These easy Strawberry Crumb Bars, with a buttery crust, sweet fresh strawberry filling, and crunchy butter crumb topping make wonderful dessert bars for an afternoon snack, or to take to a summer party, picnic, or potluck.
Why Make Strawberry Crumb Bars?
It is Saturday, the day of my friend’s party, and she tells me to bring a dessert to the party. no worries! There are a number of delicious quick and easy desserts for me to choose from.
However, these Strawberry Crumb Bars are easy to make, especially if you have fresh strawberries, on hand and are super delicious, and I never have leftovers. I like to serve them as a dessert to go with some of my other favorite foods, like Chicken Empanadas, Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings, or Mahi Mahi.
If you have followed my blog, you will notice that my desserts are usually simple. Often magic bars, fruit bars, or brownies. Nothing complicated. I saw no reason to change that trend. After all, my blog is all about fast, easy, and flavorful recipes.
Strawberry Season (Strawberry Picking Season)
It is strawberry season!! If you are close to one, I highly recommend traveling to the local strawberry farm to pick strawberries. It is so much fun and the strawberries are so fresh and juicy. We have one just outside of town that we love to visit in the Spring. Of course, if you can’t make it to the strawberry farm, just swing by the grocery store where they usually have the fresh strawberries during strawberry season.
There is just something about the juicy, sweet strawberries in the spring and summer that makes me want to serve them in as many things as possible, especially desserts, like the Mini Strawberry Pretzel Desserts and Strawberry Cheesecake Salad, in addition to these Strawberry Crumb Bars.
What Makes This Strawberry Crumb Bars Recipe Work?
These Strawberry Crumb Bars have lots of flavor from sweet fresh strawberries and a buttery crumb crust and topping. Why this recipe works?
- Fresh Strawberries. If you have fresh strawberries on hand, use them. The sweet strawberry filling really makes this dessert.
- Buttery crumb crust. When combined with the sweet strawberries, this buttery crumb crust makes the Strawberry bars extraordinary.
- Tried and true recipe. Don’t take my word about how good this recipe is. Read a couple of the 88 comments from some of the over 200,000 people who pinned this recipe on Pinterest.
I adapted these Strawberry Crumb Bars from my Blueberry Crumb Bars recipe by using fresh strawberries instead of blueberries. Both taste amazing.
I also used only white sugar for these Strawberry Crumb Bars instead of using a combination of white and brown sugar.
The Strawberry Crumb Bars take a little longer than the Blueberry Crumb Bars because you have to chop the fresh strawberries. However, the end result is totally worth the effort.
What Ingredients Do I Need To Make Strawberry Crumb Bars?
See the recipe card at the bottom of the blog post for the specific measurements of each ingredient, as well as detailed instructions for how to make the Strawberry Crumb Bars.
- Granulated Sugar
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Strawberries
- Cornstarch
What Type of Strawberries To Use For Strawberry Crumb Bars?
- Fresh – The first and recommended option would be to use fresh strawberries. That is what I used when testing this recipe and they work really well.
- Frozen – Some readers have successfully used frozen strawberries, I recommend draining any excess liquid from them before using in the recipe.
- Preserves – A few readers have said they used Strawberry preserves for the filling and loved the bars. I think that would change the taste and texture some from the original recipe but would still be good.
How To Make Strawberry Crumb Bars
- Make the Crumb Crust and Topping.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a smaller bowl, beat an egg with a fork.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the medium bowl with the flour mixture and stir.
- With a fork or a pastry cutter, cut VERY COLD butter into the flour mixture. The dough will be very crumbly. (You could also use a food processor for this step.)
- Make the Strawberry Filling.
- In a separate bowl, stir together 1/3 cup sugar with the cornstarch.
- Spoon in the fresh strawberries.
- Stir until it is combined.
- Assemble the Strawberry Crumb Bars in the baking pan.
- Press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan.
- Spoon in the strawberry mixture evenly over the dough.
- Crumble the remaining dough over the strawberry mixture. It is ok to not cover all the strawberries.
- Bake the Strawberry Crumb Bars.
- Bake the Strawberry Crumb Bars in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 45 minutes or until the crumb topping is a light golden brown.
- Cool the Strawberry Crumb Bars.
- Let the Strawberry Crumb Bars cool for about 10 minutes and cut into bars.
NOTE: See the video and detailed written instructions in the printable recipe card below. (Scroll down for a printable recipe.)
Recipe Tips For Perfect Strawberry Crumb Bars
- Fresh Strawberries. As stated above, for the best taste, sweetness, and texture, I recommend using fresh strawberries if they are available.
