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

A stack of 4 pumpkin oat bars with dates and walnuts in them on a plate.

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

What You’ll Need

  • 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.

Pitted dates soaking in hot water in a glass bowl.

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.

Blended pumpkin oatmeal dough in a food processor.

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!

Sliced pumpkin oatmeal bars in a baking pan.

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.

A stack of 3 baked pumpkin oatmeal bars on a plate.

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.

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
An overhead image of baked oatmeal bars staked on a plate.

Related Recipes

Here are some more baked oatmeal recipes to try:

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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A stack of 3 baked pumpkin oatmeal bars on a plate.

Baked Pumpkin Oat Bars

  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 12 mins
  • Total Time: 32 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Snack
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: Vegan

These bars are not fancy, elaborate or decadent. They’re a basic, healthy, wholesome snack made with just 4 simple ingredients. For more of a treat, add chocolate chips and walnuts!

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews
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Ingredients

Optional Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Place the dates in a bowl, pour hot water over them and let sit for 15 minutes then drain well.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Add the soaked and drained dates, oats, spice and pumpkin to a food processor and process to combine into a thick, doughy batter. About 20-30 seconds should do the trick.
  4. If adding additional ingredients like chocolate chips or walnuts, add them now and pulse a few times to distribute throughout the dough.
  5. Lightly spray a 7-8 inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper then firmly press the dough into the pan.
  6. Bake for 12 minutes then let then cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Slice into 16 bars and carefully lift out the pan with a knife.
  7. Let cool completely before storing in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 2 months.

Notes

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.

These bars aren’t super sweet as is but I think they’re sweet enough. It depends how much of a treat you want them to be. Add 2 tbsp maple syrup (or other listed sweetening option) or up to 1/2 cup chocolate chips to make them more of a treat. As an alternative to chocolate chips, add a layer of chocolate on top like these banana baked oatmeal bars.

The texture of these bars is like soft, baked oatmeal. I like adding walnuts for some extra crunch and texture.

Nutrition facts do not include any optional ingredients.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 99
  • Fat: 1.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 19.3 g
  • Fiber: 2.8 g
  • Protein: 2.3 g

Keywords: pumpkin baked oatmeal bars, pumpkin oatmeal bars, pumpkin oat bars

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