Made with a shortbread crust and raspberry preserves, these crowd-pleasing Raspberry Bars are a sweet treat to make in the spring, summer or any time of the year! Easy to make with 5 ingredients in 1 bowl and the crust doubles as the crumb topping.
Craving more crowd-pleasing vegan dessert bars? Then you won’t want to miss my Vegan Lemon Bars, Blueberry Pie Bars, and Blackberry Pie Bars!
I love serving these Vegan Raspberry Crumb Bars to my friends and family because they’re always a hit. The shortbread crust, buttery crumble topping, and raspberry preserves in the middle are just too good to miss!
They’re one of the best treats for spring and summer, always a crowd-pleaser at the Mother’s Day and Easter brunches, and surprisingly easy to make.
Why you’ll love these raspberry crumble bars
- A berrylicious summer treat – These raspberry shortbread bars top jammy raspberry preserves over a shortbread cookie crust.
- 1 bowl and 5 ingredients – The 4-ingredient shortbread crust quickly comes together in one bowl, while the store-bought raspberry preserves are delicious right out of the jar.
- Surprisingly easy to make! The simple dough and jarred raspberry preserves keep these dessert bars quick and easy. Perfect for a fuss-free treat to share with friends!
How to make vegan raspberry bars
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Stir the softened vegan butter or coconut oil into the dry mix until you’re left with a crumbly shortbread dough.
You can experiment with mix-ins in the cookie crust if you’d like! Add up to 1/4 cup of vegan white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried coconut flakes for extra flavor. A couple tablespoons of lemon zest would also be nice if you love lemons and raspberries together.
Set 1 cup of the shortbread dough aside and dump the rest into a baking pan. Press it into an even layer, then bake until it’s lightly browned.
Spread the raspberry preserves over the warm cookie crust, then sprinkle the reserved shortbread dough evenly over the top. Bake once more until the raspberry filling is bubbling.
While the bars are baking, make the optional glaze by whisking the powdered sugar and almond milk together until smooth.
Set the raspberry bars aside to cool. Lift them out of the pan, transfer them to a cooling rack, and let them cool for at least 2 hours. Cut them into squares, then drizzle the glaze over top. Enjoy!
For eye-catching raspberry bars, sprinkle dried coconut flakes, lemon zest, fresh raspberries, mint leaves, vegan white chocolate chips, or sliced almonds on top after adding the glaze.
Frequently asked questions
Yes they can. Substitute a mix of a quality gluten-free flour blend, like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour or King Arthur Measure for Measure for the all-purpose flour.
Not if you don’t want to! Try using apricot, strawberry, or blueberry preserves instead. Or, in the fall, use apple butter! Just make sure to drizzle my Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce over top before serving (yum!).
This recipe makes 16 raspberry bars when it’s made in a 9×13” baking pan. If you don’t have a 9×13” baking pan, split the bars between two smaller pans instead.
Once they’re firm and sliced into bars, transfer them to an airtight container and store at room temperature for 5 days. They’ll keep for longer in the fridge, but they will harden quite a bit (especially if you use coconut oil) so let them come to room temperature for a little while before enjoying.
The bars also freeze well for up to 1 month or so.
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.
Video
Notes
- Gluten-free – Substitute a quality gluten-free flour mix, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 or King Arthur Measure for Measure 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.
Just made these with marionberry jam and they look and smell amazing! Is there a reason they need to cool in the fridge? Wouldn’t they be better room temp than chilled?
Thanks!
They really don’t need to chill in the refrigerator, it just speeds up the process.
These were really good! I had a couple issues, but after going back and rereading the instructions I see what I did! Wondering if other flavors of preserves would be good as well? I’m not a good baker, but trying my luck while “working from home” 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Yes, this recipe works well with other preserves as well. I have made them strawberry, apricot and even blackberry before.
I made these today and I’m disappointed, they didn’t come out as pictured at all. I didn’t do something right because everyone else’s came out fine… The crumbly topping seems like it melted when baking rather than staying crumbly, it came out flat. Also, my oven must run hot because the edges were burnt. I’ll give this another go but if you have any tips/suggestions, I’m all ears! I love a good vegan recipe 🙂
That’s too bad! These are one of my favorite desserts ever, so easy and yummy. I’m sorry to hear you had trouble. Let’s see, I do wonder if your oven runs on the hotter side and that’s why you had the edges burning and the top melting. Perhaps lower your oven temp 25 degrees next time, and even bake them for a little less time if it seems like they are burning. Also, bake them in the middle of your oven for best results. Hope that helps and you try again!
These were amazing! I made them today under quarantine and by the end of dinner they were gone. This is a perfect recipe for new bakers looking for a new recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these! One of my favorite desserts ever.
I just made these bars they turned out so yummy. I will make these again for sure . I did freeze some also . Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome!
Do you have more recipes like this one
I have many other dessert recipes, you can look through them here: Vegan Desserts.
