As always, I’m convinced to make your summer the most delicious one you’ve ever had. I’ve got you covered on all of the basics: fresh summer salads, easy side dishes, and of course, plenty of wonderful desserts. In the spirit of summer, we’re throwing it back to the most incredible gluten free raspberry bars, AKA raspberry pie bars, baby.
Almost 5 years ago I remember testing these bars countless times to get the crumble perfect and the inside just sweet enough. Finally, I got to a place where I felt like fresh raspberries were than anything Smucker’s ever bottled up.
To me, they taste like a Nutri-grain bar (remember those?). I think you’re going to LOVE them as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or a glass of almond milk. And the best part? They’re easy to make with more nutritious ingredients than traditional raspberry bars. Trust me when I say this is the dessert of summer.
Ingredients in these healthy raspberry bars
These lovely raspberry pie bars are made with wholesome gluten free ingredients, making them a perfect bar to bring to any party. The crumble part is easy to make and the filling is SO simple, yet so GOOD. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Oat flour & rolled oats: using both oat flour and rolled oats give the base and topping of the bars the perfect texture. See below for more flour options.
- Brown sugar: we’ll be sweetening the crust and topping with some brown sugar. You can use coconut sugar if you’d like but you may not get the best “crumble.”
- Butter: feel free to use regular or vegan butter to give the crust and topping the right amount of moisture.
- Baking staples: you’ll also need baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. The almond extract really brings out the delicious raspberry pie flavor, so don’t skip it!
- Raspberries: the star of the show in this dessert! Feel free to use fresh or frozen raspberries in this recipe.
- Maple syrup: the filling is naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.
- Tapioca flour: a little tapioca flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot starch will help thicken the filling.
Customize your raspberry bars
Not only are these bars easy to make but they’re also super easy to customize! Here’s what I can recommend:
- Try a new berry. Feel free to use blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries in the filling if you’d like to try a different berry flavor, or try my Blueberry Pie Bars or Strawberry Crumble Bars!
- Brighten them up. I love to add lemon zest to the crust and topping, plus a little fresh lemon juice and zest to the filling for an even brighter flavor.
- Get a little indulgent. A drizzle of melted white chocolate would be amazing over these raspberry crumble bars.
Can I use regular flour?
Sure! Feel free to mix all purpose flour or 1:1 gluten free flour with the rolled oats instead of using oat flour. However, you can easily make your own oat flour right at home using rolled oats — see below!
How to make your own oat flour
You can easily make your own gluten free oat flour by simply placing gluten free oats into a blender and blending/pulsing until they’re smooth and resemble a fine flour. This is probably the cheapest option. Check out my tutorial with all of my best tips & tricks. Always measure the oat flour after you blend to ensure that you’re using the proper amount called for in the recipe.
How to make healthy raspberry pie bars
- Prep your pan. Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper and generously spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Make the base & topping. In a large bowl, mix together all of the “crust” ingredients until well combined. Add in the coconut oil and stir with a fork until clumps begin to form and resemble a wet sand look.
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Form the crust. Place 1 ¾ cup of mixture into your pan and use your hands to evenly press the dough to the bottom. Place the remaining dough for the topping in the fridge.
- Make the filling. Add the filling ingredients to a pot over medium heat and use a wooden spoon to press down and break apart the raspberries. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens up and no large raspberry pieces remain.
- Assemble & bake. Pour the mixture over the crust layer and use a spoon to evenly spread. Then sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the raspberry filling. Bake it up until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden.
- Cool, slice & serve. Allow bars to cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to the fridge to chill. Use a sharp knife to cut into 12 bars and serve!
How to store raspberry crumble bars
- In the fridge: I recommend storing these healthy raspberry crumble bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- In the freezer: yes, these raspberry pie bars are freezer-friendly! Once they’re completely cooled, simply place them in an airtight container and pop them in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy one, just let it thaw a bit in the fridge before eating.
