Vegan pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting are thick and fudgy pumpkin bars topped with a rich, decadent frosting. All made with 8 healthy ingredients, gluten free and naturally sweet.
HAPPY OCTOBER! I’ve said it before, I’m not a huge halloween fan. No shade, I just get impatient and want the Christmas season to come as quickly as possible.
But in the meantime, let’s celebrate the month of all things pumpkin with a more special occasion-worthy, indulgent recipe! Say helloooo to vegan pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting.
Fudgy, gooey, spiced pumpkin bars topped with a swirl of rich and creamy frosting. A healthy dessert made with just 8 ingredients, and so so perfect for fall.
Ingredients for vegan pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting
- Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats to flour consistency, which will hold the pumpkin spice bars together and provide some healthy whole grains.
- Pumpkin pie spice: the warming spices give the bars their classic fall flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: pumpkin puree is obvious in pumpkin spice bars, and gives them a gooey, rich texture.
- Nondairy milk: you’ll use milk in the bars to bring the batter together, as well as in the cream cheese frosting. I always use unsweetened almond milk since it’s neutral in flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
- Raw cashews: you’ll soak the cashews in water for a few hours (or overnight), which helps them blend to an ultra lush and creamy texture in the frosting.
- Apple cider vinegar: vinegar sounds strange but gives the cream cheese frosting that little bit of tang that’s so perfect with all the other spice and sweetness going on.
- Date sugar: date sugar gives the frosting a bit of sweetness, totally from fruit. You could also use stevia or coconut sugar, though I have only made this recipe with date sugar.
Tips for making vegan pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting
- Measure out the oats first, then blend into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 1 cup of whole, rolled oats, then put that 1 cup into your blender to make flour.
- Get the bars baking, then make the frosting. The batter for the bars is really simple and quick, so get them in the oven first, and you can make the frosting while they bake. Set the frosting bowl in the fridge while you wait for the bars to cool.
- Let them cool completely. This is essential, as the bars are quite soft and gooey. Once they’re done baking, let the bars cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, then carefully turn the whole pan out onto a plate, then let them cool completely for about 30 more minutes. If you try to cut or remove them too early, they’ll fall apart, so be sure to let them cool and firm up as much as possible before removing and slicing into squares an adding frosting.
These vegan pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting feel like such an indulgent, special dessert, but they’re made with just a few wholesome ingredients and naturally sweet! The pumpkin spice flavor is so strong and goes SO well with the light and tangy frosting on top.
Hope you guys love these as much as I do, have a fab first weekend of October!
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Pumpkin Spice Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Bars
- 1 cup rolled oats, blended to flour consistency
- 2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup date paste – I use about 15 pitted medjool dates blended with 1 cup hot water
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours or overnight
- 1/3 cup nondairy milk – I use unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp date sugar – you could also use liquid stevia drops (to your taste) to keep the texture totally smooth and the color light
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend the oats into flour and add to a large bowl with the pumpkin pie spice.
- Add the date paste and pumpkin puree to the dry ingredients and stir until totally combined.
- Pour the batter into a nonstick square pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let them cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan, then carefully turn the whole pan out onto a plate, then let them cool completely for about 30 more minutes.
- To make the frosting, combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. You'll need to stop it once to scrape down the sides and make sure everything gets incorporated smoothly.
- Cut the bars into 9 squares and use a piping bag or a knife to add the frosting, then enjoy!
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
I tried this recipe – these instructions did not include the size of the square pan — I used an 8″ pan. I cooked it for 30mins and let it cool — but when I tried to transfer to a plate – the consistency was so soft, I was not able to move it in one piece. Since the oven had cooled, I hadn’t considered cooking it longer. I’m wondering, should try to bake it longer??
Hi! An 8 inch pan is correct. The texture is going to be really soft so you need to let them cool completely in the pan, then I’d recommend flipping the whole pan onto a plate and letting them keep cooling, rather than cutting them and pulling them out one by one. You could also cook for 5-10 minutes longer and that may help them firm up a bit. Hope that helps!