Pumpkin Oatmeal Granola Bars (Vegan and Gluten Free)
Pack with nutritious ingredients, these Pumpkin Oatmeal Granola Bars are great for school snacks or a breakfast on the go. They are vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free too. I like to make them extra special with a pumpkin spice drizzle. However, mini chocolate chips make a great addition too.
Kids in the Kitchen:
- Measure: Things like oats and other dry ingredients are great for having toddlers and young kids practice their measuring skills.
- Dump and stir! To make things easy, you can also measure all/most of the ingredients ahead of time. Then have your child help dump them into a large bowl. Also, using an extra big bowl will help reduce any messes from stirring.
- Drizzle…together: It can get a little messy, but kids will love to help spoon some melted chocolate over the top of the cooked bars. You could also choose to just dip part of the bar into the chocolate instead.
Subs and Tips for Making Pumpkin Oatmeal Granola Bars:
- Oats: I use a combinations of whole rolled oats and “quick-cooking” oats in this recipe. The whole oats add texture and the quick oats help the bars stay together when baked. However, if you only have rolled oats, there are instructions for making them into a quick oat texture in the recipe notes below.
- Gluten-free: Make sure to use oats that say “gluten-free” on the package to ensure the bars are gluten-free.
- Helpful equipment: For favorite baking pan, parchment paper, and more, check out my Baking Essentials page on Amazon.
- No Pumpkin? You can replace the canned pumpkin with mashed banana! Banana is much sweeter than pumpkin, so you will want to reduce the brown sugar to 1/4 cup.
- Want to make your own Pumpkin Spice Blend to have on hand? Linked an easy recipe for you HERE. You can also just use cinnamon in this recipe or a combo of cinnamon, a little nutmeg, and a pinch of ground ginger.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp canned pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup avocado or vegetable oil any flavorless oil
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed (flax meal)
- 1 cup quick-cooking "instant" oats
- 2 cups regular "old-fashioned" rolled oats
White chocolate drizzle (optional)
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips or 2 oz white chocolate bar, chopped
- pinch pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp refined coconut oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or grease with oil spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla. (If you measure the oil before the honey, the honey will easily slide out of the measuring cup.)
- Whisk in the pumpkin spice, salt, chia seeds, and ground flax.
- Stir in the oats using a large spoon or rubber spatula. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Spread the oat mixture evenly in your prepared baking pan. I like to use the back of a spoon to get into the corners and smooth the surface along the edges.
- Bake until the edges are very golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool fully before cutting into bars. I like to cut into 5 equal pieces in one direction then in half to make 10 bars.
- Bars are best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days or individually wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months.
White Chocolate Drizzle
- If topping the bars with a chocolate drizzle, melt the chocolate and oil together until smooth. (I do this in a small bowl in the microwave.)
- Stir in a pinch of pumpkin spice for a little extra flavor.
- Drizzle each bar with the melted chocolate. Place in the fridge or freezer to set the chocolate.
Notes
You can add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the batter instead of the drizzle on top.
If you don't have quick oats, you can pulse a 1 1/4 cups of rolled oats in a food processor until they are broken up into smaller bits then measure and use in the recipe. Do not over process into a flour.
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Want some other delicious and nutritious pumpkin recipes? Head to Healthy Pumpkin Recipes to Cook with Kids!