5-Ingredient Low-Carb Blueberry Crumb Bars are grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, vegan, and so easy to make! With a flaky almond flour shortbread crust, fresh jammy blueberry filling and a crumble topping, these easy low-carb crumb bars are so addicting!
Chewy, gooey jammy keto blueberry crumb bars atop a grain-free shortbread crust with a crumble topping is what we’re getting into here.
Buttery flavors mixed with berry tang and the perfect level of sweetness to remind you dreams do come true.
In fact, they are grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, and guess what?
We only need 5 basic ingredients to make these delicious low-carb treats!
If you tried my Keto Strawberry Crumb Bars, Paleo Apple Pie Bars, or my Paleo Blueberry Crumb Bars, you’re already familiar with what we’ve got going on here!
What I love the most about these tasty little keto blueberry crumb bars is how easy they are to make.
We whip up the shortbread crust and topping at the same time, since both are made out of the exact same ingredients and quantities of those ingredients.
While the crust is baking, we stew up some blueberries on the stove top to make that jammy berry filling.
We put the bars together, bake, slice, enjoy, then praise life for being so bountiful!
Let’s discuss the 5 simple ingredients needed for these keto blueberry bars!
Ingredients for Low-Carb Blueberry Crumb Bars:
Almond Flour: Used as the base and the topping for the bars, we use super fine almond flour to form the crust and the crumble topping. I use Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour, but you can go with any brand you love. Just note that various brands of almond flour contain different absorbencies, so results may vary slightly between brands.
While coconut flour is an awesome grain-free low-carb flour for baking on the keto diet, it can’t be used as a 1:1 substitute for almond flour here, as it absorbs four times the amount of liquid. I may develop a coconut flour version of this recipe in the future!
Coconut Oil (or Butter): In order to bring the almond flour crust mixture together, we need some form of fat. Use melted coconut oil to keep the recipe dairy-free or melted butter if you aren’t dairy-free. I’ve tested both options extensively, and both are marvelous!
Sugar-Free Granulated Sweetener: Just a touch of sugar-free granulated sweetener wins us a magical crumb bar that isn’t too sweet. My top three recommendations for sugar-free granulated sweeteners are Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener, Swerve, and Truvia. All three have been tried and true for me for all of my low-carb keto recipes.
Sea Salt: Remember, sea salt enhances the flavor of everything it touches, so be sure to add it to both the blueberry filling and the crust mixture!
Fresh or Frozen Blueberries: Fresh berries are the star of the show here! You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries to make the blueberry filling. If you use fresh blueberries, note that the blueberry filling mixture will look dry at first but as it heats up, the blueberries will begin to release liquid and it will begin looking more saucy. You won’t need to add any liquid to the blueberry mixture.
Tapioca Flour: In order to thicken the blueberry filling, we need a thickening agent. I’ve found tapioca flour or arrowroot flour to be particularly handy for this task in gluten-free baking. All you need is a small amount, so while tapioca flour isn’t typically considered a “keto approved” food, the net carbs are still so low you won’t have an issue with raising blood sugar.
Optional Additions:
If you have it on hand, you can add 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the almond flour shortbread crust mixture. This will bring warm flavor to the crust.
Love nutty toppings? Mix in ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the reserved crumble topping for sprinkling on top of the crumb bars.
Add 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon zest (or orange zest) and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to the crumb mixture for some zesty lemon action.
Let’s bake these beautiful gluten-free keto blueberry crumble bars already!
How to Make Sugar-Free Low-Carb Blueberry Crumb Bars:
Prepare the Crust and Topping:
The crust and topping are made from the exact same mixture so we get to multi-task and make them both at the same time. There’s no need to separate the dry ingredients from the wet ingredients for the crumb mixture. Everything can go in the bowl together at the same time.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper.
Stir all of the ingredients for the crust and topping in a mixing bowl until it is well combined and a thick sticky dough forms. If you’d like, you can use an electric mixer, but it isn’t necessary. The dough may seem very crumbly – this is normal. Measure out ¾ of a cup of the mixture and set it aside to use as the topping later.
Transfer the remaining almond flour mixture to the parchment-lined pan and press it into an even layer with your hands.
Use a fork to poke many holes in the crust. This will allow it to bake evenly as there will be some airflow through the crust.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven.
Make the Blueberry Filling:
While the crust is baking, you can prepare the blueberry filling. Transfer the blueberries and a pinch of sea salt to a saucepan.
Cover the saucepan and heat it over medium heat on the stove top, stirring occasionally.
