Introduction

It’s Saturday, the day of my friend’s party, and she tells me to bring a dessert. Not a problem! I have a lot of tasty desserts that are quick and easy to make.
These Strawberry Crumb Bars are easy to make, especially if you have fresh strawberries on hand. They taste great, and I never have any left over. I like to serve them as a dessert with some of my other favorite foods, like Chicken Empanadas, Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings, or Mahi Mahi.

If you’ve read my blog before, you know that my desserts are usually simple. A lot of the time, it’s magic bars, fruit bars, or brownies. Not too hard. I didn’t see any reason to change that trend. My blog is all about quick, simple, and tasty recipes, after all.

It’s time for strawberries! If you live near one, I strongly suggest going to the local strawberry farm to pick your own 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.

About These Strawberry Crumb Bars

These Strawberry Crumb Bars have lots of flavor from sweet fresh strawberries and a buttery crumb crust and topping. 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.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (2 sticks / 226g) unsalted butter, VERY COLD and cut into small cubes
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped

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.

Preparation Instructions

In a medium bowl, stir together:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, beat:
1 large egg with a fork

Add the beaten egg and:
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

…into the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Cut in:
1 cup (2 sticks / 226g) unsalted butter, VERY COLD and cut into small cubes

Use a fork, pastry cutter, or food processor until the mixture becomes crumbly.

In a separate bowl, mix:
⅓ cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Add: 3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped

Stir gently to coat the strawberries with the sugar and cornstarch mixture.

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease or line a 9×13-inch (23x33cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
Press half of the crumb dough into the bottom of the prepared pan to form an even layer.
Spoon the strawberry mixture evenly over the dough layer.
Crumble the remaining dough on top of the strawberry layer. It’s okay if some strawberries peek through.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the topping is light golden brown.

Let the bars cool in the pan for about 10–15 minutes.
Cut into bars or squares and serve warm or at room temperature.

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.