Author: These strawberry oat bars have a sweet, gooey strawberry filling surrounded by a crumbly oatmeal cookie crust and topping. They're made with simple ingredients, easy to prepare, and perfect for a cozy dessert or afternoon treat!
These strawberry oat bars have been on the blog for years (since 2013!), and while the photos have had a serious glow-up, the recipe itself has always been a winner. If you love a good fruit crumble or oat bar situation, these are going to be right up your alley. They're buttery, jammy, and just the right amount of sweet. I love them with a cup of coffee in the morning or as a little dessert with something cold to sip in the evening. Basically, they're an anytime treat.
Why These Vegan Strawberry Oat Bars Are So Irresistibly Good
- Perfect texture: A gooey, jammy center with a buttery, crumbly oat topping.
- Simple ingredients: Everything here is pantry-friendly and easy to find.
- Great for any time of day: Breakfast, snack, or dessert, you can eat them all day long. (And you'll want to!)
- Make-ahead friendly: These store well and taste just as good the next day.
- Easy to customize: Swap the fruit depending on what you have on hand or what's in season. I love using peaches in the summer!
Ingredients for Strawberry Oat Bars
For the Strawberry Filling
- Fresh strawberries: Sweet and juicy, they cook down into a jammy filling. Frozen can work too (see tips below).
- Maple syrup or agave: Adds natural sweetness.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the filling into that perfect gooey consistency.
- Lemon juice: Brightens the flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a warm, sweet depth of flavor.
For the Oat Crumble
- Salt: Balances the flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Forms the base of the crumble.
- Rolled oats: Adds hearty texture.
- Vegan butter: Use cold butter for the best crumbly texture.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a slight caramel flavor.
- Baking powder: Gives a little lift.
How to Make Vegan Strawberry Oat Bars
- Combine: Mix the strawberries, maple syrup, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan until the cornstarch is dissolved.
- Cook: Put over medium heat and cook for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid turns into a thin gel and the strawberries begin to break down. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract, and set aside.
- Make the oat mixture: Add the flour, oats, butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to mash the butter into the mixture until you reach a crumbly texture and everything is mixed in.
- Assemble and bake: Press half of the oat mixture into the prepared pan. Spread the strawberry sauce on top. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top and lightly pat down. Bake for at 350ºF for 35 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Let cool before serving and slicing into bars.
Tips and Variations
- Use frozen strawberries: They work well, but may release more liquid. Cook the filling a bit longer to reach the right consistency.
- Try different fruit: Swap strawberries for other berries or even sliced peaches for a fun variation on these strawberry oat bars.
- Don't skip cooling: Letting the bars cool fully helps them set and makes slicing much easier.
- Use cold butter: This is key for getting that crumbly texture in the oat topping.
Storage
Store strawberry oat bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
They also freeze well for up to 3 to 4 months. Let them cool completely before freezing, then thaw as needed.
More Vegan Strawberry Recipes
If you try this strawberry oat bar recipe, let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Strawberry Oat Bars
Sweet gooey strawberry filling surrounded by crumbly oatmeal cookie pastry, these old fashioned bars are summer dessert perfection!
Servings: bars (2" x 2" each)
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Ingredients
For the strawberry filling:
- 12 oz fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced (2 cups when sliced)
- ¼ cup maple syrup or agave
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the oat mixture:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups large flake rolled oats
- 1 cup cold vegan butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line the bottom of an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper.
- For the strawberry filling: Mix the strawberries, maple syrup, corn starch, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan until the cornstarch is dissolved. Put over medium heat and cook for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid turns into a thin gel and the strawberries begin to break down. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract, and set aside.
- For the oat mixture: Add the flour, oats, butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to mash the butter into the mixture until you reach a crumbly texture and everything is mixed in.
- To assemble: Pour half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking pan and pat down. Pour all of your strawberry sauce on top and spread around to evenly distribute. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top of the strawberry layer, and lightly pat down. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Let cool before serving and slicing into bars. Store the cooled strawberry bars in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or they can be frozen.
Notes
Strawberries: Frozen strawberries tend to be more watery so if using frozen you might need to cook the strawberry mixture a little longer to reach the correct consistency. You can also substitute strawberries for any other kind of berry or sliced peaches.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar (recipe makes 12 bars) | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 226mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 719IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
Christina Nicpon says
I'm not Vegan and I still make this Vegan.....My whole family loves this and it has such a nice summer refreshing flavor!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Thanks for your review, Christina!
Jasmine Guirado says
So delicious! I used a little more strawberries than the recipe called for to have more of the filling.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Madonna says
This is easy to make & delicious!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
We're happy you enjoyed it!
Roz says
These are really hard to mess up and are always a hit! I’ve made them several times now and they never fail me. Whenever I make them people ask for the recipe.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That's super!
Lesley says
Looks good! I’m sorry I’m not a baker so maybe this is a silly question. But is the butter salted or unsalted?
Sam Turnbull says
I use Earth Balance Buttery Spread and it has some salt in it. 🙂
LouAnn says
Any sub for the butter?
Can’t have butter or oil.
