Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

This easy Strawberry Rhubarb Bars recipe features a base of rich, tender vanilla cake that’s topped with a sweet-tart layer of jammy strawberries and rhubarb, plus a buttery crumb topping. A beautiful spring and summer dessert!

Living in the Midwest my whole life, bars recipes are common – and I’m a huge fan. I’d never want to live without chewy chocolate chip cookie bars or monster cookie bars! And these Strawberry Rhubarb Bars are especially fabulous for spring and summer. This easy bars recipe features a moist and buttery, vanilla-flavored base that’s dressed up with a ruby-red layer of sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb. And then an irresistible crumb topping seals the deal!

Strawberry Rhubarb Bars Key Takeaways:

• Easy recipe for rhubarb bars with strawberries
• Perfectly seasonal, a beautiful spring & summer dessert
• Delicious base layer with rich buttery, vanilla flavor and moist, tender crumb
• Strawberry & rhubarb combine for a sweet-tart layer that’s absolutely gorgeous
• Crumble topping is full of rich butter flavor and bakes up delightfully crunchy

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.

• Rhubarb & strawberries – A little tart, a little sweet, this is one of my favorite flavor combinations!
• Butter – Unsalted butter is included in both the cake base and the crumb topping, for rich flavor and texture.
• Brown sugar – This gives a warmed sweet flavor to both the cake base and the crumb topping.
• Flour – All-purpose flour is included in both the base and the crunchy topping.
• Baking powder – This gives rise to the bottom cake layer.
• Salt – A little bit is included in both the base and the topping, to contrast with the sweet flavors.
• Eggs – These add rich flavor and help to bind the base ingredients together with moistness.
• Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract gives super lovely flavor to the cake base.

How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

This is an easy recipe that comes together with three layers of yummy flavors and textures!

• Prep. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 9” square baking pan.
• Make the crumb topping. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and salt. Then cut in flour until large crumbs form (should look like the photo in the upper left). Refrigerate until ready to use. (I like this crumb topping method that utilizes melted butter, just like my rhubarb muffins recipe does!)
• Make the strawberry rhubarb filling. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of the flour.

• Create the base batter. Beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Layer in the base and fruits. Spread the cake base batter into the prepared pan. Then layer the fruit mixture over the top.
• Add crumb topping. Sprinkle the chilled crumble topping over the fruits.

• Bake. Place in oven and bake 50-55 minutes, or until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a bit of moist crumbs attached. Remove pan from oven.
• Cool. Let bars cool completely in pan. Cut into individual portions/bars and dust with powdered sugar if desired.

A Few Tips from Brenda

• For super clean cuts, if you’re serving this for a special gathering for example, I recommend following the instructions in the recipe card for preparing the pan with a parchment paper sling. If none of that matters to you, simply give the pan a light spray of non-stick baking spray!
• Do melt the butter for the crumble topping. But do so gently, right away when you start this recipe, so it has some time to cool to warm room temperature.
• Refrigerate the crumb topping so the pieces of crumble chill a bit. This will help the pieces keep their form and become delightfully crispy in the oven.
• Aim for same-size pieces of rhubarb and strawberry, for the best fruit layer.
• Lightly tent the pan with a piece of foil while in the oven if the crumb topping is browning more quickly than you like.

More delicious, easy bars recipes:

• Rhubarb Cream Cheese Bars
• Peach Bars
• Blueberry Crumble Bars
• Lemon Bars (with gorgeous lemon curd filling)
• Lemon Heaven Bars (more like a chewy brownie)

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

Yield: 16 servings

prep time: 30 minutes mins

cook time: 50 minutes mins

total time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

This easy Strawberry Rhubarb Bars recipe features a base of rich, tender vanilla cake that's topped with a sweet-tart layer of jammy strawberries and rhubarb, plus a buttery crumb topping. A beautiful spring and summer dessert!

4.6 Stars (25 Reviews)

Print

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

• ½ cup unsalted butter, gently melted and then cooled a bit (plus a bit more room-temperature butter to grease the pan)
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• 1¼ cup all-purpose flour

Bars

• ½ pound chopped (½" pieces) fresh rhubarb
• ½ pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced ¼" thick
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1½ cups powdered sugar, plus a bit more for dusting over the finished bars
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9'' square baking pan with butter, then line with a parchment paper sling, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Butter and flour the parchment paper and pan, tapping out the excess flour. Set aside.

Crumb Topping

• Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add flour and cut with a rigid pastry cutter or fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Bars

• In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of the flour.
• In another medium bowl, whisk the remaining 1¼ cups of flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, beat in vanilla, then the flour mixture.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Top with rhubarb and strawberry mixture, then top with streusel crumb topping. If you like to have some of the pretty red of the rhubarb and strawberries show on top (I do!), poke a few pieces up through the streusel.
• Bake 50-55 minutes, or until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a bit of moist crumbs attached. If crumb topping is browning more than you like and the cake is not yet fully baked, lay a piece of foil loosely over the pan while it continues to bake.
• Remove pan from oven. Let bars cool completely in pan. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and, using the parchment paper overhang, lift cake from pan. Cut into bars; dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve as is, or with dollops of fresh whipped cream.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 212kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.

Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!

© Brenda | A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Cuisine: American

Course: Bars & Brownies

This post was originally published April 2012, then updated in 2017 and 2024.