More fresh fruit desserts
- Almond Lemon Raspberry Poppy Seed Cake
- Strawberry Crisp with Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Crumble
- The Best Tart Cherry Pie You’ll Ever Eat
- Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake with Lemon Frosting
Get all of my fresh fruit desserts here, and even more bars here!
I hope you love these raspberry crumble bars as much as I did. If you make this recipe, be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram or leave a comment and rate the recipe below to let us know how you liked them. xo!
Raspberry Bars with Oatmeal Cookie Crumble
Ingredients
- For the base + topping:
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour (or sub all purpose flour or 1:1 gf all purpose flour)
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, gluten free if desired
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or sub coconut sugar but you may not get the best 'crumble')
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional to make it lemon flavored: zest from 1 lemon
- 8 tablespoons butter or vegan butter stick, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- For the raspberry filling:
- 3 heaping cups fresh or frozen raspberries
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour or arrowroot starch (can also use cornstarch)
- Optional to make the with a hint of lemon flavor: zest from 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and generously spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Make the base + topping: In a large bowl, use a fork to mix together the oat flour (or flour), oats, coconut or brown sugar, baking soda, salt and lemon zest, if using. Add in melted butter, vanilla extract and almond extract and stir until a nice crumble forms and dough begins to clump together.
- Place 1 3/4 cups of the mixture into the prepared pan and place the remaining mixture into the fridge (the remaining mixture will be used for the topping). Use your hands to evenly press the dough to the bottom of the pan.
- Next make your raspberry filling: place a medium pot over medium heat. Add in raspberries, maple syrup, vanilla extract, tapioca flour or arrowroot, lemon zest and juice, if using, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to press down and break down the raspberries just a bit.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 3-5 more minutes until mixture is thickened up and nicely coats the back of a wooden spoon. Pour mixture over the crust and use a spoon to spread evenly over the base.
- Take the remaining topping out of the fridge. By now there should be some nice crumbles that have clumped together. Sprinkle the topping over the filling.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden. Allow bars to cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to the fridge to chill. Bars are delicious served at room temperature or straight out of the fridge. Use a sharp knife to cut into 12 or 16 bars before serving.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on June 12th, 2018, and republished on May 17th, 2023.
58 comments
These are perfect for summer! I’ve yet to make a fruit dessert this summer…these are first on the list! I love how they don’t have a ton of sweetness…perfect to let the raspberry flavor shine through!
Hope you love these ones! And yes the raspberry flavor is the star here 🙂
Almond flour is mentioned in the post and in the recipe instructions, but I don’t see it in the ingredient list…am I just blind or it is not there? 🙂
I had the same question!
Updated: 2 cups almond flour!
It’s 2 cups — sorry about that!
Wondering how much almond flour to use!
2 cups — updated! 🙂
Oh my gosh these look gorgeous and absolutely DELICIOUS. Crumble bars are my jam especially during summatime! Can’t wait to try these 🙂
They’re so delish!! And agreed – the perfect summa treat 🙂
Any ideas if regular flour would work with the same end result, and if so, how much to use? Thanks!
I wouldn’t recommend regular flour because the texture will change. You could try hazelnut or cashew flour in place of the almond flour!
YUM! That filling sounds so delicious!!
It’s seriously sooo good!!
Perfect summer desert to bring to any occasion! Or just to make for myself hahaha!
Absolutely!! Treat yo self 😉
Hi! The ingredients only state coconut flour but the method indicates both almond and coconut flour. Should there be some almond flour too? Thanks!
Sorry I just saw the other comments, 2 cups it is 🙂
Vibrant and healthy beauty again :-: Thank you so much !
Enjoy!
I am completely on board with grabbing all the goodies at Trader Joe’s and then coming home to make these DELICIOUS bars! Ooh, so good. Maybe I’ll have to add some rhubarb too just for fun.