Any thoughts about a substitution for coconut oil? Do you think vegan “butter” would work? D
Yes, vegan butter would work just fine in this recipe, I have used it before. Thanks!
Thanks! I love raspberry and am looking forward to trying this!
The bars were absolutely delicious and were the fist dessert to disappear at Christmas! I am tempted to make them again for New Years, just for my husband and me!! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
You’re so welcome! I’m glad they were delicious!
When do you recommend putting on the glaze?
Once they come out of the oven, or you could wait for them to cool a bit first.
Incredible! Yummy shortbread taste~
Can you freeze them.
Yes, they freeze well.
Delicious and so, so easy! My non-vegan relatives gobbled them up. I love that the crust and the topping is the same–saves so much time.
A few notes:
– Reserving one cup of filling wasn’t quite enough to completely cover the bars like in the pictures, but it looked very pretty crumbled over top with bits of raspberry jam showing between, and the bars stuck together great after being refrigerated
– I accidentally over-microwaved the coconut oil so it was completely melted (whoops) and the bars came out fine anyway (phew)
– Next time I would add a teaspoon or two of almond extract to the crust and topping recipe because I think that would add a bit more complexity to the flavor
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed!
I can’t wait to try these! Any other fruits you would suggest to use? I love blueberries so wondering if that would work?
I think nearly any other fruit jam would work here, so blueberry, strawberry, apricot or blackberries. All wonderful! Hope you enjoy!
Is your recipe written for a metal baking dish or glass? Just so i know how to adjust baking time accordingly if necessary?
I have made the bars in both though I usually use glass. I don’t think you need to adjust the baking time if using metal. Thanks!
How about Almond Flour???Would that work? I have everything else on hand but don’t have all purpose flour. If you don’t think almond flour will work I’ll definitely run to store. I’ve gotta make these. They sound so dang good!
Shoot I’m sorry but I don’t think almond flour will work the same! I’ve never tried it. Hope you get some regular flour so you can make them ASAP!
I really enjoyed the flavor of these bars however my bottom crust didn’t stick together once cooked. I cooled the bars completely before cutting and serving but upon removing from the pan almost all of the bottom fell apart…any suggestions? I would love to make them work as they are very tasty!
I’m sorry to hear that! These bars can be a little crumbly, but you should be able to hold one in your hand and eat it without it all falling apart. Perhaps the crust didn’t get pre-baked enough? Did you make any substitutions at all? Coconut oil is very sensitive to heat, so it might help to cool them in the fridge for a bit before slicing.
I made this vegan raspberry bars with gluten free flour this past weekend for an event. I made these two times, as the first time was a bit of a fail. The second try worked well and was very tasty!
On the first try I saved 1 cup of crumb mixture for the top and this simply melted into the raspberry preserves within a few minutes. They tasted great but didn’t have a top crust.
The second time I worked the coconut oil, which was completely solid, into a soft paste before adding it to the flour. By doing so the crumb mixture resembled a typical gluten flour mixture. I also think it helped keep the flour from getting absorbed too quickly.
On the second try I almost doubled the amount of crumble I put on top and still cut the cooking time about 5 minutes.
Thank you for the recipe! It’s now one of my go to vegan/gluten free dessert recipes!
Loved this recipie! The flavor was great, the only thing was they turned out a little bit hard. Any suggestions for next time?
Try baking them for a little less time. Oven temperatures can vary, as well as if you bake it in a glass versus metal pan. Hope that helps, glad you enjoyed them!
I turned away for a couple minutes and when I turned back around my kid had already eaten 3! So good.
Heavenly!!!! My husband and I loved these so much! Can’t wait to make again and share!
Thank you, I’m so glad you love the raspberry bars!
These are so delicious! Everyone in my family loved this tasty treat.
How long will these bars keep?
3-4 days at room temperature, probably a week or more in the fridge.
Very good but will bake 5-10min less. Used my homemade rhubarb/strawberry jam and didn’t do the drizzle. They are very good..
Glad you enjoyed them!
I have been a keen cook for a few years now but new to vegan baking. The recipes are often nourishing on first look but the end result is…well just plain strange tasting. These on the other hand are truly lovely. They tick a lot of boxes for me : deliciousness, ingredients already at home, ease, gift worthy and can I play around with the basic recipe ( already I have, using doves gf flour and left off the drizzle). It’s all those things Nora and it’s special and will make my written recipe book that will end up in the hands of my son, and his children and so on…❤ Thank you
Thank you so much for your kind comment! I’m so glad these will be a special recipe for you and your family, just as they are for ours. 🙂
Is there anyway to use coconut flour instead of all purpose flour?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think it would work very well! Coconut flour is quite difficult to work with.
This is a wonderful recipe! Thank you.
This is amazing. The only recipe with simple ingredients I have in my house. I have a few hours to make this for a vegan friends goodbye treat. You saved me!!
I’m so glad! I hope everyone enjoyed them!