Enjoy the best vegan cranberry oat crumble bars made with tart, juicy cranberries sweetened with maple syrup and sandwiched between a chewy buttery, oatmeal crust. You're going to love this easy vegan recipe!
I love to cook with cranberries all year long, not just during Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. The bright intense flavor and color of cranberries adds so much to both sweet and savory dishes. Every fall during the peak cranberry season, I like to load up on whole fresh cranberries, keeping extra bags in the freezer to use later on for recipes like this one.
This recipe is prepared with a few basic ingredients a lot of us may have in our kitchen cupboards. Quick & easy to make, you can whip up a batch of these scrumptious squares whenever you're in the mood for something tasty & sweet. Like my favorite cranberry cheese bites and cranberry orange bread, these vegan cranberry oat crumble bars are a wonderfully warm and welcoming treat to serve to guests with a cup of coffee or tea.
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Why we love this recipe
- Perfect as a quick bite for breakfast or an afternoon snack
- Great way to use leftover cranberry sauce
- Fun and easy to prepare
- Kids love it!
- Swap the cranberries with blueberries, cherries or other fruit
- They're simply delicious!
🥕Ingredient notes
Cranberries - whole fresh or frozen, homemade or packaged cranberry sauce.
Maple syrup - it imparts just the right amount of sweet, doesn't overpower the flavor of the berries, and helps thicken the sauce as it simmers.
Flour - I prefer organic all-purpose unbleached flour in this recipe.
Baking powder - works as a leavening agent and improves the texture of the crumble crust. The fresher, the better because an opened container of baking powder can lose its rising oomph fairly fast.
Salt - can be omitted if you use salted vegan butter.
Oatmeal - extra thick or old-fashioned rolled oats are best for a crispy chewy crumble (don't use quick-cook or steel cut).
Brown sugar - I use organic vegan brown sugar
Vanilla - because, vanilla.
Butter - your choice of vegan/non-dairy butter.
See the printable recipe below for quantities & details
🥕Instructions
Step 1 - Prepare the Cranberry Sauce
Rinse cranberries under water. Remove any stems or wrinkled cranberries. Place cranberries in a medium sauce pan. Add maple syrup and water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 5-7 minutes until cranberries burst and soften. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Use a spoon or fork to mash the soft cranberries. Once sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat and set aside.
Step 2 - Oat Crumble
Making the crumble is quick & easy. HINT: Letting your butter soften slightly (don't melt) will make it easier to blend with your dry ingredients.
Place flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Stir to thoroughly combine.
Add brown sugar and vanilla. Stir to thoroughly combine.
Add butter. Using a pastry cutter, large fork, or your fingers, work butter into the other ingredients until it becomes a fine crumbly mixture.
I find a pastry cutter works really well for this step. The mixture will look like coarse crumbs.
Divide the crumble mixture in half. Line a 9"x9" square baking dish with parchment paper (makes removal & clean-up so easy) or grease the dish lightly with butter.
Step 3 - Assemble
Now for the fun part, assembling your vegan cranberry oat crumble bars!
Spoon ½ into the baking dish. Press firmly and evenly to create a solid bottom layer.
HINT: Place a sheet of parchment on the crumble before pressing. A mini rolling pin is helpful for creating an even layer.
HINT: Firmly pressing and compacting the bottom layer will keep your vegan cranberry oat crumble bars from falling apart when you cut them after baking.
Pour the thickened cranberry sauce onto the bottom crust.
Spread the cranberries evenly, using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture over the top of the cranberries.
Using your fingers, lightly press down on the top crumbs evenly, just enough to keep it in place, (but not packed like the bottom layer).
Place pan on center rack in oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F until crumble crust begins to lightly brown. Cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
When ready to serve, using a sharp knife, divide into 16 equal squares or cut into whatever size bars you prefer!
Substitutions & Variations
One of the things I love about this recipe is how easy it is to swap out or add some ingredients as needed or to adjust to your liking.
For instance, if you can't find fresh or frozen cranberries, you can use packaged cranberry sauce, or replace the cranberries with other fresh, frozen, canned or bottled berries or fruit, such as:
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Boysenberries
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Apricots
- Apples (peeled)
If using fresh or frozen berries or other fruit, I suggest preparing the fruit using the same method I have described for cranberries, by heating with maple syrup and allowing them to soften until tender. You can also use canned pie filling or even bottled preserves.
