Looking for an easy fall dessert that everyone will love? These pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting are soft, moist, and filled with warm pumpkin spice flavor, topped with a rich and creamy homemade cinnamon cream cheese frosting. They’re simple to make, easy to serve, and perfect for everything from a cozy afternoon treat to a holiday dessert table. If you love classic pumpkin desserts, these easy pumpkin bars are one recipe you’ll want to make all season long.
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Why Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore an easy and cozy pumpkin dessert recipe that will feed a crowd. My Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake, Pumpkin Tres Leches, Pumpkin Tiramisu and Pumpkin Bread Pudding are just a few of my favorite pumpkin desserts on the blog. I am so excited to add these pumpkin bars to the blog. I know you will love them too.
- Simple pantry ingredients. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of quick, simple and simply decadent cream cheese frosted pumpkin bars.
- Almost one bowl pumpkin sheet cake. These soft and moist spiced pumpkin filled cake bars are quick and easy to make in two bowls. The cream cheese frosting for pumpkin bars also come together quickly and easily in one bowl.
- You love easy desserts that feed a crowd. If being super quick and easy to make wasn’t reason enough, these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting make the perfect dessert to feed a lot of people.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Before I show you how to make this recipe for pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, make sure you have these simple ingredients ready to go. Just in case you are missing any of the ingredients, make sure to check out my ingredient substitutions below.
Pumpkin Bar Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour: To make these banana bars gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. Replace the amount of flour based on weight (240 g) rather than cups.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: This provide rise and leavening for the pumpkin cake bars. This recipe has not been tested with just baking soda.
- Ground Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice: Feel free to use 1 tablespoon of any combination of ground spices.
- Oil: Any neutral tasting oil will work well. I personally love baking with avocado oil or a very light olive oil.
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugars: This recipe calls for both granulated and brown sugars. For even more fall flavor, maple sugar would also work well to make these pumpkin bars refined sugar free.
- Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs.
- Maple Syrup: This adds another layer of rich flavor. Feel free to swap the maple syrup for the same amount of light brown sugar. Although I strongly advise you use the maple syrup for the best texture.
- Canned Pumpkin Puree: You can use the same amount of fresh pumpkin puree if you have some on hand. Do not use pumpkin pie filling.
- Vanilla Extract: This provides a lovely background flavor for these pumpkin cream cheese bars.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- Cream Cheese and Butter: The tangy flavor of cream cheese is hard to match. If you don’t have cream cheese, use an equal amount of mascarpone cheese. Use any butter you like.
- Powdered Sugar: I like using Wholesome Organic powdered sugar. If you need a lower sugar powdered sugar alternative, I recommend Swerve or Lakanto.
- Milk: This is used to thin the frosting as needed. Feel free to use an equal amount of heavy cream or milk of choice.
Variations
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars: Mix 1 cup chocolate chips into the pumpkin cake batter. Top the cream cheese frosting with more chocolate chips. White or semi sweet chocolate chips would be delicious.
- Pumpkin Nut Bars: Mix 1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts, pecans or any other nut you like into the pumpkin cake batter. Top the cream cheese frosting with more chopped nuts.
- Dairy Free Pumpkin Bars: Use a dairy free cream cheese frosting.
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Bars: In a sauce pan or pot, melt 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (254 g) of butter on low heat until the butter to begins to foam. Once it starts to foam, whisk or stir the liquid butter frequently. The butter will begin to smell nutty and very fragrant. Once the foam has subsided, the butter should have some brown, lightly toasted bits floating at the bottom. Pour the brown butter in a heat safe bowl to cool for about 15 minutes at room temperature. Top with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. If you still want cinnamon added to the frosting, add 2 teaspoons cinnamon to the brown butter cream cheese frosting recipe. If you are making this recipe with brown butter, use a full 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree.
How To Make
Learn how to make pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease a 15 x 10 pan (or 9 x 13). In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt together until well combined.
- In another bowl whisk the oil, light brown sugar, sugar, maple syrup, canned pumpkin eggs, and vanilla extract together until smooth and well combined. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet well combined with no visible pieces of flour.
- Pour the pumpkin bar batter into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the pumpkin bar cake bounces back with gently pressed. The edges of the pumpkin bars will also pull slightly away from the pan. Cool the bars in the pan to room temperature. Cool completely before frosting with the cream cheese icing.
- Make the cream cheese frosting for pumpkin bars by creaming the butter and cream cheese together until fluffy and well combined. About 2 - 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Add in the ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, salt, powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Cream all the ingredients on medium speed for 1 - 2 minutes. The frosting just needs to be fully creamed together. Spread the cinnamon cream cheese frosting on top of the fully cooled pumpkin sheet cake bars.
How To Serve, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Serve: Serve these cream cheese pumpkin bars straight from the fridge or let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and then enjoy.
- Store: Once the pumpkin bars have cream cheese frosting, they need to be stored in the fridge. Slice the pumpkin bars to your desired number of pieces. Place them in a single layer to chill in the fridge until the frosting is set. Then transfer them to an airtight storage container for longer storage. Separate the layers with wax or parchment paper.
