Recently I decided to give my uber popular Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Bars a fall spin and ended up with Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars. Here’s what you need to know about these soft and dense oatmeal bars that make the perfect breakfast or snack: they’re healthy, easy to make, and taste like sweet, spiced pumpkin cake.
We ate an entire pan in 24 hours.
SO INTO IT!
Try This Related Recipe!
We’ve finally gotten into a good rhythm with getting the boys up and ready in the morning and, long story short, Ben is in charge of breakfast…which commences at 6:45am. Woof. Even longer story short, nobody hates mornings more then Ben. NOBODY. That said, he really appreciates when I have breakfast bars sliced and waiting in the fridge so he can slap a couple onto plates then stand sleep while the boys have at ’em.
Now fall officially kicks off next weekend and, although it was a sweltering 90 degrees here today, these bars were a great way to kick off the new season. Syrup, spice, and everything nice!? Ahem. It’s definitely too hot for Easy Pumpkin Spice Lattes but it’s never the wrong time for these bars which you can prep on the weekend and enjoy all week long. They’re INSANE warm from the oven but again, keep perfectly in the fridge. You can even individually wrap the bars in saran wrap and freeze.
Onward!
How to Make This Recipe
This is a 1-bowl recipe so start by whisking up the wet ingredients in a large one. That includes pumpkin puree, an egg, milk (any kind – I use unsweetened almond milk,) coconut oil, vanilla, and pure maple syrup. None of that pancake syrup, ya’ hear?! I buy organic maple syrup at Costco and it’s just fab.
Next stir in the dry ingredients including gluten-free oats, oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, chia seeds, and pumpkin pie spice.
I make oat flour from gluten-free oats in my food processor – just process for a minute or two until the oats are finely ground. If you already have oat flour on hand, you can use a scant cup in the recipe instead.
Pour the mixture into a nonstick sprayed 8×8 baking pan then bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Check on the bars at the 25 minute mark – if the edges are already turning golden brown, place a piece of foil on top which will allow the center to bake through before the sides brown too much.
As I mentioned, these bars are killerrrr warm but also keep super well in the fridge to slice and eat all week long. Hey, warm, cold – it doesn’t matter, you are going to LOVE these perfectly sweet and spiced pumpkin oatmeal bars! Enjoy!
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Mini Egg Bites
- High Protein Overnight Oats
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Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Description
Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are a delectable gluten-free breakfast or snack recipe that's flavored with pumpkin pie spice and pure maple syrup. Healthy, easy, and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups gluten-free old fashioned oats, divided
- 1 cup milk, any kind (I used unsweetened almond milk)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup pecan halves, roughly chopped (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees then spray an 8x8" baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Add 1 cup old fashioned oats to a food processor or blender then process until oats have turned into flour. Set aside. (Alternatively you could use a scant cup oat flour.)
- Add milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla to a large bowl then whisk to combine. Add remaining 1-1/2 cups oats, oat flour, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then stir to combine. Fold in chopped pecans then pour batter into prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center has set. Check on the bars at the 25 minute mark - if the edges are browning too quickly, place a piece of foil on top of the baking pan. Cool before slicing into bars then store in the refrigerator, or individually wrap bars in saran wrap and freeze.
- Leave a comment and star rating if you loved the recipe! Thank you for considering!
Notes
- I recommend GF Harvest gluten-free oats >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Oh, these look do delicious! Thank you! Would there be anything healthy I can use in place of the coconut oil? My cardiologist is saying that coconut oil is a no-no (they’re saying now that people misread the previous study that seemed to say it did not clog the arteries.)
Before I had celiac issues, I used to use 1/2 – 2/3 c unsweetened applesauce and the rest using canola oil in my baking. I just don’t know if that will suffice in lieu of coconut oil for gluten- and grain-free recipes.
Thank you! :)
Vegetable / canola, or any other neutral tasting oil should be fine!
I’m two months postpartum and need quick breakfasts for my older two. We’ve been enjoying these and your other breakfast bar recipes for the last few weeks. They’re delicious, and my kids love them! I usually add some flaxseed and brewer’s yeast to boost my milk supply.
I’m so glad to hear that, Mackenzie! So glad you’ve found a way to make these work for you!
