Ready for an easier and healthier take on pumpkin pie? These paleo pumpkin pie bars are the perfect thing to make! They’re vegan, paleo, gluten free, grain free, and sugar free/low carb friendly. They taste very similar to traditional pumpkin pie, but you do not need to make a pie crust (which is usually the hardest part of making a pumpkin pie!). If you love pumpkin pie, you can’t go wrong with these pumpkin pie bars.
What ingredients do I need?
Guess what, these pumpkin pie bars are made with only 8 simple ingredients. And you probably have most of them (if not all) in your pantry right now! Here’s what you’ll need:
- almond flour
- salt
- pumpkin pie spice
- coconut flour
- maple syrup
- coconut oil
- pumpkin purée
- full fat canned coconut milk
Why pumpkin pie bars and not a pie?
For starters, pumpkin pie bars are much easier to make since you don’t have to deal with making a traditional pie crust. And I like to keep my recipes as simple as possible for you guys. And secondly, to be honest, I don’t really like pie (crazy, I know!). There is usually just way to much crust for my liking and way too little filling. That’s why I love these bars! They have the perfect ratio of crust to pumpkin filling. And this crust is more of a shortbread crust (sweet, flakey, and buttery), which I much prefer to a traditional crust! If you really want a pumpkin pie, let me know in the comments and I can definitely try to make one and share the recipe!
How do I make it sugar free/low carb?
This recipe calls for pure maple syrup, but if you want to make it sugar free and low carb, try replacing the pure maple syrup with a sugar free maple flavored syrup like this one from Lakanto. This syrup is made from monk fruit and is sugar free friendly.
Ready to ditch pumpkin pie and try these pumpkin pie bars? The recipe is waiting for you below!
Crust Ingredients:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 TBS pure maple syrup (or sugar free maple syrup if needed)
- 1 TBS coconut oil, softened
Pumpkin Filling Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
- 2 TBS coconut flour
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or sugar free maple syrup if needed)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a regular sized loaf pan with parchment paper (or you could just grease it really well with cooking spray if you don’t have parchment paper).
- While the oven preheats, mix together your crust ingredients in a medium sized bowl until a smooth crust forms.
- Add your crust to your prepared loaf pan and use a separate piece of parchment paper to smooth out the crust with your hand until the crust is flat and covers the bottom of the lined/greased pan. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl combine all of your pumpkin filling ingredients and mix well until smooth and there are no lumps.
- Pour your pumpkin filling on top of your prepared crust.
- Bake your pumpkin bars at 350° for 50 minutes, until the filling is set and the crust is slightly browned.
- After 50 minutes, remove your dessert from the oven and let it cool completely.
- Once cooled to room temperature, chill your pumpkin bars in the fridge for several hours.
- After refrigerating for several hours, remove your pumpkin bars from the fridge and slice into 8 squares.
- Serve with homemade coconut whipped cream or coconut milk ice cream.
Recipe Notes:
- I recommend serving these pumpkin bars with my vegan banana ice cream, vegan coconut milk ice cream, or my vegan whipped cream!
- If you need to keep the recipe sugar free, use a sugar free maple syrup in the place of pure maple syrup.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for 5-6 days or freeze for 2-3 months.
If you make this recipe I would love to hear your feedback in the comments below!
