Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowThese keto healthy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting are an absolute essential to make during pumpkin season — and you don’t have to be keto to enjoy them! They bake up soft and sweet with a rich icing (based on my sugar-free cream cheese frosting recipe). And thanks to a few easy ingredient swaps, they have no white flour or sugar whatsoever. They are perfect for when you don’t have time to make a keto pumpkin pie.
To keep these low carb pumpkin bars tasting like the real deal, I carefully chose flour and sugar substitutes that would create the same flavor and texture. This recipe uses Wholesome Yum Almond Flour and Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend (both crystallized and powdered) to create a soft consistency and sweetness in the bars and frosting.
Why You’ll Love This Healthy Pumpkin Bars Recipe
- Spiced pumpkin and tangy cream cheese flavor
- Super soft, moist, cakey texture
- Fluffy, creamy, tangy frosting
- Simple, natural ingredients
- Just 10 minutes prep time
- Gluten-free, sugar free, and low in carbs (only 2g net carbs per bar)
- Loaded with protein and fiber
- The perfect fall dessert!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for keto pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Healthy Pumpkin Bars:
- Pumpkin Puree – Make sure to use 1 cup for this recipe, not 1 can. Also, get pure pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar. You can use the extra canned pumpkin for making other pumpkin recipes.
- Coconut Oil – Keeps the bars soft and moist. If you don’t want coconut flavor, you can use a refined coconut oil or unsalted butter.
- Cream Cheese – Adds a tangy flavor and softness to the bars. You might be able to make this recipe dairy-free with a non-dairy cream cheese, but I haven’t tested it.
- Egg – Use whole, large eggs, at room temperature so that they don’t solidify the cream cheese and coconut oil. I haven’t tested these healthy pumpkin bars with flax eggs or any other egg alternative, but let me know how it goes if you try that.
- Vanilla Extract – Use a high-quality extract for best flavor.
- Wholesome Yum Almond Flour – Some recipes use oats or oat flour, but I find that this almond flour has the the perfect consistency in these bars. The brand you choose can impact the result though, since some tend to be more grainy. That being said, you could probably substitute half the almond flour with oat flour if you’re not concerned about the carbs. Avoid using coconut flour, which would be too dry.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Adds a touch of just-like-sugar sweetness, without the sugar spike! Besti locks in moisture better than other sugar substitutes, so the bars may be more dry if you use something else. If you still want to try another sweetener, use the sweetener conversion chart here. Avoid substituting with liquid sweeteners like maple syrup, which would make the bars fall apart.
- Baking Powder – Helps the sugar-free pumpkin bars rise. Don’t confuse this with baking soda, which is different.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – This is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground allspice. You can usually find it in grocery stores, or make homemade pumpkin pie spice in minutes!
- Sea Salt – Balances the sweet flavor.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Cheese – I use a full-fat variety, but any plain kind will work.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This powdered sweetener blends effortlessly into the cream cheese, so it’s never gritty. And the new powdered formula is the finest grind out there, just like real powdered sugar.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds a touch of flavor.
- Heavy Cream – Optional, but makes the frosting slightly more spreadable.
VARIATION: Cream cheese frosting not for you?
You can skip it altogether, or try sugar-free buttercream frosting instead.
How To Make Healthy Pumpkin Bars
This section shows how to make pumpkin bars healthy, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Melt. Use a bowl or double boiler to melt cream cheese and coconut oil together, stirring to combine.
- Beat wet ingredients. Combine pumpkin puree, cream cheese mixture, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Mix dry ingredients. Stir together almond flour, Besti, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl.
- Make batter. Combine wet and dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined.
- Bake. Transfer batter to a baking pan (this is the right size) lined with parchment paper. Bake the healthy pumpkin bars in the oven, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Make cream cheese frosting. Use a hand mixer to beat cream cheese, powdered Besti, and vanilla together, until smooth.
- Frost. Once bars have cooled, spread frosting over the top and slice. (You can also add a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin spice on top if you like.)
VARIATION: Get more crunch!
Add chopped pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips to the finished bars for extra texture.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Keep healthy pumpkin bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freeze: Chill fully in the fridge, then carefully wrap. (I recommend plastic wrap followed by foil.) Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Unwrap and thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
More Keto And Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
Enjoy all the rich, cozy flavor of pumpkin without the sugar. Try it with these easy treats (and check out more healthy and keto pumpkin recipes here)!
