Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

Yields: 16 bars

These healthy pumpkin oatmeal bars taste like the best parts of fall! With warm spices and cozy oats filling every bite, these squares brighten any chilly autumn day. They’re perfect for breakfasts and snacks! Leftovers will keep for at least four days (if not closer to a week!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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Ingredients

1 cup (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
¾ cup (90g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
2 ¼ tsp homemade pumpkin pie spice (see Notes!)
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp (14g) vegan butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly (see Notes!)
¾ cup (183g) pumpkin purée (room temperature – and see Notes!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup (room temperature)
¼ cup (60mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (room temperature)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300°F, and coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the butter or coconut oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Stir in the pure maple syrup. Stir in the milk. Add in the oat mixture, and stir until just incorporated.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 300°F for 10-14 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan. Allow them to rest for an additional 6+ hours once at room temperature for the best soft and chewy texture before slicing into squares.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure both the oats and flour correctly using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will dry out the bars and make them cakey, bready, or dry, instead of soft and chewy.

IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: These oatmeal bars aren’t overly sweet — and that’s intentional! They have a sweetness level similar to muffins or breakfast scones. For sweeter bars, substitute pure maple syrup, honey, or agave for an equal amount of milk. (For example, add an additional 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and reduce the milk by 2 tablespoons to compensate.) Alternatively, replace the milk with pure maple syrup, honey, or agave for a true “dessert” oatmeal bar flavor instead.

These bars taste better if you let them rest for 24+ hours after they’ve been baked! That gives the spices time to meld and marry, so the cozy spice flavor will be more pronounced on the second day.

For a stronger spice flavor, increase the ground cinnamon in the homemade pumpkin pie spice blend (see below!) by ¼ to ½ teaspoon.

IMPORTANT PAN SIZE NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Pan dimensions are measured along their top rims, not their bottom sides. Some square baking dishes have sloped sides, so they’re 9” across the top and closer to 8” across the bottom. If that’s true for your baking dish, it’s actually a 9”-square pan and too big for this recipe. Because it has a larger surface area (81 in²), your bars would turn out really thin, barely hold together, and be prone to overbaking.

If you don’t have an 8”-square pan, then substitute a 9”-round pan. Its surface area is very similar to an 8”-square pan (63.6 in² and 64 in², respectively), so your bars will have the same thickness, bake in the same amount of time, and turn out just as soft and moist.

IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not over-bake these bars! They’re ready to come out of the oven when the center still feels slightly soft and underdone. The residual heat from the pan will continue to cook the center all the way through while you let the pan cool and set. (If the edges of the bars begin to pull away from the pan within 10 minutes of removing the pan from the oven, you’ve baked them long enough.)

OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are also known as “quick cooking” or “one-minute” oats. They’re smaller and thinner than old-fashioned rolled oats and come in large canisters or bags, just like old-fashioned rolled oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal.

In a pinch, to make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned rolled oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times or until the oats are about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size.

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour. Oat flour (gluten-free if needed) may also be substituted, but be very careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flours!

HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PIE SPICE + ALTERNATIVE: For the homemade pumpkin pie spice, use the following blend: 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. (I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon! ← I buy it online there, and it’s really affordable. It tastes slightly stronger, richer, and sweeter than regular cinnamon. It’s practically the only kind I now use in my baking!)

Store-bought premade pumpkin pie spice may be substituted. (See the “Pumpkin pie spice” header in the “Key Ingredients to Make Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars” section above for why I prefer to make my own!)

VEGAN BUTTER NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Use stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one), rather than tub-style, for the best results. Unsalted butter may be substituted for the vegan butter.

PUMPKIN NOTES: Pumpkin purée is also called “100% pure pumpkin” or “canned pumpkin.” For the best results, the only ingredient on the label should be “pumpkin.” I don’t recommend substituting pumpkin pie mix because it contains other ingredients, which affects the way it behaves in baking recipes.

I haven’t tried using homemade pumpkin purée, so I’m not personally sure how that will work. If you do, would you leave me a comment below? I’d love to hear how your cookies turned out!

SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. Alternatively, substitute ¼ cup (48g) coconut sugar or light brown sugar AND 2 ½ tablespoons (38mL) milk for the pure maple syrup. Regardless of which you use, make sure it’s at room temperature. If chilled, it will re-solidify the melted butter or coconut oil.

I don’t recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup. Because it’s often water-based, it makes the bars cakey or bready.

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: Use certified gluten-free instant oats and certified gluten-free oat flour. Alternatively, for a non-oat-flour version, use the following: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.

DAIRY-FREE + VEGAN VERSION: No modifications needed!

NUT-FREE VERSION: Use the stick-style vegan butter option, or substitute unsalted butter. Substitute your preferred nut-free milk (ie soy milk, rice milk, nonfat milk, etc) for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

HOW TO STORE: Store leftover oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should last at least four days, if not closer to a week (or more!). Once baked and fully cooled, these oatmeal bars also freeze really well!

For answers to all other questions regarding substitutions and tips, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page.

{gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, nut-free option}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.