With their luscious blueberry filling, soft and buttery oatmeal crust, and golden crumb topping, these blueberry oatmeal bars are just the perfect amount of sweet! It has no eggs and is readily gluten and dairy free. Continue the blueberry theme with my blueberry muffin bread or blueberry smoothie bowl.

On this Sunday, I had a thought: what if blueberries were named purpleberries?

That’s what I think every time I mash or fry a blueberry and see the purple interior. It’s almost as though I despise being called blueberries. It’s almost like deceptive advertising. Sure, they’re blue on the outside, but haven’t we been taught that what’s on the inside is what matters?

What if this dish was named Purpleberry Oatmeal Bars instead? It sounds like something out of Willy Wonka’s imagination. But I suppose we have enough of fruits with unusual names: dragon fruit, kumquats, and boysenberries.

And breadfruit ITS NOT BREAD, PEOPLE. FFS.

I should be in charge of naming things since I’m incredibly excellent at it. Examples:

• Dragon fruit = Pink Poppy Seed Alien Football
• Kumquat = Oblong Oranges
• Boysenberries = Almost Raspberries
• Breadfruit = Goosebump Limes

Impressed? Thought so.

Ingredients for blueberry oatmeal bars

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (gluten-free oats may be used)
• cup all-purpose flour, gluten-free flour may be substituted 1:1
• cuplight brown sugar
• teaspoonkosher salt
• 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (may use melted coconut oil)
• teaspoonpure vanilla extract
• cupgranulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• Zest of one lemon
• 1teaspooncornstarch
• 12ouncesfresh or frozen blueberries*

How to make blueberry oatmeal squares

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and cover an 88-inch baking dish with parchment paper and nonstick spray. Place aside.
2. Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing basin.
3. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla essence until the flour is thoroughly incorporated and the dough is lumpy.
4. 2 tablespoons of the mixture in a small dish, and the rest in the bottom of the prepared pan. Place aside.Set aside slightly less than one
5. Combine the granulated sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cornstarch in a medium mixing basin.
6. or toss the blueberries in the mixture to coat.Stir in the blueberries gently.
7. Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust in the prepared baking dish.
8. Top with saved oatmeal mixture; part of the fruit may still show through, which is acceptable.
9. Bake for 38-42 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
10. Place on a wire rack to cool entirely (or place in the refrigerator to chill faster). Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper edges, slice, and serve.

What if it’s not blueberry season?

Depending on where you live, you may be looking at this recipe and thinking to yourself, Bluebirdcafela.com, it’s not yet the right season for me to go blueberry picking, and you’ve just made me unhappy.

Not to worry! I generally make these using frozen blueberries, and they’re just as good. So simply get a bag from your local grocery store’s freezer aisle and you’re good to go.

Fantastic if you can prepare this dish exactly as written! Simple as that. However, if you have dietary limitations or your pantry is just missing in the necessary items, there are several simple substitutions you may use.

Ingredient substitutions

• You don’t have any fresh blueberries? Simply get some frozen ones! All you have to do before using them is defrost, rinse, and drain them.
• Is it gluten-free? Instead, use gluten-free oats and gluten-free flour. Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Organic Old Fashioned Oats (affiliate link) and Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (affiliate link) are my favorites.
• Is it dairy-free? Replace the melted butter with the equal quantity of melted coconut oil.

Trial and error lessons

• The foundation:

  The foundation has to be chewy, buttery, and robust enough to contain the filling. When I used too much butter, it spread out and never cooked through.
  Another time, I attempted a 1:1 oatmeal/flour ratio, and the crust was too thick and dry.

• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla essence was the icing on the cake for me.Sugar content: I attempted to avoid adding sugar, but it was necessary for the proper taste. And the first
• Step overcomplication: I had also attempted to make the crust and crumb topping separately, using two distinct sets of ingredients. It was much too difficult, and it didn’t need to be. It works wonderfully to use the same item for both.
• Fresh vs. canned: I also wanted the filling to be homemade rather than canned, but I battled for a long time to find the correct combination of ingredients. A really long time.
• I knew I wanted lemon juice and zest in there, but the quantity of liquid that the lemon juice added really messed me up. Blueberries become really juicy when cooked, and I simply couldn’t get the proportions correct.

  Solution? Cornstarch: The appropriate quantity of cornstarch was the key to my final success. Too much, and it became strangely gelatinous. Too little, and the filling so soggy that the bars disintegrated. One teaspoon was plenty.

Can I make them in a 9″x13″ pan?

I haven’t tried making these in a 9×13 dish, but I’m guessing doubling the recipe might result in somewhat thicker bars.

How many blueberry bars does this make?

This recipe makes 9 big bars or 16 mini bars (in an 8×8 pan). That is, you may cut them into 16 bars, or 9 if you want to claim you only ate one and get more bang for your money.

How to store blueberry oatmeal squares

Refrigerate for up to 3 days, covered. They will grow softer as time passes, so consume them during the first day.

Reheat by microwaving for 10-15 seconds.