These are the best pumpkin bars I’ve ever had. They have incredible spiced pumpkin flavor and aren’t quite as light and cakey as most other recipes I’ve tried. Instead, they’re soft and sturdy which pairs perfectly with the spiced cream cheese frosting on top!
I’m following up the best pumpkin cake I’ve ever had with the best pumpkin bars I’ve ever had. My pumpkin bars and pumpkin cake have their differences, which I discuss below, and I’m so proud to share both of these recipes on my blog with you. If you enjoy my pumpkin cake, you will FLIP for these pumpkin bars too.
These are the Best Pumpkin Bars I’ve Ever Had
And here’s why:
- Big pumpkin flavor
- Generously spiced with pumpkin pie spices
- Sweetened with brown sugar
- Soft, yet sturdy (just like my soft pumpkin cookies)
- Super moist
- Cakey, but not as cakey as others—no fork required!
- Finished with spiced cream cheese frosting
- …and sprinkles!
Video Tutorial
Are Pumpkin Bars and Pumpkin Cake The Same?
Let’s clear this up right away! Some pumpkin bar recipes basically produce pumpkin cake. Sure, the bars are totally delicious, but they’re more like a thin and fragile piece of cake than an easy bar dessert. I set out to create something slightly different, but still maintain a favorably soft and moist texture.
I actually started with my pumpkin cake recipe because, again, it’s my favorite. Here we’ll reduce the baking powder so the bars have a little less lift. We’ll also remove 1 egg because less egg = less cakey. And, finally, reduce the granulated sugar and add a touch of maple syrup. The pure liquid sweetener adds flavor, moisture, and really gives these particular bars that little something extra. (These definitely stand out from other recipes.)
So, yes, pumpkin bars and pumpkin cake can taste the same. Follow my recipe for a little variation. By the way, if you’re craving pumpkin pie as a bar, here are my pumpkin pie bars. Or for breakfast try these simple pumpkin muffins. And if you need to feed a crowd, don’t miss my pumpkin Bundt cake. 🙂
How to Make Pumpkin Bars
- Mix dry ingredients together. You need flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. You can use homemade pumpkin pie spice here!
- Whisk wet ingredients together. You need vegetable oil or melted coconut oil, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pure maple syrup, 1 can pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. By the way, I love when recipes use the entire can of pumpkin. So convenient!
- Combine all the ingredients and spread into a 10×15-inch baking pan. The size of the pan is key to the texture. Anything smaller creates thick pumpkin bars, which taste almost identical to pumpkin cake. A pan larger than 10×15 inch will give you thin and flimsy bars.
- Bake for around 30 minutes. Baking times can vary, so keep an eye on yours. The bars are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool, then frost.
Good news is that you’ll get a lot of use out of this particular size pan. (I recently purchased this one and love it.) Use it again for pumpkin roll, champagne cake roll, and apple slab pie.
Baker’s Tip: A few lumps in the batter is OK.
Topping for Pumpkin Bars
You can keep these pumpkin bars totally plain or even dust with a little confectioners’ sugar. They’re still fabulous without a special garnish on top! But, alas, I never pass up an opportunity for cream cheese frosting. To give them a little extra flair, add pumpkin pie spice to the frosting, just like I do for pumpkin oatmeal cream pies. You’ll be surprised how a *little* spice can totally transform frosting, as evidenced with the frosting on these banana cupcakes and gingerbread cookie bars.
Tangy, creamy, spiced, and sweet, this cream cheese frosting is the perfect partner for our pumpkin bars. I cut back on the butter in the frosting to (1) produce less and (2) create a thicker, sturdier frosting. Perfect for these portable bars.
Let’s Garnish!
To finish them off, garnish with festive sprinkles or even pumpkin icing decorations. Aren’t they fun and festive for Halloween? I used “Ah Maize-ing Twinkle Sprinkle Medley” from Sweetapolita. I’m unable to find a link to the exact pumpkins you see in the photos, but these pumpkin decorations are also adorable. Here are our decorated Halloween cookies and Halloween cupcakes if you need additional seasonal dessert ideas!
Pumpkin bars are a total classic and I hope you turn to this recipe the next time you crave a batch. If you need more inspiration, here are my 30+ best pumpkin dessert recipes. How many votes for year-long pumpkin season?