If you don't have maple syrup, you can substitute it with vegan honey, agave nectar, or sugar. I have not attempted this recipe with coconut or date sugar, but I imagine either could be a replacement for brown sugar. I would love to know if you give either a try!
Add-ins
Here are a few ideas for extras you can include, such as:
Nuts - finely chopped walnuts or pecans mixed in with the bottom crust creates a nutty flavor & texture.
Zest - a sprinkle of orange or lemon zest adds a citrusy zing!
Cinnamon or nutmeg - a pinch of spice can be nice in the crumble mixture
White chocolate chips - a handful of chips stirred into the crumble would make a cookie-like dessert.
Serving Suggestion
My husband loves to add a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream on top of a warm cranberry oat crumble bar. It's also delish served with a dollop of non-dairy whipped topping.
🥕Top Baking Tip
Whenever I need to measure solid butter for a recipe, I find the easiest and most accurate way is by using a digital kitchen scale. I had no idea what a helpful tool a scale can be (particularly for baking), until I got one. They're very inexpensive and worth their weight in gold!
🥕Equipment
- 9"x 9" baking dish
- medium sauce pan
- large mixing bowl
- mesh strainer or colander (for rinsing cranberries)
- measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- pastry cutter (optional)
- parchment paper (optional)
- mini rolling pin (optional)
- kitchen scale (optional)
If you love cranberries, here's a few more cran-tastic recipes!
🥕FAQ's
Full disclosure here, I haven't tried to make a gluten-free version of these vegan cranberry oat crumble bars yet, but if I did, I would likely use a 1:1 gluten-free flour. If you decide to give it a go, make sure that all other ingredients you use are labeled gluten-free and are not manufactured on shared equipment.
Store them in the pan tightly covered with food-safe plastic wrap or in an airtight container at a cool room temperature or refrigerated up to 3 days.
Yes, individual bars can be reheated in a microwave. Place on a microwave safe dish and heat in 20 second increments.
Yes, absolutely. If you cannot find whole fresh or frozen cranberries at your grocery store, you can use bottled or canned whole cranberry sauce (not jellied). You can also use other berries, cherries or even pie filling.
If you love this recipe, ★★★★★ please rate it in the comments below. Thanks a bunch!🥕
Recipe
Best Vegan Cranberry Oat Crumble Bars
Equipment
- 9"x 9" baking dish
- medium sauce pan
- Large mixing bowl
- Mesh Strainer or colander
- pastry cutter (optional)
- Parchment paper (optional)
- mini rolling pin (optional)
- kitchen scale (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cranberries whole (fresh or frozen)
- â…“ cup maple syrup
- â…“ cup water
- 2 cups flour all-purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups oatmeal old-fashioned
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup vegan butter
Instructions
Cranberry Sauce
- Rinse cranberries under water. Remove any stems or wrinkled cranberries.
- Place cranberries in a medium sauce pan. Add maple syrup and water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 5-7 minutes until cranberries burst and soften. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
- Use a spoon or fork to mash the soft cranberries. Once sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat and set aside.
Oat Crumble
- Place flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir to thoroughly combine.
- Add brown sugar and vanilla. Stir to thoroughly combine.
- Add vegan butter. Using a pastry cutter, large fork, or your fingers, work butter into the other ingredients until it becomes a fine crumbly mixture.
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Line a 9"x9" square baking dish with parchment paper or grease the dish lightly with butter.
- Divide the crumble mixture in half. Spoon ½ into the baking dish. Press firmly and evenly to create a bottom layer/crust.
- Carefully spread cranberry sauce evenly over bottom crust.
- Cover the cranberries with the remaining crumble mixture. Lightly press down.
- Place the pan on a center rack in oven. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes until top of crumble becomes lightly browned.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for about 20 minutes before cutting and serving.
- Using a sharp pointed knife, cut into 16 even squares, or whatever size you prefer.
- Serve as is or enjoy with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or non-dairy whipped topping.
Notes
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Boysenberries
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Apricots
- Apples (peeled)
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Every time I make a batch of these cranberry oat crumble bars they’re devoured within a day!