Healthy Blueberry Pie Bars with an irresistible shortbread crust! Made with walnuts, oats, and no refined sugar.
It’s a crumble! It’s a shortbread! It’s a buttery, oaty, nutty pie-like creation in bar form with mounds of juicy blueberries sent straight from the heavens.
Because I just cannot and will not stop with the summery fruit treats. My blueberry crisp with tahini coconut crumble? I can’t stop. tKinda like a cousin to my beloved raspberry oatmeal bars!
When I first conceptualized these, I wanted to make an epically thick shortbread crust but with a wee bit less butter and more walnuts. Because walnuts are so naturally buttery and flavorful, they make a perfect addition to the crust and crumble topping.
Key ingredients
- Blueberries: tons of fresh blueberries for a thick middle layer. Frozen works too!
- Old-fashioned oats: for classic texture and cookie-like flavor.
- Walnuts: raw walnuts add rich, buttery flavor, which gets even better after toasting in the oven. I love that they’re bursting with heart-healthy*, satiating fats for staying power.
- Whole wheat flour: for some extra fiber! All-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour works great, too.
- Coconut sugar: tastes similar to brown sugar but is less refined. You could use brown sugar if you prefer.
- Butter: we’re going back to basics with good ol’ fashioned butter for that irresistible shortbread flavor. We are, however, using less than typical recipes thanks to nature’s buttery walnuts. I like salted butter here for even more flavor. You can sub vegan butter if you fancy.
- Vanilla extract: for extra pie flavor.
- Lemon zest and juice: I love the subtle zing this adds to the filling!
* Research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. (FDA) One ounce of walnuts offers 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid – the plant-based omega-3.
How to make blueberry pie bars
- Pulse oats, flour, walnuts, sugar, baking powder and salt in the food processor. Add butter and pulse until it’s a crumbly dough.
- Press ⅔ of the dough into prepared baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.
- Make filling by mixing the remaining ingredients. Spoon in onto the pre-baked crust layer.
- Sprinkle the rest of thw dough on top of the berries and bake until golden!
Are blueberry pie bars healthy?
Yes! Blueberries are packed with fiber and are low in sugar. One cup offers a whopping 24% of the daily value of immune boosting vitamin C. Hallelujah!
Eating unsaturated fats like those found in walnuts, salmon, extra virgin olive oil and avocados has been shown to provide a slew of health benefits. Walnuts are made mostly of polyunsaturated fatty acids(13g/oz) whereas most nuts contain primarily monounsaturated fatty acids.
That’s why walnuts are the only nut that has a significant source of plant-based omega-3’s (2.5 grams of ALA per 1 ounce serving!). Although more research is needed, omega-3 ALA has been associated with benefits for inflammation and heart health. Woop woop!
Eating walnuts may also help to significantly reduce total and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
Recipe modifications
You’ve got questions and I’ve got answers!
- To make this recipe gluten free: Swap the wheat flour for your favorite all-purpose gluten free baking flour and make sure your oats are certified gluten free.
- To make this recipe dairy-free: Use a non-dairy buttery stick versus real butter.
- To use frozen blueberries: I have only made these with fresh, but I think they’ll work just fine with frozen.
- To double the recipe. This can easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch baking pan. The bars will be a bit thicker.
How to store
Dare I say these blueberry crumble bars get even better with age? I adore them straight out of the fridge. You can store leftover bars in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to six days.
Can these be frozen?
Yes! Simply freeze the bars in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet with space in between so they don’t freeze together. Once frozen, put them in a freezer baggie and squeeze air out. Warm in the microwave before serving just until warmed through.
Healthy Blueberry Pie Bars with Walnut Shortbread Crust
-
Prep Time:
15 minutes -
Cook Time:
35 minutes -
Total Time:
50 minutes -
Yield:
12–16 bars 1x -
Category:
Dessert -
Method:
Oven -
Cuisine:
American -
Diet:
Vegetarian
Description
Healthy Blueberry Pie Bars with an irresistible shortbread crust! Made with walnuts, oats, and no refined sugar, everyone will love this treat.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the crust:
For the filling:
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together oats, flour, walnuts, sugar, baking powder and salt until walnuts and oats are broken down. Add butter plus 1 tbsp of water and pulse until mixture forms a crumbly dough that sticks together when you press it with your fingers.
- Press ⅔ of the dough into prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Make filling by mixing blueberries, flour, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Spoon filling evenly onto the pre-baked crust layer and use the back of the spoon to gently press mixture onto the crust (this helps them stick together).
- Sprinkle remaining dough on top of the berries and gently press down mixture again. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the bars are just golden.
- Let bars cool completely (and ideally refrigerate for a couple hours, until chilled) before cutting into bars. I let mine refrigerate overnight before slicing. They will get more solid as they chill and I prefer them this way, but if you want to dive in right away while warm, they’ll be more crisp-like!
Notes
TO MAKE DAIRY FREE: Use a non-dairy butter stick substitute like Earth Balance.
TO MAKE GLUTEN FREE: Use 1-to-1 all-purpose gluten free flour and certified gluten free oats.
TO STORE: Store cooled bars in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to six days.
This post is sponsored by California Walnuts, but all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Hummusapien possible!
