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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
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Here’s another favorite pumpkin dessert:
Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
For more tasty pumpkin recipes, try these:
Love these! So easy to make, easier then my own recipe and very tasteful! Reading some of the reviews I wonder why some didn’t like them or wanted to add oil or butter as they were already perfectly moist and delicious. I’m thinking it may have been the flour they used or bad baking powder as that can make a huge difference. Any way. We love these!
Those suggestions are both very possible. The oats make a difference as well. Thanks for your feedback – happy to hear that you enjoy them!
These bars are very dense and rather dry. I added a quarter stick of butter, it needed more. I like the idea of oatmeal in the bars, but somehow this recipe doesn’t ask for a redo.
Hi Ann, Adding butter changing the recipe and therefore the results. It really work great as is and doesn’t need additional ingrediets. Unfortunately, your 1 star review is based off of your own changes to the recipe.
I wish someone had proofread this recipe, as there is no shortening ir any kind – which was, I’m certain, an omission. I did everything just as instructed, It looked perfect coming out of the oven, was quite easy to cut, but when I put a square in my mouth it was dry as a bone! And right then I remembered – no coconut oil, no butter, nothing. Going to a function tomorrow and now I’ll have to stop at a supermarket or bakery. Terrible waste of some top-shelf chocolate chips.
So I
Hi Lily – There certainly wasn’t an omission and the recipe is great as written. The pumpkin puree actually acts in place of the fat to make them moist, and every time I’ve made them I’ve gotten rave reviews. Maybe you overmixed? That would definitely make them more dense. Or, is it possible that you used the wrong type of oats?
I wanted mine a bit more crumbly….but otherwise great flavor. I added 1 cup of walnuts and used white chocolate chips (only 1 cup) instead of the chocolate chips. Will play around with adding chia seed, date sugar etc. to boost health.
Love the feedback Laura! Thanks for the for stopping by.
K.
Why can’t you use pumpkin pie filling instead of puree? What will it do to the results?
Pumpkin pie filling has other things added, like sugar and spices. Pumpkin pie filling is just pure pumpkin, making it the best choice.
I wanted more pumpkin flavor!
Loved the recipe, super easy, moist, and flavorful. Next batch, I’ll likely use only 3/4 cup choc chips: though you can never have too much chocolate, less rocket fuel for the kiddos is a good thing 😉
Awesome feedback Craig! Thanks for stopping by.
Really excellent and easy! Moist and not too sweet, I would say, perfect! Loved no eggs and gf!
I 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!
Thanks for sharing, Linda! Hope you weathered the storm well.
Kristin….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!
I love that you made it your own Rebecca, these are a must make for me every season.
I 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!
Thanks for your feedback Amanda! So glad you enjoyed them. And I think anytime is a good time for these Pumpkin bars!!
Is there any fat in this recipe?
The pumpkin replaces the need for fats like oil or butter. Awesome, right?!
I 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. 🙂
I 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
I 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!
Yes, that makes all the difference! I hope you’ll try them again.
Can you sub with coconut flour?
I 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!
Made 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!
How do you suggest storing these, countertop or fridge?
We kept them in the fridge. I’d say up to a week in a sealed container.
These 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.
I 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.
I 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 🙂
Hi, 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.
Not sure what happened, because these bars are super moist. The pumpkin replaces the need for butter or yogurt.
I experienced the same thing – super dry. Is there maybe a typo in the recipe?
Hi 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.
I 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 🙁
JUST 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.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! You can find nutritional counters online like at My Fitness Pal.
I 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).
I’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!
Totally 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!
Dude. Those look incredible!!! I want to reach through the screen and grab that pan!