These strawberry rhubarb bars have a gooey sweet-tart filling made with fresh strawberries and rhubarb topped with a buttery oat crumble. I use the same crumble recipe for the topping and the crust, so it’s extra easy!
With fresh fruit filling baked under crumbly oats, these crumb bars are a bit like an apple crisp made with juicy summer strawberries and rhubarb. Even better, you can take these on the go!
Irresistible Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
I’ll come right out and say it: I’m not the biggest fan of rhubarb. But my parents are, and every year when we were kids they grew huge rhubarb plants in the garden. When my mom visited earlier this summer, I made her these strawberry rhubarb bars and she absolutely loved them. I think these bars would be just as delicious made with strawberries only, if you’re also on the fence. But in the meantime, rhubarb lovers, this one’s for you!
Why You’ll Love These Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
- One crumble, two ways. The easy crust recipe does double duty as a crumble topping, with a thick, chewy layer of ripe strawberries and rhubarb between the crunchy oat crust and crumble. It saves me the extra work of making a separate crust!
- Quick. These strawberry rhubarb crumb bars need just 30 minutes of hands-on prep before they’re ready for your oven. It’s an easy dessert that’s perfect for rhubarb season.
- Fresh fruit filling. Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb are a classic combination. This recipe has just enough rhubarb in the mix, while the fresh strawberry flavors shine through.
Key Ingredient Notes
These strawberry rhubarb bars keep it super simple in the ingredient department. I’ve included some notes on the key ingredients here. Be sure to scroll to the printable recipe card after the post for the full recipe details.
- Oats – The best oats for the crust/topping are old-fashioned (rolled) oats.
- Flour – When measuring the flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup rather than scooping it directly from the bag. Level off the top with a knife, and you’ll have the perfect cup of flour that isn’t overmeasured.
- Sugar – I use brown sugar but granulated sugar works, too.
- Cinnamon – Or nutmeg.
- Rhubarb – If you’re buying fresh rhubarb from the store, look for stalks that are firm and crisp. Colors range from bright red to speckled pink and even green, so it’s best not to judge rhubarb’s ripeness by color alone. Discard the leaves before you dice up the stalks.
- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed is best, but the bottled kind works in a pinch.
- Cornstarch – Or flour, to thicken the fruit filling.
Fresh vs. Frozen Rhubarb
Frozen rhubarb can be used instead of fresh rhubarb in these fruit bars. It’s best to thaw frozen rhubarb in the fridge overnight and drain it before you use it. I also recommend increasing the cornstarch in the recipe by 1-2 tablespoons, to compensate for the excess liquid.
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
I love that the deliciously buttery crust doubles as a crumble topping. It cuts down on prep time and makes an already easy dessert bar recipe even easier! Follow these steps and refer to the recipe card at the end of the post for printable instructions.
- Prepare the crumble. Combine the ingredients for the oat crumble and cut in cubed butter and vanilla until the mixture resembles cookie dough. Set aside some of the mixture for the topping.
- Make the crust. Press the rest of the oat mixture into the bottom of a lined 9×13” baking pan. Par-bake the crust at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes.
- Make the filling. Toss the diced strawberries and rhubarb with sugar and let that sit and macerate for 5-10 minutes. Afterward, drain the liquid, and toss again, this time with cornstarch, lemon juice, and the rest of the sugar.
- Assemble. Spread the fruit filling over the baked crust. Sprinkle over the last of the oat crumble from earlier. I like to leave some gaps so the bright red filling can peak out, a bit like a cobbler.
- Bake. Return the bars to the 350ºF oven to bake for 40-45 minutes. Let the bars cool and refrigerate them for an hour or so before cutting them into squares.
Julianne’s Tips
- Line the pan. Greased parchment paper is the best choice for these bars as the fruit mixture becomes very sticky and jam-like after baking. The bars stick to foil, so it’s best to grease your 9×13” pan extra well if you don’t have parchment.
- Use the right oats. Make sure to use rolled oats (old-fashioned oats) for this recipe. Quick oats will soften too much when baked, and steel-cut oats won’t soften enough.
- How to tell when the bars are done. Your strawberry rhubarb crumb bars are ready to come out when the filling thickens up and starts to bubble. The crumble should also be a light golden brown.
- Let the bars cool before cutting. These bars are super gooey when they’re fresh out of the oven. Let the baked strawberry bars cool completely to room temperature, and then chill them in the fridge before you slice them. This way the filling won’t ooze out everywhere.
Serving Suggestions
These strawberry rhubarb bars taste great cold, at room temperature, or you can enjoy them warm. When my mom was over, we topped the warm bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and had them with a cup of tea. They’d also go great with strawberry ice cream, or a dollop of homemade whipped cream. If you’re a dessert-for-breakfast person, serve these bars alongside savory brunch favorites like quiche, bacon, and crispy potatoes.
How to Store
Store leftover strawberry rhubarb bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Unfortunately, these bars don’t freeze well since there’s a lot of moisture in the fruit that makes them mushy once they’re thawed.
