I love pumpkin and chocolate together, and these Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars are the perfect combination. They are thick and chewy and sweet and I love that they are low in fat.
A couple of months ago I bought several cans of pumpkin (hello, pumpkin in June? #foodbloggerproblems). And they weren’t even on sale! You should have seen the store clerk’s face. She picked up the cans of pumpkin to scan them, then looks are me, then back at the pumpkin. I just smiled know that I had big plans for these big beautiful cans, and this recipe is plan number one.
This recipe is my take on a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip bars that I’ve had for a while. I swapped out the fat (melted butter) for canned pumpkin. I love that they taste super chocolately and decadent but they are so much better for you than you’d think!
There have been some comments that these bars turn out dry. This has never happened to me and here’s what I believe the reason is: In the recipe I use ROLLED OATS. This is NOT the quick cooking oats. Be sure that you are always using exactly what is called for in the recipe, or it’s possible, likely even that your finished product will not be the same.
Quick Cooking Oats look like THIS. They are made to cook quickly are therefore absorb a lot more liquid when baking. You want to use the Old Fashioned Rolled Oats in baking. They are not processed the same and therefore are the best for cooking. Hope this helps to explain! (affiliate links above).
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars Recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 15- ounce can pure pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13"x9" baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a stand mixer or a large bowl, stir flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda and baking powder on low speed until combined.
- Stir in oats until combined.
- Stir in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla until combined.
- Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips until combined.
- Spread batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Here’s another favorite pumpkin dessert:
Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
For more tasty pumpkin recipes, try these:
- Pumpkin Pie Baked French Toast
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Caramel Stuffed Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
Linda says
September 5, 2019 at 1:09 pmI needed something to occupy myself during Hurricane Dorian today, so I made these. I had a ton of old fashioned oats and canned pumpkin that were going to expire soon, so this was the perfect recipe to use them up! These are so, so good! They taste decadent, like cookie bars. You almost wouldn’t know there is pumpkin in them. Thanks so much for this recipe. I will definitely make these again!
Kristin says
September 5, 2019 at 4:31 pmThanks for sharing, Linda! Hope you weathered the storm well.
Rebecca says
November 21, 2018 at 10:33 amKristin….just WOW! I made these yesterday on a lark as I had too much roasted pumpkin from my pie. I’m at high altitude (6950 above sea level) and made a few modifications for that and ingredients I had on hand. I needed to bake for 40 minutes and substituted walnut halves for the chocolate chips! I also prefer Turbinado sugar to brown. Thanks for sharing, it was delicious! I was linked form a search from Country Living. Happy Thanksgiving!
Kristin says
November 21, 2018 at 8:44 pmI love that you made it your own Rebecca, these are a must make for me every season.
Amanda A says
September 8, 2018 at 1:49 pmI made these multiple times last year. They are so delicious I’m getting ready to make them again today, because it feels like fall outside. Also, I used Gluten Free flour and regular flour. They turned out so much better with the Gluten Free flour!
Kristin says
September 9, 2018 at 8:49 pmThanks for your feedback Amanda! So glad you enjoyed them. And I think anytime is a good time for these Pumpkin bars!!
Teri says
August 11, 2018 at 2:18 pmIs there any fat in this recipe?
Kristin says
August 13, 2018 at 2:05 pmThe pumpkin replaces the need for fats like oil or butter. Awesome, right?!
Amanda Audi says
December 7, 2017 at 6:18 pmI have made these twice now. So good! I used gluten free flour the first time and regular flour the second. They were more moist with the gluten free flour, but I still ate both batches just fine. 🙂
Karen says
November 26, 2017 at 3:29 pmI made your bars last night to take to my family’s Thanksging today. I followed your recipe exactly. I really like them! Only problem is since they are not overly sweet I will eat more of them ?Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Thank you!
Karen
Kate says
November 7, 2017 at 1:45 pmI recently made this for a get together with friends and loved them! At the last minute I realized I didn’t have any old-fashioned oats (only quick oats), so I just used about 2 cups of oats. They were a tad on the dry side, so next time I will definitely use old-fashioned oats. For anyone else that has experienced this recipe coming out too dry, make sure you use old-fashioned oats per the recipe!
