Light and fluffy healthy pumpkin bars topped with a silky-smooth sugar free cream cheese frosting - you'd never guess this recipe is low carb!
I have to admit, I like pumpkin recipes all year round. And now that canned pumpkin is easily available in the UK - a few years ago you had to search for it in the American section of specialist stores - this rather lovely vegetable makes a regular appearance in this house.
One of my current fave breakfasts is simply stirring pumpkin and yoghurt together with some flaxseed, nuts, coconut flakes and a few blueberries. I also make a mean pumpkin porridge (which I will post soon) and of course there are some awesome sweet healthy pumpkin recipes on the blog - a 5 minute Chocolate Pumpkin Mug Cake, this Low Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake and my popular Fudgy Pumpkin Brownies, to name a few.
I think you'll love these sugar free pumpkin bars. They are so much healthier than any store bought pumpkin cake because they’re made with a low carb sweetener! I used powdered erythritol and almond flour, which makes the recipe grain and gluten free.
As I decided on bars, I used a rectangular tray, which measured 10 x 8 inch. But you could use the batter to make pumpkin muffins or bake it in a springform or a rectangular tin. The oven time should be similar, but do check that a knife or toothpick inserted comes out clean so you know it's done.
How to make healthy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting:
1.) Place all the dry ingredients (almond flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice, sweetener and pecans) in a large bowl and mix to combine.
2.) Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Beat the egg whites using an electric whisk until light, fluffy and stiff peaks form.
3.) In a clean mixing bowl add the egg yolks and beat with an electric whisk for about 30 seconds until pale and fluffy. Add the melted butter, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, almond milk and pumpkin puree. Whisk until combined.
IMPORTANT: These ingredients should be at room temperature to avoid splitting.
4.) Add the dry ingredients to the egg yolk mix and stir to combine. Fold through the egg whites but careful not to over-beat so they don’t deflate.
5.) Line a non stick 10 x 8 inch baking tray with greaseproof paper and oil the paper with coconut oil, olive oil, butter or ghee. Add the pumpkin cake mix and smooth off the top with a spatula or palate knife. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until you can insert and remove a toothpick without any crumbs sticking.
6.) While the pumpkin bars are cooking, make the cream cheese frosting:
Chop butter into chunks. Whip the butter and cream cheese together using an electric whisk until thick. Whisk in the low carb sweetener and vanilla. Then place the frosting in the fridge for 10 - 15 minutes to stiffen up.
7.) Remove your healthy pumpkin bars from the oven and allow to fully cool before spreading the frosting on top. Sprinkle with a dusting pf pumpkin pie mix or mixed spice before serving.
Recipe Variations and Tips
With such a variety of pumpkins to choose from, each with their own special taste, you can totally go to town experimenting with them all in different recipes. You can use tinned 100% pumpkin puree (I used Libby's) or steam/roast some of your own, allow it to cool, then puree.
If you want to make your own, you could choose a squash instead of pumpkin. Hokkaido or butternut squash are sweeter than regular pumpkin and super tasty. If you can find Hokkaido, it doesn’t even need peeling… result!
One thing to note is that both Hokkaido and butternut squash are slightly higher in carbs than pumpkin. They contain 7.3 grams of net carbs per 100 grams, while pumpkin comes in at 5.2 g net carbs per 100g. Therefore, the net carbs per pumpkin slice in this recipe would increase from 5.6 grams to about 6 g net carbs.
I’ve made the frosting not too thick as I like the softer texture against the light and fluffy pumpkin base. But if you leave it in the fridge for a little while it will stiffen up more.
Do you prefer baking with coconut flour? You could replace the almond flour with a maximum 175g / 1 ¾ cup of coconut flour. Coconut flour absorbs more liquid than almond flour, that's why you need less. I haven't tried it in this recipe myself yet, but I'd start with 150g / 1 ½ cup and take it from there.
Store your pumpkin bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and bring the cake to room temperature before serving.
You can also freeze the bars. However, if you know you're going to freeze them, do so without the frosting and add it after you thaw the cake. The frosting is freezable, but I think it simply tastes better when it's freshly prepared.
Don't miss these easy sugar free bars:
Tried these healthy pumpkin bars? Give the recipe a star rating below!
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Healthy Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting
Note: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 3.5 cups / 350g almond flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice or mixed spice
- ⅓ cup / 40g powdered erythritol (So Nourished)
- 6 tbsp chopped pecans 45g
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 5 tbsp butter melted, room temperature (plus a little for greasing)
- 2 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 110 ml / scant ½ cup / almond milk unsweetened, room temperature
- 1 cup / 250g pumpkin puree
Cream cheese frosting
- 4.4 oz / 125 g / ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 8.8 oz / 250g cream cheese room temperature
- 120 g / ¾ cup powdered erythritol
- 1 teaspoon sugar free vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C / 160 fan.
