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Indulge this holiday season with these healthy and gluten free Flourless Pumpkin Bars! So moist and comforting, this easy fall treat is perfectly spiced and finished with a sweet maple glaze.
The more pumpkin treats, the better! That’s what I always say. Especially when they’re healthy, sweet, and made with easy ingredients.
I’ve completely fallen for these naturally gluten and dairy free Flourless Pumpkin Bars. Not only are they made in one bowl, but the ingredients are super simple and perfect for those who aren’t looking to over do it with the holiday desserts. They also freeze well so you can enjoy them all season long or bring them along on a trip to the pumpkin patch.
Speaking of healthy pumpkin recipes, I think you’ll also get a kick out of my pumpkin pie overnight oats and creamy pumpkin hummus. Because who says you can’t eat pumpkin for every meal?
Recipe features
- No flour needed! These bars are completely flourless, gluten free, dairy free, and paleo (without the glaze).
- Each bite is super smooth and moist without needing any oil.
- A healthy fall treat that tastes like pumpkin pie filling!
Ingredient notes:
- Pumpkin - The canned stuff! Make sure it’s plain pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Almond butter - Creamy, all natural almond butter is best!
- Egg - Most flourless recipes call for an egg to help bind everything together. A flax egg, mashed banana, or ¼ cup of applesauce may work as a vegan replacement, but I haven't tried it myself.
- Sugar - The natural sweetness from maple syrup and coconut sugar add the right amount of sweetness. These give the pumpkin bars the best flavors but you can use agave syrup, honey, and white sugar instead.
- Pumpkin pie spice - Use store-bought or make your own. All you need is ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. Keep it in your cupboard to use in pumpkin cakes, pies, and more!
- Maple glaze - This sweet decoration is made with maple syrup and powdered sugar. Keep the pumpkin bars paleo by drizzling maple syrup on top and omitting the sugar.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Make the batter, then bake. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a bowl before adding the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda. Pour the batter into a prepared dish and bake.
Step 2: Let them cool. When the bars are set, take them out of the oven and let them cool completely before removing them from the dish.
Step 3: Make the maple glaze. Whisk the maple syrup and powdered sugar together in a small bowl. Drizzle it on top of the cooled bars, then cut into small squares and enjoy!
Expert tips and FAQs
- Is the glaze too thick? Stir in ½ teaspoon of syrup to thin it out.
- Is the glaze too thin? Add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until it’s as thick as you like.
- For faster cooling, place the baking dish with the freshly baked bars in the fridge.
- Mix fun add ins into the batter like chocolate chips, dried fruit, chopped pecans or walnuts, or shredded coconut.
Can they be made vegan?
The egg is the only ingredient you need to replace to make the flourless pumpkin bars vegan. Try swapping it for a flax egg, mashed banana, or ¼ cup of applesauce.
What else can you use to decorate them?
Top the bars with maple glaze or plain maple syrup, more pumpkin pie spice, whipped cream (or coconut whip), shredded coconut, chopped nuts, or maple tahini syrup.
Storage
- Refrigerator - The bars store well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer - Freeze the finished bars in a layer on a baking sheet. When they’re frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Paleo treats
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Flourless Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup almond butter creamy
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar or use cane sugar or brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
for the glaze:
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or more as needed
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1" overhang for easy removal; set aside.
- Next, whisk the pumpkin, egg, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Then, add the sugar, pumpkin spice spice and baking soda and stir until the mixture it smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Place it into the oven and bake the bars for 30-35 minutes or until the center has set.
- Remove them from the oven and transfer the dish onto a cooling rack. Let the bars cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes, then transfer them to the refrigerator. Allow the bars to cool completely before slicing (see notes below).
- Before serving, make the maple glaze: whisk maple syrup and powdered sugar together, then drizzle it over the bars.
- Slice into 9 large or 16 small bars and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Note: This post was originally published in September 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in September 2021.
Eva says
These sound delicious. Mashed sweet potato should work in place of the pumpkin, I'd think? Wanna bring them to a family gathering and "Sweet potato bars" sound less like fall...(I personally don't care, I bake pumpkin bread all year long! Cinnamon and nutmeg for the win! : ) : )
Erin says
Yes, I think mashed sweet potato should work just fine!
Eva says
Yes, it worked beautifully! I just now put some in the oven, this time pumpkin with some added dark choc chips. ❤️
Sue says
I cooked then for 45 minutes and weren't done!
Ann says
Made these for Thanksgiving. Love them and that the pumpkin shines through. So many that I have tried use equal or less pumpkin to almond butter.
Am putting them in the refrigerator till Thursday. What type of container do you recommend…tin foil, a baggie, a plastic container with a top or covered with plastic wrap? 🤗
Erin says
These will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving spread! I'd say store them in a plastic container, but put paper towels down in between to absorb some of the moisture that may naturally occur (you MIGHT need to redo the glaze really quickly the day-of). I hope this helps!
Renee says
These look amazing. Can you use tahini instead of almond butter?
Erin says
That should work!
Audrey says
Yummy these pumpkin bars are the bomb so moist and flavorful love them
Erin says
I'm so glad you like them -- thanks for the positive review!
Ava says
Can you either turn off the older comments to the recipe or put your previous commentary in your post? As a newer follower of your blog, I am reading the comments and there is no mention of this content.
Erin says
Hi! This is a valid point.. I updated this recipe, so you're right, the comments don't really apply. I'll go through and delete.
Clara sulpice says
Is the pumpkin purée the canned pumpkin, or did you just finely chop raw pumpkin. Going to make these for me and my husband's 20th anniversary.
Erin says
Yes it's just canned pumpkin 🙂 I hope you like them!
Cassie @ Almost Getting it Together says
FORGOT TO GIVE THESE FIVE STARS!!!!
Cassie @ Almost Getting it Together says
Being paranoid of food isn't fun. I can speak from past experience.
I am going to remake these ASAP because I haven't been able to stop thinking about them since you brought them over. Bring some to SF please. xoxo
Monique @ Bupees to Bubby says
Well said!! I couldn't agree more- I honestly don't think there is a single "diet" or way of eating that everyone should follow- we are all different and different things work for all of us. My boyfriend had gut issues and has tried so many "diets" and came to the conclusion that a mix of all of them works best for him- doesn't mean one was right or wrong, just that they didn't single handedly work for him. He wrote a really great guest post/review of the Whole30 on my blog which people seemed to enjoy since he wasn't one that thought it changed his life- you don't tend to hear stories where it doesn't work for some people! http://burpeestobubbly.com/2015/05/29/guest-post-rms-review-of-the-whole30-program/
Kelly @ Kelly Runs For Food says
I totally agree with you. Some people have managed to make their diets completely clean, but I've personally never known anyone that perfect, especially not myself. At a certain point, when your food paranoia is taking up a significant part of your day, it's no longer "healthy," it's obsessive.
I've eaten more than my share of pizza and cookies (made with actual butter) in my day and I'm managing just fine!
Kate says
These are beautiful!
I don't have a diet label either and I'm so over being a paranoid eater. Paranoid eating is a life saving technique for those with food allergies, but for people like me, it is just another source of stress. The added stress to me and to those I'm dining with eventually became apparent to me, so I decided to learn to let it go. I like how you compared paranoid to mindful to show they are not the same.