These Blueberry Pie Bars feature a buttery shortbread crust, a creamy blueberry filling, and a crunchy crumble topping, creating the ultimate blueberry bar recipe.
Just like blueberries shine in recipes like Blueberry Coffee Cake, Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins, and Eggless Blueberry Pancakes, plump, sweet blueberries are the star in these Blueberry Bars. In fact, I have to say, they are my all-time favorite blueberry recipe.
Reasons to Love Blueberry Pie Bars
- Perfect Flavor. From the flaky shortbread crust to the sweet blueberries that are enveloped in a creamy custard to the buttery crumble, these Blueberry Pie Bars have it all. They are sweet. They are buttery. They are creamy. Absolute perfection!
- Easy Dessert Recipe. A three-layer dessert may sound complicated, but this dessert comes together easily with 10 minutes of prep time.
- Party-Perfect. Not only does everyone love these blueberry pie bars, but just like Homemade Fudgy Brownies, Strawberry Bars, Lemon Cheesecake Bars, and Mini Cheesecakes, they transport well and can be eaten without silverware.
Notes on Ingredients
- Shortbread: Both the crumble and the base of these bars are a shortbread mixture that is made with flour, butter, sugar, and salt--much like my recipe for Classic Shortbread Cookies.
- Blueberries: While fresh berries are best, frozen blueberries work as well, so you can enjoy this treat year-round.
- Custard Filling: The creaminess in these pie bars comes from a mixture of sour cream, vanilla, eggs, and sugar together. The mixture is tangy, creamy, and perfectly sweet. It coats the blueberries in a rich, sweet coating that takes the blueberry bars to a whole new level of deliciousness!
Recipe Modifications
- Sour Cream: Feel free to replace the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt if desired. The bars will still be creamy and a bit lower in fat, but will not have the same tanginess that helps cut through the sweetness and balance the overall flavor of the Blueberry Bars.
- Frozen Berries: If using frozen blueberries, DO NOT THAW the berries before adding the sour cream mixture. Instead, simply mix the frozen berries into the sour cream mixture and increase the baking time by 10 minutes.
- Egg-Free Option: If needed, simply omit the egg from the filling. The bars don't set up as well and may need to be enjoyed with a fork, but are still delicious.
- Berry Options: Feel free to replace the blueberries with blackberries, raspberries, diced strawberries, or a combination of berries.
How to Make Blueberry Bars
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step One: Prepare Shortbread. The shortbread forms the base and the crumble topping of the blueberry pie bars and comes together easily using a food processor or with two forks. Once the mixture comes together and is nice and crumbly, take out a ½ cup of the shortbread mixture and set it aside to use for the blueberry bar's crumb topping. Press the remaining batter evenly into a greased or parchment-lined glass baking dish.
Step Two: Bake the Shortbread Crust. Partially baking the crust for these blueberry bars will help to keep the crust keeps it flaky and tender. If you skip the prebaking, the filling can soak into the crust, making it soggy and dense.
Step Three: Prepare Sour Cream Blueberry Filling. The sweetened sour cream filling is made just like my recipe for Strawberry Bars and Cherry Crumb Pie and is as easy as mixing the sour cream, sugar, egg, and vanilla until well combined and then gently folding in the blueberries.
Step Four: Layer Blueberry Bars. When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the blueberry filling over the crust and then sprinkle the reserved ½ cup crust batter over the berry mixture evenly.
Step Five: Bake. Bake the bars until the blueberry pie filling is set and the crumble topping is golden brown.
Step Six: Chill. While Blueberry Pie Bars can be enjoyed immediately after baking and cooling, their flavor intensifies after chilling. I highly recommend chilling for at least 2 hours, overnight is best, before enjoying these bars. Not only will the flavor be better, but they will slice easier as well.
Storage Instructions
Blueberry Pie Bars should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. I don't recommend freezing the bars due to the sour cream blueberry filling.
More Favorite Dessert Recipes
- Homemade Cheesecake
- Homemade Banana Pudding
- Hot Milk Cake
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- Peach Crisp
- Blackberry Crisp
- Peach Cobbler
If you tried these Blueberry Pie Bars, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Blueberry Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar divided
- dash of salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cubed and cold
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- 4 cups fresh blueberries washed and dried
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish or line it with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or base of a food processor fitted with an s-blade, combine the flour, ¼ cup of sugar, and a dash of salt. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture in the food processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly, and the butter is distributed evenly. Alternatively use 2 forks or a pastry blender to mix the butter into the flour mixture. Reserve ½ cup of the mixture for later. With the remaining batter, press it evenly into the baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, mix together sour cream, remaining ¼ cup sugar, vanilla, and egg together in a large mixing bowl. Gently fold in the blueberries.
- When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the blueberry batter over the crust and sprinkle the reserved ½ cup crust batter over the berry mixture evenly. Return to the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until pie bars are set and the crumble over top is slightly browned.
- Allow the bars to cool for at least an hour before slicing. The bars are BEST if enjoyed after refrigerating for 12 hours before slicing and enjoying.
