Magical Paleo Pumpkin Crumble Bars
Magical Pumpkin Crumble Bars are grain free, paleo and low carb, creamy pumpkin pie bars with a buttery crumble topping.
Magical Paleo Pumpkin Crumble Bars. Fall is here, and hopefully, you are not tired of pumpkin just yet. This Paleo Pumpkin Crumble Bar recipe is definitely a keeper, though. I wish there were still some of these left at my house. They magically disappeared very quickly from my kitchen! The kids asked if I could make these for Thanksgiving dessert. I believe the word "magical" was uttered in between bites.
This recipe has a creamy pumpkin cake layer and a coffee cake crumble layer on top. Would be great with your morning coffee too (I like to have treats for breakfast, it helps me look forward to waking up). These are grain free, gluten free with paleo, and low carb options. Also has dairy free options too.
I used to hate pumpkin when I was a kid, but now I adore it. I don't know what changed, or if I just grew accustomed to it. Do you have a food that you hated as a kid, but you love now? If so what food?
Watch The Recipe Video Above the Post
A favorite Fall treat!
Spread pumpkin batter in the pan, and sprinkle with crumble topping.
Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Cool completely, and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer.
Cut into 9 medium size bars and serve.
📖 Printable Recipe Card
Magical Paleo Pumpkin Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- Magical Paleo Pumpkin Crumble Bars:
- ⅓ cup coconut flour sifted, where to buy this
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt.
- 2 eggs beaten
- ⅓ cup organic pumpkin puree . make sure pumpkin is the only ingredient
- Sweetener of choice: ⅓ organic maple syrup or for low carb version use ⅓ cup low carb maple syrup + 25 drops liquid stevia (I used Nature’s Hollow Maple Syrup)., or could use ½ cup erytritol +⅓ cup water., for paleo and vegetarian
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk.
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil or dairy butter melted.
- 1 teaspoon gluten free organic vanilla extract.
- ½ teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar mixed in a separate pinch bowl (will be very fizzy).
- Crumble Topping:
- ½ cup almond or pecan meal (grind up raw almonds or pecans in a magic bullet or coffee grinder until course grained meal forms) or can purchase at Trader Joes.
- 3 tablespoon unsweetened organic coconut flakes.
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar for paleo or for low carb use a low carb granulated sweetener (I used 2 tablespoon eyrithritol).
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil or dairy butter melted.
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 F, and grease or oil an 8x8 pan.
- In a large mixing bowl combine: ⅓ cup sifted coconut flour, 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon sea salt. Mix together thoroughly. Set aside.
- In a different large mixing bowl combine: 2 eggs, ¼ cup almond or coconut milk, ⅓ cup pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butter, ⅓ cup maple syrup or sweetener of choice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix together until combined. Add the baking soda –vinegar mixture to the egg mixture. Mix together thoroughly.
- Add coconut flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until combined.
- Pour and spread batter into greased 8x8 pan, and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine all the crumble topping ingredients, use a fork to mix topping until a paste forms.
- Take the crumble topping and scatter chunks of crumble topping all over the top of the pumpkin batter in the pan, *seen in photo above*.
- Bake at 350 F for 28 to 30 minutes or until top is browned, and toothpick comes out of center clean.
- Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for one hour or longer (this sets the pumpkin layer).
- Cut into 9 medium size bars and serve.
Leigh says
I find keto desserts satisfy my cravings and do their job of keeping me away from sugar, but I'm rarely really impressed with them. I made these pumpkin bars with Swerve this year for Thanksgiving and was so delighted. The texture of both the filling and topping were really lovely and it wasn't overly fake sweet. I will absolutely be making this again and would even serve this to people who aren't avoiding sugar. No one would know the difference.
skye says
could these taste good with chocolate chips mixed in? we are chocolate lovers!
Stacey says
Skye, of course, you can! You can't go wrong with chocolate chips!
Lynn says
Hi, is there a good substitute for the nuts in this recipe? I can do coconut. But have to avoid other nuts.
Stacey says
Hi Lynn, You could possible use ground sunflower seeds for the crumble topping.
Katherine says
Could flax eggs be substituted for the eggs?
