Simple Vegan Strawberry Oat Bars – Gluten Free

Oooo strawberry season! June and July are peak strawberry season in Ontario and I always get excited to turn these sweet berries into tasty desserts! These simple vegan strawberry oat bars are a perfect summer treat!

Delicately sweetened so the strawberry flavour shines!
The oat/walnut crust doubles as the topping
Lemon and lemon zest add a bit of tartness
They’re firm enough to pick up and eat with your hands
But also pair beautifully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some whip!

Ingredients

I love that the strawberries are the only fresh ingredient needed for this recipe. All the other ingredients are part of our pantry staples! That means, when I’m generously gifted a pint of strawberries or have some that are starting to get slightly soft; I can make this quick dessert without needing to run to the grocery store for other ingredients.

• Oats and walnuts make up the bulk of the crust and topping.
• Vegan butter, applesauce, maple syrup, and cinnamon add the binding power and extra flavour.

• Cane sugar, lemon juice, and arrowroot starch sweeten and thicken the berries.

And in 45 minutes you’ll be taking a warm, baked summer treat out of the oven!

The Simple Trick To Vegan Strawberry Oat Bars

Make one dough and use it for both the crust and topping! If I have to make a crust, a filling, and a separate topping… I tend to groan a little. Two components seems much more manageable for a quick dessert than three.

And… do you know the differences between crisp, a crumble, and a cobbler? It wasn’t until I titled this recipe that I realized I should probably figure out which one this recipe is closest to! If you want a quick read on the differences – kitchn gives a nice overview!

I would have called this recipe a crumble bar and it probably looks closest to a crumble topping BUT because it’s made from oats and has a crust I settled on oatmeal bars!

1. Grind the oats and walnuts in your food processor until the walnuts are broken down.
2. Add melted vegan butter, applesauce, maple syrup, and cinnamon.
3. Blend until a sticky dough is formed.
4. Spoon all but ½ cup into an 8×8″ baking tin lined with parchment paper.
   • The paper will allow you to lift the finished bars out of the tin without any sticking!
5. And slightly dampen your fingers to make patting the dough down much easier!

Bake the dough for 10 minutes while you slice your strawberries and mix the filling.

How To Make Simple Strawberry Oat Bars

With your crust in the oven and the topping already made; all that is left – is to mix the ingredients for the filling.

Other recipes may call for cooking the filling on the stovetop before adding it… BUT I love that this recipe keeps things simple!

1. Dice your strawberries,
2. Mix them with cane sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest (optional but always tasty), and arrowroot starch or cornstarch.

I LOVE freezing citrus zest for recipes like this one! When I haven’t planned to make a dessert and don’t have a fresh lemon I use concentrated lemon juice and scoop some zest out of a little container in my freezer! I can’t count how many times I juiced a lemon, lime, or orange and tossed the peel without zesting it! Anytime you have fresh citrus and don’t need the zest… zest it anyway and store it in your freezer!

When your crust comes out of the oven…

1. Spoon the strawberry filling on top,
2. Crumble the reserved dough,
3. And slide it back in the oven for 20 minutes!

Recipe Cost

These simple vegan strawberry oat bars cost us approximately: CAD $7.85 for 9 bars.

That means each bar costs us about $0.87 vs. at least $2.50 for something like this purchased from a cafe. Pretty good for a quick dessert made mostly from ingredients in your pantry!

If you’re looking for another use for those delicious strawberries – take a look at our; Strawberry Jam Overnight Oats, Strawberry Banana Smoothie, and our favourite low waste recipe… Strawberry Watermelon Rind Fruit Sauce!

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