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Strawberry oat bars combine sweet, jammy strawberry filling and a buttery, crunchy oat-crumble crust, making them perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert. These bars are easy to prep, portable, and great for using fresh or frozen berries.
When strawberry season rolls around, what are some of your favorite ways to enjoy strawberries?
I love to eat them as they are, sliced into salads, on top of yogurt, made into muffins, or transformed into refreshing iced tea.
Strawberry pie is another delicious option, but unless it’s a special occasion, I don’t usually gear up for an afternoon of pie-making. However, if you’re a fan of strawberry pie, you’re going to love these crumb bars!
The crust and crumble topping are rich, buttery, and have a slightly nutty flavor thanks to oats. They’re sweetened with brown sugar and aromatic with a hint of vanilla. And the strawberry filling for these oat bars is basically strawberry pie filling! It cooks up in a matter of minutes and is juicy, sweet, and bursting with strawberry jam flavor.
These dessert bars are a delicious afternoon snack or anytime treat. Plus they’re portable, so they make a great lunchbox or picnic dessert!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The hearty oat-crumble crust with brown sugar, butter, and a hint of vanilla. The process is simplified because we use the same fixture for the crumble topping and the bottom crust.
- In less than 10 minutes, we whip up a juicy strawberry filling that tastes like homemade jam. And you can make it with fresh or frozen strawberries!
- But the best part is, with strawberries and oats, you might just get away with eating these for breakfast, especially if you pair it with some Greek yogurt for protein.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Strawberry Filling:
- Fresh strawberries – When they’re in season locally, use fresh strawberries! Otherwise, frozen berries also work well. If you want to use frozen strawberries instead of fresh, there’s no need to thaw the strawberries first. If using frozen strawberries, the only change is to cook the filling for a couple minutes longer. This is because frozen strawberries can hold more water than fresh strawberries.
- Sugar – Use granulated white sugar. Sugar not only adds sweetness, but also helps the jammy pie filling set to the perfect consistency.
- Salt – Makes the strawberries taste more like strawberries, and also helps create a balanced flavor profile.
- Cornstarch – To thicken the fruit sauce.
- Fresh lemon juice – Brightens the flavor and also helps the filling set.
Top and Bottom Crust:
- Unsalted butter – For rich flavor and golden brown color.
- Light brown sugar – We sweeten the crust and crumble topping with brown sugar, which has rich notes of molasses that pair beautifully with butter and vanilla.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor and aroma.
- Flour – Use regular all-purpose flour or your favorite 1:1 gluten free flour blend.
- Oats – Oats bump up the nutrition, adding fiber, vitamins, and minerals. And they’re absolutely delicious! Oats add a nutty flavor here.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch lightens up the dough, resulting in a crisper crust.
- Salt – To make sure it isn’t bland.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To prep, preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 by 8-inch pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper so it hangs over all 4 sides.
- Make the strawberry filling. Add the strawberries, sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cover the pan and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and cool to room temperature.
- Make the top and bottom crust. While the filling cools, use a hand-held electric mixer to cream together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the flour, oats, cornstarch, and salt, and beat just until combined.
- Press in the bottom crust. Press about half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Add the filling. Spread the room temperature strawberry filling evenly onto the dough.
- Finish with the crumb topping. Crumble the remaining dough on top of the strawberry filling. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon oats on top.
- Bake. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.
Storage
Store these bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, move them to the fridge for up to 4 days more.
Pro Tips For the Best Strawberry Oat Bars with Crumble Topping
- Make it easy. Instead of making what is essentially homemade strawberry pie filling for these strawberry crumb bars, you can use 3 cups of store-bought strawberry pie filling.
- Switch it up. Or instead of using store-bought strawberry pie filling, use any kind of store-bought fruit pie filling you like, such as blueberry, cherry, apple, etc.
- Spice it up. Add up to 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the crust/crumble mixture.
- Go nuts. If you like, add up to 1 cup of your favorite type of chopped nuts to the crust. Walnuts or pecans are some of my favorites here, but almonds are also delicious in this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! And the best part is, there’s no need to thaw the strawberries first.
If using frozen strawberries, the only change is to cook the filling for a couple minutes longer. This is because frozen strawberries can hold more water than fresh strawberries.
Yes! If you want to add a touch more sweetness, a glaze on top is perfect here. To make glaze, add 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk to a bowl and whisk until smooth. You can add more milk if needed to achieve the right consistency.
Yes, these bars freeze very well. To freeze these bars, let them cool to room temperature and then slice them. Stack the bars layered between parchment paper in an airtight container, and freeze them for up to 3 months.
More Strawberry Recipes to Make
- Strawberry Macarons
- Low and Slow Strawberry Balsamic Pulled Chicken
- Strawberry Black Bean Salad
- Low Carb Strawberry Ice Cream (No Ice Cream Maker)
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Strawberry Oat Bars Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Filling:
- 3 cups fresh strawberries hulled and sliced (see Notes for frozen)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold water to make a slurry
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Top and Bottom Crust:
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats plus 1 tablespoon more for sprinkling on top if desired
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Strawberry Filling:
- Add the strawberries, sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cover the pan and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it comes up to a boil, you may need to turn the heat down slightly so it doesn’t boil over.
- After 7 minutes, add the cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- Cool to room temperature.
For the Top and Bottom Crust:
- Use a hand-held electric mixer to cream together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the flour, oats, cornstarch, and salt, and beat just until combined.
To Assemble and Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 by 8-inch pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper so it hangs over all 4 sides.
- Press about half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Spread the room temperature strawberry filling evenly onto the dough.
- Crumble the remaining dough on top of the strawberry filling. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon oats on top.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
- Cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Store-Bought Strawberry Pie Filling Substitute: Instead of making what is essentially homemade strawberry pie filling for these strawberry crumb bars, you can use 3 cups of store-bought strawberry pie filling.
- To Use Frozen Strawberries: If you want to use frozen strawberries instead of fresh, there’s no need to thaw the strawberries first. If using frozen strawberries, the only change is to cook the filling for a couple minutes longer. This is because frozen strawberries can hold more water than fresh strawberries.
- Add a Touch of Cinnamon: Add up to 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the crust/crumble mixture.
- Add Nuts: If you like, add up to 1 cup of your favorite type of chopped nuts to the crust. Walnuts or pecans are both delicious!
- Storage: Store these bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, move them to the fridge for up to 4 days more.
- Freezer-Friendly: To freeze these bars, let them cool to room temperature and then slice them. Stack the bars layered between parchment paper in an airtight container, and freeze them for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on May 10, 2022 and updated on June 13, 2025.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
Free Bonus
Can strawberry jam be used for this recipe?
Carmen, I haven’t tried this recipe with strawberry jam, but I think it would work well! I’ve experimented with it using strawberry pie filling, and that worked great. I used 3 cups of strawberry pie filling, so if you want to try it with jam I would use a little less because jam is a bit sweeter (I would try it with about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of jam). Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!