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
Healthy Pumpkin Bars
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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I am low on honey but I am assuming maple syrup would work?
I would think so! You might want to use a little extra maple syrup since it’s less sweet than honey.
These pumpkin bars were so good! I doubled the recipe (used maple syrup instead of honey), left out the glaze, but added 2/3 cup of mini chocolate chips to the doubled recipe(1/3 cup mixed in and a 1/3 cup sprinkled on top before baking). The way it rose from the baking soda-vinegar reaction was so cool! It was a pretty and delicious dessert (you would never know it was healthy); perfect for the event for which I needed it!
I have been making these for years and like a jerk I haven’t left a review/comment. These are amazing. I don’t add the vinegar and they’re still amazing. (I don’t think the recipe used to call for vinegar but then again maybe it did and I always omitted it)
Thank you for this recipe it is such a comfort food for me- it is my morning coffee’s bff.
Aw, thank you for taking the time to leave a review! The vinegar is a newer addition, and just helps ensure that there is NO baking soda flavor in the final baked bars. Glad you’ve been enjoying them. 🙂
Can’t wait to try this! Do you think peanut butter would work in place of the almond butter?
Very nice twist to my favorite Blondies recipe. Thanks 🙂
This recipe is a winner every time!
Oh my goodness, this recipe was delicious!! Light and fluffy, almost like a cream cheese! I made a nut and date crust and baked the crust for 5 minutes before pouring in the pumpkin. Yum yum yum!! Thank you for this recipe!
I made this with sunbutter in a round cake pan and it came out amazing! I’ve been looking for a healthy pumpkin recipe for breakfast.
I wish they tasted more pumpkiny. Also I made the glaze according to your instructions but it doesn’t look the same it definitely looks more liquid and the coconut oil hardens up after a short time? Maybe make it with coconut powdered sugar next time?
I put chocolate chips on top and it was pretty good
I love this recipe. Have made it multiple times but this time I am freezing the bars and making another batch into muffins. I could drink the “glaze” on its own…so yummy! So glad to have found this blog. Thank you for putting out such great recipes.
I made these tonight and they were easy and delicious!! I love that it only had a few simple ingredients!! A Fall must try!!
I assumed these would turn out like pumpkin pie texture, but I was pleasantly surprised when the texture was more like pumpkin bread or a moist cake. They’re delicious!
Amazing!!!! These are the most UN-Paleo tasting dessert I’ve made so far. I have already made them twice and can not stop eating them.
The easiest most delicious fall snack!
These are delicious . I was surprised at how airy they were even without some sort of flour. I will try the topping next time but they are so good even without it! Thank you!
This was delicious. I did swap maple syrup for the honey, chopped up and added about 1/2c pecans. Baked 35 min. Im at high altitude and could have used maybe 3-4 minutes longer.
Hi Megan,
Can these be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer? Looking to prepare some food before the Thanksgiving rush.
Thanks!
Can I make the icing the day before I serve it and add it to the bars then. Or what happens if I put icing on bars and serve next day?
I would save the icing in an airtight container in the fridge and then add it to the bars just before serving. The icing could develop a slight film on top if it sits on the bars overnight.
Thank you, do you think icing will go on easy? Do you think I should leave it at room temp so it can soften? I really appreciate your advice
Quick, easy, healthy, delicious!
These are SO GOOD!!! I don’t even make the Maple Glaze and everyone loves them. I mix the pecans that would have been in the glaze into the batter. These are one of our favorites of all time!
Such a fantastic recipe! Easy, healthy, and delicious.
These are delicious. I love how simple and light they are. I triple the recipe so I can use up the entire can of pumpkin. I do not put the topping on but I bet it’s delicious! Thank you.
I made this tonight and followed the recipe with a few minor exceptions. I used baking powder, put the batter in a silicone cupcake mold, and baked them in the air fryer for 12 minutes because that is what I had on hand. I added the coffee to the glaze and had such a hard time containing myself from eating all the cupcakes!
I loved this recipe. It is incredibly easy and extra delicious. I’ll be baking it on repeat!