Chelsea
Hi! Do you think I can get away with using salted butter instead of unsalted in these?
Kristen Chidsey
Chelsea, unsalted butter is always best for baking, but go ahead and use salted butter this time. I would omit any other salt from the recipe.
Arman @ thebigmansworld
Kristen, do you deliver? Please? PLEASE!
Kristen Chidsey
Sending some now Arman!
Mary
Are the measurements correct for this recipe? One half cup flour seems too little.
Kristen Chidsey
Mary, It does seem like too little, but it works. This is only for an 8x8 pan and the blueberries are really the star here.
Melanie | Melanie Makes
These look absolutely decadent - can't wait to give them a try!
Kristen Chidsey
You will love them!
Kristina
oooh, this makes me miss our old house where we had six blueberry bushes... this recipe is perfect for the huge amounts of blueberries I had all over my kitchen. I am saving this to make later this summer, cannot wait!
Kristen Chidsey
I wish I lived in that house too!! I love blueberries.
Christie
I am definitely a dessert person especially when the dessert involves my favorite fruit, blueberries. These are going on my list of must make!
Kristen Chidsey
You will love these Christie.
Kate
Hi,
I just made this with my five year old, its amazing! we can't stop eating it! Just a quick question....is it better to keep in the fridge overnight or out?
thanks again for this super easy recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
Kate, I am so glad you love them and you had your 5 year old help you!!! Yea!! I would keep them in the fridge--just my own preference to be extra safe. Plus, I really enjoy them cold!!!
Blessings,
Kristen
Kathy E.
Hi Kristen! Just like everyone else, I thought these looked so good! I made them this morning and they are delicious! We all love blueberries here and with the yogurt and whole wheat flour, I don't feel too guilty about snitching a bit or two out of the pan. Next time, I think I may play a bit with the ingredient amounts. My dough was very thick and hard to spread. When baked and cooled, it could only be eaten in a dish with a spoon. Still...a great treat!
Kristen Chidsey
Hey Kathy,
Hmmm. I wonder if the humidity or elevation where you are affected the result. I did let my bars cool for about an hour before slicing. Sorry it wasnt perfection for you. I am glad you enjoyed the flavor though.
rhiana
Hi I'm just wondering how much a stick of butter is in grams please???
Kristen Chidsey
Hey Rhiana, The recipe calls for 3/4 cups of butter which is 170 grams of butter. That would equal 1 stick (113 grams) + 1/2 stick (about 57 grams). I hope that helps you!!
Kristen
Agnes
I know a long time has passed since this comment, but for anyone new reading this, definitely don't use 3/4 cups of butter! The recipe lists 1 1/2 sticks, which is 6 tablespoons, and even that is way too much for the listed amounts of flour and sugar.
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for you comment Agnes. My recipe only calls for 3/4 a stick of butter NOT 3/4 cup of butter. So it will work out just fine!
Colleen
Wow! These looks D-licious!!! Just went raspberry picking with my kids...I bet raspberries would work great in this recipe too!
Kristen Chidsey
Do try and let me know. I bet thst would be awesome. I love raspberries.
ellen
I am looking forward to making these this evening but after reviewing the recipe I don't see where you use the 2nd 1/4 cup of sugar in the recipe. Can you please let me know if that is added to the berry mixture. Thank you and I can't wait to make and bake!!
Kristen Chidsey
Ellen...great catch!! I apologize for my error...funny how you can read it over so many times and not catch something so obvious. Editing is not my strength 🙂 ha! You add the sugar to the yogurt/sour cream mixture. Enjoy them. Let me know what you think.
Rebekah
These look awesome! I'm so impressed your five year old made these by herself! My three year old, almost four, loves to help me bake, maybe by the time he is five I'll be able to give him a recipe and let him go to town. 🙂
Thanks for linking up in the Bloggers Brags Party, hope you come again soon!
Kristen Chidsey
Good for you getting your child in the kitchen. I am sure he will be able to do a recipe start to finish at 5 if you keep it up!
Ashley
These look soooo good! A great substitution for the traditional pie. I'd love to try this recipe for our next family party! I am one of those whose pie crusts sometimes come out not so pie crusty lol. Still something to work on 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing the recipe, and your post will be featured in tonight's What'd You Do This Weekend! Pinned 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks Ashley for the feature, I am honored! This recipe is great for anyone who fears pie crust or does not like it. I hope they are a hit at your family party!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
These look amazing! I am all about anything blueberry right now!!!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks Jocelyn. I am a bit obsessed with blueberries as well. I just picked a batch of fresh berries. Happy day at my house! I hope you love these bars as much as my family did!
Sheila
I am there with you on the "pie" thing! I would much rather bake up some scrumptious bars like these! They look and sound fabulous! And defiantly a perfect summer treat!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks Shelia!! These are definitely a great substitute for us non-pie lovers!! They are delicous!
Ashley LaMar
Hi from #FoodieFriday! I shared blueberries this week too; I'm kind of a blueberry addict. These pie bars look really good. I may need to try them out after my next blueberry picking adventure.
Kristen Chidsey
You definitely need to try to them. They are delicious!!