These gluten-free strawberry oatmeal bars are the perfect balance of chewy gluten-free oats, sweet strawberry filling, and a buttery, crumbly topping. They are easy to make with pantry staples and work as a snack, breakfast, or light dessert. Whether you use fresh, frozen, or jammy strawberries, these bars bring all the nostalgic flavors of a classic fruit crisp in an easy-to-eat bar form.
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
Our farmer’s market is full of fresh local strawberries right now. They are big, juicy organic strawberries that burst with flavor when you bite into them. The strawberries in these gluten-free strawberry crumble bars are definitely the hero of this gluten-free snack bar recipe.
What I love about these strawberry bars is that you only need a few simple ingredients to make them, and they are customizable. I have a ton of easy gluten-free baked bar recipes on the blog! These Gluten-Free Strawberry Cream Cheese Bars are a great oat-free alternative.
Ingredient Notes and Easy Swaps:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with both King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour blends. Any blend should be okay, but avoid blends that include bean flour.
- Xanthan Gum – If your blend doesn’t contain a binder, add 1/2 teaspoon. Read Why Binders Matter in Gluten-Free Baking to learn more. Flour gives structure, so the bars don’t crumble.
- Gluten-Free Rolled Oats – One important note for using oats when you are on a gluten-free diet. Make sure the oats you use are gluten-free oat brands. Cross-contamination is a huge issue for oats, and I don’t want anyone to get sick!! If you can’t have oats, try the strawberry cream cheese bar recipe linked above.
- Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar – You can use either brown sugar or coconut sugar to make them refined-sugar-free.
- Baking Powder and Salt – I recommend aluminum-free baking powder.
- Strawberries – Fresh is best, but frozen strawberries are okay to use if you thaw them and drain off the excess liquid. Strawberries add the extra moisture needed to form the crust.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter for better flavor control. Butter helps bind the oats and adds flavor.
A Note From My Kitchen
These gluten-free strawberry breakfast bars were easy to test. The key is to use gluten-free oats to prevent any cross-contamination issues with wheat. Any gluten-free flour blend works; I tested King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1, and both worked without any modifications needed.
Fresh strawberries taste delicious, and frozen strawberries also work well; simply thaw and drain the excess juice. This will help prevent the bars from being soggy. I also tested this recipe using strawberry jam. The results were similar to my popular Gluten-Free Apricot Jam Bars (these do not contain oats).
How to Make Gluten-Free Strawberry Oatmeal Bars (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Add the crust dry ingredients, including the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to blend them all.
Mix the melted butter with the dry ingredients, then combine with a large spoon into a crust dough.
Step 2: Press half of the crust mixture into a greased 8×8 pan, then press it down to compact it. I like to use this gluten-free baking spray, but you can use an oil spray if you prefer.
Wash your strawberries and cut off the green stems. Use a sharp knife to slice the berries in thick slices (3-4 slices per berry.) Layer the fresh strawberries on top of the crust. Again, feel free to use the fruits on hand if you don’t have fresh strawberries.
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Step 3: Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top of the strawberries. Bake at 350º F for 25-30 minutes until the strawberries are softened and the bars solidify. (Note: as they cool, they will become more solid.)
Step 4: Put on pot holders; remove the gluten-free strawberry oatmeal bars from the oven and allow them to fully cool on a cooling rack before slicing them. If you slice them when they are warm, they will be crumbly.
Tasty Flavor Variations:
This oatmeal bar recipe works with lots of different fruits! Here are some ideas:
- Blackberries or Blueberries
- Strawberry Rhubarb
- Peaches or Nectarines
Storing and Freezing Strawberry Oat Bars:
- These bars should keep fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- You can also freeze these bars. I recommend chilling them in the refrigerator overnight. You can then put slices into a freezer-safe zip baggie.
- Thaw on the counter or heat for 25 seconds in the microwave oven.
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can use frozen strawberries in this strawberry bar recipe, but you must prep them so your gluten-free strawberry bars don’t turn out super mushy. Thaw the strawberries and pour out a little of the juice before adding the oatmeal layer.
Yes. This strawberry bar recipe is easy to make vegan. Swap the butter with a plant-based butter.
Yes, strawberry jam works very well. Reduce the sugar in the recipe by 1/4 cup if you use jam.
If you have bought too many strawberries, try this Gluten-Free Strawberries and Cream Scone recipe.
More Recipes with Gluten-Free Oats:
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Steel Cut Oats (yes, you can have chocolate for breakfast!)
