These easy-to-make Guava Bars feature a buttery shortbread base, a layer of sweet and sticky guava paste, and a crumbly oat topping. If you're into guava, you've got to try this recipe!
(This recipe was originally published in August 2016, but was updated with new photos and content in 2020).
I love visiting the Caribbean and Latin America. There are simple ways to remind myself of some of my favorite food memories of trips to that region, and one of the easiest is to make foods or drinks using tropical fruit. Nothing brings me back like pineapple and coconut-infused Painkiller cocktails and desserts featuring guava.
These fantastic guava bars are crazy easy to make, and begin with a layer of basic shortbread, topped with sliced guava paste, and then finished with an oat-crumble topping. These not-too-sweet bar style cookies are really a treat for anyone who loves guava!
Crumbly and buttery with a tropical flair, these guava bars would be perfect for any occasion and can easily be made year-round because they don't require fresh seasonal fruit.
Ingredient notes
The majority of the ingredients in these guava bars are baking pantry staples like butter, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and oats. Guava paste is the one exception. You can typically find it in the Latin foods aisle at your supermarket, and it's also available online. It's shelf-stable and does not require refrigeration.
Personally, I do not recommend the Goya brand of guava paste, as it unnecessarily includes artificial food coloring. My preferred brand is Iberia guava paste. This all-natural ingredient is sold in a 14-ounce block which is very easy to slice for this recipe.
Guava paste is extremely thick and sticky, so just keep that in mind when you start slicing. It will stick to your knife, but it’s easy to peel it off.
How to make them
Guava bars are great because all you have to do is assemble, bake, cut, and serve. Here we go!
Line a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with parchment paper that is large enough to go up the sides with a slight overhang. You can always cut your bars directly in the pan, but I prefer having the ability to safely remove the block to a cutting board and cut it there. This way I won’t scratch the interior of my non-stick baking pan.
For this recipe we begin by making a basic shortbread dough. Add room temperature unsalted butter and sugar to the bowl of a mixer, and beat until fluffy. Then add salt and flour and beat until the mixture comes together.
Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Flour your hands if it’s too sticky (PHOTOS 1-2).
Next, slice the guava paste into thin slices and then arrange them evenly over the top of your shortbread dough (PHOTOS 3-4).
Make the topping using a food processor. Add oats, cold cubed butter, salt, and light brown sugar (PHOTO 5). Pulse 10 times (PHOTO 6), then add flour and pulse again until the mixture is crumbly and sandy (PHOTO 7). Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the pan of shortbread dough and guava paste (PHOTO 8).
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is golden. Cool completely, then use the parchment paper overhand to carefully remove the bars from the pan to a cutting board. Cut into 24 squares (4 rows lengthwise and 6 rows crosswise) and serve.
These guava bars will last several days stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Other recipes you may like
- Pastelitos de Queso y Guayaba (Guava and Cheese Pastries)
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- Russian Pirog with Apricot Preserves
- Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
- Brown Sugar Banana Date Bread
- Browse all Caribbean Recipes and Dessert Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Guava Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (3 ½ ounces) sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups (about 10 ounces) all purpose flour
Topping:
- 14 ounces guava paste, sliced to about ¼-inch thick slices
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, diced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (about 5 ounces) all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Line a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with parchment paper large enough to go up the sides with a slight overhang (for easy removal from the pan later). Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
- For the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add salt and flour and beat until dough comes together.
- Press dough evenly into prepared pan. A bit of extra flour may help when you’re pressing the dough if it’s sticky. Also I use the bottom of a dry measuring cup to help flatten the dough. Just add a bit of flour to the dough or your hand to help flatten the sticky dough as needed. You could also chill it slightly before pressing it as well to firm it up a bit.
- For the topping: Cover dough with slices of guava paste. In the bowl of a food processor, combine oats, butter, salt, and sugar. Pulse 10 times. Add flour and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand with some bigger chunks of crumble throughout. Sprinkle over evenly over top of pan.
- Bake until top is golden, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Use the parchment paper overhang to carefully lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the bars into squares and serve. These bars will last several days at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
- My preferred brand is Iberia guava paste. This all-natural ingredient is sold in a 14-ounce block which is very easy to slice for this recipe. Personally, I do not recommend the Goya brand of guava paste, as it unnecessarily includes artificial food coloring.
- Adapted from Serious Eats
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
A C. says
I skipped the oat topping. added some lemon zest to the shortbread and put a cheesecake layer on top. came out fantastic. This shortbread recipe was great.
Mary says
I made these just this morning and loved them!! I used quick oats and that worked just fine. I will definitely be using this recipe again!
Malena says
We frequently buy guava in my household and I thought it'd be fun to find new recipes to incorporate it. This recipe did not disappoint one bit. It's safe to say I've grown my guava obsession and awakened one in others! 🙂
Gloria says
Delicious and easy. May try with less sugar next batch. But there were no complaints.
Maria says
Fantastic treat. Great crust.
Elizabeth says
So good!!! My crumb topping was very loose after baking and a lot falls off when you eat it, but still tastes amazing! Thank you!
Kara says
These are very good!!
Brian Victor says
i have a question for these Guava Bars in the shortbread Crust: it only says sugar would that be reg or powder? also have to watch the fat can i use margarine instead of butter? Thanks
Brian
Victoria says
Hi Brian! You should use regular granulated sugar for this recipe. I have never attempted this recipe with margarine so I cannot say how it will turn out swapping that ingredient for butter. Let me know if you try it and how it goes with the margarine.
s says
Look forward to trying, any tips on making the topping if you don't have a food processor? Would pre-made oat flour work? Thanks 🙂
Victoria says
Oat flour would have too fine a texture if you were to use it as is. The oats are just pulsed in a food processor to break them down, but not until they are powdery. I would suggest trying to chop regular oats with a sharp knife (like one would do with nuts). You do want a bit of oat texture in the topping. If you have a blender you could also try just pulsing them in their and then transfer to a bowl. Once you've chopped the oats, then add the other ingredients and work the butter into it like you would with pie dough or biscuit dough. Hopefully that will work! The texture may be a bit different but I think better than using a fine oat flour.
Sydney says
I’ve made these bars twice now and love them. I’m wondering if I can substitute other jams and preserves. Specifically, leftover cranberry sauce?
Victoria says
Hey Sydney!
These would be great with any kind of jam or preserves. I imagine leftover cranberry sauce should work too as long as it's pretty thick and nicely gelled. Anything wetter might impact the texture of the shortbread beneath it. Let me know how it turns out!
Lucy Reinbold says
OMG if I could marry these, I would! LOL. I love them soooo much - truly irresistible. Emotionally transports me to a lush Caribbean island!
Mari says
Made these recently, turned out delicious!