Nitrate & Nitrite Free Maple-Ginger Pear Crumble Bars
Warm spiced pears, fragrant fresh ginger, and a golden oat crumble come together in a bar that feels like autumn in every bite. The filling is cooked down on the stovetop until the juices turn glossy and jam-like, which means every layer is packed with concentrated flavor rather than watery fruit. Pure maple syrup does double duty here — sweetening both the filling and the buttery crust — so there's no refined sugar or processed sweeteners to worry about. For anyone navigating a diet that avoids cured or preserved ingredients, these bars are a genuinely easy win because every single component is a whole, recognizable ingredient straight from your kitchen. The rice flour and tapioca starch base gives the crust a tender, slightly crisp texture that holds together beautifully once cooled, making them easy to slice and share. They're the kind of treat you can bring to a gathering without having to explain a single thing on the ingredient list.
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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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