Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

These vegan baked pumpkin oatmeal bars are easy to make in under 30 minutes with just 4 simple ingredients.

Recipe Features

• quick and easy – you’ll need just 4 ingredients and 30 minutes
• healthier snacking – these bars are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and have no added sugar
• customizable – keep them simple or have fun with add-ins like chocolate chips and walnuts

Ingredient Notes

• canned pumpkin puree – choose plain, canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
• dates – any variety of dates work but I recommend medjool, sayer or deglect noor
• oats – rolled oats are best but quick oats work too
• pumpkin pie spice – if you don’t have this cinnamon works just fine or you can make your own pumpkin pie spice mix

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1. Soak the dates.

Nothing fancy here – place the pitted dates in a bowl, cover with hot water and soak for 15 minutes.

Quick Note: While this isn’t totally necessary, soaking the dates makes them so caramelly and delicious that I recommend taking the time for this step.

Step 2. Blend the dough.

After you’ve soaked and drained the dates all them to a food processor with the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and oats. Process to combine into a thick, doughy batter.

Quick Note: If you’re adding extras like chocolate chips or walnuts, add them now and pules a few times to distribute throughout.

Step 2. Bake and enjoy!

Take the processed dough and smash it into a baking dish. Time to bake! Pop them in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F.

After baking, let them sit for a few minutes then slice into bars and enjoy!

Tips and FAQs

• Sweetness. These bars aren’t super sweet as is. Add 2 tbsp maple syrup or 1/2 cup chocolate chips to make them more of a treat.
• Spice options. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice use 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. No worries if you’re missing one, just add a little extra cinnamon.
• Texture. The finished bars are like soft, baked oatmeal. I like adding chopped walnuts to add some texture throughout.

How long do these keep?

These bars will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 1 week or can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Optional Add-Ins

The basic version of these bars are delicious but you can add any, or a combination of any of the ingredients below, up to roughly 3/4 cups. I recommend dairy-free chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

• dairy-free chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
• chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds
• raisins, cranberries or chopped dried fruit
• unsweetened shredded coconut
• hemp seeds

Serving Ideas

These bars are awesome on their own but here are even more ways to enjoy them:

• cut them in half and make a little mini-sandwich with almond butter, tahini or coconut butter
• warm them up and top with coconut whipped cream or non-dairy yogurt – like a healthy pumpkin pie!
• crumble them over a smoothie bowl or pumpkin spice latte smoothie
• crumble them and make a layered parfait with coconut yogurt or chia seed pudding
• melt some dairy-free chocolate and spread evenly over the bars before cutting for an added chocolate layer

Related Recipes

Here are some more baked oatmeal recipes to try:

• Chocolate Baked Oatmeal Bars
• Strawberry Protein Baked Oatmeal Bars
• Banana Date Baked Oatmeal Bars
• Simple Banana Baked Oatmeal
• Baked Apple Steel Cut Oatmeal

For more pumpkin goodness, check out my list of the best vegan pumpkin recipes or these 3-ingredient healthy pumpkin oat cookies.

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UPDATE NOTE: This recipe was originally published on November 3, 2017. IT was updated with new photos and text on May 15, 2020.