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
Is your pumpkin bar or cake better than your pumpkin bundt cake recipe?
Hi Sheila, they’re all great! Just pick the recipe in the form/size that you’re looking for.
and now, they are the best pumpkin bars that I’ve had –my husband too!
including the homemade pumpkin spice – not just for this recipe but others — a generous sprinkle of it on my steel cut oats porridge in the morning makes it zing!
One question – what type of salt do you use in your recipes? I am sure it’s mentioned somewhere on your site, but I can find it.
Thank you for making my Baking Happy – extra Happy!
Hi Sally, thank you so much for making and trusting all our recipes! We use regular table salt in our recipes, unless otherwise noted.
thank you!
I served these bars to a group of finicky eaters and they couldn’t stop eating them. Easy to assemble and baked perfectly. Recipe and instructions were very clear and accurate. Thanks!
Great pumpkin flavor. I even reduced the sugar slightly to 1/4 cup granulated and 3/4 cup brown and they are delicious. Ended up winging the frosting with some mascarpone butter powdered sugar vanilla bean paste and a pinch of salt and splash of half & half.
In your demonstration, the pumpkin used looked like Libby’s “solid pack” pumpkin and not the “purred” which is pourable and already has spice and sugar in it? Could you please clarify for me.
Hi Pat, you want pure pumpkin puree for this recipe. The liquidy pumpkin with sugar and spice is pumpkin pie filling and should not be used. The only ingredient in the puree should be pumpkin. Hope this helps!
Can this recipe be halved to work with a smaller pan (9×9 or something smaller)? I recently made the pumpkin pie truffles on this site (so good!!!) but now I have 2/3 can of pumpkin and 2/3 cream cheese I’d like to use up thanks!
Hi Kim! The pan size is key making sure the bars bake up correctly, and we haven’t tried halving it before. If you do give it a try, note that the texture might be a bit different. Let us know if you do!
I halved the recipe (bars and frosting), baked in an 8×8 pan for 23 min and they turned out great!
I just halved this recipe with success.
Don’t have 10×15 baking pan. Have 10×13 and 9×13. How long do I cook Best Pumpkin Bars in one of those pans?
Hi Pat, the pan size is crucial for the correct taste and texture in these bars. If you have a 9×13 pan available, you could try our pumpkin cake instead.
Hello,
I Googled baking pan conversions and found this:
How about a 10” x 15” jelly roll pan (150”)? If you’re baking bars, substitute one 9” square pan (81”), plus one 8” square or 9” round pan (64”) for a total area of 145”.
So that’s what I’m going to try – using two baking pans instead of 1. Once I bake them (I have yet to shop for ingredients I will post how they turned out.)
These were just delightful!
Tis the season for another delicious pumpkin, spice and my favorite, a very easy recipe. My husband really enjoyed it too.
Loved this recipe. I decided I needed a little crunch so I put chopped pecans on after I frosted them. My husband said they were great either way.
Can I substitute molasses for maple as maple syrup gives me migraines.
Hi Julie, you can leave it out completely, or substitute with 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar or honey. We don’t recommend molasses.
My bars sunk in the center. I think it was because I used a 9×13 pan. What do you think?
Hi Lynn, a 10×15 pan is key to having these bars bake properly. Anything smaller creates thick pumpkin bars, which taste almost identical to pumpkin cake and are harder to bake through properly. That’s likely the cause for the sinking. If you’re interested, our pumpkin cake utilizes a 9×13 pan.
This recipe is definitely a keeper! I will most certainly make it again.
We love pumpkin. We have tried many pumpkin bars, cakes, loaves, and cookies. But by far, this is the absolute best pumpkin bar we have ever tried. We will not use any other recipe. Kids love, I love, neighbors love it, fellow church members love it. It is the best. Thank you
Thank you so much for this kind review, Amy! We’re so thrilled to hear that these pumpkin bars are a hit for you.
This really was quite good. I made it with fresh pumpkin and I thought it worked well.
I thought the cream cheese icing needed some better spreadability and therefore I added about a tablespoon of eggnog (’tis the season!) …. it really had a wow factor!
I would really like to make this pumpkin pie recipe.I do not have a 10+15 pan. Can I use a 9+13 pan,I would like to make them higher? And how long would I bake them?
Thank You
Hi Reva, we’d recommend our pumpkin cake recipe instead, which bakes in a 9×13 pan and is taller/lighter.
These were a huge hit at our dinner party! I used Sally’s homemade pumpkin pie spice too. Found some cute fall leaves sprinkles and tiny turkey sprinkles at a local bake shop which made it that much more fun. Highly recommend!