After a few minutes, liquid will begin to leach out of the blueberries. Once this occurs, you can mash the blueberries with a spoon or fork to help along the process.
Add the tapioca flour and sugar-free sweetener and stir well to combine. Allow the mixture to boil for a couple of minutes to thicken, then remove it from the heat.
Make the Bars:
Transfer the blueberry filling to the pan and smooth it into an even layer over the crust, creating the blueberry layer.
Use the reserved crumble mixture to sprinkle over the blueberries. Note: you can leave the mixture very crumbly or you can press it into small dough nuggets, depending on the look you’re going for.
Bake the bars at 350 for 22 to 30 minutes or until the topping is golden-brown and the blueberry filling is bubbly.
Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Store any leftover Keto Blueberry Crumb Bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Nutritional Information:
This recipe makes 12 to 16 bars. I calculated the nutrition facts based on 12 bars, because who are we kidding? We like dessert here.
Each crumb bar contains 264 calories (again, based on 12), 12 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, leaving us with 8 net carbs.
In this sense, these bars may not work as a keto dessert recipe for some people following a strict ketogenic diet, depending on the daily total carbohydrate intake; however, active individuals who have higher carbohydrate needs will find these bars fit into their keto diet just fine.
If cutting 16 bars out of the recipe, each bar has 198 calories and 6 grams of net carbs.
In essence, whether or not these bars are considered keto depends on the size of bar you cut and what your daily carbohydrate needs are.
The bars are, however, sugar-free and lower in carbohydrate than your standard dessert and should not have a major impact on blood sugar (provided the individual isn’t eating a great deal of other carbohydrate alongside the bars).
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also love my Keto Blueberry Crumble!
More Keto Dessert Recipes:
- Keto Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Flourless Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
- Keto Lemon Pound Cake
- Glazed Keto Lemon Cookies
- Low Carb Carrot Cake Bread
- Dairy-Free Keto Coffee Cake
Enjoy this easy blueberry dessert recipe!
Low-Carb Blueberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
Blueberry Filling:
- 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 Tbsp sugar-free granulated sweetener
- 1 Tbsp tapioca flour
- Pinch sea salt
Shortbread Crust and Topping:
- 3 cups almond flour
- ½ cup coconut oil or butter melted
- ¼ cup sugar-free sweetener
- Pinch sea salt
Instructions
Prepare the Crust and Topping:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper.
- Stir all of the ingredients for the crust and topping in a mixing bowl until it is well combined and a thick sticky dough forms. If you'd like, you can use an electric mixer, but it isn't necessary. The dough may seem very crumbly – this is normal.
- Measure out ¾ of a cup of the mixture and set it aside to use as the topping later. Transfer the remaining almond flour mixture to the parchment-lined pan and press it into an even layer with your hands.
- Use a fork to poke many holes in the crust. This will allow it to bake evenly as there will be some airflow through the crust.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven.
Make the Blueberry Filling:
- While the crust is baking, you can prepare the blueberry filling. Transfer the blueberries and a pinch of sea salt to a saucepan. Cover the saucepan and heat it over medium heat on the stove top, stirring occasionally. After a few minutes, liquid will begin to leach out of the blueberries. Once this occurs, you can mash the blueberries with a spoon or fork to help along the process.
- Add the tapioca flour and sugar-free sweetener and stir well to combine. Allow the mixture to boil for a couple of minutes to thicken, then remove it from the heat.
Make the Bars:
- Transfer the blueberry filling to the pan and smooth it into an even layer over the crust, creating the blueberry layer.
- Use the reserved crumble mixture to sprinkle over the blueberries. Note: you can leave the mixture very crumbly or you can press it into small dough nuggets, depending on the look you’re going for. I do a combination of both.
- Bake the bars at 350 for 22 to 30 minutes or until the topping is golden-brown and the blueberry filling is bubbly.
- Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Store any leftover Keto Blueberry Crumb Bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Video
Nutrition
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What could be used in place of almond flour? Could you use coconut flour or spelt?
Hi Anita! I have a different recipe for Blueberry Crumb Bars that calls for gluten-free all-purpose flour – https://www.theroastedroot.net/blueberry-oatmeal-crumb-bars-gluten-free-vegan/ Will that work? You could follow that recipe using spelt flour too but the bars might be a little extra crumbly. I wouldn’t recommend trying coconut flour – it’s its own beast and needs a lot of eggs and liquid in order to work out so the recipe would need to change quite a bit. Happy baking!
am I missing something? Why does it take 7 pages to print a recipe? I’m a paper person; I need to print! lol But not 7 pages!!!
