Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars are light and fluffy cookie bars with lots of gooey chocolate chips and pumpkin spice. A quick and easy pumpkin chocolate dessert bar recipe best enjoyed during the fall season. Gluten free.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox.
Looking for more chocolate pumpkin recipes? Check out Chocolate Pumpkin Bread Recipe, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, and Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins!
Why You Should Make This
- One-bowl chocolate pumpkin dessert recipe that’s a family favorite.
- A quick and easy sweet treat for this time of year!
- The best baking task when all you want is all things pumpkin.
- Vegan tested and approved if you’re looking for an egg-free adaptation.
Recipe Ingredients
These pumpkin chocolate chip bars are made with simple ingredients you can easily find at the grocery store. Here’s a look at what we need.
- sugar – I love brown sugar or coconut sugar here, either one creates delicious results.
- canned pumpkin puree – make sure to get pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- nut butter – cashew butter or almond butter both work, so use whichever one you have on hand in your Healthy Pantry Essentials.
- oil – use a neutral oil, such as avocado oil or light olive oil. Coconut oil can also work, but it will change the flavor slightly.
- eggs – eggs create structure and bind the batter, creating that pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars vibe. See recipe card for an egg-free sub.
- vanilla extract – vanilla rounds out the flavor profile of these pumpkin and chocolate dessert bars.
- almond flour – I like blanched almond flour for its light texture as opposed to almond meal, which will create heavier and denser bars.
- tapioca flour – tapioca flour gives these bars integrity and a similar texture to all-purpose flour. Arrowroot flour or cassava flour are both great alternatives.
- baking powder – baking powder creates light and fluffy pumpkin and chocolate chip bars.
- fine sea salt – to enhance all those fall flavors. A final sprinkle of flaky sea salt after the pumpkin bars are baked is a nice touch.
- ground spices – I love pumpkin pie spice to highlight the pumpkin flavor. If you do not prefer the taste of pumpkin spice and chocolate together, you can omit the spices and use an equal amount of espresso powder instead.
- chocolate chips – go for your favorite type of chocolate chips, whether that’s dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips. Make sure to have extra on hand to sprinkle on top.
Find the full detailed instructions with measurements in the recipe card below, at the end of this post.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars
Think of these as cake-like pumpkin bars with lots of melted chocolate chips you can whip together in a flash. Here are the step-by-step instructions:
preheat oven
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 8×8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.
whisk wet ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, pumpkin purée, and cashew butter until smooth. Then add the oil, eggs, and vanilla extract, whisking until emulsified.
add dry ingredients
To the same bowl with the wet ingredients, add the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (if using). Stir with a rubber spatula to combine.
add chocolate chips
Fold in chocolate chips. Transfer to the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the bars with extra chocolate chips.
bake
Bake for 22-27 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and the middle is no longer jiggly.
Cool the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to the fridge.
TIP: At this point, I like to transfer the baked chocolate chip pumpkin bars to the fridge for at least 1 hour to completely set.
Tips & Tricks
Here are some of my best baking tips for making the this chocolate chip pumpkin bars recipe:
- use room temperature ingredients: Room temperature ingredients create a more cohesive batter. For a quick fix, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. This brings them up to room temperature.
- chill in the fridge: since these are gluten free pumpkin bars, the texture is quite delicate. I like to place them in the fridge to set them completely for easier slicing.
- make clean cuts: use a large sharp knife and wipe off in between cuts for clean cuts. For best results, make sure the bars are chilled before slicing.
- slice into squares or bars: you can cut the pumpkin bars into small squares (as pictured) or thinner and elongated bar form.
Serving Suggestions
You really can’t celebrate fall any better than with these chocolate pumpkin bars. They make a healthy snack, whether in the morning for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or after-dinner treat. Kids go crazy for them too!
How to Store & Freeze
Any leftover pumpkin bars with can be stored, covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, in the fridge for 4 days.
Freeze: Transfer chilled squares to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw to room temperature before enjoying.
Recipe FAQs
Do pumpkin and chocolate go together?
We love the flavor of pumpkin and chocolate together! If you don’t prefer the flavors of pumpkin spice and chocolate, you can always omit the spices altogether.
Are pumpkin chocolate chip bars healthy?
When made with whole food ingredients like almond flour and coconut sugar, I would definitely consider these healthy. Plus, you get all those extra vitamins and minerals from canned pumpkin, too.
What can I use instead of chocolate chips?
Make pumpkin blondies and omit the chocolate chips, or sub in white chocolate chips. Option to top with cream cheese frosting.
Let me know if you make this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown sugar, or coconut sugar
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
- ½ cup creamy cashew butter, or almond butter
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, or cassava flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, see notes for each spice
- ¾ cup chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 8×8 metal baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together coconut sugar, pumpkin purée and cashew butter. Add in oil, eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until smooth.
- Add in almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine then fold in chocolate chips.
- Bake: Transfer batter to lined pan, sprinkle with more chocolate chips, and bake for 22-27 minutes, or until edges are golden and middle is set. Allow pan to cool for 15 minutes (add flaked sea salt here if you’d like) before transferring to fridge to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Slice into squares and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information
More pumpkin recipes you’ll love
photography by Monica Le Stevens.
Leave a Reply