These sweet, juicy strawberries, cream cheese, and a delicious sweet crumble combine into the perfect gluten-free dessert! These homemade gluten free strawberry bars are made with simple ingredients to let the flavor of the fresh strawberries shine. Everyone will love this strawberry cream cheese bar recipe, and nobody will know it is gluten-free!
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This is the best tasting recipe I ever made. It’s easy to follow with every day Ingredients. I just got a good deal on strawberries again and will bake it later on. I am not GF but my friend is and I always bake something when we go out for our ” ME” time.
Elke D., Blog comment
(* This post was sponsored by CK Mondavi. All delicious opinions are my own!)
If you are looking for a great way to use up some strawberries, this delicious gluten free strawberry bars recipe is a great use. These bars bake tender, yet hold their shape perfectly for holding. There is a shortbread crust, fresh strawberries, strawberry jam, dots of cream cheese, and a thick crumb topping. This gluten free strawberry dessert comes together quickly.
If you prefer using oats in baking, these Gluten Free Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are another great way to use strawberries. You may also love this easy Gluten Free Lemon Oat Bars recipe!
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure. Other blends will work well; just keep an eye on the moisture level of the crust and crumb topping. Add more butter if the dough seems too dry, or add more flour if the dough seems too soft or wet. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
- Binder – If your blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, add 1 teaspoon.
- Almond Flour – I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is coarser and will make your bars grainy. I tested this recipe with Anthony’s Almond Flour
- Strawberries – Use fresh or frozen strawberries. See the FAQ below for tips if you use frozen strawberries!
- Cream Cheese – I used Philadelphia Brand, but check Is Cream Cheese Gluten Free for more brand recommendations.
- Strawberry Jam – You can use any flavor of jam and type of fruit. Adding a layer of jam adds to the sweetness and jaminess of the strawberry layer. These Gluten Free Apricot Jam Bars are another jam lovers’ dessert!
Make them sugar-free – I have had two readers tell me that monk fruit sweetener worked well in this recipe.
How to Make Gluten Free Strawberry Bars with Cream Cheese (Step-By-Step)
Are you ready to see how easy these strawberry crumble bars are to make? Gather your ingredients!! Let’s start by making the crust.
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. For best results, scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything mixes well. You can also use a standing mixer to make the crust.
📢 Sandi says: Evaluate the dough to make sure it is not too wet or dry.
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Step 3: Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. You can also prepare the pan with gluten-free baking spray if you prefer.
Step 4: Pour 3/4 of the crust mixture into an 8×8 pan. (Reserve the remaining crust for the top crumble.)
Step 5: Press the gluten-free crust mixture in the pan with a flat-bottomed glass or your palm. Pack it in tightly!
Step 6: Use a large spoon to spread strawberry jam onto the crust dough.
Step 7: Wash the strawberries and remove the tops. Slice them thinly. Add the sliced fresh strawberries to the jam in an even layer.
Step 8: Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the top of the bars, then add chunks of the cream cheese. Bake at 350º F for 30 minutes.
Step 9: I baked my strawberry bars for 30 minutes. If your strawberries are very juicy, you may need to bake your bars 10 minutes longer to get the crust baked in the middle.
Store these bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh for up to 4 days. You can freeze these bars in a freezer-safe container or zipper bag.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes, there are some excellent dairy-free cream cheese brands out there. Try Kite Hill or Tofutti cream cheeses. If you can’t have butter, substitute coconut oil.
I add almond flour to sneak in protein to balance out the sugar. If you can’t eat nuts, simply increase the gluten-free flour blend to 1 1/2 cups and omit the almond flour.
You can use frozen strawberries, but you must thaw and drain off some of the liquid before adding them to the crust. Otherwise, it will be too soggy.
More Gluten Free Bar Recipes:
Need a few more gluten free cookie bar recipes? These are some of our favorites:
- Gluten Free Blueberry Oat Bars
- The Best Gluten Free Banana Bars
- Easy Gluten Free Peanut Butter M&M Bars
- Paleo Lemon Bars
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!
Gluten Free Strawberry Cream Cheese Bars With a Thick Crumb Topping
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend * see notes
- ¾ cup almond flour * see notes
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- dash salt
- ½ cup unsalted melted butter
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- 4 ounces softened cream cheese
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam
- 1 ¼ cup sliced fresh strawberries
Method
- Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Wash and slice the strawberries.
- In a large bowl, add 1 cup gluten free flour blend, 3/4 cup almond flour, 3/4 cup cane sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and a dash salt. Whisk to blend.
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup unsalted melted butter and 1 large egg. Make sure the melted butter is not hot. Add a little butter to the egg and whisk, this tempers the egg so it won't cook. Add the rest of the butter and whisk.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Mix well. Pour 3/4 of the crust mixture into the baking pan and press flat to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Spread 1/3 cup strawberry jam over the crust, then add 1 1/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries.
- Top with chunks of cream cheese and the rest of the crumble crust mix.
- Bake 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Nutrition
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your bars grainy.
- If you would like to make these bars dairy-free, you can substitute the butter for vegan stick butter and use a dairy-free cream cheese by Kite Hill or Daiya.
- These strawberry cream cheese bars will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
This post was updated from an older June 2019 post with more detailed directions.
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!
This is the best Tasting Recipe I ever made. It’s easy to follow with every day Ingredients. I just got a good Deal on Strawberries again and will bake it later on. I am not GF but my Friend is and I always bake something when we go out to our ” ME” time.
I am so glad you loved these cookie bars, Elke. Thank you so much for your kind words.
Excellent. I made these dairy free and they turned out great! Thank you!
I am so glad you loved the recipe, JD. Thank you!
This is my 5th time I make this for me best Friend who has Celiac Disease. She loves it so much incl her Family. You would never guess it’s GF it’s so delicious. I will make one for her Friend as well who has a disabled Daughter with sensory Issues, but she gobbles these up. Thank you so much for this great Recipe.
I am so glad everyone loves this. It is so kind you are making it for others. She may like it with apricot jam as well!
I made this for my GF best Friend and she said it was delicious. She shared it with one of her Friends and her Daughter who is handicapped enjoyed them tremendously ( so I will bake one for her as well). Tomorrow I will bake one for my Neighbor who just was diagnosed with Gluten intolerant as well. Great tasty and easy Recipe to do incl in High Altitude where I live.
That was so nice of you to make this for your best friend. I am so glad she enjoyed these. Thank you!
I made these for tonight’s Bible study class and had to try them out first. They are really good. I had to make some adaptions since some are diabetic while I’m only gf so I doubled the recipe, added Splenda 1:1 instead of sugar (only added a little over a cup instead of 1.5 – still turned out delicious), used sugar free strawberry preserves and frozen strawberries. Planning to make this again sometime. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
It is so good to know that Splenda worked well in this recipe. I often have readers asking about alternate sugars…thank you!
So good and very easy to make.
My husband’s eyes got big at the first bite!!
This will go in my favorites file.
LOL, my husband’s eyes do that sometimes too. I am so glad he loved this recipe. Thank you!
I just made these following the recipe exactly, except used frozen blueberries and wild blueberry preserves. Sooooo good! It’s a good thing I doubled the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing❣️
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Shari. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
Thank you so much Izzy 🙂
I made these with my daughter and everyone loved them!
I am so glad you loved them :-).
What could I substitute for the almond flour? My son can’t have nut or coconut flours.
Hi Marilyn, I would use this recipe instead. https://www.fearlessdining.com/simple-gluten-free-strawberry-oatmeal-bars/