This recipe for healthy sheet pan pumpkin bars is the best fall dessert for a crowd. The moist, cake-like bars are made with canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and lightened up with ingredients like Greek yogurt, extra virgin olive oil, and ground oats. Plus, the cream cheese frosting uses a lot less sugar than other recipes! You can bake this treat on a half sheet or jelly roll pan.
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Lizzie’s Dietitian Notes
I’m sitting here eating leftover sheet pan pumpkin bars, and all I can think about is how excited I am to share them with you! Pumpkin baked goods, and fall desserts in general, are one of the best parts of autumn. However, it can be hard to find recipes that aren’t jam packed with not-so-healthy ingredients (unless it’s my Banana Pumpkin Oatmeal Bread or Chocolate Cherry Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars).
That’s why I was determined to make healthier, lightened up cake bars! I incorporated ingredients like ground oats (in place of half of the flour) for a fiber boost, extra virgin olive oil (instead of butter) to provide healthier fats, and Greek yogurt (in lieu of sour cream) for a lower fat content. Plus, the cream cheese frosting has less than a cup of powdered sugar, compared to the whopping two to four cups called for in many other recipes.
Believe it or not, all of these changes do not sacrifice flavor or texture. My pumpkin bars are still incredibly moist and flavorful. And the best part? You bake them on a half sheet pan! The recipe therefore yields enough bars for a crowd, making it a fall recipe for entertaining, Halloween parties, and even Thanksgiving dinner. (If you love them, check out the Zucchini Banana Cake too!)
5-Star Review
This recipe is SO good! I wasn’t sure with such a small amount of frosting, but it’s just perfect. Moist and flavorful!”
– Michele
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Canned pumpkin: Use pureed pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling. I have made this recipe with just about every brand of canned pumpkin, and Libby’s works best! A classic for a reason.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Melted butter or coconut oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil would also work.
- Greek yogurt: I recommend plain, non-fat (0%) Greek yogurt or Icelandic skyr. However, I have made it with vanilla Greek yogurt in a pinch, and it works really well (but adds some extra sugar).
- Maple syrup: You can substitute brown sugar if needed. Use 1 and ⅓ cup of brown sugar to replace the 1 cup of syrup. Honey would also work in the recipe.
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs: I have not tried the recipe without eggs, so I do not know if flax “eggs” or an equivalent would work.
- Ground oats/oat flour: You need 1 cup of oat flour. I just grinds oats myself in my food processor. If you do that, start with 1 and ¼ cup of oats to yield about 1 cup of oat flour.
- All-purpose flour: You could try replacing this with 1-to-1 gluten-free flour if you need to (and make sure your oats are certified gluten-free), but I have not personally tried it.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Pre-made pumpkin spice is widely available during the fall, including at Trader Joe’s or at large grocery stores. Look for Simply Organic or McCormick’s brand. If you can’t find it, however, you can make your own! Combine 1 and ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice to replace the tablespoon of pumpkin spice used in sheet pan pumpkin bars.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- Cream cheese: Use the brick kind, not the stuff that comes in tubs. Make sure it has softened at room temperature before making the frosting. Light cream cheese or a combo of half cream cheese/half mascarpone cheese also work.
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
Choosing the Right Pan
As the name suggests, you will need a sheet pan to make this pumpkin bars recipe, and specifically a rimmed half sheet pan that’s 18 x 13 inches and 1 inch deep. I recommend the Nordic Ware half sheet pan. Other tools that will make your life easier when preparing this recipe include a mini spatula turner and an icing knife.
If you don’t have a half sheet pan (18×13″) for this recipe, you can use a jelly roll pan (15.5×10.5″). Using a jelly roll pan will yield slightly thicker bars. You will probably need to bake the bars for a few extra minutes. Check them at 20 minutes, like this recipe suggests. If a toothpick inserted in the center does not come out clean at that time, add two-minute intervals of baking time until it does. I do not recommend making this recipe in a 9×13″ baking pan.
How to Make Pumpkin Bars
The full recipe card, which includes ingredient quantities and the recipe steps, is at the bottom of the post. Here is a preview of the recipe.
In a large bowl, whisk the flours, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and powder, and salt until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
Gently whisk until smooth and uniform.
Pour the dry ingredient mix into the bowl with the wet ingredients.
Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the batter.
Gently stir until the batter is smooth with no big lumps.
Carefully pour the batter onto a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Spread the batter with a rubber spatula into an even layer.
Bake until the bars are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Overcooking, since they aren’t that thick, will dry them out/make them less moist.
