Bursting with sweet, juicy strawberries, these Fresh Strawberry Bars have a buttery oat biscuit base and are finished off with a crumbly topping. No mixer and quick to prepare, don’t limit yourself to just strawberries. This Strawberry Bars recipe will work with almost any fruit!
STRAWBERRY BARS
Is it just me who has a serious lack of fresh strawberry recipes in my arsenal?
I certainly have plenty of ways to use them fresh on and in desserts. Garnishing stacks of pancakes and french toast dripping with maple syrup. Or stuffed inside. Tried these Strawberry Nutella French Toast roll ups yet??
However, when it comes to using them in cooked form, I have a pretty limited selection. These Fresh Strawberry Bars are one of the few recipes I have.
I think the reason is that you actually need quite a lot of strawberries to get a proper strawberry flavour inside baked goods. So for example, I wouldn’t use strawberries in loaf cakes like my Blueberry Lemon Loaf. Well, I have, and it didn’t work that well. The strawberries go pale and drop water which leaves doughy pockets in the bread.
Or you need to cook it down with sugar to intensify the flavour before using it inside something, like mini pies. (Oooh YUM!).
This recipe doesn’t require the strawberries to be cooked separately before laying into the bars. All I do is spread a layer of jam over the base (to stop the juices seeping into the base) before topping with strawberries tossed with cornflour which thickens the juices while it’s baking so it comes out almost jammy.
And this is what comes out of the oven. See how the juices have bubbled through the crumbly topping and looks wet? It’s not watery, it’s jammy. And actually, it’s kind of candied on the edges of the bar. <– Quite possibly my favourite bits, except they get stuck in my teeth!
I know quite a few regular readers are big fans of the Easiest Ever Raspberry Jam Bars! This recipe is a variation of that recipe. The same mixture for the base and topping. I’ve just incorporated the fresh strawberries.
I’ve also included extra notes in the recipe for how to make this with all sorts of other fruits. You just need to adjust the amount of cornflour depending on the juiciness of the fruit. So for fruit that can be used whole like blueberries and raspberries, I would not use any cornstarch. For juicy fruit that needs to be chopped, like peaches and apricots, just add a bit more.
Oooh – and when this is made with apple, it becomes an apple crumble bar! Well, with the addition of some spices too.
Wait. I am feeling the urge to share Apple Crumble Bars. I’m saving that one for a separate post!
Happy weekend! If you got a (mere) spare 12 minutes, make these Fresh Strawberry Bars! – Nagi xx
More afternoon tea favourites
-
Cinnamon Swirl Bread – easy, no yeast!
-
Cheese, Herb and Garlic Loaf or Zucchini Cheese Loaf– quick bread, no yeast
-
Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze or Blueberry Lemon Yoghurt Cake
-
Savoury Cheese Muffins or Cornbread Muffins (personal fave😇)
And more irresistible bars and slices
-
Brownies!! and Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies – ooh la la!!
-
Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire’s Shortbread!) – the great Aussie favourite!
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Easiest Ever Raspberries Jam Bars
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Fresh Strawberry Bars
Ingredients
- 125 g / 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ cups/ 225 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1½ cups / 135 g rolled oats (traditional oats, not quick, instant or steel cut)
- ½ cup / 110 g brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup strawberry jam
Strawberries
- 2 cups chopped strawberries (about 375g)
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350 (fan forced). (Note 1)
- Spray a 20cm/9" square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (so it can be lifted out once cooked).
- Mix together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter and egg then mix.
- Measure out 1 cup of the mixture (for topping) and set aside. Place remaining mixture in the tin and press into base.
- Mix together Strawberries, sugar and cornflour in a bowl (don't do this in advance because sugar will make strawberries sweat = runny filling).
- Spread base with jam (Note 2), then scatter over strawberries. Use your hands to crumble the remaining mixture over the top (Note 3).
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the top is deep golden. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before lifting out of the tin using the baking paper. It will sag - don't worry, it will set.
- Cut into squares. Serve at room temperature. Store in airtight container (in fridge if it's very hot where you are).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Fresh Strawberry Bars recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
Hand on heart, I absolutely swear I do not crimp the hair on his ears. You wouldn’t BELIEVE how many people have asked me!!! #CrazyDogLady
PS Wanna know why the fur around his neck is wet? It’s not from the beach. It’s slobber from playing with another dog. 🤮 Bath time for Dozer!
Hi Nagi, I’m writing to let you know that I found the flavours in these bars to be absolutely delicious and thank you for the recipe. Unfortunately, I had two issues….. first, though the base set perfectly, the strawberry topping didn’t. I’ve ended up putting it in the fridge and the edges are certainly firmer now, but the middle of the ‘slab’ is still quite wobbly if that makes sense. As I said, I loved the taste, but I don’t know why the filling hasn’t set.