Roz says
These are amazing every time and really really hard to mess up.
You can eat them cooked as bars by hand or spoon them out hot into bowls and serve with ice cream.
I want to try making this with blueberries next!
I’m asked to share this recipe every time I serve it to someone new.
KK says
Really yummy. And easy to make. I subbed frozen raspberries for the strawberries and it worked fine (also arrowroot for cornstarch, and 1 cup spelt flour and 1/2 cup oat flour for the A-P flour - all fine). I would totally make this again.
Gina M Caracci says
I had fresh strawberries and bam, this landed in my inbox! I made these with vegetable spread and they were good and filling, but seemed to be missing something, so next time I will add more brown sugar or will add a brown sugar crumble to top it to add sweetness, or both as I love brown sugar! I topped with caramel sauce and a dash of sea salt b4 eating and they were great!
You said to to put in the fridge for up to 5 days but day 5 and 6 they were still good but kind of mushy ( I microwaved them to reheat) but still good!
Thanks Sam!!
Tova says
Sam, I’ve been following you for about 3 years…HOW have I missed this recipe?? And the timing, we've just had another snap lockdown where I am & I’m craving desserts. So I had to sub a few ingreds based on what I had on hand. Frozen mixed berries in lieu of strawberries, sugar free maple syrup, 1/3 cup stevia, 1/4 cup brown sugar, only had half the vegan butter so the rest was coconut oil, and spelt flour instead. And O.M.G! Really…bloody heck these are good! They got an extra 10 mins in the oven, unintentionally, and the berries caramelised on the sides of the pan. Had one warm from the oven, and then, well, several more, with vanilla coconut yoghurt. These are INSANE! Is it sad that I’m already planning the next batch filling? I’m thinking apple, sultana and cinnamon. You’re a genius
Karen says
had this at a gathering yesterday; it was so delicious and the sugar was reduced by 1/2. A real treat!
Melissa says
This is delicious!! I used half of the sugar required in the oat mixture and arrowroot flour instead of cornstarch since we were out. We served it with some oat milk vanilla ice cream and everybody loved it! Thank you for this amazing recipe! Thinking about maybe trying it with apples next time for an apple crumble!
Marissa says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I've made it about a dozen times using both fresh and frozen berries of all kinds. I also bake them in a 7x11 pan because that's what I have. But they turn out amazing every time. My family goes nuts for them!
Courtney says
Oh my word! These are to die for. I just made these earlier today. I am prepping and freezing a bunch of food for our beach trip in a couple weeks. I made these as a dessert for us to take. With COVID and just feeding a family of five I want to take our food with us so we aren't eating out. After I sliced them to freeze we had a little piece left to try. So good!!! These would be good with so many other fruits too. Peaches, cherries, maybe even figs.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! Thrilled you loved them so much, Courtney 🙂
Cindy says
I tried this and this was unbelievably delicious. I subbed raspberries for strawberries because that’s what I had. I literally had to really really think about if I should share the last piece with my husband. I decided to share but still took half! Thank you Sam for an amazing recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Amazing! So happy you loved them, Cindy 🙂
jacqui says
just saw this older recipe on your gram a few days ago and made them last night. Breakfast bars? They're so delicious I've been eating them all day 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!
Amy says
I made a batch of these tonight and they are seriously so good! My husband and I are obsessed. I thought one cup of butter seemed like a lot so I reduced it to about 3/4 cup and the bars turned out just fine! They are very crumbly but I'm hoping they might firm up a bit once refrigerated.
I'm thinking I might try to make these with peaches while they're still in season. I'm sure these would be great with pretty much any type of fruit filling!
Thanks for the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you loved them, Amy 🙂
Jennifer Comaduran says
Sam, My second batch (all blueberry this time) of these are currently chilling in the freezer before baking. I was out of vegan butter so I used coconut oi. We (AZ) are in the middle of a heat wave and I had to pour my oil in. I put it in the fridge first, but it was still too pasty. (First batch was crumbly) This recipe tastes exactly like a bar I would get from a local shop at 3 bucks a pop.The only benefit of that is *not* having such easy access! I always enjoy your recipes-(I make the shredded tofu but with your "chicken nugget" ingredients often.) Thank you for all of the recipes/ideas! .
Sam Turnbull says
Aww wonderful! So happy you're enjoying my recipes so much 🙂
Lena says
Do you think I could substitute veggie oil for the butter?
Tiffany says
Hi!! Can I use Oat Flour in place of the All Purpose flour?! These look so delicious!!
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tried it, and I'm not an expert at alternative flours, so I'm not really sure. I think it might work for this recipe though...
Kimberley says
Thank you for this recipe, we made it with Blueberry because my son is allergic to Strawberries. It is so refreshing to find a vegan recipe like this with no Coconut. My little one is allergic to Eggs, all nuts & coconut. I find myself adapting so many vegan recipes because of the amount of cashews & coconut in vegan recipes and sometimes it's a real struggle.
This recipe is a keeper for us and I just wanted to say thank you.
Sam Turnbull says
I'm thrilled you loved it, Kimberly!!