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Healthy Pumpkin Bars are made without flour or refined sugar, and are surprisingly light and fluffy! They are one of my favorite grain-free desserts for the Fall, and once you taste them, I think you’ll fall in love with them, too.
Inspired by my Paleo Banana Snack Cake, this recipe uses almond butter instead of flour. It’s amazing how when you pair it with eggs and a little honey, it becomes quite cake-like!
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in healthy pumpkin bars?
- Almond butter
- Pumpkin puree
- Eggs
- Honey
- Pumpkin pie spice
If you don’t have almond butter on hand, cashew butter also makes a similar substitute. I’ve tested this recipe using peanut butter, and the results aren’t quite as delicious, because the peanut flavor competes with the pumpkin flavor too much.
For best results, I recommend using a “raw” or non-roasted nut butter, for the most mild flavor.
How to Make Pumpkin Bars
1. Mix. Combine the almond butter, pumpkin, honey, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, and stir until very smooth.
Once the batter is mixed, add in the vinegar and stir again. You’ll notice that lighter swirls will start to appear as you mix, and that is the reaction between the baking soda and vinegar.
This will help the bars rise even better, and will help to avoid an aftertaste from the baking soda.
2. Bake. Pour the mixture into a lined or greased 8-inch pan, and bake at 350ºF for 35 to 40 minutes.
When the pumpkin bars are done, the center should rise, without jiggling in the middle when you shake the pan.
3. Slice. Let the bars cool completely in the pan, then slice into squares and serve right away.
These pumpkin bars are lightly sweet on their own, but I like topping them with a quick maple pecan glaze for an extra-special dessert. To make it, you just need to blend a few ingredients together!
This glaze is naturally sweetened and will NOT set like one made with powdered sugar, so it’s best to drizzle it over the bars right as you serve them, with a few chopped pecans on top.
They taste so impressive this way!
Pro Tip: For an even deeper flavor, swap the water in the Maple Pecan Glaze for black coffee. The maple coffee flavor is also excellent on these healthy pumpkin bars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I swap the sweetener? This recipe should work well with a 1/2 cup of maple syrup to replace the honey. II’ve also tested it with 2/3 cup of coconut sugar, but the texture changes slightly when you swap a liquid sweetener for a granulated one.
I don’t work with zero calorie sweeteners, so I don’t know how this will work with a sweetener like stevia.
Can I make this vegan? Try my Vegan & Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars recipe, for an egg-free recipe that is already tested for you.
Or try my Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, if you prefer to work with oat flour.
Can I make pumpkin puree from scratch? Check out my how to cook pumpkin tutorial, for the easiest way to make pumpkin puree at home!
More Pumpkin Recipes
Looking for more pumpkin inspiration? Try these!
- Pumpkin Ice Cream
- Vegan Pumpkin Donuts
- Oat Flour Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Overnight Oats
- Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bars
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Maple Pecan Glaze
- 3/4 cup pecans , plus extra chopped for serving
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup water (or coffee)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, almond butter, honey, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda, and stir until very smooth.
- Add the vinegar into the batter, and stir again. The batter will have lighter swirls in it, from the baking soda reacting to the vinegar. This will help the bars rise and remove any baking soda flavor in the final bars, so keep stirring until the batter looks uniform. Pour into a greased 8-inch baking dish, lined with parchment paper for easy removal later.
- Bake at 350ºF for about 35 minutes, until the bars rise in the center and don't jiggle when you shake the pan. Cool completely, then slice and serve.
- To make the optional Maple Pecan Glaze, combine the pecans, maple syrup, coconut oil, water, vanilla, and salt. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the blender as needed. You can add a tablespoon of water, as needed, to help it blend. Pour the glaze over the bars, and serve right away with chopped pecans on top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try these healthy pumpkin bars soon, please leave a star rating and comment below letting me know how you like them!
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Reader Feedback: Which Fall dessert would you like to see next?
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Is pumpkin pie spice the same thing as 5 spice? Thanks!
No, I think 5 spice has more pepper to it. Pumpkin pie spice is typically a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves (or allspice, depending on the brand).
I have multiple food allergies and am loving your sight! These bars were delicious! I took them to work and they were gobbled up while the lowly, gluten filled cinnamon buns were completely ignored lol. Question: I made the maple pecan glaze but it came out quite grainy and was more like icing. Still delicious but not beautiful glaze you managed to achieve. I’m still saving up for a Vita-Mix so I used a high-speed food processor. Would adding more coconut oil smooth it out a bit ?
Hmm… I’ve never tried making it in my food processor. I assume adding a little more liquid would help it blend better. Hope it works!
Just had to say that I made these last night and they are TO DIE FOR! I will make them again and again. This is officially my new favourite site 🙂
I just made these with the leftover pumpkin puree I used for the pumpkin spice latte. They are AMAZING!!! I made the maple pecan glaze to go on top too. Yum!
Delicious! Thanks Megan for this recipe! It’s amazing 🙂 Although I wonder if I should refrigerate these? Hmm
Did you refrigerate the left overs? Or leave on the counter covered? Leave in dish? Or cut all of them and put in storage container? I wonder what the best way is to store these without the icing?
I refrigerate the pumpkin bars in an airtight container for the best shelf life!
Thank you for the quick reply!
I just made these, and they are absolutely amazing. I had to sub baking powder for baking soda (just tripled the amount), and they were still fabulous.
Smelled fantastic baking, can’t believe there is no traditional flour. Awesome! I added chia to give it a little fluff and fiber. I made vanilla bean banana ice cream was delish! Great day in the kitchen with you, thanks for inspiration.
Mouthwatering recipes 🙂 Love your website!
Since almond butter is not a commonly used product here in the Netherlands and therefore hard to find/very expensive, I was wondering if it’s possible to replace it for regular (of course organic) butter?
Thank you!
No, butter will not work as a substitute for almond butter. Any other nut butters available to you? Peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, etc. would all work for creating a fluffy texture, though the flavor may vary depending on which you use.
Thank you for your reply and suggestions! Using peanutbutter sounds promising too 🙂 Though I have a softer spot for almonds, taste wise and health benefits and luckily in the meantime I came across your recipe for making your own almondbutter…. What a helpfull, delightfull and lovely website this is <3! Two big thumbs UP
Megan, thanks for this recipe. It’s the first one that led me to your site and now I want to make almost everything! 😉
I made these and they were so good with the topping. I think I might triple or quadruple the recipe and make it into a layer cake! I think it would totally work! And I bet that would be sooo good with the banana version, too.
Keep posting; you’re my new recipe hero! 😉
Thanks, Jen! I bet these would make an AMAZING layer cake!! YUM. 🙂
I made these bars a few days ago and they were awesome! We all totally loved them. Such a nice pumpkin treat for those of us who are grain free (and even those that aren’t!). Thanks for an awesome recipe!