Made with tart cranberries and orange zest, between a sweet and nutty crumb mixture, these easy Cranberry Crumble Bars have a tender texture and are so delicious. The pretty colors make this crumb bar recipe a perfect holiday dessert.

Easy Cranberry Crumble Bars Recipe

These Cranberry Crumble Bars are loaded with a sweet but tart cranberry filling, sandwiched between buttery and nutty, oat-crumb crust layers. They’re basically a berry crumble but converted into square bars with a more stable crust and filling, for an easy portable dessert.

Cranberry crumb bars are perfect for holiday gatherings as they require just a few minutes of prep (the oven does the rest) and slice up perfectly.

You can use fresh cranberries when they’re in season or frozen. I like to stock up the minute I see them hit the stores, so I can make these dessert bars all year long.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Dessert

Here are a few reasons to love this cranberry crumble bar recipe.

Quick and easy. Though these do need to bake for about 45 minutes, the hands-on time is just 15 minutes.
Best tart and sweet flavor combo. These bars feature 3 & 1/2 cups of cranberries coated in orange zest and sugar. The tartness of the berries pairs so nicely with the sweet crumb mixture.
Versatile. These berry crumb bars can easily be customized to include whatever berries you have on hand and can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Perfect for all occasions.
Use fresh or frozen berries. Even though cranberries are pretty synonymous with holiday time, these dessert bars work with fresh or frozen cranberries, so they are a fantastic treat to enjoy year-round.

Ingredients Needed

This easy crumble bar recipe is made with just a handful of basic ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

All purpose flour – Use the spoon and level technique for accurate measuring.
Old fashioned rolled oats – Adds some crisp texture to the crumb topping.
Pecans – They should be chopped into tiny pieces.
Granulated and Brown Sugar – Sugar is necessary to balance out the tart flavor of the cranberries. Both white and brown sugar are used.
Baking powder – Helps develop a tender crust.
Cinnamon – Adds a warm flavor to the crumb.
Salt – To heighten the other flavors.
Butter – Butter should be cold and cut into cubes.
Egg – Helps to bind everything together.
Vanilla – For flavor.
Cornstarch – Cornstarch thickens the berry filling.
Orange zest – Provides a pop of citrus. Cranberries and orange love one another!
Cranberries – I prefer frozen berries for this recipe because I think they’re a bit sweeter, but you can certainly use fresh cranberries when they’re in season.

How to Make Cranberry Crumble Bars

Here’s how to make these easy cranberry bars.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

Prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the 2 longer sides.
Make the dough. Combine the flour, rolled oats, chopped pecans, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs, then stir in the egg and vanilla with a fork. Press half of the mixture firmly into the baking dish.
Make the cranberry mixture. Stir together sugar, cornstarch, and the orange zest. Add the cranberries and toss to coat.
Assemble. Spoon the cranberries over the crumb mixture, then sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, allowing some berries to peek through.
Bake. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crumb mixture is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool completely before slicing.

Tips & Variations

Here are a few tips and ways to change things up when making these cranberry crumble bars.

Use quick-cooking oats. The old fashioned oats can be replaced with quick-cooking oats, if preferred.
Change the nut or omit. Swap out the pecans with walnuts, or simply omit the nuts entirely if there are allergy concerns.
Try different berries. Feel free to replace the cranberries with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries, or a combination.
Don’t cut back on the sugar. Cranberries are very tart and need the sugar to balance out the flavor.
Make sure the butter is cold. The butter must be cold when cutting it into the flour mixture – not room temperature. I recommend keeping it in the fridge until you need it.
Pack the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Be sure to pack the crumb mixture tightly into the bottom of the pan. This ensures it forms a true crust and doesn’t just fall apart when you slice it.
Cool completely before slicing. Make sure to let the bars cool down completely before slicing for a perfect cut.

overhead close up cranberry crumble bar on serving spatula

Proper Storage

Room temperature. These cranberry crumb bars can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. Just keep them tightly covered with foil or plastic wrap or transfer them to an airtight container.
Fridge. They’ll keep longer in the fridge, for up to a week. Again, keep them tightly covered or in an airtight container.
Freeze. These crumb bars freeze really well for up to 2 months. Allow them to cool completely, slice, and then transfer to a freezer-safe container. I recommend parchment paper between layers to keep them from sticking. You can also wrap them individually in plastic wrap, then transfer to a Ziploc freezer bag.

More Cranberry Desserts:

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!

Cranberry Crumble Bars

Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings: 18 bars

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans , finely chopped
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar , divided
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup cold butter , cut into cubes
1 large egg , beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon orange zest
3 & 1/2 cups frozen cranberries (do not thaw)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper with a slight overhang on the 2 longer sides.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, chopped pecans, 1 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender (or your hands) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then stir in the egg and vanilla with a fork (dough should remain crumbly.)
Press half the crumb mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Wipe out the bowl used for the dough. Add in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch, and orange zest; stir to combine. Dump in the cranberries and toss to coat.
Spoon the cranberries over the crumb mixture in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the cranberry mixture (do not press it down.)
Bake 40 to 45 minutes until golden and the filling is bubbly. Let cool completely before slicing into bars.

Notes

Use fresh or frozen berries. These dessert bars work with fresh or frozen cranberries. If you don’t love cranberries, feel free to replace them with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries, or a combination.

Use quick-cooking oats. The old fashioned oats can be replaced with quick-cooking oats, if preferred.

Change the nut or omit. Swap out the pecans with walnuts, or simply omit the nuts entirely if there are allergy concerns.

Don’t cut back on the sugar. Cranberries are very tart and need the sugar to balance out the flavor.

Make sure the butter is cold. The butter must be cold when cutting it into the flour mixture – not room temperature. I recommend keeping it in the fridge until you need it.

Pack the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Be sure to pack the crumb mixture tightly into the bottom of the pan. This ensures it forms a true crust and doesn’t just fall apart when you slice it

Nutrition

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberry crumb bars, cranberry crumble bars