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5-Ingredient Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars with chocolate chips and pumpkin spice are a great way to ring in the fall season! This warmly-spiced healthy dessert recipe is flourless, refined sugar-free, vegan, egg-free, and so easy to make!
A cross between my Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies and my 4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars, this healthy treat was designed for those of us who have a sweet tooth but like to keep it clean and simple.
These pumpkin oatmeal bars are easily one of my favorite pumpkin recipes.
Easy to make, made with wholesome clean ingredients, and just so jam packed with delicious flavor and chewy texture, they are a marvel among fall treats!
Plus, these chewy bars are just such a great go-to 1-bowl recipe anytime the pumpkin cravings strike.
In addition to requiring no flour, this simple yet magical dessert recipe is so easy to prepare with minimal ingredients.
My favorite part about these delicious pumpkin bars is how versatile they are for so many types of eaters.
Recipe Highlights:
Gluten-Free and FlourlessRefined Sugar-FreeDairy-FreeEgg-FreeVeganNo flax eggsCustomizableNutritious, Wholesome Ingredients
Let’s chat about the simple ingredients for these yummy pumpkin pie oatmeal bars.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars:
Oats: Old fashioned rolled oats bring that delightful classic oatmeal cookie texture and delicious nutty flavor. For the best results, I recommend sticking with whole rolled oats instead of using quick oats or instant oats.
If you have oat flour on hand, you can swap 1 cup of the oats with ⅔ cup of oat flour if you’d like.
I use gluten-free oats that are sprouted and glyphosate-free but you can pick your favorite tried and true brand of oats.
Pumpkin Puree: Canned pumpkin puree brings volume and moisture to these pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal bars. When mixed with the almond butter, a sticky substance forms that helps glue the ingredients together without the need for eggs. Feel free to use homemade pumpkin puree if you have it.
Be sure to use regular canned pureed pumpkin instead of pumpkin pie filling, because pumpkin pie filling contains sugar and other spices.
Pure Maple Syrup: Used to sweeten the gluten free pumpkin bars, we use pure maple syrup. In addition to sweetening the breakfast bars, this is one of the crucial ingredients that helps the oats stick together. If you aren’t vegan, you can swap the pure maple syrup for honey.
I don’t recommend swapping the pure maple syrup for coconut sugar or brown sugar because it may throw off the ratio of liquid and you’d likely need to make additional changes to offset the liquid loss.
Almond Butter: An all star ingredient for both providing rich flavor (due to the healthy fat content) and a sticky substance to bring all the ingredients together into one cohesive bar.
Room temperature almond butter is easiest to work with, but if your almond butter has been sitting in the refrigerator and is hard, you can microwave the wet ingredients for 20 to 40 seconds, or until everything stirs together easily.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: Bringing the pumpkin flavor to these delicious oatmeal pumpkin bars, pumpkin pie spice is crucial in leveling up that warm fall flavor.
If you don’t have pumpkin spice on hand, use ground cinnamon. If you have them, you can also use ground nutmeg, allspice or ground cloves to make your own pumpkin pie spice blend.
Salt: Enhancing all of the flavors in these healthy pumpkin oat bars, a little sea salt turns up the volume on the flavor at least 30%.
Chocolate Chips (Optional): The chocolate chips are optional here but they provide little pockets of delightful goo, so I highly recommend them. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but pick any kind you like. To keep the recipe vegan, use dairy-free chocolate chips.
You can also use sugar-free chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, peanut butter chips, etc.
Optional Additions or Changes:
Stir 1 to 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract into the dough if you have it on hand.Add ½ to ⅔ cups of chopped walnuts or pecans if you love nutty oat bars.Top the bars with pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas) for a fun, festive touch.If you’re allergic to pumpkin, it can be swapped for well mashed sweet potatoes (or sweet potato puree) or any other mashed winter squash such as butternut squash or kabocha squash.You can replace the almond butter with peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter or any nut or seed butter you prefer. Just note that the butters that have stronger flavor (like peanut butter and sunflower seed butter) will be easy to taste, whereas the almond butter flies under the radar because the flavor is more subtle.For added omega-3 fatty acids, stir 1 tablespoon of chia seeds into the pumpkin spice bars.
Now that we’ve covered the healthy ingredients for oatmeal pumpkin bars, let’s bake them!
How to Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars:
One of the coolest parts about this recipe is how easy it is to make. Everything gets stirred up in a large bowl, then transferred to a square pan. Easy, peasy! As an alternative to using a mixing bowl, you can simply toss all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until a thick dough forms.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. You can also use a 9-inch baking dish for thinner bars.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, pure maple syrup, and almond butter (and vanilla extract if adding) until everything is well-combined.
Pour in the oats, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt, and chocolate chips (the dry ingredients). Stir the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together until a thick, sticky dough forms.
Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pan using a rubber spatula and spread it into an even layer. If desired, top with extra chocolate chips.
Bake the oatmeal bars in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden-brown (I do 35 minutes).
Remove the pumpkin oatmeal bars from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. You can also cover the cake pan with plastic wrap for storage.
These bars freeze very well, so feel free to store them in a large freezer bag for up to 3 months.
And that’s it! If you’re looking for pumpkin recipes to enjoy throughout pumpkin season, these healthy pumpkin bars will surely bring much joy to all who try them.
We’ve been putting them on repeat for an afternoon snack to tide us over until dinner in addition to enjoying them for dessert.
Looking for more pumpkin dessert recipes or pumpkin breakfast recipes celebrating the flavors of fall to take advantage of all things pumpkin? Here are my top pumpkin favorites from the blog!
More Pumpkin Treats:
Paleo Pumpkin Blondies Pumpkin Blended Baked OatsFlourless Protein Pumpkin PancakesPaleo Pumpkin Banana Bread with Coconut FlourGluten-Free Rolled Oat Pumpkin Brownies Keto Pumpkin CheesecakeChickpea Pumpkin MuffinsPaleo Pumpkin Coffee Cake
A great addition for school lunches, an easy grab and go snack, a perfect breakfast, or a truly remarkable dessert, these versatile healthy pumpkin oatmeal bars are everything you want in an extra special treat!
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Flourless Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Bars
Yield: 9 ServingsPrep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes
This delicious pumpkin spice oatmeal bars recipe is loaded with fall flavors, delicious pockets of chocolate, and is only made with five ingredients! Vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and healthy!
Ingredients
2/3 cup pumpkin puree½ cup pure maple syrup½ cup unsweetened almond butter2 cups rolled oats1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice1/2 tsp sea salt
Optional Additions:
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. You can also use a 9-inch baking dish for thinner bars.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, pure maple syrup, and almond butter (and vanilla extract if adding) until everything is well-combined.
3. Pour in the oats, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt, and chocolate chips (the dry ingredients). Stir the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together until a thick, sticky dough forms.
4. Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pan using a rubber spatula and spread it into an even layer. If desired, top with extra chocolate chips.
5. Bake the oatmeal bars in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden-brown (I do 35 minutes).
6. Remove the pumpkin oatmeal bars from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
If you aren’t vegan, feel free to use any type of chocolate chips you like. Sugar-free chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and cinnamon chips all work!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. You can also cover the cake pan with plastic wrap for storage.
Nutrition Information
Yield 9Serving Size 1 Bar (of 9)
Amount Per ServingCalories 209Total Fat 10gCarbohydrates 44gFiber 4gSugar 10gProtein 7g
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