- Make sure your butter is very cold. This is extremely important to get the crumb crust to be the correct consistency. If the butter is warm, it starts melting too soon.
- Make Sure Baking Powder is fresh. Yes, baking powder can go bad after a period of time. Check the date and make sure the baking powder you are using is fresh.
- Don’t overwork the crumb topping. This also will make the butter melt too soon.
- Parchment Paper. Place parchment paper in the bottom of your baking dish and let the paper hang over the sides. This will make it easier to remove the strawberry crumb bars after they are baked.
- Use your food processor for perfect crumb consistency without the work. It just makes it a little easier.
- Be patient. Patiently wait for these to bake and cool.
- Double The Recipe.  If you have a crowd to feed, you can easily double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 baking dish. Just change the number of servings in the recipe card below from 9 to 18 to double the amounts of the ingredients.
Other Strawberry Dessert Recipes You May Like
Before you make this recipe, be sure to check out our other similar recipes, and continue scrolling down for the Strawberry Crumb Bars printable recipe below.
- Strawberry Bread – This sweet, moist Strawberry Bread is a fantastic quick bread to make when you have fresh strawberries on hand.
- Strawberry Cheesecake Salad – This Strawberry Cheesecake Salad is like a strawberry cheesecake in a bowl and makes a delicious and easy no-bake dessert.
- Baked Glazed Strawberry Donuts – These Baked Glazed Strawberry Donuts, with their sweet, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness, are baked and not fried, and are perfect for breakfast or dessert.
- Strawberry Pretzel Dessert Mini Parfaits – Strawberry Pretzel Dessert Mini Parfaits are a lightened up version of the traditional Strawberry Pretzel Dessert (or Salad) made with Greek yogurt and served in portion-controlled sized mini mason jars.
- Strawberry Margarita Pie – This delicious no-bake Strawberry Margarita Pie is a cool summer dessert that won’t heat up your kitchen.
Other Dessert Bar Recipes To Try
If you like these Strawberry Crumb Bars, be sure to try these other dessert bar recipes.
- Blueberry Crumb Bars, which were the inspiration for the Strawberry Crumb Bars.
- Lemon Crumb Bars make perfect crumb bars for Spring and Summer!
- Chocolate Chip Caramel Crumb Bars – Chocolate Chip Caramel Crumb Bars are buttery, chocolate-y, caramel-y, crumbly cookie bars made with chocolate chips and caramel bits with a buttery crumb crust that melts in your mouth.
- Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars! Inspired by the Mexican dessert called sopapillas, these Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars have a sweet, creamy cheesecake filling tucked between 2 crescent roll pastry sheets, and are topped with butter, cinnamon, and sugar and drizzled with honey.
For more recipes to serve in the fall and year around, you may like Pumpkin Fluff and Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding or  old fashioned Chess Pie.
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Recipe
Strawberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup very cold butter, (8 Tablespoons or 1 stick of butter)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place parchment paper on the bottom of the 8x8 pan that hangs over the side of the pan. (This is to make it easier to remove the Strawberry Crumb Bars after cooking.)
- In a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 cup white sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a fork or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture. (VERY IMPORTANT:  Make sure the butter is very cold.) Work with the dough until the pieces are very small. Dough will be crumbly. You can also pulse in a food processor to until you get pea sized crumbs.
- In a separate measuring cup or small bowl, beat an egg with a fork. Add the egg and vanilla to the flour mixture, and combine until you have a crumbly mixture.
- Pat half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- In another bowl, stir together 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the strawberries.
- Spoon the strawberry mixture evenly over the bottom crust.
- Crumble the remaining dough over the strawberry filling layer.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly golden brown. (My oven runs hot and baked in about 38 minutes.)
- Cool completely before cutting into squares. I recommend refrigerating until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- It is very important that your butter be very cold. Also, when working with the crumb crust, be careful not to over work it because you don't want your hands to warm up the crust. You want the crust to be very cold.
- The sweetness of the strawberries used matters. If your strawberries are not very sweet, you may need to increase the amount of sugar used in step 7 to about 1/2 a cup.
- You can easily double the ingredients to make a 9x13 pan of the Strawberry Crumb Bars. Just change the number of servings above and it will adjust the amounts of the ingredients.Â
Nutrition
The original post was published July 5, 2015, and updated April 3, 2019.
Tami Black says
Your pictures actually made my mouth water. I’m definitely making these!
pam says
can frozen strawberries be used instead of fresh ?
Michele says
I have not made it with frozen strawberries before, but I’m sure it would work if you thawed them first.
