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Healthy, portable pumpkin pie bars made with wholesome ingredients that require no baking. Naturally gluten-free and vegan-friendly, these bars are the epitome of fall snacking!
Who says you can’t improve a good thing?? These bars encompass everything there is to love about pumpkin pie, sans the butter, white sugar and cream. Oh, and sans the plate and fork!
The oat and cashew crust is intended to mimic the taste and consistency of pie crust, except with a mightier mouthfeel and silkier texture. The pumpkin filling is naturally sweetened with sticky dates and infused with aromatic pumpkin pie spice and warm vanilla. Topped with chopped pecans for welcomed texture, these fall-forward bars are downright incredible. 
Guys, we had SO much fun last week at Cooking Light hosting a pumpkin-themed week. Our executive food editor, Ann, roasted a whole pumpkin on Facebook live so the viewers could bear witness to how unbelievably EASY it was!! She gutted out the beautiful, vibrant flesh and blended it into a lusciously creamy puree that we used to make a plethora of fun, fall recipes.
In addition to roasted pumpkin pie, we also made 100-calorie pumpkin muffins, 6-ingredient blender pumpkin pancakes, dip and an assortment of sweet and savory pumpkin toasts.
And no, I’m still not even the least bit over the seasonal craze. 😉
Tell me, what has been your favorite pumpkin treat to make so far this season? I’ve been equally loving the sweet and savory pumpkin dishes, personally.
In addition to it’s beautiful color, creamy texture and rich taste, pumpkin is a fabulous source of fiber, vitamin A, and potassium. It’s also naturally very low in calories and acts as a great stand-in for butter and oil in most baked goods.
So.much.to.love.
These bars are perfect to make for potlucks, friendsgivings or simply just to snack on throughout the week. They satisfy the sweet tooth while boasting a hearty 4 grams of fiber per serving. Also rich in heart-healthy fats, they are supremely filling. More filling than most snack bars (and certainly most desserts!) that I’ve enjoyed lately.
Top them with any nut you desire or sub the nuts for dark chocolate or toffee chips for an extra layer of decadence.
‘Tis the season!
If you make this recipe, be sure to tag #dishingouthealth so I can see your beautiful creations!
Raw Pumpkin Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tbsp coconut oil melted
- Pinch of sea salt
- 10 pitted dates
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp chopped pecans
Instructions
- Fill a small bowl with warm water and place dates in water bath. Soak for 30 minutes, rinse, drain and thoroughly dry dates. Set aside.
- Add oats to a high-power food processor and blend until oats form a flour. Add cashews and blend for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until finely ground. Add honey, coconut oil and pinch of sea salt and blend until ingredients start to form a dough (refer to picture above).
- Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat with non-stick spray. Place dough in pan and firmly press down, spreading evenly to all edges, until dough is compacted and uniform.
- Clean out food processor. Add dates and blend until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, coconut flour, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Blend until well-combined and creamy. Pour over crust in pan, smoothing to all edges. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly on top. Freeze for 1 hour to set. Cut into 12 squares and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before eating.
- Cover and refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
* To make bars vegan, sub honey for brown rice syrup or maple syrup
Nutrition
I calculate these values by hand to ensure accuracy, however expect up to a 10% variable depending on food brands.
I woke up to a plate of these pumpkin bars. Especially given that these are healthy, they were crazy good
Wow, Jamie! These bars are so fantastic!! The only modification I made was to add a tablespoon of syrup to the purée and I should have left it out— the crust is sweet enough for all of it. I am so happy to have this recipe going into the fall. I’m craving pumpkin like a fiend already! Thanks so much! Love love love the crust too 🤤
Also. These are little one approved. Miss thing was a fan of making them and eating them!!! Mmmhmmhmmm
Unfortunately I had nothing but problems with this recipe and am sending my son out to the store for more pumpkin to start over with a new dessert : ( Dates will not “blend till smooth” in a cuisinart food processor, so i transferred it all to a blender. The final pumpkin mixture just didn’t taste good at all.
Hi! This looks yummy! Can the cashews be substituted with walnuts? And any substitute for coconut flour? Trying to use what I have at home. Thanks.
Can anything be substituted for the dates?
Hi Michelle! Honestly, I don’t think so. Is it the taste or texture of dates that you dislike? You really can’t taste them at all.. they’re mainly just to thicken the texture of the pumpkin “filling”.
Honestly I just don’t have any on hand and wanted to try out the recipe! Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe. I am going to try it soon.
I like the fact….no sugar
Wonderful! Please let me know how you like them! 🙂