- Place all the dry ingredients (almond flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice, sweetener and pecans in a large bowl and mix to combine.
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Beat the egg whites using an electric whisk until light, fluffy and stiff peaks form.
- In a clean mixing bowl add the egg yolks and beat with an electric whisk for about 30 seconds. Add the melted butter, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, almond milk and pumpkin puree. Whisk until combined. Please note these ingredients should be at room temperature to avoid splitting.
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg yolk mix and stir to combine. Fold through the egg whites but careful not to over beat so they don’t deflate.
- Line a non stick 10 x 8 inch baking tray with greaseproof paper and oil the paper with coconut oil, olive oil, butter or ghee. Add the pumpkin cake mix and smooth off the top with a spatula or palate knife.
- Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until you can insert and remove a toothpick without any crumbs sticking. While the pumpkin bars are cooking, make the cream cheese frosting.
- Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool before icing.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- Chop butter into chunks. Whip the butter and cream cheese together using an electric whisk until thick. Whisk in the low carb sweetener and vanilla. Place in fridge for 10 - 15 minutes to stiffen up.
- Spread the frosting on top of the bars, sprinkle with a light dusting of pumpkin spice mix, slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Kate says
Hi,
I wondered if you have any idea how to replicate the more chalky consistency of regular icing made from sugar. I have tried all the variations using sweetners and they're OK but it's the texture I really miss. I've tried using custard powder and psyllium husk but it's never quite right. I'm happy with my low carb cakes but the icing is always a let down. Would really appreciate your advice.
Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Kate, I recently made this which has an icing that tastes very much like "regular" sweet icing. I used powdered erythritol. The only sweetener that melts like sugar is allulose. If you haven't tried it yet, that may be worth a try too!
Patty says
This is very good and I did substitute the coconut flour using the proper proportions. I would have added the whole can of pumpkin and look forward to experimenting with this using other add ins like raisins, currents, cacao chips, etc. it was much better the second day after being refrigerated. I’m so excited because sugar has a terrible reaction in me after my bout with cancer so this is very helpful.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Patty, so glad you like the pumpkin bars!
Kim Small says
Delicious pumpkin fall flavors! Easy and yummy
Katrin Nürnberger says
Glad you liked them!
Liz Machin says
Hi, I've just made this and its looking good. It has risen very well, just as a normal cake. I was careful to have all the ingredients at room temperature, except when it came to the icing! I took the cream cheese straight from the fridge and it did exactly as you said and split. I'm sure it will taste the same, just the texture will be not quite right. It's still cooling so I haven't tried any yet. Looking forward to eating some tomorrow.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Liz, so glad you tried the recipe. It's all about the taste!!!
Helen says
I followed all your instructions about making sure the ingredients were at room temperature before mixing, and I also checked my new pot of baking powder was active, but the cake did not rise much at all. Placed the tin on the oven shelf just above centre. The cake is very dense indeed. What did I do wrong? 🙁
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Helen, how disappointing. I hope at least the taste was good. With 2 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar there's plenty or rising power in the cake. The milk and pumpkin give a lot of moisture. My guess is that your egg whites weren't stiff? It's a bit of a pain to beat them until they're fluffy. But you're trapping air inside them, which helps make the cake fluffier. Could that have been the issue?
Helen says
Hi Katrin
I thought I'd beaten thewhites to the correct stage, but perhaps they weren't quite stiff enough. The taste was certainly good and I'm keen to have another go!
Thank you for your help.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Really hope you'll nail it if you try again 😉
Sapna @ just4foodies says
Love these, so good warmed up a little for a late night snack!
Jo Harding says
Totally love this recipe. I made it for MR B and I and the scent of the pumpkin spice filled the whole kitchen. It was so uplifting. The bars were so moist too. Thank you.
Katrin says
Mr B is a very lucky man And I absolutely agree-the lovely smells in the kitchen is one of the best things about baking!
Amanda says
Hello, I was wondering can I sub powdered monk fruit sweetner for the powdered erythritol? If so, would I use the same amount? I believe I have read that powdered monk fruit sweetner is sweeter so I want to be sure I don't ruin the bars by doing so. Thanks!
Katrin says
This will depend on your monk fruit sweetener. There is pure Monk fruit, which I have not yet tried, but I know that it is very concentrated. But you can also buy Monk fruit sweeteners which are essentially erythritol with added Monk fruit. You will have to check your pack and take it from there. It may state what kind of ratio it is in relation to sugar. Erythritol is a one-to-one sugar replacement.