Vegan Blueberry Pie Bars
You’re in for a special treat with this vegan blueberry pie bars recipe. Made with blueberries and lemon, these tender dessert bars boast a berry filling and a crumbly streusel topping. Say bye-bye to that rolling pin and mixer — pie bars mean no rolling out the crust! And look at ALL that sweet blueberry filling. Now that’s a dessert to remember!
Blueberry desserts signal to the world that it’s time for spring! Of course, blueberries are available year-round these days, but it’s still worth noting the seasonality of food.
That means, regardless of the time of year, everyone’s gonna love these vegan blueberry pie bars.
Making breakfast in bed for mom on Mother’s Day? This recipe should be high on. your list! Yes, it’s ok to have a pie bar for breakfast on Mother’s Day!
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Flour — You can use all-purpose flour, plain flour, or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Butter — Use vegan butter created for baking or substitute refined coconut oil.
- Sugar — You’ll need powdered sugar and granulated sugar.
- Oats — I recommend using old-fashioned or rolled oats. You can use instant oats, but you’ll need to increase the quantity by a couple of tablespoons.
- Tofu — To create a firm filling, we’ll use a 12 oz package of silken tofu.
- Vanilla — A bit of vanilla extract is all you need.
- Lemon — We’ll use one lemon to create lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Blueberries — You can use fresh or frozen blueberries.
- Cornstarch — We’ll thicken the blueberry sauce with some cornstarch.
How to Make Vegan Blueberry Pie Bars
The complete steps to this recipe can be found in the recipe card below. Here is a list of steps to give you an idea of what this recipe requires:
- Make the crust and press all of it but one cup into a prepared pan.
- Make the lemon filling and pour it into the pan over the crust.
- Sprinkle blueberries with cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice.
- Gently spoon the blueberry mixture over the lemon filling.
- Sprinkle dollops of the reserved crust over the top of the bars.
- Bake until the crust turns golden brown.
- Allow the baked bars to cool before slicing.
Storing Blueberry Bars
You can store blueberry pie bars in an airtight container. It’s a good idea to refrigerate them because the berries can go bad quickly. They will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. This dessert can also be frozen in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months.
Easy Blueberry Crumb Bars
If you’re looking for an easy dessert, lemon blueberry bars are going to be your go-to favorite. Because you don’t need a rolling pin to get that crust just right. Simply mix the crust ingredients together and press into your pan. Voila! Easy crust.
This blueberry squares recipe might also be referred to as blueberry crumb bars because you reserve some of the crust to create a nice crumbly topping. The trick is getting the balance just right because you want a nice, thick crust to handle the weight of those berries.
How do I Make Blueberry Pie Filling?
The blueberry filling is unbelievably easy to make. Start with fresh or frozen berries (I used frozen) and then sprinkle them with the following ingredients:
- lemon juice
- sugar
- cornstarch
That’s it! Gently stir those together and then spoon that over the lemon filling. Some people are opposed to using cornstarch and if that’s the case for you, use something like tapioca starch, arrowroot, or even potato starch will do.
More Blueberry Recipes
If you love blueberry dessert recipes, check out our Vegan Cheesecake that boasts a blueberry sauce topping. That’s a favorite of ours. Or how about these delicious Vegan Blueberry Pancakes. For a real change of pace, these Blueberry Waffles are outstanding!
What You’ll Love About Blueberries Bars
- FLAVORFUL — These blueberry pie bars are infused with lemon and blueberry flavor in each bite!
- CRISPY — That oatmeal crust creates a crispy topping when baked to a golden brown.
- SHOCKINGLY VEGAN — You won’t believe how good these vegan dessert bars are!
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Lemon Blueberry Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crumbly Crust/Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup oatmeal
Lemon Filling
- 12 oz package of firm silken tofu drained
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- zest of one lemon
- juice of one lemon
Blueberry Filling
- 2 cups frozen blueberries or fresh
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350°F/175°C and line a 9-inch square baking pan (I used an 8×8") with foil. Give that foil a light coating of vegetable spray.
- In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, powdered sugar, and oatmeal. Pulse until combined. Use a spatula to press down any ingredients on the sides of the container. Pulse again until smooth. Reserve about one cup of this mixture and press the rest of it into your prepared pan, being sure to distribute it evenly across the bottom.
- Don't bother cleaning out the food processor bowl. Simply add the silken tofu, half cup of sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice into the used food processor bowl. Pulse until combined and smooth. Pour this into the pan over the crust.
- In a medium-sized bowl add the frozen blueberries. Sprinkle the sugar and cornstarch over the top of the blueberries. Add the lemon juice and gently stir to distribute equally across the blueberries without smashing them. Gently spoon the blueberry mixture over the lemon filling.
- Sprinkle dollops of the reserved cup of crust batter evenly over the top of the bars.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the crust becomes a golden brown.
- When done, remove the pan from the oven and allow the bars to cool for 1 hour (or more) before slicing. When you're ready, pull the bars out of the pan by lifting both sides of the foil.
Recommended Equipment
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The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Enjoy!
So the first time I made these they came out amazing. The last three times I can’t get the bottom crust to firm up at all when it’s cooked and it doesn’t brown at all. Any suggestions? I’m following the directions exactly as well. It just doesn’t seem to be setting at all now and I love the flavor so I keep trying and trying.
Hi Jody. It could be related to the kind of vegan butter you’re using. Some tub butters have water added to them and don’t set well when baked. I recommend using Earth Balance buttery sticks, Miyoko’s vegan butter sticks or homemade vegan butter. Let me know if this helps!
do i have to use powdered surger
Hi Hamid. If you don’t have any powdered sugar handy, you could run regular sugar in a food processor blender. However, if you goal is to not use regular sugar, you could try coconut sugar or maybe even something like agave or maple syrup. I have not tried this recipe with anything but powdered sugar so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would work. Let me know!
Hi what are the calories in one of this guys
These sound delicious! I’ve been vegan for several years now but haven’t tried the tofu yet. I never see it in the stores around here. I may have to make my own.
I never would have thought to add tofu to a filling before.. I definitely am curious to know what these bars taste like!
It makes a nice filling because it sets perfectly. Hope you like it! 🙂
That purple is so inviting. And tofu? Gawd.
I get you Ai! But here’s my question…why do they call them blueberries when they’re oh so purply? Don’t you wanna know??
Mmm those look great! Pie bars are the best…especially with that thick layer of crust 🙂
I KNOW! The crust is the best part! 🙂