Blueberry Pie Bars
Blueberry pie is such a classic, but I’m not much of a pie-maker.
I’m indifferent about pie crust and making a pie just to eat filling sounds like way too much work.
With pie bars, there’s no crust to roll out, no mixer or rolling pin needed, and there’s an abundance of sweet blueberry filling. Now we’re talking.
The bars have a soft yet crisp, buttery, shortbread-style crust. The crust mixture does double duty as the crumble topping. Love it when that happens so there’s one less step and one less bowl to wash.
There’s a creamy filling that tops the crust, which gives the bars a soft yet dense texture.
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Blueberries top the filling layer and they soften and release their juices while baking. All those juicy berries help to create extremely moist bars.
I used frozen blueberries because they’re cheaper, readily available year round, and went straight from freezer to mixing bowl. I always bake with frozen. If you have fresh, they’d be lovely and you’ll need to reduce the baking time.
The crumbly bits on top of the bars add welcome texture and dimension to the soft filling and juicy berries. I love streusel or crumble toppings and will take crumble topping over pie crust any day.
The bars are super soft and tender in the interior while the crust is firmer. The contrast of soft and firm makes you want to keep on taking bite after bite of these blue beauties.
Between the firm crust, the soft filling, the juicy blueberries, and the sandy crumbles, the bars have so many wonderful textures and flavors in every thick bite.
They taste fancy enough to serve at a special event, luncheon, or brunch, yet are so homey and comforting.
I’ll take a pie bar over pie any day.
The bars are easier to make than pie, with no mixer or rolling pin needed. They have a soft yet crisp, buttery, shortbread-style crust which doubles as the crumble topping. A creamy filling tops the crust, giving the bars a soft yet dense texture. Blueberries top the filling layer and they soften and release their juices while baking so the bars are extremely moist. I used frozen blueberries that I did not thaw first. If you have fresh, they’d be lovely and you’ll need to reduce the baking time. The bars are super soft and tender in the interior while the crust is firmer and the contrast will have you taking bite after bite. I’ll take a pie bar over pie any day. Crust and Crumble Topping Filling Blueberry Layer All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
Blueberry Pie Bars
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 large egg
heaping 1/2 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt; or sour cream (lite is okay)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
12 ounces (2 cups) blueberries (fresh or frozen; I used frozen and didn’t thaw)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (or 1/2 cup if berries are sour)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarchDirections:
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These Blueberry Pie Bars are AMAZING! They are the best fruit dessert I’ve ever had. My husband can’t get enough of them. I made them for a BBQ and they were a huge hit. I quadrupled the recipe and I used fresh blueberries from our local farm. They took much longer to bake, but, I was patient and waited until they were browned. Perfection! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you think it’s the best fruit dessert you’ve ever had!
Fantastic recipe. Used fresh blueberries. Cook time was 50 minutes. Used Reynolds non-stick foil to line pan. No spray needed. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Everyone loved it!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you love the bars! I also love that foil – my fave foil of all time :)
Does it have to be greek yogurt?
Yes, or sour cream is fine. But not regular yogurt, too thin.
your recipe looks great but I have a grand-daughter with a sensitivity to dairy products. Have you ever tried this recipe using a non-dairy yogurt? Just wondering if it would work the same way as a Greek or other dairy yogurt?
I have not made this exact recipe using a dairy-free/vegan yogurt but I have used them in baking in the past with good luck. It was the Silk brand that I used. Good luck!
can you use something other than yogurt or sour cream?
I have only made it as written so cannot say for sure.
Delicious! Will def make again.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will def make it again!
This was fabulous. I made it just as written with fresh blueberries and cooked for 50 minutes. It drew raves from my yoga group. Thank you! Wish I could add a picture!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a hit with the yogis!
This is in my oven right now! I am bringing it to a friend’s house tonight. I’ve never made it before but it looks so fabulous I figure I can’t go wrong! I’m going to bring along some vanilla ice cream to go with it!
Hope it was great!
These were easy to make and a family favorite!
I’m glad that they were a family favorite!
These bars were amazing! Even my daughter who is very picky loved them. I just noticed the bottom crust was really hard – like hard to eat with a fork??? I’m not sure if normal or if maybe I did something wrong??? Maybe I overcooked or packed down the layer too much.
I’m glad that even your daughter love this! Regarding the crust, it could be a couple different things. They could be like you said that you over packed it, you could’ve over flouted the dough a bit. Maybe scale back by a couple tablespoons of flour. You could’ve over baked it by 3 to 5 minutes, there’s a variety of things but trying a combination of those things are all of the above should help you next time.
Thank you Averie! I think I packed down and maybe too much flour.. I will try again for sure..thanks for your help😊
No problem!
I’ve made this for dessert tonight, I’m sure the four teenage boys will eat the whole tray, looks and smells delicious, also great as all ingredients ‘normal things’ we get in Australia, sometimes I get excited About. Among something and then can’t make it if we don’t have a substitute. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you have a crew of hungry boys to help you eat this!
I made this last night and I will agree with every other good review! I live in South Africa and have never tasted anything like it here- I lived in the States and that gave me my love of pies! Thanks for this!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad that you loved these! I agree, not a ‘common’ taste, not even for the states I don’t think, but a great improvisation of blueberry pie (that’s better and easier than pie in my opinion)!
Do you know if these freeze well? I would like to make them for Thanksgiving. Would be nice if I could make them ahead of time.
If you’re trying to do things in advance these would be fine to make a couple say on Tuesday for example. I am not sure about the freezing them though and the consistency of the fruit upon thawing.