On a different note….. I realise that you have no way of knowing what the skill level of the people who cook your recipes is, so therefore you can’t know how long I, or anyone else, will take to prepare the ingredients. So I assume that the prep time quoted is for what you need to do once everything is sitting in front of you, ready to go. But I wonder if you could remind us of that somewhere in the beginning of your blogs, so that when someone reads in this recipe for eg: “if you have 12 minutes to spare”, they’re not fooled into thinking that’s all the time they need to make these delicious bars before they go in the oven. Frankly, by the time I got everything out of the pantry, measured the ingredients, washed, hulled and chopped the strawberries, prepared the tin, and was THEN ready to bake the bars, close to an hour had passed. And while I had plenty of time and, having cooked quite a few of your recipes now I knew that 15 minutes was unrealistic, I don’t know if everyone would be as happy with that.
I don’t mean to be critical Nagi, I just thought that others might appreciate the hint. Thank you, Lorraine
By the way, I used St Dalfour strawberry jam as it contains no added sugar. The flavour of the jam is sooo good that it really adds another level to the bars.
Turned out superbly. I didn’t have strawberry jam so substituted my home made plum jam. Amazing combination of strawberries and ever so slightly tart plum jam!
Is there any replacement for eggs or can we make it without eggs?
Hi Shivani, the egg minds it here, sorry I haven’t tried with any egg substitutes just yet! N x
I made this for staff morning tea. Very easy and a big hit with everyone. Can’t stop at one. Delish!
Any tips for making this with rhubarb? We have a bumper crop!
Thanks – loyal Victorian reader
A very yummy recipe!! I made it with 1 cup gluten free flour and 1/2 a cup wheat flour and it worked great! I also used quick/instant oats… I did read your comment not to use them, but it was all I had and I’d already made up my mind that I wanted this slice!!😂 So I thought I’d let you know that it worked out just fine. I ended up baking for 40 minutes and the top wasn’t the recommended deep golden colour so I cranked the oven up to 220 degrees for another 5 minutes! Yum!!
Sounds like you nailed it Dee, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Thanks for the great strawberry bar recipe! I purchased a bunch of strawberries from a co-worker, too many to eat before they went bad. These bars are great, made as directed, used Bob’s Red Mills Oats and some Bonne Maman preserves! I’ll definitely use for other fruits this summer. Ooo, I think they’ll also be a hit at my church bake sale!! So glad I found this:)
Yes there are so many possibilities!!! N x
Hi, I like the idea of trying this with Apples and maybe some saltanas, what do you suggest as a spread over the base before adding the fruit?
Hi Tara, you really need the Jam – so I would use apricot which will complement the apples and sultanas nicely – N x
Thanks, I’ll definitely be giving it a go 😊
Nagi what will happen if I use the instant oats?
Hi Shaki, they aren’t suitable for this recipe, the bars could end up mushy – N x
Can I add a little honey to the oat mixture? Wanted to make this for the wife, but I’m worried it’ll be too “oatey” for her 🙃
Thank you for sharing this recipe Nagi. I tried it today and found it a little difficult to cut into squares. Would you recommend putting the entire tray in the fridge to before cutting into squares? Also, do you think it’d be possible to use the base from your lemon squares recipe for this one? The base tasted a bit too “oat-y” for my liking. Thank you 🙂
Hi Zee, Sorry you had issues cutting it – did you allow it to sit before cutting? You could definitely use the lemon bar base – love to know what you think once you try it! – N x
Hi Nagi, thank you for your reply. I did let it sit for a bit but perhaps I didn’t wait long enough. 😉 I’ll try the lemon bar base and see how it goes. 🙂
OMG another awesome recipe, so straightforward and tasty to boot. Thanks Nagi. I agree with others, you are my go-to food blog, LOVE!!!
*shucks* Thanks Jo!
I’m trying this today! Let you know how it goes later
Hope you love it Sujon!!! N x
Hi Nagi – huge fan of your recipes, I use your website every time I think about cooking something new or improving on an old favourite 🙂 First time asking a question – if making these with apples, would you still use strawberry jam, or do you have a recommendation for an alternative jam? I love your Apple Crumble recipe and would love to try it in bar form! Thanks!
Hi Nagi. This looks irresistable! I wonder would it be ok to subtitute the sugar with maple syrup? xx
I’m not sure the biscuit base will set, sorry Amanda!!
Don’t know if after this much time has past I would get a response but thought I would try. What do you think of adding a layer of cream cheese ( of course with egg sugar and vanilla extract) between the jam and the strawberry layer? Do you think it would overpower the strawberries or make it too soggy? Trying to decide if I should make the original recipe or if I should try to pull off a strawberry cheese bar.
That sounds delightful Regina! I think I would put the cream cheese directly on the base then spread on the jam. I think the cream cheese would be hard to spread over the jam 🙂 N x