumps begin to form. Set aside.

*Note on Oats: Use rolled oats or old fashioned oats in the streusel. Quick oats or steel cut oats wouldn’t give the right texture.

RASPBERRY PUREE. In a small bowl using a rubber spatula, combine the jam, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and zest together. Spread the berry mixture evenly over the warm crust. Sprinkle with the streusel topping. 

BAKE. Bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown (24 to 26 minutes). Rotate pan halfway through baking

COOL & SERVE. Remove from oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil. Cut into squares, and serve!

Step by step pictures for how to make raspberry bars

Variations + Storing

Even though this recipe is absolutely divine as-is, here are a few simple ways to switch it up if you’d like to!

  • White chocolate: sprinkle the white chocolate chips along with raspberry puree when you’re baking it. It will make a wonderful chocolate and raspberry combo!
  • Lemon: make lemon bars and mix in fresh raspberries or raspberry puree.
  • Cheesecake: make cheesecake bars and add a raspberry puree swirl on top.
  • Coconut: add in around 1 ½ cups of sweetened shredded coconut to the batter, and top the preserves with the other ½ cup of coconut.
  • Vanilla icing: You can drizzle a vanilla icing/glaze over the top of the raspberry squares.

Storing / freezing? Store these bars in a tupperware container(with a lid) at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also choose to keep them in the fridge if you prefer how those taste. It might actually help the crust stick together better, if they’re stored in the fridge. You can also bake the bars, let them cool completely, place them in an airtight bag, and freeze them for up to 3 months. When you want to eat them just make sure that you let them thaw in the fridge overnight.

Can you make them ahead of time? Since these have a pretty long “shelf-life” you could probably make them 1-2 days ahead of time and keep them covered. These would make a great treat to take to an event, since they don’t have to be too sweet.

Two raspberry crumble bars stacked on a white plate

For more fruit dessert recipes:

 

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Raspberry Bars Recipe

These Raspberry Bars are sweet and delicious, made with a buttery crust, fresh raspberry puree, and a crumbly topping. They make for a stellar summer treat!
5 from 7 votes
Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Cooling: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 9
Calories: 295kcal
Author: Andrea
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar - + 1 tbsp
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 10 Tbsp unsalted butter - cubed and divided
  • 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 4 Tbsp pecans - chopped
  • 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup raspberry jam
  • 1 1/2 cup fresh raspberries - (12 oz.), washed
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp lemon juice - fresh
  • 1 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 X 8″ baking pan with a foil or parchment.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ⅓ c. granulated sugar, and salt. With a pastry blender cut in the 8 tbsp. of butter until the mixture resembles wet sand. Reserve half of the mixture for the topping
  • Sprinkle half of the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake the crust until the edges begin to brown (15-17 minutes). Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine the reserved flour mixture, oats, nuts, and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and mix until small clumps begin to form. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl using a rubber spatula, combine the jam, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and zest together.
  • Spread the berry mixture evenly over the warm crust, then sprinkle with the streusel topping. Place in oven and bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown (24 to 26 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking.
  • Remove from oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 85mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 401IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

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About the Author

Andrea

Hi I'm Andrea!

Hotelier turned Food Blogger to help make your life simple, one recipe at a time.

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Comments:

  1. The recipe says 10 T butter which are used in step 2. Then in step 4 it calls for the remaining 2T of butter??? I really want to make these but I want to be sure about the procedure!

    1. Hi Patti,

      Thanks for this, the recipe has been updated. It is 8 T in step 2 and then the other 2 in step 4.

  2. I just tried this recipe today, there absolutely delicious! I made some for a barbecue for tomorrow, so I can’t wait for everyone else to try them as well! I could smell the raspberries after I pulled the pan from the oven, so yummy will definitely make these again!

    1. Mmmm that raspberry smell… I can imagine it right now! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Hope they were enjoyed at the BBQ as well!