These strawberry crumble bars feature fresh strawberries, a buttery crumb topping, and a lemon cream cheese glaze. Perfect for summer backyard BBQs or any occasion that calls for easy strawberry desserts.
Strawberry Crumble Bars: Easy Summer Dessert
- Fresh Strawberry Filling: I use a generous layer of fresh strawberries for the filling—none of that canned stuff. It’s the perfect way to use up a summer strawberry haul! Just like this easy strawberry blueberry cake.
- Crumb Topping gives them that classic strawberry crumble bar texture—crispy on top, soft in the middle, and packed with fresh berries.
- Lemon flavor: Lemon zest in the crust and a quick lemon glaze take these crumb bars beyond basic strawberry dessert ideas. These strawberry squares are my go-to for summer picnics, summer holidays, potlucks, and even kid’s lunches.
- Easy Assembly: I press the dough in the pan, scatter the topping, and let the oven do its thing. It’s as simple as most easy strawberry desserts out there like these mini fruit galettes or strawberry shortcake cake, but with the payoff of a bakery-worthy treat.
How to Make Strawberry Crumble Bars (Step-by-Step)
This is an overview with detailed step-by-step photos. Full ingredients + instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Gather all the ingredients. This photo shows everything you need:
- Prepare the pan and the oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment after spraying it with nonstick spray.
- Make the Dough for the Crust and the Topping: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, cream the butter with both sugars until fluffy, then mix in vanilla bean paste, lemon zest, and an egg. Gradually add the dry ingredients until combined.
- Bake: Reserve about a third of the dough for the topping, then press the rest into the pan for the crust and bake for 14–16 minutes, just until lightly golden.
- Prepare the Strawberry Filling: While the crust cools, toss the chopped fresh strawberries with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Spread this filling evenly over the baked crust.
- Add the Crumble Topping: Pinch off pieces of the reserved dough and scatter them on top, leaving gaps so the strawberries peek through. Bake again for 45–50 minutes until golden and bubbling. Let the bars cool completely.
- Make the Lemon Glaze: Beat together softened cream cheese and butter until pale, then mix in vanilla bean paste and salt. Slowly add powdered sugar, lemon juice, and enough milk for a drizzleable glaze.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars, slice, and enjoy!
More Recipes Using Fresh Strawberries
If you’re ready to try these new strawberry squares and bake up a batch, let me know in the comments below! And, if you're looking for more strawberry dessert ideas, here are a few of my personal summer favorites:
- Strawberry Peach Cake
- Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins
- No-Bake Ricotta Cheesecake with Berries
- Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
- Strawberry Basil Mocktail
- White Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Strawberry Crumble Bars with Lemon Glaze
These strawberry crumble bars feature fresh strawberries, a buttery crumb topping, and a lemon cream cheese glaze. Perfect for summer backyard BBQs or any occasion that calls for easy strawberry desserts.
Ingredients
Crust and Topping:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 large egg at room temperature
Strawberry Filling:
- 2 ½ cups fresh strawberries diced (pre-washed, dried, and hulled)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 ½ tablespoons corn starch
Lemon Glaze
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese full fat brick softened to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons whole milk at room temperature (2 or 4 tablespoons)
Instructions
Make the Crust and Topping:
- Prior to preparing the bars you need to prepare the oven and baking pan. Place one of the racks in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚ Fahrenheit. Temperatures of ovens do vary, the best way to ensure you are getting the most accurate temperature reading is to use an oven thermometer.
- Evenly spray an 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and line the pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier to remove the bars from the pan once they have cooled.
- In a medium sized bowl add the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients together and set the bowl aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat together on medium speed the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes the butter and sugar mixture should be light and fluffy in texture.
- Turn the mixer down to low and add in the vanilla bean paste, lemon zest and room temperature large egg and mix until everything is fully combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure that everything is incorporated.
- Keeping the mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients by the cup full and mix until you no longer see streaks of white from the flour.
