Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

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These Strawberry Rhubarb Bars are such a sweet treat for summer!  They are so easy to make and seriously so delicious it will hard to stop at just one.

Until recently, I was not a fan of rhubarb.  It was one of those foods I tried when I was a kid, didn’t like it and never tried it again. 

But when I saw it at the farmers market one day, it grabbed my attention and I decided to buy it for some reason.  Then I had to figure out what to do with it!

So I tried making these Strawberry Rhubarb Bars.  Well, once I made them, my opinion has changed on baking with rhubarb.  Whether you like rhubarb or not, have never tried it, I highly suggest making this recipe!

What is rhubarb?

That is the question my 8 year old asked me when I told her I was going to make these Strawberry Rhubarb Bars.  And I had to think about it…really, what is rhubarb?  A fruit, vegetable?…I had to look it up!

Rhubarb is actually a vegetable, but it is usually combined or prepared with fruit in desserts like pie.  It has a very tart flavor, so eating it raw is not recommended.  It tastes much better once combined with other fruit and/or sugar.

Important tip: You should only eat the stems as the leaves are poisonous.  

You can find fresh rhubarb at your local farmers market or at most grocery stores in the produce department.

Rhubarb stems have a beautiful look to them.  To me they look like they were painted with such a pretty pinkish color over the green.

This recipe is a lot like most of the recipes I love to make, quick and easy.  The first time I made this recipe it was around 10:30 at night…I had to use the rhubarb before it went bad and dragged myself into the kitchen saying “Why did I buy this?”  But once it was done, I realized it was a cinch to make and clean up afterwards (and I can be a bit messy in the kitchen!).

How to make Strawberry Rhubarb Bars:

Wash the strawberries and pat them dry or let them sit on a towel to dry.  Wash the rhubarb and dry with a towel.  To wash them, you can just run them under warm water and give them a gentle rub to rinse off the dirt,etc.  

Slice up the rhubarb into 1/2″ slices and set aside.  Slice up the strawberries and set them aside.

Once you have your strawberries and rhubarb washed and cut up, mix them together with the lemon juice in a medium sized pot. Cover and cook on medium heat on the stove top for 8-12 minutes or until the fruit is tender.  Stir occasionally. 

Then mix together the granulated sugar and cornstarch in a bowl.  Add that to the fruit mixture.  Stir constantly and bring the fruit mixture to a boil.  The cornstarch will thicken up the fruit mixture.

Once it reaches a boil, cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your 13 x 9 pan with butter.

Assembling the Strawberry Rhubarb Bars:

Place all the crust ingredients into a bowl.  Using a pastry blender or the back of a fork, combine the ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs.  It is really important to have softened butter for this step. If the butter is still hard, it will be tough to combine it with the other ingredients and make the crumbs.

Take out 1 ½ cups of the crumb mixture out and place into a small bowl.  Set them aside for later.

Press the rest of the crumb mixture into your greased 13 x 9 baking pan.  Use a spatula or the back of a fork to gently press the crumbs down into the pan.

Pour the fruit mixture over it and spread evenly over the crust.

Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.  Let it cool completely.  If you are adding the glaze, make sure the bars are cooled before adding it.

The glaze is optional.  I have made it with and without the glaze and both ways it was delicious. It adds a little more sweetness to the dessert.

How to make the glaze:

If you decide to add the glaze, just mix the powdered sugar and milk until you have a good frosting consistency. 

Start with one tablespoon of milk.  We like to have the glaze a little thicker so we use just one tablespoon.  If you like it thinner than you can add a little more milk at a time to get the consistency you prefer.

If you have Pyrex measuring cups or a bowl with a spout then that would be a great tool to use for this step.  Then you can just drizzle the glaze over the bars right from there (one less dish to clean!).

Drizzle the glaze over the bars evenly.  

If you don’t have a bowl or measuring cup with a spout, then you can use a pastry bag.  If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can use a plastic sandwich bag.  To do that,  cut the corner of a sandwich bag just a little, pour the frosting in there, seal up the bag and drizzle away. 

Just make sure you cut the corner a little so that it doesn’t all come out at once and you end up with a glob of glaze on your bars!  The smaller the corner cut off, the better.  Also make sure the bag is sealed so that the glaze doesn’t run out of the other end.  

I will tell you my family and I loved these bars!  My daughter told me they were so good we could sell them!  

Recipe Tips:

Make sure to use softened butter.  If the butter is right out of the refrigerator it will be too hard and won’t combine easily with the other ingredients.  

A good way to tell when the butter is softened enough is to gently press down on the butter.  If you make a slight indent on the butter, it is good to use for the crumbs.

If you don’t have time to soften the butter, you can cut the butter into small pieces and combine with the other ingredients. 

You could put the butter in the microwave to soften it but you have to make sure to watch it so it doesn’t heat up too quickly and melt.  I would start at 15 seconds and then do 10 second increments after that to prevent the butter from melting.

Make sure to grease the pan so the bars don’t stick to the pan.

It is best to use a measuring cup or bowl with a spout to make the glaze in.  This way you can just use that for easy drizzling over the bars.

If you are using a plastic sandwich bag for the glaze, make sure to cut off just a small corner of the bag.  This will keep the glaze from coming out in a big glob on your dessert and you will have better control of how much comes out while drizzling it over the bars. The smaller the corner cut off, the better. 

If using a plastic sandwich bag for the glaze, make sure the bag is sealed so that the glaze doesn’t run out of the other end. 

Want more quick and easy dessert recipes?

I love making quick and easy desserts, that are delicious but don’t keep you in the kitchen all day!  Here are a few of my favorites that I like to make… No Bake Eclair Cake, Puff Pastry Dessert and Homemade Brownies.  

If you make this recipe, I would love to hear from you in the comments/ratings.  I LOVE to hear from you!

Are you on Pinterest or Instagram?  I share all of my recipes there, so be sure to follow me!  Thank you and happy baking!

5 from 1 vote

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Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

These delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Bars are a quick and easy summer dessert. Perfect to take to a summer party or barbecue.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword summer dessert, strawberry recipes, dessert for a party

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 24 bars

Author Jeannie Z

Ingredients

Filling

• 1½ cups fresh rhubarb cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 ½ cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Crust

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup butter softened
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook on medium heat 8-12 minutes or until fruit is tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Mix together the ½ cup granulated sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Stir into the fruit mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease your 13 x 9 baking pan with butter.

4. Combine all crust ingredients in a bowl. Using a pastry blender or the back of a fork, combine the ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs.
5. Reserve 1 ½ cups crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture into a greased 13x9 baking pan using a spatula or the back of a fork. Spread filling over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture.
6. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

7. Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl until it is a good frosting consistency. Drizzle over cooled bars. (glaze is optional)

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Land of Lakes

This post is not sponsored, but you will find affiliate links on this page.  The price you pay as a consumer does not change, but I may make a small commission based on your purchase. 

Update Note: This recipe was originally posted in 2016, but was published again in 2019 to include step by step directions and new photos.

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