Melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin oat bars with creamy maple cinnamon cheese glaze! High in protein, low in fat and quite literally the most amazing thing you will ever put in your mouth.
Okay, now if this doesn’t scream fall, I don’t know what does! I thought I was in heaven when this baby was in the oven and our whole apartment started to smell like sweet cinnamon and pumpkin…
But then I took a bite into one of these and temporarily left the planet. I am not joking here. For a good few seconds it was just me and these pumpkin oat bars. Nothing else in the world was relevant. 😆
Truly, I wish I could more accurately describe the amazingness of these but words just don’t give these bars justice. Not only does this pumpkin oatmeal bake have the most perfect flavor and soft, gooey cake-like texture, but that creamy maple cinnamon glaze drizzled on top… HOLY COW. It is so creamy and perfect and just brings out the flavors of the pumpkin bake even MORE.
I purposely made this for an easy breakfast to grab and have with my cup of coffee, but quickly found myself having it with my snacks and desserts at night as well. I have also found that they are amazing crumbled on a yogurt bowl.
THIS IS ANOTHER MUST MAKE PEOPLE.
This bake is so easy to make. Even better news is that most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand!
Ingredients used
- Quick oats
- Protein powder – I used PEScience.
- All-purpose flour
- Coconut flour – I use Viva Naturals or Bob’s Red Mill
- Pumpkin (canned)
- Egg
- Pancake syrup – I used Walden Farms to keep calories down. Tastes JUST as good as normal pancake syrup to me. I order off Amazon.
- Almond milk
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Unsweetened almond milk
Substitutions
Protein Powder
For the protein powder, I used PEScience Snickerdoodle which was an amazingly cinnamon sweet edition to this recipe! Although vanilla or another cinnamon flavor would also work great.
For all PEScience products, you can use code LaurenFitFoodie to save 10%.
Flour
All purpose can easily be subbed for oat, whole wheat, or almond flour.
Unfortunately, coconut flour has different absorbant properties than other flours and for that reason, there is no equal sub.
Pancake syrup
Like I said, I prefer using walden farms (or Cary’s sugar free) because the syrup tastes the same to me and saves a lot of calories. But you can most definitely replace with pure maple syrup, normal pancake syrup, or even another sticky substance, like honey or agave!
Cream Cheese Glaze
If you are unable to find fat free cream cheese, you can replace with 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese. The macros will only change slightly. I did include macros for the pumpkin oatmeal bake without cream cheese glaze below so you can add the macros for the glaze yourself if you need to make that adjustment.
The glaze is optional of course. I will say, it is flipping amazing. But there will be times that I don’t make it because I need an easy grab-and-go snack or simply because I want to crumble the oat bar up and put it on top a yogurt bowl!
This is also why I don’t directly add the glaze on top anymore. I make it and keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge and just take it out when I am ready to use it! This also allows me to be even more precise with my macros – but if you want to skip that step and go ahead and glaze the top – by all means!
As always, if you try tag me on instagram (@LaurenFitFoodie) so I can see your beautiful creations!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake with Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Glaze
Melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin oat bars with creamy maple cinnamon cheese glaze! High in protein, low in fat and quite literally the most amazing thing you will ever put in your mouth.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake
- 1 cup (80g) quick oats
- 1 scoop (32g) vanilla or cinnamon flavored protein powder (I used Pescience snickerdoodle)
- 2 tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (15g) coconut flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup (244g) canned pumpkin
- ½ cup (122g) unsweetened applesauce -- or omit and just add an additional 1/2 cup pumpkin
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60 mL) Walden Farms Pancake Syrup
- ½ cup (120 mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 oz (112g) fat free cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (60 mL) Walden Farms Pancake Syrup
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray an 8x8 baking disk with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients - oats, protein powder, all-purpose, coconut flour, salt, baking powder, and spices).
- In a separate, medium sized bowl, whisk the egg (you can also beat with a hand mixer). Add the pumpkin, applesauce, vanilla, syrup, and milk, and whisk (or beat) until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine until ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- When oatmeal bake is done, take out, and allow to cool completely before putting on glaze (otherwise cream cheese will melt and become soupier in texture. Even better - wait until the next day to frost).
Maple Cream Cheese Glaze:
- Using a hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
**See notes below for tips. - Once pumpkin oatmeal bake has cooled (and been refrigerated) top with glaze and enjoy! For precise macros, top with 1/8 of the cream cheese glaze (22g).
Notes
MFP entry: Lauren Fit Foodie Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake with Maple Glaze
Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake without Cream Cheese Glaze:
- Nutrition per serving (1/8 of bake or 78g) - 95 calories | 13g carbohydrates | 2g fat | 6g protein
- MFP entry for this one: Lauren Fit Foodie Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake No Glaze
**For the cream cheese glaze, you will want the cream cheese to be softened before mixing to avoid any clumps. I let mine sit out room temperature for 30 minutes for this. Once mixed, you will want to add the cream cheese glaze back to the fridge for at least an hour to thicken up again.
I recommend keeping this pumpkin oatmeal bake refrigerated so that it lasts longer - and simply because it tastes best that way! The flavors come together overnight and it is even better the next day!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1/8 of bake (78g) + glaze (22g)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 110Total Fat: 2gCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 8g
I baked these and let some of my coworkers try them. They were obsessed. These are definitely a hit 💗💗
This is another of Lauren’s go-to’s for me. Easy to prep ahead and take with me to work! It feels like I am eating a sinful dessert!
This is the perfect treat for breakfast or dessert! The icing is BOMB–I want to put it on everything!
I can tell you that these pumpkin oatmeal bake bars are one of the simplest recipes to make. Listen to Lauren when she says they are better the next day chilled. I love trying out all her recipes. Makes my life on the go so much easier.
I made these to take along on a long road trip to visit family. I made a batch to split between my boyfriend and I so we would have something healthy and low cal since I knew we’d be spending a lot of time eating out and drinking 🤷🏼♀️ these were PERFECT, I let my family try them too ( none of them are very health conscious lol) and even they liked them!
This is my absolute fave! I love making this in mini loaf pans…so easy. Perfect breakfast when you pair it with Greek yogurt. Also the frosting is to die for!
These are the bomb! Perfect pre workout snack or mid-day dessert!
This recipe is soooo good and satisfies my sweet tooth. Even better chilled with a cup of coffee. I love finding good recipes that are low in fat!!
Ahhh so good chilled right!? And with a cup of coffee… you are speaking my language! 😆
Oh my gosh, these were so delicious! I didnt have PEScience protein the first time I made it and they tasted awesome, but I finally got my hands on some (thanks to the black Friday sale!) and am excited to made it again and see how much the texture improves.
I have been eyeing your recipes all summer but I have never been one to follow a recipe (not much of a cook haha)- now that it’s fall and I’m craving my not so macro friendly homemade pumpkin bread- I’m definitely going to knuckle down and make these (love that they have some protein in them and glaze)- can’t wait!!