Over Memorial Day weekend, my parents invited some friends over for a low-key dinner party. Because Dad loves standing at the barbecue, arranging meat and veggies over the glowing embers, carefully turning them for the perfect kiss of char, he looks for every chance he can get to grill—especially during the warmer months!
With Dad in charge of the main course and sides, Mom took care of the appetizers. (She rarely looks forward to cooking as much as my dad and me!) Mom picked out gourmet crackers and crunchy flatbreads, a variety of soft and slices cheeses, fancy almonds, stuffed olives, and fresh dates.
One of the guests loves cake the way Mom and I love chocolate (it’s basically our favorite food group!), so Mom bought a fancy layered cake from a nearby bakery for dessert. She even selected the triple chocolate flavor—chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, and chocolate ganache on top—which resulted in virtually no leftovers!
As if that wasn’t enough food, one couple brought over baskets of freshly picked blackberries and blueberries from their backyard. Mom set out some alongside the appetizers and tossed more into her kale salad side dish, but we still ended up with a fridge full of berries…
So I turned some into these Healthy Small Batch Blueberry Crumble Bars! They’re supremely easy to make and bursting with naturally sweet summer flavor. They basically taste like blueberry pie (for a fraction of the work!) and have only 67 calories!
To make this healthy dessert, you’ll start with the streusel topping. Oats, whole wheat flour {or gluten-free!}, cinnamon {this is my current obsession!}, a tiny bit of melted butter, and pure maple syrup {like this!}. Stir that together in a bowl, and voila! All done with that part! Wasn’t that easy?
Psst… If you’re a true streusel fan, then feel free to double it for a thicker layer!
Underneath those delicious cozy crumbs lies the best part {in my book!}: the blueberry filling! Like I previously mentioned, I used fresh blueberries because we received so many from our friends’ backyard. Frozen would also work, if you’d like to make these bars year-round! Regardless of which option you choose, toss your blueberries with a bit of cornstarch to help thicken the juices they often release while baking.
Although I absolutely adore baking desserts of all kinds, I rarely make pies… Partially because I’m lazy and don’t feel like whipping up the pie crust from scratch! (And I’d rather not use store-bought ones, if I can help it!) Mixing the dough, letting it chill, rolling it out, rolling my eyes as it tears, realizing it’s the wrong size after putting it in the pie plate, starting over again… Maybe you’ve gone through the same thing?
So instead, I decided to pair these with a cookie crust! Basically a hundred times easier, if you ask me… So you’ll use white whole wheat flour (like this!) as the base, which has the same exact health benefits as regular whole wheat flour but a lighter taste and texture. Then you’ll sweeten your cookie crust with coconut sugar (like this!), which has a similar caramel-like flavor as brown sugar, and you’ll skip the eggs because they aren’t always necessary for extra soft and chewy cookies.
Let’s recap: cozy cinnamon-spiced streusel topping… fresh juicy summer sweet blueberry filling… tender buttery cookie dough crust… layered in a loaf pan and baked to perfection…
How delicious does that look?? ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your blueberry crumble bars and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Small Batch Blueberry Crumble Bars | | Print |
- for the topping
- ¼ cup (25g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- 1 tbsp (7g) white whole wheat flour or millet flour (measured like this)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 1 tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- for the filling
- 1 cup (140g) fresh blueberries
- ½ tsp cornstarch
- for the crust
- ⅓ cup (40g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp (15mL) unsweetened cashew milk, room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp (24g) coconut sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat an 8x4” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the topping, stir together the oats, flour, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center. Pour in the maple syrup and butter, and stir until all ingredients are completely incorporated.
- To prepare the filling, gently toss together the blueberries and cornstarch until the berries are evenly coated.
- To prepare the crust, whisk together the flour, baking power, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the coconut sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. (If it sticks to your spatula or fingers, then moisten your fingers with a tiny bit of water, and continue as needed.) Spread the filling evenly across the crust. Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the berries. (It tends to clump, so break it into tiny pieces as you go!) Bake at 350°F for 15-19 minutes or until the berry juices are bubbling and the crust appears to be done. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the bars rest for at least 3 hours once at room temperature before slicing and serving.
In the crust, use the following gluten-free flour blend: 2 ½ tablespoons (19g) millet flour, 1 tablespoon (7g) coconut flour, and ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work, if measured like this.
Agave or honey may be substituted for the maple syrup.
Frozen blueberries may be substituted for the fresh. The baking time may increase.
Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened cashew milk.
Brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
If you prefer a thicker layer of streusel, then double the topping.
I highly recommend buying an 8x4" loaf pan like this. If you don't own one (and they’re really handy to have!), then divide the batter between two mini loaf pans (they should be 5¾x3” in size). Do not use a 9x5” loaf pan.
{gluten-free, clean eating, vegan, low fat}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Crumble
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Apple Crumble
♡ Healthy Blueberry Almond Crumble
♡ Healthy Peach Crumble
♡ Healthy Chai Spice Apple Crumble
♡ Cherry Crumble Bars
PERFECT use for those berries!
Thanks Liz! 🙂
I just made this and it’s cooling on the counter. I snuck a taste, and it is AMAZING!!!!!
Thank you for posting such delicious (and healthy!) recipes!
Alec
I’m truly honored that you made these so soon after I posted the recipe Alec! That means a lot to me that you loved the bars! 🙂
Sounds deliouse, but I have family that have to be gluten and coconut/palm/pineapple free. What can I sub for the coconut flour? Should I use extra gluten free flour?
If you already have a preferred gluten-free flour blend, that should be fine to substitute Sue! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these bars!
these look so good and the perfect size to have at home! thank you!
My pleasure Marti! I’d love to hear what you think if you try these!
Okay, these look phenom. Perfect for a sweet treat that won’t sit around and tempt me all week!
You’re so sweet to say that — thanks Karly!! 🙂
Hi Amy, I am writing to sing your praises once again! These bars are super (naturally) sweet and ohhhhhh soooo good!! Love the different textures! They finished the same day I made them. I have been summoned to make them again! As always, thank you for doing what you do!
It’s my pleasure Carmelina! And thank YOU for leaving such sweet comments on all of my recipes!! ♡ Your kind words always brighten my day! And I’m so honored that these bars disappeared so quickly — and that you were already asked to make them again! ?
Looks delicious! I really want to double or even triple the recipe to bring this in to work and share. Could you give me any guidance on what size pan I should use, or anything I should keep in mind while increasing this recipe?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Sam! I haven’t tried scaling up this particular recipe, but I think it could work. Just double the ingredients and bake in an 8″-square pan. (You may need to bake it slightly longer to ensure the cookie crust bakes all the way through in the center!). 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these bars!
Hi Amy, the bars are delicious, I’ve made them twice already now. We are coming out of blueberry season so I am going to use your suggestion of trying the recipe with frozen berries – do they need to be defrosted first or would that make the crust soggy? Many thanks 🙂
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these bars Emily! That means a lot to me that you’ve already made them twice. 🙂 No need to defrost! Just wait until after you’ve pressed the cookie crust into the bottom of the pan to mix up the filling. That way, they don’t start to defrost too much before you pop the pan in the oven!