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!
Gretta
Followed the recipe as is. Might have done some slightly heaping spoonfuls of the cornstarch to the mixture of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Also added 1/2c. Sliced almonds to the topping. Soooo… good!
Danielle
I love this recipe, I’ve used it several times now. I usually use straight up strawberries and blueberries. I also really like to add a bit of oatmeal and brown sugar to the topping. I also use a little more lemon zest because it brightens the dish up more and tastes so good!
This is, by far, my favorite summer dessert to make!
Allison
That sounds delicious! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the recipe.
Z
I made this for the 4th of July and the bars were a big hit!! Super easy and delicious! I used a mix of frozen and fresh berries so I doubled the corn starch. Do you think the recipe would work with fresh mango? Thanks!!
Allison
It should work! I have made a similar recipe with peaches. See here: Peach Crumb Bars.
Najifah Tasnim
LITERALLY AMAZING!!!! In the past, making crumbles were a real struggle because the proportions on those recipes I followed were not the best but this was perfect!!! Came out beautifully and was delicious! Would recommend adding flour 2 spoons and putting 2 spoons cornstarch though!
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Kelly
Could you make this recipe with frozen berries
Allison
I think some readers may have tried it (feel free to check the comments). If you try it I would recommend adding another teaspoon or two of cornstarch to the berry filling. Enjoy!
Joslyn
Hey 👋 thanks! That was a fun recipe! The lemon zest is definitely key to success here! Lovely pot luck dish.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Sandy Cottrell
Great recipe and my family loves it. I have already made it 5 times all with slight variations of fruit but the base of it is blueberries. Yesterday I cut in 2 peaches and mixed with berries. Worked out great. So thank you for this recipe. My sister-in-law has now asked for the recipe.
Allison
I’m so glad! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Enjoy!
Michelle Casal
Can I use frozen berries?
Allison
I’ve only made this recipe with fresh berries. If you scroll through the comments I think there might be some readers who have tried using frozen berries. Enjoy!
TsFree
Excellent, they were a big hit with everyone. Recipe is easy to follow. Still yummy as leftover.
The recipe does work well with frozen fruit, just fully thawed and blotted away extra moisture first so it would not get soggy. I did not have lemons so substituted baking lemon oil instead.
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
Potter
Giving this a try in a muffin pan. Wish me luck! Looks so good.