With chewy oats and lots of cozy fall spices, these Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars are moist, flavorful, and ultra-versatile. Don’t skip the chocolate chips and cranberries for an extra dose of deliciousness!
5 Star Review
“YESSSSSS!!!!! These are fantastic.”
— Tracy —
Packed with pumpkin flavor and warm spices, these healthy pumpkin bars are everything I love about fall (and dessert) in a single recipe.
- They’re ultra moist, pleasantly chewy, and incredibly filling.
- Loaded with taste-good, feel-good ingredients like cranberries, ginger, and dark chocolate (like these Trail Mix Peanut Butter Granola Bars).
- Thanks to pumpkin and peanut butter, these oatmeal breakfast bars contain no butter or no oil so they’re low in fat.
- Contain zero processed sugar. Instead, they’re naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup (like this Vegan Pumpkin Bread).
- A “dessert” that’s also socially acceptable for breakfast (like these Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins).
I was a bit worried about how the pumpkin and peanut butter would go together, but the combo turned out to be perfect.
Ingredients and Substitutions
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Oats. Add texture and a little chew to these pumpkin bars.
- Oat Flour. A wholesome, nutty flour choice that also has the added bonus of being gluten-free.
- Peanut Butter. Makes the bars moist, but its flavor is subtle.
- Pumpkin. Packed with fiber, vitamin A, and antioxidants, pumpkin is the true star of these healthy bars. Make sure you don’t accidentally use pumpkin pie filling!
- Ginger. I went a little heavy on the ginger because I love the way it tastes paired with the pumpkin.
- Maple Syrup. No sugar required. These healthy pumpkin bars are naturally sweetened with nature’s best.
Pumpkin Bar Mix-Ins
Add 1/2 cup of your favorite nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, dried fruit, or even toasted coconut flakes. Here are a few of my favorite combos:
- Dark Chocolate Chips + Cranberries
- Pumpkin Seeds + Coconut Flakes
- Dried Apricots + Pecans
- Walnuts + Raisins
I’ve been making these bars on repeat for weeks, yet the versatile mix-ins make them a little different every time.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then stir together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and then fold in any desired mix-ins.
- Transfer to a baking pan and bake until golden.
- Let cool, remove from pan, and slice. ENJOY!
Healthy Pumpkin Bars
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 8 large or 16 small bars (1 8×8-inch pan)
These healthy pumpkin bars with oatmeal are gluten free and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. Add nuts, chocolate, or dried fruit mix-ins.
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Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups old fashioned rolled oats or quick oats; do not use instant oatmeal
- ½ cup oat flour*
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder (I recommend aluminum-free)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup pumpkin purée NOT pumpkin filling
- 1 cup milk of choice (skim, almond, soy, etc.)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (I like Grade B)
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter almond butter, or other nut butter of choice
- ½ cup desired mix-ins: chopped nuts dried cranberries, chocolate chips, diced apricots, coconut (I used 1/4 cup cranberries and 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, egg, maple syrup, and peanut butter until smooth. Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients, then gently stir by hand, just until combined. Fold in any desired mix-ins.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until golden and set on top, dry at the edges, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Let cool in the pan completely, then slice into bars.
Notes
- *To make your own oat flour, grind regular rolled oats in a food processor for 1-2 minutes, until they are pulverized to a flour-like consistency. You’ll need just over 1/2 cup rolled oats to yield 1/2 cup oat flour, but be sure to measure before adding it to the recipe!
- TO STORE: Leftover pumpkin oatmeal bars can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week or at room temperature for 3 days.
- TO FREEZE: Pumpkin bars may be individually wrapped and frozen in a ziptop bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight (or on the counter for a few hours if you are in a hurry!).
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 8) calculated with 1/2 cup dried cranberries as a mix-inCalories: 222kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 7gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgPotassium: 344mgFiber: 4gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 3663IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 2mg
I am SO SO SOOOO excited to hear this Kelly. Thanks so much for trying the recipe and letting me know how it turned out for you!