Kristin says
November 8, 2017 at 8:50 amYes, that makes all the difference! I hope you’ll try them again.
Laura says
October 11, 2017 at 3:18 amCan you sub with coconut flour?
Kristin says
October 11, 2017 at 9:00 amI haven’t worked with coconut flour so I can’t say how well it would work. If you try it please come back and let us know!
Brandy says
July 8, 2017 at 5:07 pmMade this today and WOW!! Quickly adding to my list of faves! My family loved them. I will be making another batch tomorrow to take to the office on Monday. Thanks for sharing this delicious treat!
Alex says
January 29, 2017 at 7:30 amHow do you suggest storing these, countertop or fridge?
Kristin says
January 29, 2017 at 5:57 pmWe kept them in the fridge. I’d say up to a week in a sealed container.
Susan says
November 19, 2016 at 6:36 pmThese looked delicious and just decided to give them a try. Totally agree that some form of liquid is needed, batter is too dry. I hope they turn out all the same.
Kristin says
November 21, 2016 at 11:06 amI just made these again the other day using this exact recipe and they came out great. Make sure you are using a full can of pumpkin.
Michele says
October 7, 2016 at 12:01 pmI made these yesterday for a PTF meeting at my kid’s school, and everyone raved about them! I have teachers and staff emailing me today asking for the recipe! Definitely a keeper 🙂
Jackie says
September 15, 2016 at 3:00 pmHi, I just made the Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate chip bars. I’m not sure if there was an ingredient left out, but there is no liquid except eggs and vanilla, so they are very, very dry. They need some yogurt, or oil, butter,etc.
Kristin says
September 15, 2016 at 9:46 pmNot sure what happened, because these bars are super moist. The pumpkin replaces the need for butter or yogurt.
Jeanette says
October 16, 2016 at 10:27 amI experienced the same thing – super dry. Is there maybe a typo in the recipe?
Kristin says
October 16, 2016 at 1:36 pmHi Jeanette, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a typo. I’ve had several people come back and tell me how much they loved them. I haven’t made them yet this season. Really, the pumpkin should be enough to moisten them. However you could try adding a little milk or oil. The altitude/weather could also make a difference.
Carla says
November 5, 2016 at 9:53 amI had the same experience — way too dry! I wish that I had read the comments before making these. I was planning on taking them to a party, but I ended up throwing them away unfortunately. Very disappointed 🙁
Sharon says
August 22, 2016 at 7:45 pmJUST made these, didnt have pumpkin pie spice so I googled how to combine my own,lol. I did all this just because I had 1/2 a can of pumpkin to use up or throw out. Husband doesnt like pumpkin so didnt tell him it was in there, he couldnt tell. I dont think I will use the pumpkin pie spice again, I will just add cinnamon instead. ALSO, I used half almond flour half regular flour to cut down the carbs. Would really like nutrition info on this.
Kristin says
August 22, 2016 at 8:40 pmGlad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! You can find nutritional counters online like at My Fitness Pal.
Shelly Scott says
September 15, 2015 at 9:43 amI made these, they turned out good, mom said they were salty but to me they did not. I thought I forgot to add the salt called for in the ingredients so I added a small amount to be safe. This should be done by a stand mixer, of course I was the stand mixer (waiting on the Stand Mixer fairy to grant me one).
JodyR says
September 12, 2015 at 9:22 amI’m so glad I came across this recipe on Pinterest. It looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it. I love fiddling with recipes, so I may attempt it by swapping out flour for spelt. Gorgeous photos. Love your site. Bookmarking it!
Kelly says
September 3, 2015 at 12:56 pmTotally have these in the oven right now! I was so happy I had all the ingredients in the pantry! One thing I will say…the recipe didn’t say when to put in the brown sugar…? I realized it was still sitting on the counter right befor the chocolate chips went in! So I threw it in the mixer towards the end. Can’t wait to taste them!
Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy says
September 2, 2015 at 1:17 pmDude. Those look incredible!!! I want to reach through the screen and grab that pan!