These buttery crumb bars are filled with mixed berries and a touch of lemon. This simple recipe uses the same mixture for the the crust and topping making ait an easy dessert you can whip up all summer long.
If you love baking with berries this is the recipe for you. Every bite is bursting with summer flavors and you can pack them up and take them wherever you are headed.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Made with basic ingredients
- The crust and topping are made from the mixture
- Filled with the fresh berries of your choice
- Flavored with vanilla and a touch of lemon
- Great for feeding a crowd
- Easy to slice and serve
Recipe overview
Crust and topping: A buttery, lemon-scented dough is used as both the crust and topping. Press half of it into the bottom of a pan, and reserve the rest for crumbling over the fruit.
Filling: Here’s where you can adapt this recipe to suit your taste (or whichever berries you have on hand). I like a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries (as pictured). You can absolutely use all of one berry or a mixture of berries. Cornstarch thickens the berry mixture and a touch of lemon complements the fresh flavors.
Recipe tips
- Line your pan with parchment paper or foil for easy removal
- When grating lemon zest, only use the yellow part of the skin, not the white pith
- Mix up the types of berries to suit your tastes
- Chill in the fridge before cutting, this makes for cleaner slices
- Plan to make these the day you are serving them (ideally) or up to 24 hours in advance.
- If you love a crumb topping, you should also try our Raspberry Crumble Cookies
Serving options
These bars can be served chilled or at room temperature. Serve as-is or top with ice cream or whipped cream.
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Note July 2018: I changed this recipe just slightly. After a few comments requesting a larger quantity, I increased the recipe to make a 9×13 pan. I also added a bit of lemon to brighten the berry flavors.
More summer desserts
Recipe
Mixed Berry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Crust and Topping:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- finely grated zest of 1 small lemon, optional, but so good!
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Berry Filling:
- 4 ½ cups chopped fresh berries, see note
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- juice of 1 small lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 9×13 pan with foil or parchment, and butter or spray with non-stick spray.
For the crust and topping:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine granulated sugar, baking powder, flour, and salt. Add lemon zest, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until the butter is evenly distributed in small pieces and the mixture is crumbly.
- Dump a little more than half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use your hand or the bottom of a measuring cup to evenly press the dough into the pan.
Filling:
- Gently stir together all ingredients until well incorporated.
- Spread the filling over the crust, then crumble the remaining dough over the top of the berries.
- Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, until the top is light golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. For the cleanest slices refrigerate before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Marie
These look great! Went to make them and I only have King Arthur bread flour or K/A unbleached self Rising Flour. Can I use either of those? Do I have to make any adjustments?
Allison
Hi, Marie. I would try the self rising flour and eliminate the baking powder and salt (if your flour has salt in it already). Good luck playing around with it.
Jane
These berry crumble bars are amazing!! I used frozen berries and doubled the amount of corn starch as someone had recommended on one of the comments below. However, I think I used a little too much of the lemon juice ( I actually used concentrated lemon juice as getting fresh, good quality lemons in my area is a bit hard at this time of the year). Since the recipe called for the juice of one small lemon, I thought two tablespoons? But I realized that was a mistake when the middle part of my crumble bars turned out to be a bit soggy. However, it tasted great!!! So, next time I make this again, I might reduce the lemon juice to maybe one tablespoon or even one teaspoon. What would you suggest, Allison? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for sharing this recipe, too!!:)
Allison
Hi, Jane. I’m glad you enjoyed them! I think 1 tablespoon of concentrated lemon juice would be enough. Also, some of the moisture in the center of the bars could have been from the frozen berries. Next time try adding less berries (if using frozen), or just be careful that they aren’t piled too high in the center. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Jane
Will do! Thanks for the suggestion!:)
Jennifer
I want to make these for my father but he has to watch his sugar intake. Can honey be substituted for sugar? Or do you have a suggestion for a sugar substitute?
Allison
Hi, Jennifer. I would not swap the sugar for honey, the crust and topping will be too moist. You can try using some type of sugar substitute that is made for baking. I believe Splenda makes one. You want something that is going to be fairly similar in consistency to granulated sugar. Enjoy!
Jennifer Ashfield
Thank you very much! I will try Splenda.
Trixie
Went berry picking a few days ago and was wondering what to do with all the berries we got!!! Thankful I stumbled upon this berry crumble recipe— it’s sooooooo good!!! Please don’t skip the lemon juice and zest, they do wonders to the bars. We love eating them frozen since it’s not messy. I have saved this recipe for future use! ❤️
Allison
Perfect! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Julie
So easy and delicious! Thanks
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Sarah
Great recipe. Was wondering if i could substitute gluten free flour?
Allison
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. That being said, I have had luck substituting a 1:1 gluten free flour blend in other recipes, so my guess is that it would be ok. Enjoy!
Janice Sage
Giving this a go! Let you know how it comes out.
Tessa
If you don’t have a lemon just add 2 tablespoons of water
Chelsey J Thomas
This was perfection! I had a surplus of peaches, blueberries and strawberries, so that was my fruit combo. Followed your recipe to a T and it was so delicious! Thank you!
Allison
You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Deeds
I wanted to use up the rest of the strawberries we had picked last week before they were too far gone. This was perfect! Quite simple and a real crowd pleaser. I used Country Crock almond oil DF “butter” and mixed it all up by hand (wooden spoon to add the egg and vanilla and then a pastry cutter to cut in the butter). I did have to leave it in the oven quite a bit longer than the time given to get my fruit bubbly, but next time (probably SOON!) I will use more fruit and I think that bulk will help there, and especially with the liquid/cornstarch ratios which for me were a bit off (too much).
Overall, very delicious, multi-purpose, and will definitely make again! Thanks!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. 🙂