You’re in for a special treat with these Blueberry Lemon Pie Bars. These tender, easy dairy-free bars boast a berry filling and a crumbly streusel topping. Say bye bye to that rolling pin and mixer — pie bars means no rolling out the crust! And look at ALL that sweet blueberry filling! Now that’s a dessert to remember!
Spring Desserts
With Mother’s Day coming up, it’s officially time to doll out the spring desserts, like berries. Mother’s Day, flowers, spring, and fruit all come into season at the same time.
How convenient is that? Regardless of the time of year, I think you (and moms everyone) are gonna love these Blueberry Lemon Pie Bars!
If you love blueberry recipes, check out our Vegan NY Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping. That’s a favorite of us. Or how about these delicious Vegan Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes. Making breakfast in bed for mom is a perfect present!
I love colorful desserts. It’s such a nice change of pace. And what a perfect time to add some color to your life than spring? It seems like the world is bursting with it right now!
When Shawn and I walk the dogs every day, we’re treated to all varieties of beautiful flowers and their accompanying smells. My daughter loves the peony bushes that we have several of in our back yard. Me? I will never tire of lilacs. Right now I have to go to neighbors’ yards to appreciate them, but someday soon I hope to plant a bush or two in our yard too.
Do you have a favorite springtime flower?
Lemon Blueberry 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!
These might also be referred to as lemon 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?
This blueberry filling is unbelievably easy. Start with fresh or frozen berries (I used frozen) and then sprinkle 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 a tapioca starch, arrowroot, or even potato starch will do.
What You’ll Love About these Blueberry Lemon Pie Bars
The combination of the tart lemon and the fresh, sweet flavor of the blueberries combines so perfectly with this recipe. Of course, it’s hard to deny the role of the crispy crust too. There’s no doubt it’s a perfect springtime dessert.
Blueberries are another one of those antioxidant boosting super fruits that you want to get plenty of in your diet. Obviously that could be said for a lot of berries. They’re naturally nutrient dense because they’re usually fairly low in calories and high in nutrients.
There’s also some tofu in this recipe, and tofu delivers a punch of protein to this dessert. Protein in a dessert? Well, it happens sometimes. And I’ve included some oatmeal to the crust, which not only adds a nice nutty flavor, but a little bit of nutrition as well.
If you’re going to a family gathering to celebrate mom, bringing this dessert along will definitely be a pleasant surprise. Then drop the bomb and tell everyone it’s vegan and be prepared for falling jaws.
I love surprising people like that. Don’t you?
We hope you love this Blueberry Lemon Pie Bars recipe as much as we do! If you make it, please share a photo with me using #namelymarly on Twitter or Instagram. We love seeing your photos!
Blueberry and Lemon Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crumbly Crust/Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dairy-free margarine
- 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 corn starch
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350F and line a square baking pan (I used an 8X8″) with foil. Give that foil a light coating of vegetable spray.
- In a food processor combine the flour, margarine, 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 corn starch 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 Crumbly Crust/Topping evenly over the top of the bars.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the crust becomes a golden brown.
- When done, remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool before slicing. I think it’s good to wait at least an hour, but you can extend that even longer. It makes for a perfect dish to make the day before a family gathering! When you’re ready, simply pull the bars out of the pan by lifting both sides of the foil. This makes clean-up so easy!
Enjoy!
Mmm those look great! Pie bars are the best…especially with that thick layer of crust 🙂
I KNOW! The crust is the best part! 🙂
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??
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! 🙂
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.
Hi what are the calories in one of this guys
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!