Easy Cranberry Oat Crumble Bars (for the holidays)

These Cranberry Oat Crumble Bars are the easiest festive dessert!

This easy recipe pairs tart cranberries with a sweet oat crumble topping and an orange icing drizzled on top.

These cranberry crumb bars are the perfect treat for the holiday season!

I love easy dessert bars for the holidays like these White Chocolate Pistachio Blondies and Chewy Chocolate Pretzel Bars. These cranberry crumble bars are made with just 10 key ingredients plus an orange icing if you want to amp up the flavour even more.

Why you’ll love these cranberry oat crumble bars

Easy: You can prep these cranberry oat bars in just 10 minutes!
Festive: Use cranberry sauce to make these bars which is oh so festive for the holidays.
Make-ahead: This is a great recipe to make ahead for your Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday table.

all of the cranberry oat crumble bar ingredients in a bowls and temperature

Ingredients needed

Oats: old fashioned oats are the best to use in these cranberry oat bars

Cranberry sauce: use one can of whole berry Cranberry sauce for all the cranberry flavour (you don’t need to use fresh cranberries)

All purpose flour: all purpose flour is a must to bring the crumble mixture together which is used for the crumb topping and bottom crust

Sugar: use a combination of white (granulated) sugar and brown sugar to add sweetness

Butter: melted butter brings the crumble mixture together

Cinnamon: a touch of cinnamon brings together the flavours in the oat crumble

Pecans: I love the addition of crunchy pecans to the oat crumble toppings; if you’re allergic to pecans, substitute with an equal amount of more rolled oats

Orange icing: make an orange glaze with fresh-squeezed orange juice and icing sugar (powdered sugar)

How to make these cranberry oatmeal bars

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a square 8X8 square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang of parchment paper to help remove the cooked bars later. Grease the pan well with butter.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in melted butter and mix until fully combined, creating a crumbly mixture.
Save 1 cup of the crumble crust mixture and mix with ¼ cup finely chopped pecans and set aside. Pour the remaining crumb mixture into the baking pan and press into an even, flat base layer with your hands.
Pour the cranberry sauce onto the crumble crust base layer in the pan and spread into an even layer.
Finally, sprinkle the 1 1/4 cups crumble crust mixture you saved over the cranberry mixture in an even layer.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble crust topping is set and the cranberry sauce might be bubbling around the edges.
Remove from the oven and let it completely cool in the pan or they will fall apart if not completely cooled before cutting. You can also place them in the fridge to help cool faster.
Once fully cooled, use the parchment paper overhang to move the bars onto a cutting board.
Make the orange icing and drizzle over top of the bars and cut into 12 squares.
These will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days!

Tips and tricks

Make these ahead of time for holiday parties and gatherings, up to 3 days ahead. To keep even fresher, store in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
Use rolled oats for the best, chewy texture in these cranberry crumble oat bars. Quick oats will not give the same chewy texture.
It’s important to let these bars cool completely before trying to cut into squares for easier cutting. You can even place the bars in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before cutting into bars.
Use leftover cranberry sauce for these bars! You’ll need about 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups leftover sauce for the filling.
The orange icing really adds a lovely touch of flavour but you can also omit it if desired.

Variations on these oatmeal cranberry bars

Lemon icing: Instead of using orange juice for the orange icing, switch up the flavour to use lemon juice to make the icing lemon flavoured.
Other fruit filling: In the Spring, use a blueberry pie filling with a lemon icing. Use 1 3/4 cups of the blueberry pie filling.
Add orange zest: Add 1 tsp orange zest to the cranberry sauce for an extra punch of orange flavour!
Try different nuts: For a different flavour profile, use chopped walnuts or chopped almonds instead of pecans.

Common questions

Can I make these bars gluten-free?

Yes! You can use certified gluten-free rolled oats instead of regular rolled oats and use a 1:1 gluten free flour instead of all-purpose flour. Bob’s Red Mill is my favourite 1:1 gluten free flour!

How can I make these bars nut-free?

You can easily make these bars nut-free by substituting with an equal amount of more rolled oats.

Why are my bars falling apart?

It’s extremely important to let the bars fully cool in the baking pan before removing and cutting. If you remove them too early (when they’re still warm), they might break when removed from the pan or fall apart when cutting.

How to store

Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days which helps the cranberry filling and icing stay set. You can make them ahead of time and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Frozen cranberry oat crumble bars should be defrosted in the fridge.