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Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting {Paleo}

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These Paleo Pumpkin Bars are a fun and healthy way to enjoy fall baking season! Soft fudgy pumpkin blondies flavored with lots of pumpkin pie spices are topped with a honey cream cheese frosting for the ultimate fall themed pumpkin bars!

Who’s up for fudgy pumpkin bars with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting?  You are going to absolutely love these bars!

The layer of cashew based cream cheese frosting is so thick and creamy that I almost decided to call them cheesecake bars, but the pumpkin layer is definitely more than a crust.

You have soft gooey pumpkin blondies that are sort of similar to my pumpkin spice latte bars, but without any espresso flavor.  Just pumpkin spice goodness!

I love the combination of the sweet, warmly spiced pumpkin layer and the tangy rich cream cheese layer.  It’s fall baking heaven!

What You Need to Make Paleo Pumpkin Bars

There are two components to these bars – the pumpkin layer and the cashew cream cheese frosting layer.   Here’s what you’ll need to prepare the bars:

Pumpkin Bar Batter:

Frosting:

How to Make Paleo “Cream Cheese” Frosting

Making cashew cream cheese frosting is super simple and SO rewarding!  It helps to use a powerful blender to get the frosting really smooth and silky.  You’ll also want to make sure you soak the cashews in hot water for a couple of hours before beginning to make them blend easily with the rest of the ingredients.

Prepare the frosting first and chill for at least 2 hours before frosting the bars. You can also make the frosting a day in advance and chill overnight.

Place all the ingredients in a high speed blender (I used a Vitamix) and blend until smooth. This will take anywhere from 1-5 minutes depending on your blender.

Be patient and scrape down the sides as needed, and continue to blend until creamy. Once done, chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.

How to Make Paleo Pumpkin Bars

Preheat your oven to 350° F and line an 8 x 8” square baking pan with parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides.

In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer or whisk, cream together the ghee and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla. Mix until very smooth.

Stir or beat in the flour mixture until well combined, the batter should be thick. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared pan, scraping the bowl and smoothing the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until just set in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 3 hours or more, until completely cooled. After about an hour, you can chill in the refrigerator if you want to speed up the cooling.

Once the bars are completely cooled, spread the chilled frosting in the thick layer over the top.  You can cut into squares to serve right away, or return to the refrigerator to chill. 

How to Store Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Similarly to my carrot cake and spice cake, these bars are wonderful frosted and chilled overnight (covered) as well as served right away.  Simply cut into squares before serving.

You can also freeze the bars, frosted and covered, and thaw in the refrigerator before cutting and serving.  Although you might even want to enjoy them partially frozen as my kids love!

You can store the leftover bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.  

I hope you’re ready for a delicious, good for you pumpkin treat!  Grab your ingredients because it’s time to bake – let’s go!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting {Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free}

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting {Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free}

These Paleo Pumpkin Bars are a fun and healthy way to enjoy fall baking season! Soft fudgy pumpkin blondies flavored with lots of pumpkin pie spices are topped with a honey cream cheese frosting for the ultimate fall themed pumpkin bars! 
Author: Michele Rosen
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Course: Baking/Dessert
Cuisine: dairy-free, Gluten-free, Paleo
Keyword: dessert, fall baking, gluten free, paleo, pumpkin
Servings: 16 bars
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Leave a review
4.64 from 91 votes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bar Batter:

Frosting:

Instructions

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  1. Prepare the frosting first and chill for at least 2 hours before frosting the bars. You can also make the frosting a day in advance and chill overnight.
  2. Place all ingredients in a high speed blender (I used a Vitamix) and blend until smooth. This will take anywhere from 1-5 minutes depending on your blender. Be patient and scrape down the sides as needed, and continue to blend until creamy. Once done, chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pumpkin Bar Batter

  1. Preheat your oven to 350° F and line an 8 x 8” square baking pan with parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
  3. In a separate mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer or whisk, cream together the ghee and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla. Mix until very smooth.
  4. Stir or beat in the flour mixture until well combined, the batter should be thick. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared pan, scraping the bowl and smoothing the batter evenly in the pan.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until just set in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 3 hours or more, until completely cooled. After about an hour, you can chill in the refrigerator if you want to speed up the cooling.
  6. Once the bars are completely cooled, spread the chilled frosting in the thick layer over the top. You can cut into squares to serve right away, or return to the refrigerator to chill. Similarly to my carrot cake and spice cake, these bars are wonderful frosted and chilled overnight (covered) as well as served right away. Simply cut into squares before serving. You can also freeze the bars, frosted and covered, and thaw in the refrigerator before cutting and serving.
  7. Store leftover bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcal
Carbohydrates: 24g
Protein: 5g
Fat: 21g
Saturated Fat: 9g
Cholesterol: 25mg
Sodium: 120mg
Potassium: 161mg
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 17g
Vitamin A: 1206IU
Vitamin C: 1mg
Calcium: 47mg
Iron: 2mg

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Want More Paleo Pumpkin Dessert Recipes?  Try One of These!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Bars

Paleo Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Paleo Pumpkin Cupcakes 

Vegan Pumpkin Crumble 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies 

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Paleo Running Momma!  