More Dessert Bar Recipes
- Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Lemon Raspberry Magic Cookie Bars
- Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
- Homemade Blondies
Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Summery strawberry rhubarb bars have a gooey sweet-tart filling topped with a buttery oat crumble that does double duty as the crust! It’s the perfect dessert to make when fresh rhubarb is in season.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups (192g) rolled or old fashioned oats
- 2 cups (240g) All purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup (224g) Lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5g) Ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 cup (113g) Salted butter, at room temperature, cut into ½” pieces
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) Pure vanilla extract
For the Filling
- 3 cups Fresh strawberries, hulled and diced
- 3 cups Fresh rhubarb, diced
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) Fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup (24g) Cornstarch
- ¾ cup (143g) Granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a 9×13” pan with parchment paper so that it hangs slightly over the long sides of the pan and lightly grease with butter or nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda until well mixed. Add the butter and vanilla extract and mix with an electric mixer or your hands until combined and is the consistency of cookie dough.
- Set aside ⅓ (about 2 scant cups) of the crumble mixture. Press the rest into the bottom of the prepared pan, covering the bottom entirely. Bake the bottom crust for 10-12 minutes. Until just starting to brown.
- While the crust is baking, In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries and 3 tablespoons of the sugar and let sit for 5-10 minutes, drain the liquid that has collected in the bottom of the bowl. Add in the cornstarch, lemon juice and remaining sugar and gently toss until everything is evenly coated. Spread fruit mixture evenly over the top of the crust and crumble the remaining oat mixture on top, leaving some gaps in-between chunks of dough, pressing it lightly into the fruit filling.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until filling is thickened and bubbling and crumble is golden.
- Cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate for 1 hour, or until completely chilled before lifting the bars out of the pan with the excess parchment and cutting it into squares. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
- Storage: Leftovers should be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve cold, room temperature or warm in the microwave for 20-30 seconds and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Do not freeze. These will not freeze well due to the moisture in the berries. Once thawed, they become mushy.
- Frozen rhubarb can be used in place of fresh rhubarb. It is best to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before using. Increase the cornstarch by 1- 2 tablespoons to compensate for the excess liquid.
- Lining the pan: Greased parchment is the best choice for these bars as the fruit mixture becomes very sticky and jam-like.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 414
- Sugar: 30.9 g
- Sodium: 251.9 mg
- Fat: 15.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 62.3 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 4.8 g
- Cholesterol: 40.7 mg
I am so excited to make this item! Years ago I was given a bar dessert made with raspberries. The recipe was not shared. I am a person who needs a recipe. I am going to make your recipe this week and then substitute raspberries in the next effort! Thank you for posting!
Wonderful! Do let me know how it goes with the raspberries
I really liked this recipe! I only gave it 4 stars because I had to use a smaller pan. I made mine gf and used vegan butter. I cut the sugar in the filling at it paired great with ice cream! (oat) It took about the same amount of effort as pie. Not sure which I prefer.
I’ve made this numerous times, it is fantastic! Just a great combination of delicious items! Very easy. 😀✔️
Thank you Jeff! That’s wonderful to hear!
Easy!!! And amazingly delicious mmmmm
Thanks for sharing your feedback Deborah!
I’m sorry this didn’t work for you
Made today. Used parchment paper and greased it, had no trouble getting bars removed from pan by doing this step. Bars tasted fine alone, but were really good when served with vanilla ice cream! This recipe is a healthier alternative than several other rhubarb torte dessert recipes I usually make that require heavy amounts of eggs and sugar. Reminds me a chewy granola bar with fruit.
Wonderful, thank you for sharing!
Our absolute new fav recipe. Made it three times already in the last two weeks!
I made these amazing tasting bars! Although I did not have any fresh strawberries I did cut up a bunch and freeze them so I just used them, it didn’t make the final product a bit less than satisfactory but maybe with a bit more corn starch for the frozen berries it’ll do just fine! I also made the recipe and used blueberries and boy howdy those bars turned out perfect!!! I cooked both for recommended time, I absolutely love these and will be making them regularly 🙂
That is awesome Shelby! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds wonderful Bunny! Enjoy!
Made these today with my end of summer rhubarb. They were delicious! Used parchment, baked for full recommended time, the crust was crisp and chewy — perfect!
Hi Julie, that is so wonderful! I am glad you enjoyed them!
Hi Max, thank you for you comments. Approximately 2 weeks ago (after the 2nd comment), I reached out the person who created this recipe and asked if she could retest and make adjustments given the comments about the bars being too soft. Just this week she sent me revisions, and today I have updated the recipe accordingly. I am so sorry that you experienced trouble with these and I hope you’ll try is again with the adjustment that have been made.
Hi there, and thank you for letting me know. I’ve contacted Ashley, who shared this recipe on my site and I am asking her for some advice. I might recommend using parchment paper instead of tinfoil
Hi Spring, I just wanted to thank you for your feedback and let you know that the recipe has been updated. Ashley re-made these and made the necessary adjustments
Hi Judy, thanks for sharing your feedback. This was a recipe contributed to my site, but I will defiantly ask her if she has any suggestions. You thing you might try is using parchment paper instead of foil.
Hi Judy- I just wanted to let you know the recipe has been updated