These pumpkin bars are light and fluffy cake bars made with pumpkin puree and spices, then topped with a layer of cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. A fall favorite dessert that’s perfect for feeding a crowd!
It’s that time of the year for all things pumpkin! My family loves pumpkin pancakes, homemade pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin gooey butter cake, and of course these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting.
Fall is finally here, and with it comes every pumpkin treat imaginable! I’m sharing a classic today with these lightly spiced pumpkin bars. This is essentially a pumpkin sheet cake topped with the most delicious cream cheese frosting.
This pumpkin bars recipe is one of my all time favorite dessert recipes! Some of my other favorite fall desserts are pear custard pie, caramel apple dip and Dutch apple pie.
Table of Contents
Pumpkin Bar Ingredients
To make this pumpkin bars recipe, you will need all purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract, eggs, vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar).
How Do You Make Pumpkin Bars?
To make this pumpkin bars recipe, start by preheating the oven. Next line the baking pan with parchment paper and coat it in cooking spray. Place the dry ingredients for the pumpkin bars in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl, and stir until a smooth batter forms. Pour the batter in the prepared baking dish, then bake until the bars are set and golden brown. Let the bars cool completely.
To make the frosting, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Next, add the powdered sugar gradually, then mix in the vanilla extract. Spread the frosting over the bars, then top with sprinkles. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Tips For The Perfect Pumpkin Bars
- This recipe calls for a jelly roll sized pan which is 10″x 15″. You can try to make this recipe in a 9″ x 13″ pan, but the bars will be thicker and take longer to cook. I prefer the thinner bars so that you end up with the perfect cake to frosting ratio.
- Use an offset spatula to make sure both your pumpkin bar batter and frosting are spread in even layers.
- Don’t be tempted to use pumpkin pie filling here, it’s not the same thing as pumpkin puree and you will not get good results.
- Feel free to make your own homemade pumpkin puree.
- You can reduce the fat content of these bars by using 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup oil instead of the full cup of oil that the recipe calls for. Just be aware the texture may be a little different in the end product.
Quick Tip
You can make your cream cheese frosting as thick or as thin as you’d like. Simply add more powdered sugar to make the frosting thicker, or add milk, a teaspoon at a time, to thin out the frosting.
Recipe FAQs
This cream cheese frosting is made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Use a mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter until they are light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar in batches, then finish with the vanilla extract.
Pumpkin puree is simply pumpkin with no other ingredients. Pumpkin pie filling contains other things such as sugar, spices and flavorings. The cans do look similar in the store, so make sure you’re buying pure pumpkin puree and not the pie filling.
Pumpkin bars keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep your bars loosely covered or in an airtight container and it’s best to cut them just before serving.
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Flavor Variations
These pumpkin bars are great as-is, but you can easily customize the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Add-Ins: Feel free to add in up to 3/4 cup of pecans, walnuts, coconut or butterscotch chips for extra flavor.
- Frosting: Add 1/3 cup cocoa powder to the frosting to turn it into a chocolate frosting. You can also add other flavorings to the frosting such as ground cinnamon or almond extract.
- Toppings: No sprinkles on hand? Top your bars with candied pecans or candied walnuts, mini chocolate chips, a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice or toffee bits.
- Chocolate chips: Feel free to mix in up to a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips in your batter.
I make these pumpkin bars all through the fall months. They’re great for class parties, as an afternoon snack, or for a Thanksgiving dessert to feed a crowd. They’re a fall tradition in my house!
More Fall Desserts
No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
2 hrs 1 min
Fried Apple Pies
30 mins
Pecan Pie Bars
1 hr
Pumpkin Spice Cake
50 mins
Apple Cobbler
1 hr 5 mins
Pumpkin Bars Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
For the bars
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 15 ounce can pumpkin puree do not use pumpkin pie filling
- cooking spray
For the frosting
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- sprinkles for decoration optional
Instructions
For the bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 10”x15” pan with parchment paper, then coat the pan with cooking spray.
- Place the flour, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add the vanilla extract, eggs, vegetable oil and pumpkin puree to the bowl. Stir until just combined.
- Spread the batter evenly into the pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Cool completely in the pan.
For the frosting
- Place the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer and mix until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and mix on low speed until combined. Add the vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds.
- If the frosting is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the pumpkin bars. Top with sprinkles. Cut into squares and serve, or store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat.
Notes
- Use an offset spatula to make sure both your pumpkin bar batter and frosting are spread in even layers.
- Top your bars with festive fall sprinkles or candy pumpkins to dress them up!
- Don’t be tempted to use pumpkin pie filling here, it’s not the same thing as pumpkin puree and you will not get good results.
These are moist , flavorful and delicious! Can’t stop eating them!
Love this recipe! My question is , can this recipe be made for cupcakes and how long to bake?
Need for granddaughters birthday party 11/2.
I’d recommend following this recipe instead, omit the chocolate chips and then make the frosting from the pumpkin bars https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins/
Wow, I love everything about this dish. The colours, the use of 2 sugars, the pumpkin, it looks and sounds delicious! Cheers for another great recipe.
These look so festive with the sprinkles and I know everyone would love having this for dessert! I’m adding this to my list of pumpkin desserts to try!
Oooh! Those sound good. I’m definitely ready for all the pumpkin things!
I’ve always got time for pumpkin bars and these look like a hit!
Wow, mmm! These look so delicious to resists. That pumpkin, those sprinkles and that creamy texture. Just wow!
I made these yesterday and they were a huge hit! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe 🙂
These pumpkin bars look delicious. They look easy to make too and takes less time hen one can think. Will definitely try it.
I made these yesterday and they were so delicious and moist! Everyone sure enjoyed them!
They’re delicious.
So glad you enjoyed them, thanks for reporting back!
Those pumpkin bars look so good. And they’re almost too pretty to eat. I can’t wait to make them. Thank you for the recipe.
Oh they look so delicious! They are so thick and the icing looks great too!
I love anything pumpkin and these look absolutely amazing! Looks like I have some ingredients to purchase tomorrow.
I haven’t done a pumpkin dessert for a while now. I think this will be perfect for the whole family. Looks so yummy!
I love the texture and the color of these bars! They are so perfect as a snack to have on hand! I need to try them next week!
We have a local bakery that makes something similar and they are delicious! I am constantly trying to acquire their recipe, to no avail. This, I will have to tey for sure, see if it beats theirs!
OMG, I bet this tastes amazing. I am a sucker for pumpkin. I am bookmarking this to make this weekend. Thanks!
These look so amazing! I can’t wait to try them out. I’ve been wanting to make something with pumpkin in it, and now I know what to make! Yum!
These look absolutely AMAZING. I totally saved the recipe to Pinterest so I can try it soon… The kids would love this too.