The Best Pumpkin Bars I’ve Ever Had
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: about 24 bars
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are the best pumpkin bars I’ve ever had. They have incredible spiced pumpkin flavor and aren’t quite as light and cakey as most other recipes I’ve tried. Instead, they’re soft and sturdy which pairs perfectly with the spiced cream cheese frosting on top!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil*
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- optional: sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 10×15-inch baking pan. Or line the pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars (as a whole) out.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the oil, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a mixer or whisk until completely combined. Batter will be thick.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 28-35 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The bars are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the bars browning too quickly, loosely tent with aluminum foil.
- Remove the bars from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Cool bars completely. (After about 45 minutes of cooling, you can place the bars in the refrigerator to speed things up!)
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add an extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar. Spread the frosting on the cooled bars. To help “set” the frosting, refrigerate for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. This makes cutting easier and less messy.
- Enjoy with or without a fork, but definitely grab a napkin!
- Cover leftover bars tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you skipped the frosting, cover and store plain pumpkin bars at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare recipe through step 4. Cover cooled bars tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. You can cut the bars and freeze in a large freezer container, too. Bring to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve. Frosted bars also freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 10×15-inch Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Icing Spatula
- Lining Pan: You can line the baking pan with parchment paper to easily lift out the bars as a whole. Or you can simply grease the pan. Once completely cool, you can (very carefully!!) slide a couple thin spatulas under the bars and lift out to put on a cutting board to slice. Or just slice them in the pan.
- Spices: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 3/4 teaspoon each: ground ginger and ground nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon each: ground cloves and ground allspice. Do not leave out the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon that is also called for in this recipe. In the frosting, use a tiny pinch of each, plus a tiny pinch of cinnamon too.
- Oil: Instead of 1 cup of oil, try 1/2 cup (90g) unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 (120ml) cup oil. The bars are just as moist. Vegetable oil is best, but melted coconut oil works too.
- Pumpkin: I strongly recommend using canned pumpkin puree over homemade in this recipe, though 2 cups of homemade would be fine in a pinch. I found the flavor better with canned. I prefer Libby’s brand.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My 10×15 pan is only 1/2 inch deep. Will that work.
Sure will!
These pumpkin bars live up to their name as the best. I’ve been lurking around this website for a a couple months now and have tried a few recipes already. Each one of them came out AMAZING! You have a true gift. Can’t wait to try the rest of your Halloween collection!
Followed exact recipe – Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much. Will be making these every fall!!
This recipe just made my whole kitchen smell HEAVENLY. It is such a memory smell too of baking pumpkin bars during the holidays. Thank you, Sally!
Can you make this without the maple syrup it is so expensive and this is not something i have sitting in my cupboard or can i use pancake syrup?
You can leave it out, or even replace with an extra 2 TBS of sugar.
Best pumpkin bar recipe ever! My husband loves these, and they are so easy to make. They were perfectly baked at 28 minutes. I love the pumpkin pie spice specs in the frosting also. This will be my new favorite fall recipe for sure.
Thank you for your response. I subscribe to many blogs and you are one of the most talented bakers. Your recipes never fail me and many of those I bake for!
Hello,
These look amazing
Can you use 1/2 whole wheat white and 1/2 white flour?
Hi Shey, I don’t recommend it. You can try but expect the bars to be quite heavy and dense with the whole wheat flour.
Could chocolate chips be added to this? Or would that mess up the texture?
You can definitely add chocolate chips to this batter. I recommend folding in about 1 cup after you mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Best ever spot on
Exactly what I was looking for. I used 1/2 cup greek yogurt for half of the oil. Great texture. This one’s a keeper!
I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin.
I loved your pumpkin bar recipe. The only major alternation I made was omitting the maple syrup (I’m not a fan of it at all). I also did the 1\2 and 1\2 in regards to oil and applesauce. I got rave reviews from my brother and husband, thank you.
Hey Sally! Love these! Do you think it would be okay if I used 1 whole cup of coconut oil instead of the 1/2 cup oil 1/2 cup applesauce?
Yes. Make sure the coconut oil is melted and all other ingredients are room temperature. Enjoy!
So delicious. Very simple to make, bakes perfectly. We have a non-cream cheese icing family member so I whipped up a brown sugar icing instead. Next time I’ll mix it up and make mini cupcakes. Thanks so much for the accurately titled recipe!
About how thick is the batter in the 10×15 pan after pouring? I ask because I dont’ have 10×15, but have several smaller, was hoping I could use a 9×13 and another smaller one, but wanted to get the height right. Thanks!
Hi Soni! I haven’t measured the depth of the batter. You can try the 9×13 inch cake pan– it will be almost the same baking time as my pumpkin cake. Or divide the batter between 2 9×13 inch pans for thinner bars.