Hi Julie! Did you press the ‘Print’ button on the recipe card in order to print it? If so, you can uncheck the “instruction images” box at the top of the page so that only the words will print. I hope this helps!
Could I use honey as the sweetener? Or would that change consistency too much? does it need to be a dried granulated form of sweetener?
Hi Crystal! I’ll point you to my Paleo Blueberry Crumb Bars, which use a liquid sweetener (pure maple syrup): https://www.theroastedroot.net/paleo-blueberry-crumb-bars/ You can use honey instead of pure maple syrup but I’d recommend keeping an eye on the bars and possibly bake them for less time – honey begins to burn at a certain temperature so I’d check on them around 18 minutes and pull them out if they look like they’re browning up.
Absolutely, perfect! I lessened the sweetener overall but that’s for personal reasons. I doubled the recipe and followed the recipe as written. Very easy. I will make this again and maybe try strawberries when they come into season. Thanks for a lovely, quick recipe.
Sounds amazing, Suzanne! Thanks so much for sharing!
I wish you would format your printed recipe for the blueberry crumb bars to not include all the pictures. What would be a one or two page recipe, turns into 6 or 7 pages with large photographs. Not sure if this is the case with all your recipes, but thought I would mention it.
Hi Janet! When you click the print button, there is an option to de-select the box for Instruction Images. The default is for the box to be checked, but you can uncheck it so that none of the images in the instructions print. I can send you an email with a screen shot if that’s helpful 🙂
Any sugar free granular sweeteners without erythrytol? New data on adverse effects on the heart.
Hi Chris! It depends on the brand, but there are some monk fruit sweeteners that don’t contain erythritol (for instance, this brand is 100% monk fruit with no added erythritol: https://amzn.to/3FAmjXw). Allulose and Stevia don’t contain it either, although some brands will add it to their sugar-free blends. When choosing a sweetener, you can look at the ingredients list and be sure it’s made with 100% monk fruit, stevia, or allulose without erythritol in there 🙂
As a side note, there was a major issue with that study – the study looked at levels of erythritol in the blood, not dietary erythritol. Rather than looking at the dose of erythritol each subject was consuming, they tested the blood levels of the subjects, which will always be high in individuals who already have health issues. So in essence, that particular study did not prove causation, only correlation. This isn’t to say people shouldn’t care about that study to pay close attention to what they’re consuming – it is just to provide more nuance around the topic.
Can I use dozen berries? Let thaw maybe? Hmmm 🤔
@Danielle, can I use frozen berries***
Hi Danielle! Frozen berries will work! Just be sure to cook the berry filling until it is nice and thick (versus runny) and you’ll be good to go! 🙂
This was good not overly sweet, I forgot the vanilla and lemon I think that would take it over the top. A nice desert or breakfast dish. I substituted xantham gum for tapioca flour came out well,
That’s very helpful information! Many people have been looking for replacements for tapioca flour in the recipe, so it’s great to know xanthan gum works. Do you remember how much you used? xo
Substitute tapioca flour?
Hi Amber! You can use cornstarch or arrowroot flour to replace the tapioca flour. Hope you love the bars!! xoxo
I just made this last night and it is really good! I am one of those cooks that likes to add stuff but I did add a splash of vanilla to the dough and a slight sprinkle of a sugar free buttery cinnamon roll over the top. I will be making these again and I suspect they will freeze well in single portions. Thank you!
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoy them, Angela! I love the idea of adding vanilla extract and the buttery cinnamon roll concept is making me drool! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
@Julia, I used xantham gum too about 1/2 teaspoon
Amazing, thank you!
I baked it last night. Taste good, but crust is falling apart. I think it needs an egg or two.
Hi Lucia,
Sounds like it just needs a little additional coconut oil or butter. The crust is meant to be crumbly, but it shouldn’t fall apart too easily. What would help is a little additional oil/butter and making sure you press it into the baking pan nice and firmly. Varying brands of almond flour do have varying absorbencies so depending on the brand you use, you may need to use slightly more oil to bring the crust and topping together 🙂 Hope that helps!! xoxox
Hi, can I use gluten free flour instead of almond flour?
Hi there! I haven’t tested the recipe using gluten-free flour, but I imagine you would probably need to use more oil or butter, as in my experience, gluten-free flours absorb more liquid than almond flour. If you’re willing to experiment with it, it may be worth the try but I would hate for you to waste time and ingredients. May be wisest to google a recipe that calls for gluten-free flour instead 😉 Nevertheless, let me know if you try it! xo