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- Why You’ll Love This Healthy Pumpkin Bars Recipe
- How To Make Healthy Pumpkin Bars
- Storage Instructions
- More Keto And Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
- Tools To Make Keto Pumpkin Bars
- Keto Healthy Pumpkin Bars (Cream Cheese Frosting!)
These keto healthy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting are an absolute essential to make during pumpkin season — and you don’t have to be keto to enjoy them! They bake up soft and sweet with a rich icing (based on my sugar-free cream cheese frosting recipe). And thanks to a few easy ingredient swaps, they have no white flour or sugar whatsoever. They are perfect for when you don’t have time to make a keto pumpkin pie.
To keep these low carb pumpkin bars tasting like the real deal, I carefully chose flour and sugar substitutes that would create the same flavor and texture. This recipe uses Wholesome Yum Almond Flour and Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend (both crystallized and powdered) to create a soft consistency and sweetness in the bars and frosting.
Why You’ll Love This Healthy Pumpkin Bars Recipe
- Spiced pumpkin and tangy cream cheese flavor
- Super soft, moist, cakey texture
- Fluffy, creamy, tangy frosting
- Simple, natural ingredients
- Just 10 minutes prep time
- Gluten-free, sugar free, and low in carbs (only 2g net carbs per bar)
- Loaded with protein and fiber
- The perfect fall dessert!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for keto pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Healthy Pumpkin Bars:
- Pumpkin Puree – Make sure to use 1 cup for this recipe, not 1 can. Also, get pure pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar. You can use the extra canned pumpkin for making other pumpkin recipes.
- Coconut Oil – Keeps the bars soft and moist. If you don’t want coconut flavor, you can use a refined coconut oil or unsalted butter.
- Cream Cheese – Adds a tangy flavor and softness to the bars. You might be able to make this recipe dairy-free with a non-dairy cream cheese, but I haven’t tested it.
- Egg – Use whole, large eggs, at room temperature so that they don’t solidify the cream cheese and coconut oil. I haven’t tested these healthy pumpkin bars with flax eggs or any other egg alternative, but let me know how it goes if you try that.
- Vanilla Extract – Use a high-quality extract for best flavor.
- Wholesome Yum Almond Flour – Some recipes use oats or oat flour, but I find that this almond flour has the the perfect consistency in these bars. The brand you choose can impact the result though, since some tend to be more grainy. That being said, you could probably substitute half the almond flour with oat flour if you’re not concerned about the carbs. Avoid using coconut flour, which would be too dry.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Adds a touch of just-like-sugar sweetness, without the sugar spike! Besti locks in moisture better than other sugar substitutes, so the bars may be more dry if you use something else. If you still want to try another sweetener, use the sweetener conversion chart here. Avoid substituting with liquid sweeteners like maple syrup, which would make the bars fall apart.
- Baking Powder – Helps the sugar-free pumpkin bars rise. Don’t confuse this with baking soda, which is different.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – This is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground allspice. You can usually find it in grocery stores, or make homemade pumpkin pie spice in minutes!
- Sea Salt – Balances the sweet flavor.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Cheese – I use a full-fat variety, but any plain kind will work.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This powdered sweetener blends effortlessly into the cream cheese, so it’s never gritty. And the new powdered formula is the finest grind out there, just like real powdered sugar.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds a touch of flavor.
- Heavy Cream – Optional, but makes the frosting slightly more spreadable.
VARIATION: Cream cheese frosting not for you?
You can skip it altogether, or try sugar-free buttercream frosting instead.
How To Make Healthy Pumpkin Bars
This section shows how to make pumpkin bars healthy, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Melt. Use a bowl or double boiler to melt cream cheese and coconut oil together, stirring to combine.
- Beat wet ingredients. Combine pumpkin puree, cream cheese mixture, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Mix dry ingredients. Stir together almond flour, Besti, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl.
- Make batter. Combine wet and dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined.
- Bake. Transfer batter to a baking pan (this is the right size) lined with parchment paper. Bake the healthy pumpkin bars in the oven, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Make cream cheese frosting. Use a hand mixer to beat cream cheese, powdered Besti, and vanilla together, until smooth.
- Frost. Once bars have cooled, spread frosting over the top and slice. (You can also add a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin spice on top if you like.)
VARIATION: Get more crunch!
Add chopped pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips to the finished bars for extra texture.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Keep healthy pumpkin bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freeze: Chill fully in the fridge, then carefully wrap. (I recommend plastic wrap followed by foil.) Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Unwrap and thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
More Keto And Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
Enjoy all the rich, cozy flavor of pumpkin without the sugar. Try it with these easy treats (and check out more healthy and keto pumpkin recipes here)!
Keto Pumpkin Muffins
Sugar Free Pumpkin Bread
Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie
Healthy Keto Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Hand Mixer– Makes batter quick and easy to whip up for this healthy pumpkin bar recipe.
- Baking Dish– The perfect size for these low sugar pumpkin bars.
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Recipe Card
Keto Healthy Pumpkin Bars (Cream Cheese Frosting!)
Keto healthy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting use natural ingredients, no added sugar, and taste bakery fresh. Just 10 minutes prep!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com
Servings: 16 (adjust to scale recipe)
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Recipe Video
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.
Healthy Pumpkin Bars
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line a 9×9 in (23×23 cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
Using a bowl in the microwave or a double boiler on the stove, melt together the cream cheese and coconut oil, until you can stir them together easily.
In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, melted coconut oil/cream cheese mixture, eggs and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed, until smooth.
In another bowl, stir together the almond flour, Besti, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
Add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Beat with the hand mixer at low speed, until just combined.
Transfer the batter to the lined baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for30-35 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
To make the frosting, use a hand mixer to beat together the cream cheese, powdered Besti, and vanilla, until smooth. (You can thin it out with a little milk or cream if you'd like.) Let the bars cool completely before frosting and cutting.
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Related Easy Recipes
Low Carb Keto Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe Without Powdered Sugar
Low Carb Keto Cookies
Keto Lemon Bars
Keto Pumpkin Cookies
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 bar, or 1/16 of entire recipe
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.
Calories139
Fat13g
Protein3g
Total Carbs3g
Net Carbs2g
Fiber1g
Sugar1g
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
Course:Dessert
Cuisine:American
Keywords:healthy pumpkin bars, keto pumpkin bars, pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting
Calories: 139 kcal
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Keto Healthy Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting
