Bursting with sweet, juicy strawberries, these Fresh Strawberry Bars have a buttery oat biscuit base and are finished off with a crumbly topping. No mixer and quick to prepare, don’t limit yourself to just strawberries. This Strawberry Bars recipe will work with almost any fruit!
STRAWBERRY BARS
Is it just me who has a serious lack of fresh strawberry recipes in my arsenal?
I certainly have plenty of ways to use them fresh on and in desserts. Garnishing stacks of pancakes and french toast dripping with maple syrup. Or stuffed inside. Tried these Strawberry Nutella French Toast roll ups yet??
However, when it comes to using them in cooked form, I have a pretty limited selection. These Fresh Strawberry Bars are one of the few recipes I have.
I think the reason is that you actually need quite a lot of strawberries to get a proper strawberry flavour inside baked goods. So for example, I wouldn’t use strawberries in loaf cakes like my Blueberry Lemon Loaf. Well, I have, and it didn’t work that well. The strawberries go pale and drop water which leaves doughy pockets in the bread.
Or you need to cook it down with sugar to intensify the flavour before using it inside something, like mini pies. (Oooh YUM!).
This recipe doesn’t require the strawberries to be cooked separately before laying into the bars. All I do is spread a layer of jam over the base (to stop the juices seeping into the base) before topping with strawberries tossed with cornflour which thickens the juices while it’s baking so it comes out almost jammy.
And this is what comes out of the oven. See how the juices have bubbled through the crumbly topping and looks wet? It’s not watery, it’s jammy. And actually, it’s kind of candied on the edges of the bar. <– Quite possibly my favourite bits, except they get stuck in my teeth!
I know quite a few regular readers are big fans of the Easiest Ever Raspberry Jam Bars! This recipe is a variation of that recipe. The same mixture for the base and topping. I’ve just incorporated the fresh strawberries.
I’ve also included extra notes in the recipe for how to make this with all sorts of other fruits. You just need to adjust the amount of cornflour depending on the juiciness of the fruit. So for fruit that can be used whole like blueberries and raspberries, I would not use any cornstarch. For juicy fruit that needs to be chopped, like peaches and apricots, just add a bit more.
Oooh – and when this is made with apple, it becomes an apple crumble bar! Well, with the addition of some spices too.
Wait. I am feeling the urge to share Apple Crumble Bars. I’m saving that one for a separate post!
Happy weekend! If you got a (mere) spare 12 minutes, make these Fresh Strawberry Bars! – Nagi xx
More afternoon tea favourites
Cinnamon Swirl Bread – easy, no yeast!
Cheese, Herb and Garlic Loaf or Zucchini Cheese Loaf– quick bread, no yeast
Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze or Blueberry Lemon Yoghurt Cake
Savoury Cheese Muffins or Cornbread Muffins (personal fave😇)
And more irresistible bars and slices
Brownies!! and Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies – ooh la la!!
Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire’s Shortbread!) – the great Aussie favourite!
Easiest Ever Raspberries Jam Bars
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Fresh Strawberry Bars
Ingredients
- 125 g / 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ cups/ 225 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1½ cups / 135 g rolled oats (traditional oats, not quick, instant or steel cut)
- ½ cup / 110 g brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup strawberry jam
Strawberries
- 2 cups chopped strawberries (about 375g)
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350 (fan forced). (Note 1)
- Spray a 20cm/9″ square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (so it can be lifted out once cooked).
- Mix together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter and egg then mix.
- Measure out 1 cup of the mixture (for topping) and set aside. Place remaining mixture in the tin and press into base.
- Mix together Strawberries, sugar and cornflour in a bowl (don’t do this in advance because sugar will make strawberries sweat = runny filling).
- Spread base with jam (Note 2), then scatter over strawberries. Use your hands to crumble the remaining mixture over the top (Note 3).
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until the top is deep golden. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before lifting out of the tin using the baking paper. It will sag – don’t worry, it will set.
- Cut into squares. Serve at room temperature. Store in airtight container (in fridge if it’s very hot where you are).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Fresh Strawberry Bars recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
Hand on heart, I absolutely swear I do not crimp the hair on his ears. You wouldn’t BELIEVE how many people have asked me!!! #CrazyDogLady
PS Wanna know why the fur around his neck is wet? It’s not from the beach. It’s slobber from playing with another dog. 🤮 Bath time for Dozer!
Can I add a little honey to the oat mixture? Wanted to make this for the wife, but I’m worried it’ll be too “oatey” for her 🙃
Thank you for sharing this recipe Nagi. I tried it today and found it a little difficult to cut into squares. Would you recommend putting the entire tray in the fridge to before cutting into squares? Also, do you think it’d be possible to use the base from your lemon squares recipe for this one? The base tasted a bit too “oat-y” for my liking. Thank you 🙂
Hi Zee, Sorry you had issues cutting it – did you allow it to sit before cutting? You could definitely use the lemon bar base – love to know what you think once you try it! – N x
Hi Nagi, thank you for your reply. I did let it sit for a bit but perhaps I didn’t wait long enough. 😉 I’ll try the lemon bar base and see how it goes. 🙂
OMG another awesome recipe, so straightforward and tasty to boot. Thanks Nagi. I agree with others, you are my go-to food blog, LOVE!!!
*shucks* Thanks Jo!
I’m trying this today! Let you know how it goes later
Hope you love it Sujon!!! N x
Hi Nagi – huge fan of your recipes, I use your website every time I think about cooking something new or improving on an old favourite 🙂 First time asking a question – if making these with apples, would you still use strawberry jam, or do you have a recommendation for an alternative jam? I love your Apple Crumble recipe and would love to try it in bar form! Thanks!
Hi Nagi. This looks irresistable! I wonder would it be ok to subtitute the sugar with maple syrup? xx
I’m not sure the biscuit base will set, sorry Amanda!!
Don’t know if after this much time has past I would get a response but thought I would try. What do you think of adding a layer of cream cheese ( of course with egg sugar and vanilla extract) between the jam and the strawberry layer? Do you think it would overpower the strawberries or make it too soggy? Trying to decide if I should make the original recipe or if I should try to pull off a strawberry cheese bar.
That sounds delightful Regina! I think I would put the cream cheese directly on the base then spread on the jam. I think the cream cheese would be hard to spread over the jam 🙂 N x
I made these with the leftover strawberries from a PYO trip and used half gluten free flour and half spelt flour and they were AMAZING!! Thank you. I’ve literally eaten 6 slices myself in 2 days and everyone that gets an opp to try loves them!
That’s great to hear Emma! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
Hi just wondering if you could use frozen strawberries?
I only have quick pages can I use these
Quick pages???
These were sooooo good!!
I’m getting ready to try these with blueberries. Sadly, the blueberry season is coming to an end.
I found a strawberry nut bread recipe on Betty Crocker that is really good (have to make it with out nuts)—-
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/strawberry-nut-bread/59078bfc-3823-4655-8f0f-c2af236b8778 .
I’d like to make it without oil and use butter instead.
Cheers! Sue
YUM that recipe looks terrific, thanks for sharing! N xx
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it Sue! Thank you for letting me know – N xx
Hi, I was getting ready to make these and decided to weigh my American stick of butter and it’s only 113 grams. It’s only about a Tablespoon difference. I’m curious if a stick of butter over there is a different size than ours. Companies in the US like to shrink the amount of their products but keep the price the same. Thanks for all of the fabulous recipes.
Hi Sue! Well picked up 🙂 I am very conscious of the minor differences in measurements and weights between Australia and America (and the rest of the world!) so if the differences do affect a recipe, I always specify. There are a few recipes on my site where I actually provide different measurements for American and the rest of the world! For this recipe, the differences are fine 🙂 N xx
I made this last night. I used raspberry, then blueberry, then strawberry jam, trying to use up partial jam jars! They were delicious! My husband had them with vanilla ice cream, topped with fresh blueberries. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!!!!
I LOVE hearing that Cheryl!! That’s exactly what I do 🙂 N xx
Can this recipe be sliced then frozen in individual portions?
Yes it can! I actually frozen most of the batch in these photos 🙂 N xx
Question for you, I don’t have strawberry jam, could I substitute apricot jam for the base?
Sure can! You can actually use any jam you want!!
Hey Nagi,
This is so good… the gooey jammy strawberries bars are totally devine, the sweetness level is perfect and of course they are perfect to go into my girls’ school lunchboxes as treats. My girls are totally lucky to have such beautiful treats made especially by you! They always ask me … can I have some Nagi treats for school ?? Their faces light up whenever I tell them YES!!
Our NSW strawberry growing season is coming to an end so it is great to preserve the taste of summer in this beautiful treat. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Love Dozer and he is looking fantastic in the photo, even though his ear flaps and neck are covered in another dog’s slobber LOL !!! Dogs just wanna have fun just like us girls! axx
I’m glad the girls enjoyed these Ada! It’s nice to have baked treats with fresh strawberries, isn’t it? 🙂 N xx
Hello Nagi,
I am great fan of yours , Thanks for all the delicious recipes, I was just wondering how this recipe will go with dates ?, Kindly suggest please about the changes needed.
Hi Annum, I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, thank you! I must admit, I have never seen or used a fresh date before in my life! I just googled it and I’m pretty sure they will work just fine (albeit I don’t know the flavour of cooked fresh dates). I would just use 1 tsp of cornflour. I would love to know how it turns out!
Soo delicious! These are so beautiful. I am so excited for strawberry season 🙂
Strawberries make everything pretty, don’t they?? 🙂
I normally cook strawberries down before using it in baking. But this is so smart!! Loving that juicy, jammy looking strawberries on the bars.
I can’t remember where I picked up that tip from, it changed my fruit-cooking-life! 🙂
I love these fruit bars, the oat biscuit and the crumbly topping. They are great with coffee!
The strawberries give them a beautiful color. They would also be great with raspberries or blueberries. I personally add crushed almonds to the topping.
Oooh YES to adding crushed almonds! That would totally take these to the next level 🙂