- Simple and delicious, these Grab and Go Gluten-Free Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are perfect for a busy morning.
- If you are into big cookies, this giant Gluten-Free Oatmeal Pizookie Cookie is hard to resist.
- Another delicious breakfast recipe, this How to Make Overnight Oats tutorial, is great for meal prep.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Quick and Easy Gluten-Free Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup gluten free rolled oats * see note
- ¾ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- ¾ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 cups fresh strawberries *see notes for frozen instructions
- ½ cup sliced almonds optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Use the bake setting and not convection bake. Move the oven rack to the middle of the oven.
- Spray a 8×8 pan with a gluten free baking spray or oil.
- In a large bowl, add 3/4 cup gluten free flour blend, 1 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Use a whisk to mix the dry ingredients.
- Add 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter to the bowl and mix into a crumbly crust mixture. Press 1/2 of the mixture to the bottom of the pan to form a crust.
- Add a layer of fresh strawberries on top of the crust.
- If using frozen strawberries, they should be thawed with the excess juices drained off.
- Top with remaining crust mixture and bake it for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and let the bars cool. Do not slice before they are cooled. The bars set more as they cool.
Notes
- It is critical to use gluten-free oats if you are Celiac. Cross-contamination runs high in regular oats. (Note: Gluten-free oats are not available in Australia.)
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1. Any blend should work in this recipe. Ensure your blend has a binder. If it does not have xanthan gum or another binder, add 1/2 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- Several have asked about using frozen strawberries. These have a lot of liquid. I recommend thawing them and draining off the extra liquid before using frozen strawberries.
- These bars will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
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SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Can you use almond flour instead of your gluten-free flour? Can you use almond flour?
Hi Ellen, Almond flour doesn’t absorb liquid the same as flour and it will not turn out if you only use almond flour. Maybe if you reduce the amount of butter, but I haven’t tested that in my recipe. If you try it, please do come back and let me know how it works out.
Can you use coconut oil instead of butter ?
Hi Kris, I haven’t tested it, but I assume it could work. I would partially melt it so the oats can absorb the liquid.
I don’t normally love most things strawberry, but I couldn’t stop cutting off “just one more bite” of these. Will definitely be in heavy recipe rotation. Thanks!
I love when a recipe sneaks up on you and you can’t stop eating it. I really appreciate your coming back to let me know you loved these bars.
These are very good. My husband loves them!!!
I am so glad he loved this recipe. Thank you so much, Michelle.
Absolutely delicious and so easy! Second time around and doubling the recipe! I will use half mullberries, half strawberries.
I am so glad you loved this recipe. I will have to keep an eye out for mullberries next time!
There appears to be some liquid missing from this recipe, otherwise there is no need for the baking powder which requires water to react. I have made this several times. The first batch I substituted Splenda/Brown Sugar mix for the brown sugar, which reduces the calories nearly in half. The trouble is they were still too “more-ish” and I ate them all in two days I have reduced the sweetening to one-half and they are still tasty. I found “milling” half the oats in a food processor gives a better texture. Also, one batch with 1/4 cup coconut milk added did have a little more body. I will simply leave out the baking powder next time.
I am glad you have had fun experimenting with the recipe. There definitely are no missing liquids…it could be the gluten free flour blend you are using. Every blend has a different starch to grain ratio and this can affect how much liquid you need.
Making these today for a girls spa day! Can’t wait to try them!
A spa day sounds awesome! Enjoy.
Very yummy!!
I am really glad you loved them Melissa, thank you!
Has anyone made these with coconut palm sugar instead of brown sugar? I prefer that for lower glycemic ingredient.
Hi Jen, I haven’t tried coconut sugar in this recipe, but it should be fine to use based on my experience with this sugar type.
Hi Sandi!
You list this recipe as nuts-free also. But what about coconut oil? Wouldn’t that be classified as nuts-containing? After all , like my doctor said, coconut is a tree nut- it’s just a big tree nut. Also almond milk, used in your recipes, would declassify those recipes as non-nut free? Thanks for all your delicious recipes!! I want to try this one soon!
Mary
Hi Mary, I don’t see where I called this specific recipe nut-free and I don’t claim my recipes on the blog are nut-free in general. I do often offer nut-free options in those recipes that contain nuts…but otherwise my recipes should only be considered gluten free. As to coconut, it is not technically a nut, this link from John Hopkins talks more about this: https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Health-Library/HealthDocNew/If-I-Have-a-Nut-Allergy,-Can-I-Eat-Coconut