Tools To Make Keto Pumpkin Bars
- Hand Mixer – Makes batter quick and easy to whip up for this healthy pumpkin bar recipe.
- Baking Dish – The perfect size for these low sugar pumpkin bars.
Keto Healthy Pumpkin Bars (Cream Cheese Frosting!)
Keto healthy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting use natural ingredients, no added sugar, and taste bakery fresh. Just 10 minutes prep!
Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.
Healthy Pumpkin Bars
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line a 9×9 in (23×23 cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
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Using a bowl in the microwave or a double boiler on the stove, melt together the cream cheese and coconut oil, until you can stir them together easily.
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In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, melted coconut oil/cream cheese mixture, eggs and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed, until smooth.
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In another bowl, stir together the almond flour, Besti, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
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Add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Beat with the hand mixer at low speed, until just combined.
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Transfer the batter to the lined baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for30-35 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
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To make the frosting, use a hand mixer to beat together the cream cheese, powdered Besti, and vanilla, until smooth. (You can thin it out with a little milk or cream if you'd like.) Let the bars cool completely before frosting and cutting.
Did You Like It?
Leave a rating to help other readers (this also helps me continue to provide free recipes on my site), or get the recipe sent to your inbox.
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 bar, or 1/16 of entire recipe
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂
465 Comments
Jamie
0These were great! I had to make them as mini muffins because I just moved and couldn’t find my cake pan. Baked for 20 minutes. Also doubled the pie spice. Turned out perfect and will definitely make them again!
Laurel
0They came out gooey and fell apart.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Laurel, They should not be gooey, that is a sign that they were under-baked, so try baking for longer next time. Also, after baking until they are actually done, they need to cool completely so they don’t fall apart. They should be a cakey texture, not gooey. Hope this helps!
Brenda Clark
0This recipe was super easy to follow, and the bars are phenomenal! Thank you!!
Debbie
0These are fabulous!!
Kristyn
0These bars are so light & fluffy!! The cream cheese frosting tastes perfect!
Julia
0An amazing pumpkin recipe? AND just about guilt free?? Sign me up!! I will be making these more often!
jess
0Yummy! These bars are amazing, and the quentissential fall dessert! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Dottie Bacon
0These are so DELICIOUS and EASY to make! Perfect for the cooler fall weather! I have to share the pan with a friend of mine, or I’ll end up eating the entire pan myself…lol! They are not too sweet, and the sea salt gives them the perfect balance. I’m sure these will be my go-to many times. Thank you for this wonderful recipe and your comprehensive website!
Laura
0Made these tonight for a dessert for our Thursday night get together. I let everyone know they were low carb and sugar free. I used Swerve brown sugar for the bars and Anthony’s Confectioner’s Erythritol for the cream cheese frosting because those were the sweeteners I had on hand. I also had to use an 7×11 pan because that was the closest size I had. Most definitely will be making these again.
Gay
0Can I use coconut sugar in place of Monk sugar?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Yes, that should work. They just wouldn’t be low carb/keto anymore.
Jamie
0I made these this morning, didn’t have a 9×9 pan so I used 8×8 just took about 10 extra minutes to bake. So moist and yummy. I’ve already eaten a whole row lol. Definitely making these regularly. 😋
Lynn
0Could this recipe be used for cookies? Your pumpkin cookie recipe has alot of different ingredients, I like these better 🙂
Wholesome Yum A
0Hi Lynn — if you did test it, the recipe would likely require additional flour to soak up the moisture from the pumpkin, but not totally certain about other ingredient adjustments. Let me know if you give it a try!
Rose
0Hello. I did this Recipe, however, because I didn’t have cream cheese I used plain Greek yogurt. Unfortunately, my bread came out very moist. I put it back into the oven for 10 more minutes at 375 F and it’s still wet in the middle. It tasted delicious but I don’t understand why is still wet. Should I have used more almond flour?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Rose, Greek yogurt has more moisture than cream cheese, so that likely had something to do with it. The baking time can also vary depending on the size, shape, and color of your pan.
Lee Gordon
0Can you substitute coconut flour for the almond flour?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Lee, Unfortunately, coconut flour is not a substitute for almond flour.
Jan Huntley
0Can I substitute stevia for the monk fruit allulose blend?
