Pumpkin Bars

Frosted pumpkin bar next to a fork with a bite on a plate.

These healthy pumpkin cake bars feature canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, better-for-you ingredients, and a lightened up cream cheese frosting. Baked on a half sheet pan, they make a great dessert for a crowd.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Cooling time 30

Total Time 1 15

Servings bars

Calories 195kcal

Author Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

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

US Customary - Metric

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 (18x13") 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.
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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.

Nutrition