Only 5 ingredients and made in 1 bowl, these Raspberry Bars are simple to make yet quite fancy and crowd pleasing! They have a shortbread crust + topping, and are filled with raspberry preserves.
I had a few trials when coming up with these raspberry bars. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ve had no trouble eating any of the versions I’ve tried! The first batch was too wet, and not shortbread-y enough. Plus, I kept trying to make a different topping, and the recipe felt too complicated.
So finally I decided to try making the crust and topping in the same bowl, adjusted amounts of everything and, voila! Perfection was finally found.
This is such a wonderful dessert for Spring and Summer. Perfect for Mother’s Day and all kinds of showers (baby, wedding). Everyone is sure to love these raspberry bars, so feel free to double the recipe to feed a crowd!
I hope you love these Vegan Raspberry Bars. They’re
- Made in 1 bowl with 5 ingredients (plus optional glaze)
- Crowd-pleasing
- Super fruity, with a tart and sweet filling
- Perfect for Spring and Summer
- Easy & Delicious!
Want more raspberry desserts?
Vegan Raspberry Bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan butter (or coconut oil), softened
- 13 ounces (about 1 1/4 cups) raspberry preserves
Optional glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the sides for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Now add the softened vegan butter or coconut oil, and stir until everything is well combined. The mixture should be rather crumbly. Use your hands if you need to.
- Set aside 1 cup of the shortbread dough, in a smaller bowl. This is your crumble topping.
- Press the mixture evenly into the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and turn the oven up to 350 degrees F.
- Spread the raspberry preserves over the warm crust. Sprinkle on the topping. Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. The filling should be bubbling on the edges and in the middle.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Lift the bars out of the pan with the parchment paper, transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool for at least 2 hours, if possible. Cut into squares and drizzle with optional glaze.
Optional glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and almond milk until a glaze is formed.
Notes
- I haven’t tried these with gluten free flour, but you could try a mix of gluten free all purpose and almond flour.
- Makes about 16 large bars. You may halve the recipe and make in an 8-inch square pan if desired.
- Try using a different flavor of fruit jam, such as apricot, strawberry or blueberry. Or use apple butter in the Fall.
So simple and yummy!
Nora, these are always a hit in my house! I add a little orange extract to the glaze and it pairs so nicely with the raspberry ❤️I’m sure some orange zest would be cute and add even more flavor. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
Would you refrigerate these to enjoy in the days after they are made?
I leave them at room temperature, because the coconut oil will cause them to harden a lot if they are refrigerated.
I’ve made this loads with different fillings including mincemeat and it’s absolutely brilliant. I’m not keen on oil in recipes so just rubbed vitalite into the flour before stirring the sugar through. I even substituted some ground almonds for some of the flour which was lovely with the raspberry filling. Great recipe thank you!
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your great feedback and ideas! I’m glad you love the recipe!
These bars are amazing! I love them with raspberry jam, but will try other jams too. The last time I made them I had some cherry pie filling so I used that instead of jam and made cherry pie bars. They were awesome too. Great recipe!
Hi Parie. I’m thrilled that you love the bars. These are one of my favorites! It’s good to know that you have had luck using different types of fruit filling! Thank you for sharing your review, ideas, and feedback!
Would this work with an apple filling and if so, any specific advice on how to make one?
I’m sure it would work! You could use replace the raspberry preserves with the same amount of apple preserves or unsweetened applesauce.
These are amazing and so easy to make! A crowd pleaser too. Thanks, Nora!
These are so so delicious! I added some coconut flake to the topping as well.. thank you! ☺️
So glad you loved the bars! Thank you for sharing our wonderful comments!
Yes me too. Alternatively I added ground almonds to replace some of the flour and sprinkle a few flaked almonds on top for a Bakewell tart flavour. Yummy. X
Do these freeze well?
Yes, they freeze well.
Does it work best to cut them and freeze them individually or as an entire pan? Thanks!
Either way is totally fine.