George Medina
0Great recipe. In added crushed pecans to the mix and a few drops of liquid stevia to both the cake mix and the frosting. Yummy
Kendra
0I love these when I don’t want to make pie. I add some maple extract in the frosting. Yum!!
Laura
0Can you use liquid coconut oil?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Laura, Yes, this would work because you are heating the coconut oil up anyway.
Lisa
0I doubled this recipe to fill a standard-sized cake pan, as I was baking for a crowd. Perhaps because of this, I had to bake it almost twice as long. After 25 minutes, the center was still very wet and jiggly. I have a gas convection oven that is usually pretty spot-on with cooking times. These were delicious and very moist. I think next time I make them, I will increase the pumpkin spice a little bit. I find that if I combine different kinds of sweeteners, I get closer to ‘just like sugar’ flavor, so I usually use half allulose and half Monkfruit-blend sweetener in any recipe. I only use powdered Monkfruit for the frosting, though. It was PERFECT. Creamy and delicious without being too sweet. I’m so glad I found this recipe!! Thank you so much!
Francy
0These came out so good! I made them with dairy-free cream cheese and monk fruit blend sweetener. The texture is like a real pumpkin bar and the frosting is YUMMY! Thank you for another great recipe.
Pam
0I made these and they didn’t bake up like a cake, more creamy and dense like a pie. What might I have done differently? The flavor was there just not cake like texture.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Pam, Did you only use 1 cup of pumpkin? Sounds like there could have been too much.
Adele
0These pumpkin bars are so good, they taste like a cheat! This is definitely a keeper in my book. I invited friends over tonight to try it. I’m sure they would never be able to tell it’s low carb. I will make this one before Thanksgiving.
Pat
0Hi. These sound delicious. Am I reading it correctly that portion size and nutrition is for 1/16 of a 9×9 pan?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Pat, Yes, that is correct.
Patty
0Can I sub butter for the coconut oil? My guy hates coconut:(
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Patty, You could use butter to replace the coconut oil.
Wholesome Yum A
0These have the best flavor and texture of any keto pumpkin dessert I have found in the past year. Do you think the same recipe could be converted to cupcakes? Has anyone tried this? I’m thinking of testing it out this week to share with the family visiting over the weekend.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Amanda, Yes, this should work if made into cupcakes.
Jessica
0Would it be the same amount?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Jessica, Please clarify what amount you are asking about?
Heather
0Another terrific recipe, Maya!! Even my picky eater loved this!
Taylor
0Amazing!! I used almond flour and some flaxseed meal and it turned out just as yummy.
Susy
0I don’t know where I went wrong. I made sure to use 1 CUP of pumpkin, not one can, used a 9×9 pan, baked it the 30 minutes. The toothpick came out clean, but, there have been so many comments about not baking thoroughly that I added 5 more minutes. Cooled it. It was set enough to be able to spread the cream cheese frosting, which is INCREDIBLE, but, only the edges are caky. All but about 1/2 an inch all the way around is very super moist, goopy pumpkin stuff. The texture of extremely undercooked pumpkin bread. Should I have baked it longer? The toothpick came out clean. Total cooking time was 35 minutes.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Susy, These bars may not appear to be fully set in the oven. Do the toothpick test to make sure it comes out clean. They will come together as they cool and then fully set in the fridge.
David
0Delicious…had the texture, sweetness (I used allulose), and moistness I usually associate with carrot cake. My wife, who’s very good with self discipline, had three bars before she re-established control. Definitely a winner!
HLD
0Can I use gluten free flour? Have a nut allergy.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi HLD, Gluten free flour is not low carb. So if you are concerned about carbs I would suggest sunflower seed flour. Gf flour does not measure the same as almond flour so you may have to add more gf flour.
Denise
0Do these freeze well?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Denise, these should freeze fine. Avoid frosting them until they thaw.
Jennifer
0Could the coconut oil be switched with melted butter?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Jennifer, Yes, you can use butter in place of the coconut oil.
Dawn
0I was worried about this recipe not baking in the centre, so decided to make it into cupcakes. Baked them on the lowest oven rack for 32 minutes at 325 (I was roasting a turkey at the same time) and then piped the frosting on top after they’d cooled fully. They were a HUGE hit and everyone loved them, including my teenage daughter who typically dislikes anything sweetened with erythritol! Next time, I’ll be doubling the recipe as there were only 10 cupcakes and people wanted more.