Barbara says
This looks very easy and delicious but no where in your recipe does it say to chop the strawberries. I usually just go straight to the recipe but happened to read your intro and saw that it said you need to chop them. Is it 2 cups of whole strawberries and then you chop them or is it 2 cups of chopped strawberries? Thanks
Michele says
Hi Barbara, thanks for bring that to my attention. I added that step to the instructions. So you start with 2 cups of strawberries and then chop them. I hope that helps.
Barbara says
Thanks so much for the quick response
Michele says
You’re welcome. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.
Barbara says
I just wanted to let you know this is now probably our favorite dessert. It is so good, You definitely get in a good workout when you cut in the butter but it is so worth it. I’ve made it twice in three days and it doesn’t last the night, Thank you for posting this recipe,
Jennifer says
Hi I just picked fresh strawberries, and sliced them already, do you know how many cups of already sliced strawberries?
Michele says
Hi Jennifer, how lucky you are to pick fresh strawberries. Use 2 cups.
Jessica says
Hi. Could I make it even more simple & use box cake mix? LOL I coupon so I have LOTS of cake mixes. If you do think it would work, how? TIA 🙂
Michele says
Hi Jessica. I have not tried it with a cake mix, but it would probably work. I’m not sure if the taste would be as good. However, give it a try and come back and let us know how it worked out.
Karen Robinson says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it today and the crumb bars are absolutely delicious!! Easy to make also.
Liz says
These look so good! I can’t wait to try out the recipe!
Lydia says
Do I need to use real butter or can I use a margarine ? For the crumb crust and topping to come out crumbly ?
Michele says
Hi Lydia. I have not tried it with margarine. I think it would probably taste better with butter, but margarine should work.
Taylor says
Hi Michele,
We just attempted to make these, and for some reason the dough never became crumbly and when it was cooked, it all went into the strawberries and now there is no base and no topping. Any idea what could have caused this? Thank you!!
Michele says
Hi Taylor. I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out as expected. One thing that is important for the crumb crust is that the butter should be very cold when you cut it into the crumb mixture. If the butter is at room temperature or has been melted when added to the crumb mixture it could do that. I have updated the instructions to clarify that the butter should be cold.
Alissa says
Excellent! I was given a bunch of strawberries and I wanted to make a dessert with them. So glad I found this one! I doubled the recipe so I could make it in a 13×9 pan. Came out beautifully, thank you!
Michele says
Alissa, I’m so happy you liked them. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Tanya says
I’m assuming you put 1/2 c sugar in first mix and the 1/3 c sugar with berries? Doesn’t clarify in directions. First list of ingredient says 3/4 c sugar-when you read your list you have 1/2 c and 1/3 c sugar but you don’t say which goes where!
Michele says
Hi Tanya, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I updated the instructions to clarify that 1/2 cup sugar goes in the flour mixture, and 1/3 cup goes in with the strawberries and cornstarch. I’m not sure where you are seeing 3/4 cup sugar. That is not listed in my blog post. Maybe Pinterest included that in the ingredients. However, I don’t control how Pinterest displays the ingredients.
Allison says
This recipe looks delicious! If I make this recipe on a Friday, do you think it will keep in the fridge until a picnic on Sunday? I have a bunch of strawberries and so little time!
Michele says
If you and your family can resist them for that long, I think they should last in the refrigerator for 2 days if they are covered. 🙂
Chelsie says
Hello! I’m fairly new to the baking scene, but this recipe looks PERECT for a picnic I’ll be attending soon. Do you basically just add small pieces of (cold!) butter into the flour mixture? Have any good tips on mixing it?
I’m excited to try both this, and the blueberry bars. Thank you for your help!
Michele says
Hi Chelsie, if you have a food processor, you could add the butter and flour mixture in step 4 into the food processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Otherwise, cut the butter into small pieces and using two forks or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture until it is crumbly.
Lynn says
Excellent ! Yum! And easy–what more could one ask for. You need to make this–you won’t be disappointed.
Michele says
Hi Lynn, thanks for stopping by. I’m so happy that you made it and liked it! Be sure to tell your friends about the recipe and Flavor Mosaic.
Beth says
You don’t have the size pan specified in the recipe. Using a 11×13 did not work very well and I was already putting the layers in the pan first before realizing that.
Michele says
Hi Beth, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you with the pan size. However, in step 1 it mentions using an 8×8 inch pan. I hope you will give it another try.
Patty says
. Had farmers market strawberries, so i made these tonight for a luncheon tomorrow. Had to taste them….and now i am in trouble….I could eat the whole pan. Will make these over and over!
Michele says
I understand. These are so good, I could eat the whole pan also.