MSG Free Maple-Ginger Pear Crumble Bars
Warm spiced pears, earthy oats, and the deep sweetness of pure maple syrup come together in a bar that feels like autumn in every bite. The filling gets its gentle heat from freshly grated ginger, which brightens the soft, jammy pears without overpowering them — it's a combination that's cozy but surprisingly sophisticated. Tapioca starch does the quiet work of thickening the filling to a glossy, luscious consistency, so each bar holds together cleanly when you slice it. The crust and crumble are one unified mixture, pressed on the bottom and scattered on top, which means less fuss and more of that buttery, golden crunch you're after. Every ingredient here is whole and straightforward — rolled oats, rice flour, real maple syrup, fresh fruit — with absolutely nothing processed or flavor-enhanced hiding in the mix. That makes these bars a genuinely easy choice when you're cooking for anyone who needs to avoid additives, because there's no label-scanning required. They're equally at home on a weekend brunch spread or wrapped up as an afternoon snack, and they taste even better once they've had time to cool and set.
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Learn more →Ingredients
9 servings
For the crust and crumble
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½-inch cubes
For the pear filling
- 3 medium ripe pears (about 1 ½ lb), peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch dice
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two opposite sides to use as handles for lifting the bars out later.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, rice flour, tapioca starch (the 1/4 cup amount), baking powder, and salt. Scatter the cold butter cubes over the dry mixture and work them in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Drizzle in the 1/3 cup maple syrup and stir with a fork until the mixture just comes together into a crumbly, slightly sticky dough.
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