I made these and they turned out AMAZING! I was short on frosting so I doubled the butter, and added 2 more cups of powdered sugar. The icing was the perfect amount then, and still tasted like cream cheese frosting even though I didn’t add any more cream cheese. I used the recommendation to add the pumpkin pie spice, and I also added a splash of pure maple syrup… IT WAS DELICIOUS! I used 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice since I added more powdered sugar and butter. I would highly recommend these!
Can nuts be added?
Hi Donna, you can add chopped pecans or walnuts to this batter. We recommend anywhere between 3/4 – 1.5 cups total add-ins.
I feel funny asking this, I read your notes as well as comments from readers. Is there a way to adjust the recipe and use a 9×13 pan?
Thank you so much, just trying to avoid buying another pan.
Hi Susan, the size pan is essential to their texture, but you can bake in a 9×13 inch cake pan for more cake-like bars and follow the baking time from pumpkin cake as a guide. Or, you can try splitting the batter between two 9×13 pans for thinner bars. Let us know what you try!
Disappointed Followed the recipe exactly but it was lacking pumpkin taste. The texture was ok. Has anyone tried using more than 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree?
Yes, I’ve used a 29 oz can of pumpkin instead of just the 15 oz can several times before and simply baked it for 50-55 minutes or so until it set up nicely and was done all the way through (every oven is a bit different so start checking after 45 minutes or so). We also love to add chocolate baking chips and/or ganache, lacing the ganache through the batter with a knife for the pretty swirl effect. We thought this recipe was really good as is but also love to experiment and have found this to be a super versatile recipe. We now always add the chocolate and occasionally double the pumpkin. Cream cheese frosting is mandatory as well but I only use a cup or two of the powdered sugar, half the butter called for and also add 2 TBLS lemon juice ’cause that’s the way we like it. Have fun experimenting!
These were insanely good, like off the charts! Thx!
I made these pumpkin bars exactly as written but used cup4cup gluten free flour. I didn’t tell anyone except my celiac daughter. They were so good! Everyone loved them. I’m making them again for a baby shower dessert buffet.
I made these pumpkin bars for our family gathering this weekend! They were delicious! I wasn’t sure I’d like the spiced frosting, but I made it as directed and I’m glad I did. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I make these every year, follow the recipe exactly, and its a crowd pleaser, everyone loves these. They are so EASY to make. I basically look forward to to fall for them! They may be pumpkin but these are not “basic” they are a flavor symphony. So declivous.
Husband been down with Covid. Finally has a request, and was these bars….oh my word, they are fantastic. These bars are husband approved.
I made these exactly as the recipe states except I used a 9×13 pan. I tested a few times to know exactly when they were done because of the different pan size. This is truly an amazing, perfectly spiced pumpkin bar. But everyone in my family agreed it was more like a tender cake than a bar. For us a bar implies a more dense and chewier consistency. Regardless, we all loved it!
I’ve made a lot of pumpkin bars over the years and this is by far the best. Very moist! Follow the directions and put the spice in the frosting. Amazing!
These are the best pumpkin bars I’ve ever tasted! Thank you so much!
I’ve been eyeballin’ this recipe for a while now and finally decided to try it. It’s absolutely fantastic and I can’t believe I waited so long! Although now I wish I’d kept right in waiting, what with the fact that I can’t seem to stop eating it.
Also – I didn’t have cream cheese (I know, right!?) so I whipped up some of the maple icing from your Maple Brown Sugar cookies – Holy Hotpants, Batman!
Thank you for another wonderful recipe
Amazinggggg!!
First time I made these for a reunion and I didn’t have the larger pan size so I made this exact recipe in a 9×13 pan. Yes, baking time extended but omgggg so delish!! Obviously they ended up a little more like cake then bars but still SO amazing!
Making this recipe for the second time today for my husband and his union buddies (finally purchased the recommended pan size)— I’m kind of jealous I won’t be able to taste them this time around! I’m sure they are just as amazing!
Thank you for the recipe!
This is my third year making these pumpkin bars. First two I made exactly to the recipe, pan size and all. Today I decided to switch it up a bit. I used one full recipe ad split it between a square pan and two mini cupcake pans. The minis were done in about 15 minutes and the square was around 18-20.
The first set of minis I filled a little too high so the tops puffed up and the second round I filled conservatively and they are the perfect bite size.
No matter the size, the texture remain the same, a very moist and dense cake.