- Freeze: Cut the bars into your preferred amount of pieces. Individually wrap each piece of pumpkin cake bars in plastic wrap, parchment or wax paper and place in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw your homemade pumpkin cake bars is to let them sit overnight in the fridge. Enjoy at room temperature or straight from the fridge (my favorite way)!
M’s Expert Tips
- Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. This gives you better control over the sweetness and spices.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in deliciously fluffy and tender pumpkin cake bars.
- Measure your flour carefully. Too much flour can make pumpkin bars dense or dry. Spoon and level the flour, or use a kitchen scale.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix just until the ingredients are combined for soft, tender bars.
- Use an 15 x10 metal pan. This recipe was created using a 15 x 10 jelly roll pan. This recipe will also work well in a 9 x 13 aluminum pan or quarter sheet pan. Cut the recipe in half if you choose one of these pans.
- Look for the signs the pumpkin bars are done. Use the baking time as a guide rather than a strict rule. Signs a cake is finished baking is a center that quickly bounces back when gently pressed and baked edges that have slightly pulled away from the edge of the pan.
- Fully cool the pumpkin cake bars. You may be very tempted to frost these bars while they are still warm. However, the pumpkin bars need to be completely cooled for the frosting to stay on.
- Soften the cream cheese and butter. Room-temperature ingredients make a much smoother frosting without lumps.
- How to cut the perfect slice. For perfectly sliced pumpkin bars, chill them in the freezer for about 15 - 20 minutes or in the fridge for about 30 - 45 minutes before cutting. Use a sharp knife to cut them and always clean the knife between cuts.
FAQs
Do these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?
Once these moist pumpkin bars are topped with cream cheese frosting, they must be refrigerated.
Can I make these cream cheese frosted pumpkin bars ahead of time?
Yes, these bars are the perfect make ahead pumpkin dessert. Prepare the bars as written in the recipe. Once frosted, allow the bars to chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Cover the top of the bars with plastic wrap and serve up to 1 day later.
Can you freeze cream cheese frosting?
Yes, due to its high fat content, cream cheese frosting freezes well. Freeze the cream cheese frosting in an air tight container and thaw overnight in the fridge. Thaw the cream cheese frosting at room temperature for about an hour. When you are ready to top the pumpkin bars, re-whip the frosting in a mixer for 1 - 2 minutes or until the frosting is easily spreadable.
Other Cake Bar Recipes to Try
If you try this Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
These easy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting are soft, moist, and packed with pumpkin and warm, cozy spices. They come together quickly with simple ingredients and are topped with a rich, creamy cinnamon cream cheese frosting that makes every bite simply irresistible. Perfect for fall gatherings, holiday desserts, or an easy treat with a cup of coffee.
Equipment
- 1 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan
- 1 whisk
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters (or electric hand mixer) for frosting
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bars
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 cup (240 ml) neutral baking oil (vegetable, canola, avocado or olive oil)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- 1¼ cup (325 g) canned pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz. (226 g) cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) milk
- 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease a 15 x 10 pan jelly roll pan.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon , 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- In another bowl whisk the oil, light brown sugar, sugar, maple syrup, canned pumpkin eggs, and vanilla extract together until smooth and well combined. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet well combined with no visible pieces of flour. Pour the pumpkin bar batter into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the batter evenly across the pan.1 cup (240 ml) neutral baking oil , 3 large eggs, room temperature, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup, 1¼ cup (325 g) canned pumpkin puree, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the pumpkin bar cake bounces back with gently pressed. The edges of the pumpkin bars will also pull slightly away from the pan. Cool the bars in the pan to room temperature. Cool completely before frosting with the cream cheese icing.
- Make the cream cheese frosting for pumpkin bars by creaming the butter and cream cheese together until fluffy and well combined. About 2 - 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Add in the ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, salt, powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Cream all the ingredients on medium speed for 1 - 2 minutes. The frosting just needs to be fully creamed together.8 oz. (226 g) cream cheese, room temperature, ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon , 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract , ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) milk, 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar
- Spread the cinnamon cream cheese frosting on top of the fully cooled pumpkin sheet cake bars. If the frosting is too warm or soft, place the frosted pumpkin bars in the fridge for 20 - 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy.
Notes
Store: Once the pumpkin bars have cream cheese frosting, they need to be stored in the fridge. Slice the pumpkin bars to your desired number of pieces. Place them in a single layer to chill in the fridge until the frosting is set. Then transfer them to an airtight storage container for longer storage. Separate the layers with wax or parchment paper.
Pumpkin Bars Troubleshooting
- Dense bars? Too much flour or overmixing can make pumpkin bars heavy. Measure the flour carefully and mix the batter just until combined.
- Bars too dry? Overbaking is usually the culprit. Start checking them toward the end of the baking time and remove them when a toothpick has a few moist crumbs.
- Wet center? The bars may simply need more time in the oven. Pumpkin adds moisture, so bake until the center is set and a toothpick comes out without wet batter.
- Runny frosting? Warm cream cheese or butter can make the frosting too soft. Make sure both are softened but not melted, and chill the frosting before spreading if needed.
- Frosting melting on the bars? The pumpkin bars were likely still warm. Let them cool completely before frosting so the cream cheese frosting stays thick and creamy.
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