Every fall, I love buying a whole sugar pumpkin and roasting it at home. There’s something so satisfying about turning a simple, fresh pumpkin into a smooth, homemade purée. It feels cozy, intentional, and very fall. That wholesome pumpkin flavor is what inspired these Pumpkin Pie Oat Bars. They’re softly spiced, perfectly tender, and sweet without being overly so, making them just as good for an afternoon snack as they are for dessert.
Pumpkin Pie Oat Bars
Soft and chewy pumpkin pie oat bars made with wholesome oats, warm spices, and real pumpkin. An easy fall treat that’s great for snacking.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 1 sugar pumpkin (can be replaced with 1¼ cup pumpkin puree but is much tastier with a fresh pumpkin)
- 1 tbsp olive oil for baking the pumpkin
- ¼ tsp kosher salt plus more
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- pinch of allspice
Crust/Topping
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1¼ cup rolled oats
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup butter or Earth Balance melted and cooled
- ¼ cup chopped toasted pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cut sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 55 minutes. Let cool and scoop into a mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, make your crust. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt, baking soda, granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Whisk until no clumps remain. Combine melted butter and vanilla. Add to mixture, then stir with a spoon until mixture is moist and small clumps form.
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. Gently press half of the mixture into baking dish and bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Keep remaining crumble mixture in the refrigerator while the crust bakes and you prepare the filling.
- To the bowl with the pumpkin flesh, add in salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and coconut milk and stir until blended.
- Pour mixture over baked crust (it's okay if it is still warm). Return to oven to bake 15 minutes.
- Add pecans to remaining oat crumble mixture and sprinkle over the top of the baked pumpkin mixture. Break any big crumbles into smaller pieces.
- Adjust oven rack to one level above (not the top level) and return the bars to oven to bake about 20 minutes longer. Allow to cool 1 hour at room temperature, then transfer to refrigerator to cool 1 hour longer. Cut into squares and serve.