Ad
0I tried this today but it’s been 30 mins and it’s still not cooked. Smells great. I followed all steps. Any tips ?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Ad, These bars may not appear to be fully set in the oven. Do the toothpick test to make sure it comes out clean. They will come together as they cool and then fully set in the fridge.
Wendy
0BEST frosting EVER!!! This dessert is a hit. Easy to make, and also delicious!!! Win, win!!!
Joy
0I made this for my birthday this year and everyone ‘s initial comments were, “I thought you were following a Ketogenic diet.” It amazed everyone that these were so low carb.
I will definitely make these and the muffins again and again!
Dot
0When I printed out this recipeI was instrucked to add MOLASSES in the Instructions #2 ? Its not listed in the original ingredients ? Is this an error ?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Dot, This recipe does not contain molasses. Sometimes a small amount can be added to a recipe for depth of flavor, but that is not the case with this recipe. Enjoy!
Angie
0I’ve made this at least 5 times in the past year and I LOVE it! It’s also a hit with whoever I share it with. Hope many of you try it out. Easy and delicious!
Rob
0This is such an incredibly easy recipe that is as delicious as it is simple. Thank you very much for sharing this and will return to make it again. Very much appreciated!
Lisa Eddy
0I made these and they never fully baked! What did I do wrong?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lisa, These bars may not appear to be fully set in the oven. Do the toothpick test to make sure it comes out clean. They will come together as they cool and then fully set in the fridge.
Deb
0I doubled this recipe and used 2 cans of pumpkin instead of 2 Cups because a can is probably 1-1/2 cups or so and I have no use for the leftover pumpkin! It still turned out great, the best recipe for pumpkin bars so far and I
I’ve tried plenty! I’m making another double batch today and this time will not combine my coconut oil with my cream cheese as like others have said they don’t blend well and it doesn’t seem necessary they be combined. I won’t be searching for anymore pumpkin bar recipes now that I’ve found this one and it’s my husbands favorite!
Shelagh
0Canned pumpkin can be frozen when you don’t need a whole can for a recipe. HTH
Vicki Hauser
0Love your site, but after a lengthy search,
I cannot find your video. Any suggestions?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Vicki, The video is located in the recipe card. If you cannot see it, please make sure you are not viewing the website in ‘Reader Mode’ or in an RSS feed.
Angela
0This is sooo yummy and easy! Very moist and not too sweet. I now make double batches to share with family!
Jennifer
0Very good!! Not quite as sweet as the real thing but still a hit in my home! I used Allulose for my sweetener and by far a great choice!
Chris Norman
0I love these bars, but help me out here. Every time i enter the nutrition information into my Keto calculator app I keep coming up with 14g net carbs. That takes up most of my carb count for the day. What am I doing wrong. Please help!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Chris, Most macro calculators do not subtract the sweetener from recipes. These pumpkin bars are 2 net carbs per serving.
Angela
0I ended up having to cook almost an hour – but perfect! Cream cheese frosting perfect after put in the refrigerator for an hour or so – best dessert I’ve made in a long time – my family loved it!!!!
Elyse
0If I substitute butter for coconut oil do I use 1/4 cup solid butter or 1/4 cup melted butter to combine and soften with 2 Oz cream cheese? Also can an 8×8 square pan be used ( don’t have 9×9) or what size can be substituted and by how much should baking time be adjusted?
Thank you..
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Elyse, You would use 1/4 melted butter. You can use the 8×8 pan but made need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Kelly Harris
0Amazing! I have a nut allergy so I used 1/4 cup coconut flour instead of almond flour and an extra egg. So moist and yummy! Thank you!
Nancy Emery
0Never mind, Maya. I just read where you recommend using a fat that is solid at room temp so olive oil would not work.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Nancy, Correct, olive oil probably won’t work, but you could use butter instead of coconut oil.
Nancy Emery
0Hi Maya! I was looking for a substitute for the pumpkin spice muffins and I’m eliminating coconut products and found this one. I was wondering if I could substitute olive oil for the coconut oil?
Leftie
0Have made this a few times with great success. Tried leicithin ,instead of eggs. Baked up into a greasy mess
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Leftie, I am pleased you enjoyed this recipe in the past. I don’t think it would work well with lecithin, as the batter for the bars is already very wet.
Vicky L Lee
0I love this recipe.. It’s easy to make and tastes wonderful..