Light, moist, and delicious. Made them for Thanksgiving along with a peanut butter pie and I couldn’t believe that everyone (myself included) loved these pumpkin bars more than the pie! I’m saving the recipe and will be making it every year.
Could you make these in regular muffin tins? How many would you get from one recipe?
I am thinking this might be easier to serve.
Hi Christine- For something a little easier to serve, I recommend my pumpkin cupcakes!
This is my new favorite recipe! It’s so easy and comes out delicious every time. I did Sally’s suggestion of using oil and applesauce to reduce the fat a little. I also only did half of the frosting recipe and, for my family, it was the perfect amount, just enough to cover the bars but not so much as to overpower them. Thank you Sally for such a great recipe!
I don’t have the baking pan required; could these be made in either cupcake pans or a 9×13 glass baking dish? I can’t wait to make these! They sound amazing!
Hi Katie, you can make these in a 9×13 inch pan, but they will be thicker and, as a result, taste cakier.
I have made these several times this season. I made them pot luck last week and everyone ( from 80 to 3) really enjoyed them. My family requests them a lot. Thank you for the great recipe.
I used a cookie cutter to cut them into pumpkin shapes and decorate them like jack’o’lanterns for Halloween. (I just dyed the cream cheese frosting, it’s usually fairly simple to decorate with.)
Turned out pretty darn cute, and tasty. Plus the leftover bits were eaten up quickly. Recipe was perfect for what I wanted to do for Halloween!
As a note: The pan I have at home is 11×15, so I just baked for about 20 mins instead of the full time.
I made three batches of this in one night! I meant to make only two but had to restart when I messed up the first batch. I read the recipe through so many times and I was reading it as I went along but I must’ve spaced because I accidentally added double the amount of pumpkin puree so I ended up with pumpkin pie bars with no crust basically. Lol. I was very careful with the next two and they came out perfectly! Thank you so much! I paired them with your brown butter cream cheese frosting with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice added. Sooooo good!
Also: These taste even better the next day! I baked in a 9×13 pan and they did turn out a bit more cakey but definitely still sturdy enough to pick up in individual bars and eat with or without a fork. I actually love the texture the most. It’s soft but not fluffy; they have a good toothiness.
My grandson is in the Army stationed in Georgia. I make him cookies or bar cookies every couple of weeks. I usually mail his cookies on Monday and he receives them on Thursday or Friday. Will these bars ship well. Should I omit the frosting? Last week I made pecan bars which I frozen before mailing. Any suggestions would be helpful. Your pumpkin bars, look delicious by the way!
Hi Betty! If shipping these bars, I recommend leaving off the frosting as it needs to be refrigerated after some time. It would also get a little messed up in transit.
Thank a you Sally! I will follow your advice and send the bars without frosting. Cannot wait to make them!
Great recipe as usual. I used super dark brown sugar – definitely give it a try if you can get your hands on it. The texture and flavor were perfect, even served bare. Total hit. The cut bars freeze beautifully too… I find myself standing in front of the freezer eating them straight from the bag.
Made these before work and brought them in to share with coworkers. Nice and moist but not heavy.
This recipe is a keeper! I used a 12×12 pan – that was the closest I had to the correct size. They are delicious! The bar is so soft and the flavor is big. Can’t stop eating them. Thanks for this great recipe Sally!
EXCELLENT flavor! Thank you for another delicious recipe that you look forward to share with family and friends!
Came out amazing! So moist and the frosting is the icing on the cake! 😉
No lie….These ARE the best pumpkin bars I’ve ever had. I added a cup of raisins cuz I love them in pumpkin bars but no other alterations needed. I will definitely use this recipe again.
These are sooo delish!! I love your recipes and I don’t like to make any changes but I did on this one and I hope you don’t mind me saying so. My guy is a diabetic so I used Splenda inplace of sugars and I didn’t have any oil on hand so I used 2 sticks of unsalted butter. I couldn’t resist a few chocolate chips on top of batter and gently pressing them in.
For diabetic cream cheese frosting I use 1 cream cheese, one cont. coolwhip, 1 cup Splenda, your vanilla, salt and pumpkin pie spice, whip all together. I guess I made a lot of changes but your recipe was the base and you are the best!! Thank you!
Also above on my coment I also used Carb Quick flour that has only couple of carbs per serving. Purchase from Amazon. Use it just like flour and spoon in to measuring cup. I also love your carrot cake recipe and use the same frosting on it.