Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars

These Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars are the perfect dessert: a crunchy base topped with juicy, jammy blueberries and a "buttery" crumble topping. They fruity, easy to make ahead and are refined sugar free too. They're perfect for sharing and are an excellent alternative to Blueberry Pie!

Why does this recipe use brown rice flour?

You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour, but I found the texture was much better with brown rice flour. If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Mix together the ingredients for the dough in a glass mixing bowl.

• Transfer one half into a square baking tin.

Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the bars after.

• Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.

• Bake in oven for 10 minutes - you'll be baking this again so you don't want to over-bake at this stage!

• Place the blueberries and maple syrup in a pan.
• Leave to cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until soft.
• Dissolve the cornflour (cornstarch) in a tiny splash of water in a small bowl.
• Once the blueberries have cooked, add the cornflour and water mixture and mix well.
• Once the blueberries have thickened (takes about 30 seconds), turn off the heat.

• Place the cooked blueberries over the cooked base until completely evenly covered.

• Use your fingers to crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top until it is all used up and the blueberries are completely covered.

• Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

• Leave to cool completely before cutting.

How long do these keep for?

These Blueberry Crumble Bars do taste best when fresh, but they keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Substitutions you can make

• You can replace the coconut oil with coconut butter.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• The ground almonds (almond meal) can be replaced with ground walnuts.
• For a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds and use a nut-free plant-based milk.
• The cornflour (cornstarch) can be replaced with tapioca starch.
• You can replace the brown rice flour with plain flour if you’re not gluten-free.
• You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, rice milk, soy milk etc.
• You can use fresh or frozen blueberries.

Flavour alternatives

• If you're not into blueberries, you can replace them with peaches, plums, cherries, strawberries, raspberries etc (just adjust cooking time accordingly) - or you can make Lemon Crumble Bars instead.
• You can add ground cinnamon to the blueberries.
• You can add flaked or desiccated coconut or oats to the crumble topping.

Substitutions to be careful of

You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour but the texture is much better with brown rice flour.

More vegan blueberry desserts

• Lemon Blueberry Cookies
• Blueberry Crisp
• Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Blueberry Cheesecake
• Lemon Blueberry Cake

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make it

Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars

These Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars are the perfect dessert: a crunchy base topped with juicy, jammy blueberries and a "buttery" crumble topping.

3.91 from 33 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free crumble bars, vegan blueberry dessert, vegan crumble bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 16 bars

Calories: 176kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the crust and crumble topping:

• ▢ 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil  (or sub coconut butter)
• ▢ 10 tablespoons maple syrup  (or sub any other similar sweetener)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
• ▢ 150 g (1 cup) brown rice flour ** (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ Pinch salt

For the blueberries:

• ▢ 450 g (4 ½ cups) fresh blueberries
• ▢ 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other similar sweetener)
• ▢ 5 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch) (or sub tapioca starch)

Instructions

For the crust and crumble topping:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.
• Add the maple syrup, milk, ground almonds, brown rice flour and salt and mix well – add an extra splash of milk if it’s looking too dry to combine.
• Divide the dough in half.
• Transfer one half of the dough into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with greased baking paper – I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin.
• Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
• Bake in oven for 10 minutes.
• Place the remaining half of the dough in the fridge while you make the rest (this will help it firm up and make it easier to crumble over the top after).

For the blueberries:

• Place the blueberries and maple syrup in a pan with a lid.
• Leave to cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until softened.
• Dissolve the cornflour in a tiny splash of water in a small bowl.
• Once the blueberries have cooked, add the cornflour and water mixture and mix well.
• Once the blueberries have thickened (takes about 30 seconds), turn off the heat.

To assemble:

• Place the cooked blueberries over the cooked base until completely evenly covered.
• Use your fingers to crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top until it is all used up and the blueberries are completely covered.
• Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Leave to cool completely before cutting into squares.
• Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Video

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

**You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour but the texture is much better with brown rice flour. 

• You can add ground cinnamon to the blueberries.
• You can add flaked or desiccated coconut or oats to the crumble topping.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars

Amount Per Serving

Calories 176 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 4mg0%

Potassium 94mg3%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 15IU0%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 45mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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