- Once the dough mixture has finished mixing, measure out approximately ⅓ of the dough (approximately 2 cups) to be used as the topping and place it in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Transfer the remaining dough into the prepared 8x8 inch pan and press it into the bottom of the pan. I like to use a rubber spatula or the bottom of a glass to press the dough in and form an even crust.
- Bake the crust at 350˚ Fahrenheit for approximately 14-16 minutes until it is lightly golden brown. You do not want to overbake the crust. Once it has finished baking, remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool while you prepare the strawberry filling.
Make the Strawberry Filling:
- Place the fresh chopped strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and corn starch in a large bowl and stir the ingredients together until they are evenly combined.
- Pour the strawberry mixture into the pan over the cooled crust and spread it out evenly.
Add the Crumble Topping:
- Using the 2 ½ cups of reserved dough from the crust, pinch off small flatter pieces approximately ¾ inch in size and place them evenly across the top of the strawberry mixture in the pan. Make sure to space the dough bits out so that you can still see the strawberry mixture below.
- Bake the bars at 350˚ Fahrenheit for approximately 45-50 minutes until the bars are golden brown and bubbling on top. Baking times will vary so be sure that you check the bars after 35 minutes to make sure they are not browning too quickly. If the bars are browning, cover them loosely with a foil tent and allow them to continue to bake.
- After the bars have finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack to room temperature prior to adding the glaze.
Prepare the Lemon Glaze:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat together on medium speed the softened cream cheese and unsalted butter for 3 minutes until it is pale in color.
- Lower the speed of the mixer and add in the vanilla bean paste and salt and mix until combined.
- Keeping the mixer on low, slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar by the half cup full and mix on low until fully combined.
- Add in the fresh squeezed lemon juice, and then slowly stream in the whole milk one spoonful at a time. Beat the glaze until it is a smooth and creamy texture adding more milk as needed so that it can be drizzled on top of the bars. In the event that the glaze becomes too thin, you can add more powdered sugar to firm it back up.
- Using a spoon or piping bag, drizzle the glaze over the cooled strawberry bars.
Notes
- Vanilla substitutions: If you don’t want to use vanilla bean paste or if you don’t have it, feel free to use equal parts vanilla extract. When using vanilla bean paste, I personally do not recommend using bourbon vanilla bean paste because it can alter the flavor of the recipe ever so slightly.
- Remember that all oven times will vary due to ovens heating differently. For the most accurate read on your oven temperature, I recommend that you use a thermometer to make sure that you are baking at the correct temperature.
- How to drizzle the glaze: I added the glaze to a piping bag and cut the tip off the end before drizzling the glaze. You can drizzle it on with a spoon or add it to a piping bag and pipe it on.
- Do I have to add the cream cheese glaze? The glaze is optional and the bars are a tasty dessert served on its own with or without the glaze.
- Storage Instructions: The strawberry bars should be stored covered in an airtight container and should keep for approximately 4 days in the refrigerator.
You will need the following supplies:
- 8x8 inch Baking Pan
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatula
- Mixer
Nutrition
Nutrition Information
Strawberry Crumble Bars with Lemon Glaze
Amount per Serving
Calories
350
% Daily Value*
Fat
14
g
22
%
Saturated Fat
8
g
50
%
Trans Fat
0.5
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
3
g
Cholesterol
46
mg
15
%
Sodium
133
mg
6
%
Potassium
83
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
55
g
18
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
35
g
39
%
Protein
3
g
6
%
Vitamin A
423
IU
8
%
Vitamin C
14
mg
17
%
Calcium
37
mg
4
%
Iron
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
These look delicious. I will try this recipe for this weekend.
Let me know how they turn out! 🙂
These were a hit with my friends! I used fresh strawberries and mixed it up by adding semi-sweet chocolate chips on top. Strawberries and chocolate is an amazing combo, I highly recommend it! This recipe is a keeper!
I love the strawberry-chocolate combo - that's brilliant! 🙂 Thanks for sharing with me! 🙂