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!
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!
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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.
Notes
- I recommend GF Harvest gluten-free oats >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Video
This looks so good! What a yummy fall breakfast meal prep for the whole family!
Thanks for this awesome recipe. I’ve made it a handful of times already! My boys (5 & 2) love it, which says A LOT! They aren’t too keen on trying new things. The recipe is perfect, simple, delicious and healthy.
My kids love when I have stuff like this available. It is the best way to ensure a teenager eats breakfast.
Simple to make and yummy to eat. These are great to grab out of the frig on the way out the door. My husband who won’t eat a bowl of porridge, likes them.
I have been making these oat bars for breakfast for the past several months, I am obsessed! One thing that I have found, is I substitute unsweetened apple sauce for the coconut oil and use 3/4 less maple syrup for mine. They come out perfect every time! Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
Can I substitute local hi net for the maple syrup?
Hi Annie! I’m not sure what hi net is so I can’t say for sure!
Wow! I followed everything in the recipe! I used pumpkin seeds instead of pecans. But it was fabulous! We ate half of it right when it came out of the oven. We drizzled honey on it but I don’t even think it needed it. Definitely doing this again, probably tomorrow to finish the can of pumpkin! ?thank you! Our bellies are happy!
I’m so glad to hear it, Angelina! Thanks for your feedback and recipe review!
This super easy and super yummy! Be sure to put the melted coconut oil in last (after the egg) and slowly whisk in or it solidifies. or use liquid coconut oil. I put the oil in after the egg and put the whole thing in the food processor for a couple pulses and it turned out fine.
Of all of the IGE recipes I am most obsessed with this one! It is so delicious and perfect for mornings on the go. I do substitute butter for the coconut oil quite often and have even subbed light brown sugar when I did not have maple syrup on hand. Make a double-batch so that you have some to freeze.
I’ve made these bars several times now and they’re always delicious! Today I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9×13 pan. It took about 45 minutes to cook and came out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
My bars are not the orange color shown in the pictures.
Hello from Canada – I can not tell you how much I love these bars ! I made a double batch for a brunch to celebrate my 50th and literally everyone asked for the recipe – to which I said “I can’t take credit” …Iowa girl eats ! Anyway, as I type, I am baking another batch for Christmas morning. Merry Christmas !
[…] 8. Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars […]
[…] Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats*if you do not have oat flour, pulse 1 cup of oats in a food processor until flour-like in […]
These look soooo good! I cannot wait to start baking with pumpkin! I love the oat flour and almond milk use in these :)
[…] Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats*if you do not have oat flour, pulse 1 cup of oats in a food processor until flour-like in […]
[…] Maple pumpkin oatmeal breakfast bars or apple cinnamon oatmeal bars […]
Can you sub regular flour?
How can I balance the recipe if I want to use less maple syrup? 1/2 C of maple syrup has 96g of sugar. That is personally too much for me and my toddler.
The 1/2 cup is for the entire batch- likewise the 64 g of sugar. Divide that by how many bars you cut the batch into for a more accurate count. (Unless you’re planning to eat it all at once, which, judging from all the positive comments, wouldn’t be unheard of!
nice, and nicely different, thank you for this recipe!