If you like dessert bars, my easy raspberry bars are a must-try! Whip up a simple crumble with oats, brown sugar, and butter, and use that as the base and topping. Between that, you spread a gooey layer of raspberry jam! These sweet treats are soft, buttery, and bursting with summer flavor.
Thanks to the use of jam or preserves, you don’t even have to wait until the summer when fresh berries are in season to make raspberry crumble bars: Just throw together a batch using your favorite jar of raspberry jam or preserves. You can even use a different fruit jam, like blueberry, for an equally delicious twist. If you’re looking for more dessert bar recipes, try my lemon bars, strawberry rhubarb bars, and banana bars.
What you need to make this recipe
Salt — salt enhances the flavors in the oatmeal raspberry bars. I love a slightly salty and sweet crumb topping to contrast the sweet jam filling.
Oats — old-fashioned rolled oats add texture and chewiness to the bottom layer and streusel topping. Quick oats can work in a pinch, but the texture is best with rolled oats.
Sugar — light brown sugar adds moisture and sweetness with a hint of molasses flavor. Use dark brown sugar for a slightly more bitter flavor.
Butter — use unsalted butter to keep the raspberry crumble bars from becoming too salty. If you only have salted butter, do not add any additional salt.
Jam — use your favorite jam, whole fruit or seedless, for the raspberry filling. You can also use raspberry preserves if you like.
How to make raspberry bars
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, oats, and sugar to a large bowl.
2. Mix well to combine the dry ingredients.
3. Add the unsalted butter and cut it into the flour mixture, until it form coarse crumbs that hold together when squeezed. You can use a pastry blender or fork to do this.
4. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil. Leave a 2-inch overhang on all four sides. Grease the foil with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Press two-thirds of the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the lined pan. You can press it flat with a glass.
5. Spread the raspberry jam in an even layer over the bottom crust. Leave a ½-inch border on all four sides. (Do not spread the jam all the way to the edges.)
6. Sprinkle the remaining oat streusel topping all over the top of the raspberry jam. Press it gently into the jam layer. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown and the jam is very bubbly. Let the cookie bars cool in the pan completely, about 1½ hours. Easily remove from the pan by lifting out the foil. Detach the foil from the slab and cut it into 16 squares.
Pro tips for making this recipe
- Use old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats won’t have quite the same texture but can be used in a pinch. Steel-cut oats will be far too hard and crunchy and will not be pleasant to the touch.
- Use a good quality jam or one you really enjoy eating for the best raspberry bar recipe. It will largely determine the flavor of the bars, as the oat mixture is relatively neutral.
- Leave a little border on all sides when spreading the jam. This helps prevent the jam from caramelizing too much on the edges where it touches the pan and can either burn or make the raspberry streusel bars stick to the foil.
- Make larger crumbs for the topping. If the remaining crumb mix for the streusel topping with oats is a lot of small bits, pinch them together to make larger crumbs (like the size of a blueberry).
- Let the bars cool completely before slicing. It takes a while for them to cool, but you will get much neater slices if you wait. It will be very messy if you try to cut the raspberry oatmeal bars while they’re still warm.
- Go a la mode! Serve a raspberry bar with your favorite scoop of ice cream and fresh fruit for a really delicious dessert.
Frequently asked questions
You can make this recipe in so many different ways with any fruit jam or fruit preserves. Blueberry, peach, apricot, and strawberry are some of my favorite flavors to use in place of raspberry in these dessert bars.
This raspberry bars recipe with oats will keep for a few days, so you can make them ahead of time and store them at room temperature in an airtight container until ready to serve. However, the crumb topping will lose crispness with time, so they are at their best if served within 24 hours but will keep for up to 1 week.
Once completely cooled and sliced, store the raspberry oat bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
You can freeze raspberry bars with jam for up to 3 months! Store them in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between layers so they don’t stick together. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before serving.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this raspberry bar recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Raspberry Bars
Equipment
- 8×8” square pan
- Foil
- Pastry cutter
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups rolled oats (178g)
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar (165g)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened (170g)
- 1 cup seedless raspberry jam (240g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all four sides. Grease the foil with additional butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, rolled oats, and light brown sugar in a large bowl. Mix well to combine. Add the butter and cut it into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or fork until the mixture is very crumbly and holds together when squeezed.
- Press two-thirds of the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the lined pan. Spread the jam in an even layer over top, leaving a ½-inch border on all four sides.
- Sprinkle the remaining crumb mix all over the top. Press it gently into the jam layer.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and the jam is bubbly. Let the bars cool in the pan completely, about 1½ hours. Remove from the pan by lifting out the foil. Remove the foil from the slab and cut into 16 squares.
Notes
- Use old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats won’t have quite the same texture but can be used in a pinch. Steel-cut oats will be far too hard and crunchy and will not be pleasant to the touch.
- Use a good quality jam or one you really enjoy eating for the best raspberry bar recipe. It will largely determine the flavor of the bars, as the oat mixture is relatively neutral.
- Leave a little border on all sides when spreading the jam. This helps prevent the jam from caramelizing too much on the edges where it touches the pan and can either burn or make the raspberry streusel bars stick to the foil.
- Make larger crumbs for the topping. If the remaining crumb mix for the streusel topping with oats is a lot of small bits, pinch them together to make larger crumbs (like the size of a blueberry).
- Let the bars cool completely before slicing. It takes a while for them to cool, but you will get much neater slices if you wait. It will be very messy if you try to cut the raspberry oatmeal bars while they’re still warm.
- Go a la mode! Serve a raspberry bar with your favorite scoop of ice cream and fresh fruit for a really delicious dessert.
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