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About Michele

Michele Rosen is the author of Paleo baking at Home and the creator of Paleo Running Momma, a website dedicated to bringing you the most delicious paleo friendly meals and desserts. She’s a mom of 3 kids ages 17, 15 and 13, a paleo eater, runner and yogi.

Reader Interactions

Reader Reviews & Comments

  1. Stephanie Olson says

    This looks delish! Do you have suggestions on a different frosting to make with these? We have cashew allergies in our house.

    Reply

  3. Colbi says

    Would these work egg-free? I’m sensitive to eggs which has made paleo baking a huge challenge. I’m craving pumpkin going into Fall and would love to find a pumpkin recipe that is both paleo and egg-free. Thanks!!

    Reply

  7. Hannah Moriarty says

    5 stars
    These are amazing! Followed the recipe exactly. Excited to try them partially frozen as mentioned. Kids love them, and husband said “this is my favorite pumpkin dessert so far”. Thank you for making such fun and delicious recipes I can feel good about.

    Reply

  8. Erica A Honaker says

    5 stars
    Made these yesterday. Added chocolate chips and had to do a traditional cream cheese frosting because I didn’t have any cashews. A little more sugar than I wanted (because of the frosting substitute), but they’re tasty! Always love your recipes. Baking and otherwise!

    Reply

  10. Denice says

    5 stars
    Made these today and they taste heavenly. My frosting is a bit runny though, did I do something wrong? Did anyone else have this happen?
    Still taste wonderful… just a little messy 😝

    Reply

  12. May says

    5 stars
    This recipe was soooo good. Even my boyfriend [who is a picky eater when it comes to healthy food] loved them! Tastes like carrot cake & cream cheese frosting in my opinion. Not hard to make either!

    Reply

  13. Michelle Delgadillo says

    I made the bars today & the frosting yesterday. My frosting didn’t come out thick like yours in the pictures show. I followed your recipe to a T. My ingredients were almost the same. I used 3/4 honey(ran out) and filled in with maple syrup. I’m not sure if I did something wrong or… what. It smelled so nice when baking & I will be tasting it all tomorrow! Any suggestions would be helpful! Thank you & Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply

  15. Nicole says

    Hi! I haven’t made these yet, but am wondering about the number of eggs used. Some of your other pumpkin cake/muffin recipes call for 3-4 eggs. Wondering why this one only calls for one, and what would happen if I increased the number of eggs to this recipe. Thank you!!

    Reply

  16. Nicole says

    4 stars
    I used agave as the sweetener for the batter instead of maple or coconut sugar and it turned out really good, I just had to double the baking time to about 40 mins. I personally find the frosting to be a little overpowering so I think you could make half the amount or double the cake recipe. But this was a tasty treat! Thanks!

    Reply

  17. judith says

    I just did the recipe!! my frosting wasn’t that white (maybe because I used coconut sugar instead of mapple syrup ) and it became super hard because certainly too cold, so it was verry difficult to apply over the cake, but appart from that it is super delicious :p and Just for information in case someone read my comments, I use a cake moule (approx 30cmx8cm), so there is 10 portion ( 370 kcal – 420 kcal ) and I am really sure I could have use only half the ingredient for the frosting because there was a looot of it, the frosting on top is as thick as the cake itself, so half would be ok I guess =D !! Love ur blog and recipes and, sorry I am french so my english might not be perfect lol

    Reply

  19. Jen says

    5 stars
    Absolutely amazing!! A perfect balance of flavors, including the spicy warmth that feels like fall. I added some almond extract to the frosting (why not?) and I boiled the cashews because I was in a rush. Came out perfect. I even had a little extra cream cheese to put on my paleo bread for breakfast or mix with fruit. This is going into my recipe book! A new fall favorite.

    Reply

  20. StellaG says

    5 stars
    These are AMAZING! Probably in my top 3 desserts of all time. My family couldn’t get enough of it and I was sad that I had to share it. No one would know it’s GF and DF. Strong spices and it truly tastes like fall!

    Reply

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4.64 from 91 votes (78 ratings without comment)

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