These gluten free pumpkin bars are soft and have a moist crumb, and are topped with a silky smooth cream cheese frosting.
This recipe is made with gluten-free flour, but can be made with regular flour as well! This recipe is super easy and comes together in one bowl!
If you are looking for gluten free desserts, check out my easy carrot cake, almond flour banana muffins, mini pumpkin cheesecakes, and cinnamon roll cheesecake.
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Why this recipe works
- This recipe is super quick and easy! Who doesn't like an easy one-bowl recipe?
- These bars are super soft and moist and will melt in your mouth with the perfect match of the cream cheese frosting.
- This recipe is straightforward and can be made by anyone!
- Perfect for pumpkin and cinnamon lovers!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Gluten-free flour- use your favorite brand of gluten-free flour for this. If you are not gluten-free and still want to make these, you can use regular all-purpose flour.
Baking powder and baking soda – to allow the bars to rise. Ensure that you are using fresh levelers and not expired.
Pumpkin puree- we like making our own pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkins. You can use either canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree, make sure that you strain the extra liquids from your fresh pumpkins.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this bread.
Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.
Brown sugar- adds a nice texture and a rich flavor to the bread.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Cinnamon- Cinnamon is a must in pumpkin desserts unless you are allergic. Use ground cinnamon for this.
Spices- we like adding nutmeg and ginger for pumpkin desserts, but you can use your favorite spices like cloves, pumpkin spice, etc.
Eggs- you will need 3 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract is what you will need for this recipe.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the cream cheese frosting
Cream cheese– you will need to get your cream cheese to room temperature. It is important that you use full-fat cream cheese for this, so the frosting will be stable and not runny.
Butter– use room temperature butter.
Vanilla extract- for extra flavor.
Powder sugar– powder sugar works best for the frosting.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 10x15 cookie sheet pan (or a jelly pan) with softened butter.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, oil, kosher salt, eggs, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
Add the granulated sugar, and the brown sugar and mix well.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined and there are no streaks of flour showing.
Butter the pan with softened butter and pour the pumpkin batter into the pan and smooth it out using a spatula. Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let the bars cool to room temperature before frosting. This step prevents the frosting to melt off the bars.
Make the frosting
Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
Add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Then add ½ of the powder sugar at a time (you don’t want to be in a powder sugar cloud).
Add a pinch of salt, and the vanilla extract and mix well until smooth.
Top the cooled bars with a layer of cream cheese frosting, and smooth it out with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and serve!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist bar and not a dense and dry bar.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these bars as they are pulled out of the oven, but let the bars cool for at least 20 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up. These bars are extra moist and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so it will be worth it to wait these 20 minutes.
Faq's
We like making our bars with fresh pumpkin puree, but this is a personal preference. Using fresh pumpkin puree makes these bars extremely tender and moist.
I recommend not baking these in a regular cake pan because you will not get the same results. These need to be baked in a thin layer to get the best texture.
We use all-purpose flour for this cake. Cake flour will work great as well.
Storing
These pumpkin bars need to be stored in the fridge (because they contain dairy). Cover them with plastic wrap or foil and store them for up to 4 days.
Freezing
These bars are very easy to freeze. After baking, let them cool to room temperature, transfer them into a freezer-friendly Ziploc bag, or wrap them tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw: place the bars in the refrigerator overnight or place them a room temperature for a few hours.
Substitutions
Dairy-free- you can make this dairy-free by replacing the butter with vegan butter and using your favorite dairy-free cream cheese frosting.
Variations
Toppings- this cake can be topped with cinnamon buttercream frosting or maple cream cheese frosting. Use your favorite toppings that you like to make the most!
Add-ins- make this recipe your own and add your favorite add-ins: chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, chocolate chunks, banana slices, chopped fruit, etc.
More gluten-free recipes
Gluten free granola- This easy healthy gluten free granola is crunchy and delicious and is made with gluten-free rolled oats, pecan, cinnamon, and seeds, and sweetened with honey.
Pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust- This pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust is the easiest pie ever and is so delicious. It has an easy 3 ingredient graham cracker crust filled with a creamy and flavorful pumpkin pie filling.
Spinach mushroom quiche- This crustless spinach mushroom quiche is made with mushrooms, spinach, onion, and mozzarella, and is perfect for brunch, breakfast, or serve it for dinner!
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📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
- 3 Eggs large
- 150 g Butter melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Ginger
- 1 can Pumpkin puree 15 oz (425g)
- 3 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- 2 cups Gluten free flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
Cream cheese frosting
- 230 g Cream cheese
- 115 g Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups Powder sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 10x15 cookie sheet pan (or a jelly pan) with softened butter.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, oil, kosher salt, eggs, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Add the granulated sugar, and the brown sugar and mix well.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined and there are no streaks of flour showing.
- Butter the pan with softened butter and pour the pumpkin batter into the pan and smooth it out using a spatula. Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Let the bars cool to room temperature before frosting. This step prevents the frosting to melt off the bars.
Make the frosting
- Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
- Add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Then add ½ of the powder sugar at a time (you don’t want to be in a powder sugar cloud).
- Add a pinch of salt, and the vanilla extract and mix well until smooth.
- Top the cooled bars with a layer of cream cheese frosting, and smooth it out with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and serve!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist bar and not a dense and dry bar.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these bars as they are pulled out of the oven, but let the bars cool for at least 20 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up. These bars are extra moist and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so it will be worth it to wait these 20 minutes.
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