Combine the frosting ingredients in a bowl. Use an electric mixer to start mixing on low speed, so the sugar doesn’t fly everywhere.
Mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
Let the bars cool before adding frosting, so it doesn’t melt. You can cut the bars first (shown here), or frost first then slice!
Serving and Make-Ahead Tips
Sheet pan pumpkin bars are such an easy fall dessert for a crowd! You can bake them up to 24 hours in advance, slice, and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until serving. Put parchment paper in between the unfrosted bars to store in layers.
You can add the frosting before slicing and storing, but doing so makes it difficult to store them in layers. If you don’t have much space in your fridge, you may want to add the frosting just before you put them on a platter to serve.
If you have a half sheet pan with a lid, use that! It makes it really easy to store and transport them with the frosting, especially if you are making them in advance for an event or Thanksgiving
Storing and Freezing
Leftover pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting can be stored at room temperature for only up to 2 hours so that the frosting doesn’t go bad. When stored in the refrigerator, they will last for 3 to 5 days. Store them right in an airtight container.
I personally like to store bars in a single layer so that the frosting doesn’t get messed up. If you have a lot of leftover bars, you will probably have to use a few airtight containers.
If you want to store leftover bars for a longer time, they can be frozen. After frosting and slicing the bars, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer. Place it somewhere it won’t get bumped, and let the bars freeze for about an hour until the frosting is frozen solid. Then, wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap.
Gently place the bars side by side in a single layer in a freezer bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Unwrap and thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before enjoying. You can also freeze the bars without frosting. Whip up a fresh batch of frosting when you want to eat them.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Banana Muffins (Healthy and Moist)
- Easy Pumpkin Mousse Recipe
- Pumpkin Peanut Butter Balls (No Bake)
- Vegan Pumpkin Chia Pudding
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cups with Pumpkin
- Mini Cranberry Pumpkin Cheesecakes
FAQs
- Can I use homemade pumpkin puree? Yes, you can substitute 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree. Butternut squash or acorn squash puree would also work, but the flavor would be slightly different.
- Are pumpkin bars and pumpkin cake the same? Not always, but these bars are cake-like and can be eaten with a fork, unlike bars that are denser and handheld.
- What are some variations or add-ins for pumpkin bars? Add ½ cup semisweet or white chocolate chips for extra sweetness or ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch. Gently stir them into the batter when the dry ingredients have mostly been incorporated.
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Bars
Equipment
- Half sheet pan (can also use a jelly roll pan, see notes)
Ingredients
Pumpkin bars
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup ground old fashioned oats or oat flour - if grinding yourself, use 1 and ¼ cup oats to yield 1 cup
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice - see notes for substitution
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree - or sub 2 cups of homemade puree
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt - I use non-fat
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese - softened at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter - softened at room temperature
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar - aka confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Review the ingredients list to make sure you have everything you need. Get the cream cheese and butter out of the refrigerator to soften at room temperature before starting the recipe. You may also want to grind the oats beforehand if you are not using pre-made oat flour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Line a rimmed half sheet pan (18×13") with parchment paper. Grease the sides of the pan that are not covered by the parchment with butter.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and soda, and salt until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, eggs, Greek yogurt, olive oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and stir gently with a rubber spatula until smooth. If the batter has any lumps, tap them with the spatula so they burst and gently stir until the batter is fully smooth.
- Pour the batter onto the lined half sheet pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread it out so that it evenly coats the pan.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or mostly clean with a few crumbs. Let the pumpkin bars cool completely.
- While the bars are cooling, prepare the frosting. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix together the softened cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until the sugar is incorporated so that it doesn't fly out of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 to 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Using an icing knife or offset spatula if you have one, spread the frosting on top of the bars in an even layer. After frosting, cut the bars into squares. Alternatively, you can cut the bars before adding frosting to them individually.
- Leave a rating or review by tapping the stars on this recipe card (above) or in the comments section (at the end of the post)!
Notes
- You can use a jelly roll pan for this recipe to get slightly thicker bars. You will likely need to increase the baking time by a few minutes.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use 1 and ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. I like to keep them in a single layer in containers so the frosting doesn’t get messed up.
Jennifer Streit
Delicious! Not too sweet. A really nice dessert to complete an autumn supper.
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
I’m so glad to hear the bars were a hit, Jenny! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review :).
Michele
This recipe is SO good! I wasn’t sure with such a small amount of frosting but it’s just perfect. Moist and flavorful!
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
Hi Michele, I’m thrilled to hear the pumpkin bars were such a hit! Thanks for your 5-star review!