Spiced Oatmeal Pumpkin Breakfast Bars are a delicious make ahead breakfast or snack. Creamy pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and crunchy pecans and pepitas make this an easy grab and go option.
Why I love Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars
I’ve been making all sorts of oatmeal bar variations these days. I love that I can make them ahead of time, because this farm girl is NOT a morning person.
I love pumpkin pie oatmeal, but this particular version can be made days ahead of time.
Plus, these oatmeal pumpkin bars have a cake-like texture that we get to eat for breakfast. Cake...for breakfast. Let that sink in for just a minute.
Eat them at room temperature or give them a few seconds in the microwave to warm them up.
Really, what’s not to love??
How to Make Oatmeal Pumpkin Bars
This is so simple, my kids could totally make this recipe. Here’s how it’s going down:
Preheat your oven to 350° and grab your favorite 8 x 8 pan. Come on, you know we have our kitchen favorites! My favorite, in case you're wondering, is a Corning wear white one with blue flowers that I permanently borrowed from my mom. 😉
Line your pan with parchment paper and grease the top of the paper if you want to pull out the whole pan of bars at once. It does make it easier for slicing and removing that first square of oatmeal bar later.
If easy removal isn't important to you, you can skip the paper and grease the pan directly.
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. You’ll need to add your flour (I use all purpose but you could use whole wheat flour here), oats, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda). Stir to combine.
Grab a larger bowl and break your two eggs into it. We’re doing this step first to eliminate extra dishes.
That’s right, I always have your back when it comes to making things easy!
Beat your two eggs lightly. Then, we’re adding all our wet ingredients. Grab your pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, that’s something altogether different), applesauce, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Stir to combine the wet ingredients together.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to blend, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to combine all the ingredients.
Add half of the pepitas and pecans to the batter. Pour into your prepared 8x8 pan and spread evenly throughout the pan. Sprinkle the remaining pepitas and pecans over the top.
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Bake 25-30 minutes until the oat bars are cooked through to the center. It will look just like a baked cake. Cool before slicing into squares.
What are pepitas?
Quite honestly, I always thought they were hulled pumpkin seeds, but turns out I was wrong!
They’re actually their own kind of hull-less seed, though they can be interchanged in some cases. I’m not gonna dive down that rabbit whole, but if you want to learn more about the difference between pumpkin seeds and pepitas, you can read here.
What you really need to know is that pepitas are a seed, a bit smaller than a pumpkin seed. They have a slight crunch and they’re mainstream enough to be for sale at our Aldi grocery store.
So there you go.
Don’t like them? Leave them out.
Recipe Variations
- Add chocolate chips to the top of the oatmeal bake before cooking
- Use walnuts instead of pecans
- Add coconut flakes to the batter
- Use coconut oil instead of the applesauce, though you may need to decrease the amount slightly.
- Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal is amazing, too!
How to freeze for later:
Wrap slices in wax paper and place in an airtight container for freezing up to three months.
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
What can I make with my leftover pumpkin puree?
I’m so glad you asked! You could make another pan of these oatmeal pumpkin bars for a friend, neighbor, or to pop in your freezer.
You could also transfer the leftover pumpkin puree to a container or ice cube tray to freeze to thaw for later.
Or, you can use leftover pumpkin puree in Soft Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal or Pumpkin Spiced Pancakes.
Other Make Ahead Breakfasts:
- Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
- Make Ahead Breakfast Bowls
- Breakfast burritos
- Low Carb Crustless Sausage Quiche
Oatmeal Pumpkin Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup rolled old fashioned oats
- 1.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- ½ cup pure pumpkin puree
- ½ cup natural style applesauce
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup pepitas
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and grease the top of the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda). Stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs. Add pumpkin puree, applesauce, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Stir to combine the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to blend, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to combine all the ingredients.
- Add half of the pepitas and pecans to the batter. Pour into your prepared 8x8 pan and spread evenly throughout the pan.. Sprinkle the remaining pepitas and pecans over the top.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until the oat bars are cooked through to the center. Cool lightly before slicing into squares.
Notes
- Make sure you use canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- Pumpkin pie spice is usually available year round in the spice aisle at the grocery store. It’s a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove.
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
JA says
Can this recipe be doubled to make it in a 9x13 ??
Deanne Frieders says
I haven't tried it. My only concern is that you'd have to increase the baking time to get the center cooked. The outsides might get a bit dry.
Lisa Robling says
Can I use some wheat bran?
Deanne Frieders says
Go for it!
Peggy says
sounds delic can you give me measurements for making 1teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice- thank you!
Deanne Frieders says
Hi Peggy, you could use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon each of ground allspice and nutmeg.
Asha says
Hey there! I really want to make these but I’m looking to cut down on processed sugar a bit by using maple syrup (and I think the flavor would really compliment this recipe!). Do you think I could easily sub it for the brown sugar, or would it change the moisture content up too much? Either way, looking forward to trying it, especially if we finally get some fall weather up here in Vermont!
Lucie says
Can these be stored at room temperature for the week or do they need to be kept in the fridge? I just tried these and love how they turned out! I used walnuts and sprouted, salted pumpkin seeds (did less of them because of salt content) because that's what I had on hand, delicious! I just want to know for meal prepping!
Deanne Frieders says
If you're keeping them for more than a day or two, I'd put them in the fridge. I love the additions you made!
Debra S says
Best Ever and Easy
Katie says
I have made these every Sunday for the past 2 months to have for weekday breakfasts and OMG they are so good! I can’t get enough of them. Delicious