YES can’t stop won’t stop! Rhubarb would be delicious in here!
These look gorgeous and absolutely yummy. Crumble bars are my jam especially during summatime! thanks for your recipe
Hope you love them!
i love raspberries! and these crumble bars look delicious! Trader Joes always gets me with all their seasonal items! i want them all haha
They’re seriously sooo good! And yes I totally agree haha
I am a SUCKER for crumbles! These bars look like the perfect treat for any picnic or summer party. Then again, I could just make them at home and gobble them all up for myself, haha! Would this recipe work with other berries–blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.?
Me too!! They’re the best. And I think they’d be delicious with other berries!
Can you use whole wheat pastry flour instead?
These look amazing! Do the bars freeze well?
They’re delicious! I wouldn’t recommend freezing them (the “crumble” won’t be very crumbly anymore).
These look delicious. I am sure they are equally enjoyable both as a snack or for breakfast. Thank you for sharing this Monique.
They’re delicious any time of day! Enjoy 🙂
Any suggestions for sub for the coconut flour? Wanting to make right NOW but have everything but that.
Oat flour should work!
I have the almond flour but is there a substitute for the coconut flour?
Oat flour should work!
Made with changes. I didn’t have the almond flour or coconut flour (used 1.5 cups of AP flour instead). Used maple syrup instead of coconut sugar and frozen blackberries (strained after cooking) instead of raspberries. Haha. True story. All else I followed as directed using the cornstarch option in the fruit.
I realize I made some serious changes but figured if anyone else is curious what would happen if… they would really freaking good. Thanks for the healthier crumble recipe.
Glad those swaps worked out too!
What a flax egg work to make it vegan?
Great question, I haven’t tried it but I think it would work!
Made these for Mother’s Day brunch, they were a huge hit. We ate them w a little scoop of vanilla flavored coconut ice cream, yum!! Thanks for the delicious share!
Amazing! So happy to hear that. Love the idea of vanilla coconut ice cream, too – YUM.
Hi, Just made these for my company tonight with the fresh picked raspberries from the garden. They were delicious but I did not ha e enough crumble to cover the top & I did not use 1 3/4 cups on the bottom. What do you think went wrong? Is it really only 1/2 c. Of oats? Thanks for your fresh recipes. I’m making your Peach, tomato, corn, arugula salad tonight as well.
Hi Pam – yes the measurements should be correct. Sorry you had trouble. It sounds like perhaps too much was distributed on the bottom.
i made my family vote on which dessert i should make, and this, thankfully won! super yummy and easy to make!
Love it!!
So yummy!! The raspberries were nice and tart and I added some sliced almonds on the top for an added crunch. I want to add some lemon zest to the crust next time I make it.
So glad you enjoyed them! Great idea to add lemon zest 🙂
I made these once according to the directions and they were delicious.
Last night I wanted to make something using an old jar of jam so I used that for the filling and also didn’t have coconut flour and just left it out – turned out great!
So glad to hear that it worked well!!
What can I substitute for the almond flour and coconut flour as I am allergic to both of those? Would it be possible to substitute oat flour for the almond flour and buckwheat flour for the coconut flour?
Hi, Aaron! Feel free to use the crust/crumble from my blueberry pie bars recipe, which is made with oat flour. You can omit the almond extract in there!
These sound amazing! I have an egg sensitivity so I try not to eat them, even in baked goods. Do you think a flax egg would work or do you have another suggestion for a replacement?
Hi! I’d recommend using the crust/crumble recipe from these blueberry pie bars, which are vegan/egg-free! (Feel free to use regular dairy butter if you’d like.)
They wouldn’t last a week in my house. Although, blueberries would be our favorite to use.
The perfect treat! Feel free to add blueberries or try my Blueberry Pie Bars 🙂
This is a fresh meal that’s made and eaten at home. Here’s an easy one. To eat healthy simply means choosing to eat food that’s good for your health.