Pumpkin Pecan Caramel Bars

Melissa King Healthy Brownies and Bars, Recipes

Pumpkin Pecan Caramel Bars.  Time for another pumpkin treat.  These pumpkin pecan vegan caramel bars are moist, gooey and totally delish!

If brownies and pumpkin had a baby, this would be it.  In fact they kind of reminded me of my Grain Free Blondies. If you are in need of a great dessert bar recipe, these pumpkin bars are a must-try.

 

Pumpkin Pecan Caramel Bars

 

They also happen to be gluten free.  Perfect for those Thanksgiving parties.  You can make these up pretty quickly too.  They would also be fabulous with my Pecan Caramel Ice Cream.  Yum!

Looking for more healthy pumpkin recipes?

Pumpkin Pecan Caramel Bars

Pumpkin Pecan Caramel Bars

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Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 40 min Serves 9 squares     adjust servings

Ingredients

    For the bars

    For the caramel

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350.
    2. In a food processor , combine the dates and water and pulse until you get a caramel consistency. You will need to scrape down the sides a few times. Once that is done, set it aside.
    3. In a food processor or blender, grind up the pecans and oats into a course consistency.
    4. Add that to a bowl with the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.
    5. In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and mix well.
    6. Add wet to dry and mix until combined.
    7. Get a sheet of parchment paper larger than an 8X8 glass baking dish so you will have some extra paper sticking out the sides. This will make these easy to remove after they are baked.
    8. Slowly spoon 1/2 the batter into the 8X8 pan. Then add a layer of the “caramel.” Lastly, add in the remaining batter.
    9. Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. I got 9 squares out of my batch and I stored them in the fridge. You can also freeze them! Enjoy!

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    62 thoughts to “Pumpkin Pecan Caramel Bars”

    2. I'd like to make this for my friend but she is totally gluten free and won't eat oats. I can't get gluten free oats here anyway. What could I use as a replacement? Would rolled rice or buckwheat work? Thanks!
      Reply
      1. Yes. If you are using fresh pumpkin, you will need to roast it before hand and then puree it. You can also use canned pumpkin.
        Reply
    6. Since I found out my daughter likes pumpkin doughnuts, I'm willing to try this for her to see if she will like it. I have to admit, it looks very yummy :-) Thanks for the posts ! Keep up the excellent work :-)
      Reply
    7. I HATE dates, is there anything that I can replace them with? I always see these fantastic looking sweets, that I will never make because of dates.
      Reply
    8. These look amazing!! Just a quick question though. Do you also grind up the pumpkin seeds with the oats and pecans or do you leave them whole? Can't wait to try these :)
      Reply
    13. I made these last night and had one for breakfast this morning. Oh-my-deliciousness! Do you have nutrition information on these? I will definitely be making them again!
      Reply
      1. Awesome! Glad you like them! I'm sorry I don't have the nutritional info on these, but if you go to caloriecount.com, you can figure them out.
        Reply
    14. Pingback: Pumpkin Almond Bars.
    15. Pingback: » All the Desserts
    16. Thanks for all the great pumpkin recipes! I think I might try substituting a couple ingredients: would almonds work instead of pecans? I'm bummed that that we just finished eating all our roasted pumpkin seeds I guess I'll just add more nuts like you suggested above!? I was trying to figure out what to do with the last bit of pumpkin I had left! thanks again !
      Reply
      1. You can just grease a pan if you don't want to use parchment. Even when I used non stick pans, I always greased them a little to make sure it wouldn't stick.
        Reply
    18. Pingback: Creamy Pumpkin Pasta | My Whole Food Life
    20. Hi, do you think I could you substitute the pumpkin with butternut squash or swop the pumpkin for additional apple sauce - or do you have any other suggestion for alternative ingredient - thank you
      Reply
      2. Hi Melissa, Thank you replying to my query so promptly. I will try the recipe using butternut squash instead of pumpkin. What method do you recommend for cooking the squash i.e. steaming or roasting obviously roasting will intensify the flavour which could be overpowering. Do you add water when your purée the squash? In the UK pumpkins are not common other than Halloween time. However, butternut squash is readily available all year round. Do you have a recipe for the apple sauce? I am unsure what type of apples to use in your recipe. In the UK we have Bramley apples (tart cooking apples) and dessert eating apples such as Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Braeburn etc., Do you add any other ingredients to the apple if using as a base in recipes and which apples do you think would work the best? One final question in your recipes the list for quantities often reads 'T' does this represent tblsp - tablespoon or teasp - teaspoon. I am new to your website and I am very impressed with your approach to food and the recipes. I am not Vegetarian/Vegan but have been wanting to switch for some time but I have found so many recipes loaded with cheese and coconut milk both of which are high in saturated fats - which I avoid. I am hoping when I look at your website properly I will be able to make that change. Good Luck with your book and thanks again for your kind assistance.
        Reply
        1. I roast the squash at 400 for about 40 minutes. You can tell it's done when you can stick a fork through it. I don't add any water to puree. I do have a recipe for applesauce. If I am going to use it for baking, I omit the spices. Here is the link. https://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/01/15/crock-pot-applesauce/ T = tablespoon and tsp = teaspoon. :) I hope that helps!
          Reply

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