Only 5 ingredients and made in 1 bowl, these Raspberry Bars are simple to make yet quite fancy and crowd pleasing! They have a shortbread crust + topping, and are filled with raspberry preserves.
I had a few trials when coming up with these raspberry bars. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ve had no trouble eating any of the versions I’ve tried! The first batch was too wet, and not shortbread-y enough. Plus, I kept trying to make a different topping, and the recipe felt too complicated.
So finally I decided to try making the crust and topping in the same bowl, adjusted amounts of everything and, voila! Perfection was finally found.
This is such a wonderful dessert for Spring and Summer. Perfect for Mother’s Day and all kinds of showers (baby, wedding). Everyone is sure to love these raspberry bars, so feel free to double the recipe to feed a crowd!
I hope you love these Vegan Raspberry Bars. They’re
- Made in 1 bowl with 5 ingredients (plus optional glaze)
- Crowd-pleasing
- Super fruity, with a tart and sweet filling
- Perfect for Spring and Summer
- Easy & Delicious!
Want more raspberry desserts?
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.
Notes
- I haven’t tried these with gluten free flour, but you could try a mix of gluten free all purpose and almond 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.
I double this recipe and half the raspberry preserves. This and your chocolate cake are on my favorite recipes of yours (I love so many). Yummy!
Two oldies that are also my favorites! 🙂 Thanks for loving my recipes.
RIDICULOUSLY good! I’ve made them four times now for different events (using various preserves), and they’re the first thing to go. I had one person say, “Oh, these are pretty good”, only to later ask me not to bring them again because they’d just finished their fourth & they can’t stop eating them. Yesterday, my boss had one for breakfast….then two more with her lunch. Thank you for such a simple and customizable, yet sublime, recipe!
Thanks Judi! I have been making these for YEARS now and though they aren’t the most viewed dessert recipe on my website, they are in my top 5 favorite recipes of all time. 🙂
Too sweet. The “crumble” was impossible to press and spread on top. I had one bar and threw the rest away.
Thank you for this recipe!! Turned out perfect.
Absolutely delicious! And so easy! I used fig jam but I look forward to making these with raspberry and other flavors. Thank you for another outstanding recipe!
We have LOVED these bars this summer! I needed a last minute dessert and worked with what I had on hand instead of my normal flour- almond flour and tapioca flour with a mix of vegan butter and palm shortening. It still turned out great! We have tried multiple different flavors and truly such a crowd pleaser every time.
Hi Hope. I’m thrilled you loved the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review and feedback!
I made these this weekend but added coconut in with the raspberry preserves and sprinkled some on top as well. Delicious!
Sounds delicious, Rachelle! Thank you for sharing your wonderful idea and fabulous review! Happy cooking!
Hi- could I use frozen raspberries in this recipe in place of the preserves somehow?
I’ve never tried it, I would probably try making a homemade raspberry filling from them, like in this recipe for Raspberry Crumble Bars.
i made these according to recipe , but without icing.
even though the recipe was easy to make , it was way too sweet.
maybe i will try again and only ½ cup of sugar and less time for crust to bake.
Omg! Made these and better than anything I’ve bought at a bakery. Seriously, this is one of my top favorite recipe of yours. I cannot wait for you to come out with a cookbook!
These are sooo good Nora ! And so flippin easy ! I just made them today to use up some random bits of jam. I also added the end of some granola into the shortbread. It’s just delicious and easy and comes out beautifully.
Hi Rani. I’m thrilled you loved the bars! Granola sounds like a delicious addition! Thanks for your fabulous review and feedback!
Thank you Nora! This was recipe was really easy and there was almost no clean up. I used apricot preserves. I added sliced almonds to the topping, and I put a little bit of almond extract in my glaze. So excited for them and you!!! Thank you again!!
Your bars sounds delicious, Ann! Thanks for your fabulous feedback and review!
Nora you are amazing! This recipe is fit for a Queen Tea Party! I made it yesterday for my adult. daughter to take to her book club and I’m making it again today for us! I did add 1/4 cup of rolled oats to the crust for a hint of nutty flavor. It was so good I will add 1/3 cup today. I can’t wait to try other preserves in this. Like mango, cherry, strawberry rhubarb. Oh yesterday I did raspberry rhubarb! Thanks for all your wonderful vegan recipes. I go to your recipes more than any other vegan site!
You are so welcome, Sandy! I’m so happy that this recipe was such a hit and I can’t wait for you to try it with more kinds of fruit! Thanks for your wonderful feedback 🙂
Made these for our family Easter gathering, and they are delicious! 10/10 recipe, for sure! Love the simplicity of method and ingredients! I look forward to making again and trying with other fruit flavors! Thank you, Nora!
You are welcome, Aliesha! I’ll be curious about what all fruits you will try! Thanks for your fabulous feedback and review!
These are won-der-ful!!! Easy and delicious! I love that the recipe makes a nice sized batch. Enough for sharing and for keeping! Love them! Thank you!
You are welcome! Thanks for your terrific feedback and review!
So simple and yummy!
Nora, these are always a hit in my house! I add a little orange extract to the glaze and it pairs so nicely with the raspberry ❤️I’m sure some orange zest would be cute and add even more flavor. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
Would you refrigerate these to enjoy in the days after they are made?
I leave them at room temperature, because the coconut oil will cause them to harden a lot if they are refrigerated.
I’ve made this loads with different fillings including mincemeat and it’s absolutely brilliant. I’m not keen on oil in recipes so just rubbed vitalite into the flour before stirring the sugar through. I even substituted some ground almonds for some of the flour which was lovely with the raspberry filling. Great recipe thank you!
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your great feedback and ideas! I’m glad you love the recipe!
These bars are amazing! I love them with raspberry jam, but will try other jams too. The last time I made them I had some cherry pie filling so I used that instead of jam and made cherry pie bars. They were awesome too. Great recipe!
Hi Parie. I’m thrilled that you love the bars. These are one of my favorites! It’s good to know that you have had luck using different types of fruit filling! Thank you for sharing your review, ideas, and feedback!
Would this work with an apple filling and if so, any specific advice on how to make one?
I’m sure it would work! You could use replace the raspberry preserves with the same amount of apple preserves or unsweetened applesauce.
These are amazing and so easy to make! A crowd pleaser too. Thanks, Nora!
These are so so delicious! I added some coconut flake to the topping as well.. thank you! ☺️
So glad you loved the bars! Thank you for sharing our wonderful comments!
Yes me too. Alternatively I added ground almonds to replace some of the flour and sprinkle a few flaked almonds on top for a Bakewell tart flavour. Yummy. X
Do these freeze well?
Yes, they freeze well.
Does it work best to cut them and freeze them individually or as an entire pan? Thanks!
Either way is totally fine.