Here are the nutrition facts I came up with after entering the recipe into MyFitness Pal:
cutting into 9 pieces:
Calories:245
total fat: 12.8g
saturated 5.9
trans 0
polyunsaturated 1.4g
monounsaturated 1.3g
cholesterol 20.7
sodium 155.3
carbs 30.4
fiber 3.6g
sugar 1.4
net carbs 26.8
protein 4.8g
vitamin d 1.1%
calcium 9.5%
Iron 7.9%
potassium 109.1 mg
vitamin A 28.9%
Vitamin C .5%
Hello Kristin, Can I use regular old fashioned oats for this recipe? Also, can I leave the chia seeds out? Thank you…Art
I needed a recipe to use up some leftover pumpkin puree from another recipe, so I threw these together with stuff I had in the pantry… delicious! My husband loves them, too! We’ll definitely make them again. I added more spice, since I love it, and used extra-dark maple syrup for an intense maple-y flavor. Turned out wonderful! Next time I’m going to add dried cranberries and maybe some chocolate chips!
I used to love your site. Now there are so many ads I can’t find anything. Frustrating
I’m so sorry to hear that, Chris. I am constantly working to maximize reader experience while making an income, as all my site content is (and always will be) free. Please know that the number of ads I display on my site is something I think about and tweak often!
I’ve been making these for breakfast for the past month! Love them. They freeze well too.Here’s how I made them vegan:I’ve used both 3 tablespoons and aquafaba (water from chick pea can) and Bob’s egg substitute and both worked perfectly. I also cut the sugar down by a third. I’m able to use some brown sugar as long as I replaced the lost liquid with milk. (I use soy.) A chia egg might also work great since we already have chia here.Since I can’t have ginger, I use cardamom and make my own mix. I recommend it! For this recipe: 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 1/4 tsp allspice.
I’m so glad you’re able to make these your own, Leah! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
What is the nutritional info on the maple pumpkin bars
Hi Kathy! I don’t currently have nutritional information for my recipes at this time.
Love this recipe! I gave some out to my adult kids and now they’re begging me to make more. Such a great grab and go breakfast! Thank you!
Oh my gosh, I love hearing that!! Never too old to enjoy Mom’s cooking (and baking). Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I left out the chia seeds. Pretty bland taste.I’ll need to add more pumpkin spice next time.
Thank you for your feedback, Brenda!
I made these and subbed applesauce and sliced apples for the pumpkin….so delicious. My family ate the whole dish in 1 day. Its Even better cold.
Sounds awesome, Carey! So glad you were able to make it your own – thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This was very good! I adjusted a little by taking the flour oats out of the blender and mixing all wet ingredients in the blender then filled a bowl with all the dry ingredients and added some unsweetened coconut and raisins. It was delicious. 😋
So glad you were able to make this recipe your own, Laurie! Sounds delicious!!
I’m sure this is probably me…but does step 3 say oat flour but there is no oat flour in the ingredients list?I made them with no oat flour and they were great. Just wondering what the oat flour was referring to.
I’ve got my gazillionth batch in the oven as we speak. Smells like heaven! I think I reviewed this years ago but thought it deserved another 5 stars!
Awww, I so appreciate that, Katherine!! So glad it’s a staple for you!!!
These are amazing! I subbed all purpose flour for the oat flour to make things easier since I’m not GF, and I subbed honey for maple syrup. The texture was seriously amazing and I may have eaten the whole pan in one day. 😅 One of the yummiest things I’ve baked in a while. Thank you for the recipe!
I can relate – it’s hard to stop with these bars!! So glad you enjoyed, Shelby!
Hi. I found your recipe on Pinterest and have just finished puréing my Halloween pumpkin and thought I’d try this. Only change I made was to add a bit more purée and some Greek yogurt instead of milk (bc I had to use it up). Greek yogurt also boosted the protein count for this. I added some coconut sugar on top for colour and despite the dairy switch this came out great! I also made my own pumpkin pie spice and used about double what you had listed. Thanks for posting! Having calorie per slice is always helpful for future recipes. I’d love to add a pic for others to see if that’s a function your blog engine can do for commenters. Cheers from Canada. 🇨🇦
I’m so glad you enjoyed, and were able to make these bars your own, K! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
These bars look really delicious. Have you considered adding a chopped apple or other fruit. I can’t wait to try these.
Hi Kathy! I haven’t, but I do add shredded apple to my Apple Cinnamon version and it’s delicious! https://iowagirleats.com/apple-cinnamon-oatmeal-bars/
This was very bland. I would recommend adding more vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate chunks
Thanks for your feedback, Bethany!
I don’t know how something with this many ingredients can feel faster and easier than our go-to breakfast of oatmeal, but it does. We love it and I’ve made it more than twice since I found the recipe last week. Thank you!!
It’s so nice to have it ready and waiting each morning, vs having to make a bowl, right?! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating, Karen!