Skip to Content

Cranberry Pineapple Bars

Cranberry Pineapple Bars

I made these cranberry pineapple bars recently in my quest to use up my embarrassing abundance of cranberries, and I thought I’d share the recipe in case some of you haven’t used up your stash yet. 😉

I actually happened to have some crushed pineapple in my fridge too, so I killed two birds with one stone by making the bars. Yay!

I used to make these when I was a teenager, so they’re sort of a blast from my past.

They’re best the first day or two after you make them…after that, the crumb crust gets a little less crisp, although the bars still taste good. The filling is a little bit on the tart side, so if you prefer very sweet fillings, you might want to add a little more sugar.

To make the filling, combine cranberries, undrained pineapple, brown sugar and cornstarch.

Cranberry filling in a pot on the stove.

Cook for 10-15 minutes over medium heat, or until the cranberries have popped (isn’t it fun that cranberries pop when you cook them??) and the filling is thickened.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Cooked cranberries in a pot.

Combine the dry crust ingredients in a large bowl.

Brown sugar, salt, and oats in a glass bowl.

Cut in the butter until it’s in small chunks. I use a simple, sturdy pastry blender…I think it was less than $10 in the kitchen department at Target.

A pastry blender in a bowl of oats.

Reserve 2 cups of the crumb mixture for the topping and press the rest into a greased 9×13 pan.

A pressed crust in a 9x13 pan.

Spread the filling over the crust.

Cranberry filling, spread in a pan.

Sprinkle topping over filling, pressing it down slightly.

A crumb topping in a 9x13 pan.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Pineapple cranberry bars, sliced.

Cranberry Pineapple Bars

printable version

Filling

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple in its own juice, undrained

Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter

Heat oven to 350 ° F. Grease 9×13 inch pan.

Combine all filling ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cover and reduce heat; cook for 10-15 minutes, or until cranberries pop and mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine all crust ingredients except butter. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Set aside 2 cups crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into greased pan. Spread filling over top of the crust.

Sprinkle crumb mixture over filling; press lightly.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe originally from Pillsbury’s Healthy Baking (but I must say, they have an odd definition of healthy. Ahem.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Judy

Friday 9th of September 2022

What can I use in place of butter? LoL too high, but love this bar. Except for butter and trading flour for almond flour, it healthy.

Kristen

Friday 9th of September 2022

Well, I think any other solid fat would work, such as a non-dairy alternatives to butter. Coconut oil might work too.

Karen

Monday 2nd of July 2012

Try the cranberry scones on food.com, recipe 13067. Throw in half a cup or so of white chocolate chips (or the remains of a white chocolate bunny, not like I'd know or anything) and you may wish you had more cranberries. Maybe some blueberries too, for the 4th?

Penny

Friday 29th of June 2012

These are actually vegan if you substitute vegan margarine for the butter - have you made them with margarine before? Seems like it would work out ok, but I'm curious.

Kristen

Friday 29th of June 2012

I haven't, but I'm sure it would work. I'm just highly partial to the taste of butter!

David

Friday 29th of June 2012

It was so great to find this recipe on line, my son mentioned them today and how much he liked them. I hadn't made them in years, and had thrown out the cookbook in my last move. Hurray for the Internet, my son will be very happy

Jenny

Thursday 28th of June 2012

can I use quick oatmeal instead of rolled oats for this recipe?? Looks yummy!

Kristen

Thursday 28th of June 2012

Yep, I did!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.