Stacey says
I'm not sure about flax eggs, as I have not tried it in this one.
Penni says
Can you use almond flour in place of coconut flour? If so, how much almond flour since it doesn’t absorb as well as coconut? Thank you
Stacey says
Penni, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking 3 to 4 times the amount if using almond flour.
Chelsea says
Made these and they are delicious! love the low carb count on them, I even was able to eat 2!
Stacey says
Thank you so much, Chelsea, for trying the recipe and your kind words 🙂
Katey says
Delicious!
Stacey says
Thank you so much, Katey 🙂
Elizabeth says
Really excited to try these . What’s even better I got my husband to help me make them and it’s midnight here lol I also added chopped pecans to the crumble topping .
Stacey says
Thank you so much, Elizabeth! Wow, I'm envious! My hubby only helps with the eating or taste testing.
Cassie says
Do you think these could freeze well?
Laura says
If you don't have unsweetened coconut flakes available for the topping, ground flax seed worked really well.
Stacey says
Thank you for sharing the tip, Laura. Good to know.
Jerri-Lynn DeGayner says
Do you think these would be just as good without the crumble topping?
Stacey says
They are much better with the crumble topping.
Amy Caldwell says
I just made these for our breakfasts this week. They are delicious! Definitely a recipe I will be making again.
Stacey says
Hi Amy, Thank you so much for giving these a try and taking the time to share your kind words about them. I have also been having these at breakfast with coffee.
Eli Betancourt says
Hi, I'm planning to make these tonight, so excited because they sound delicious, but I'm wondering if I can use coconut sugar for the bar mix too? I'm planning use it for the crumbles so thinking on use it for both. Also ask you if home made pumpkin purée actually works? I like to make my own 🙂
Thank you, Eli B
Stacey says
Eli, if you will be subbing the coconut sugar for maple syrup, then you might want to add a little more milk of choice (coconut or almond milk) to the recipe to make sure there is enough liquid in the creamy pumpkin part of the recipe. I have not used homemade puree in this, as the canned or boxed kind is available year round, and pumpkin season is short here. I also know it is more runny texture, so not sure if it would set up okay.
Tracy says
Hi, Is it one cup of sweetener? The recipe just says "cup Sweetener of choice" I didn't know if it was missing a 1, or 1/2 or something like that. Should it be a liquid sweetener or granulated? Thanks. I'm looking forward to trying these!
Stacey says
Tracey, it is: sweetener of choice: (1/3 cup maple syrup), or (1/3 low carb maple syrup + 25 drops liquid stevia), or (1/2 cup granular erythritol + 1/2 cup water). That extra word cup was not supposed to be there but appeared after updating my recipe card plugin.
Karin says
What a delicious treat!!!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I loved the fact that it doesn't ask for almond flour, or almond butter, and that maple syrup can be substituted. Here in Brazil those are very expensive ingredients. I used powder stevia instead and it worked perfectly. The first time I doubled the recipe, tomorrow I'll make 6x the batch and freeze some. I no longer can live without those bars!!!!
xoxo from Brazil
Stacey says
Hi Karin, I'm so thrilled that these worked out so well for you. Almond flour is expensive where I live too! I make my own almond flour by grinding up almond slivers in a processor. I should make my own almond butter, but I don't have a powerful enough food processor to make it very smooth. My step brother lives in Brasil and loves it there!
Dawn Wade says
These have turned out great for me both times I've tried. I usually stop reading & move on to another recipe after more than 7 or 8 ingredients because it looks too complicated, but this recipe is totally worth it. I'm glad I came back to read the other comments because doubling the recipe in a 9 x 13 pan sounds like a great idea. I'm also wondering if these would do well baked in individual cupcake liners (paper/foil)?
Stacey says
Dawn, Thank you for trying the recipe, and your kind words. Yes, I've made these in muffin pan with the cupcake liners and it works well.
Cassie says
Hi Stacey,
I can't find erythritol in any local stores and I don't have time to wait for a shipped package. What would you suggest as a low carb granulated sweetener if I can't find coconut sugar either? Thank you!
Stacey says
Cassie, you could use Truvia or other low carb granular sweeteners as well.
Catherine B says
These look awesome! I can't wait to try them. My daughter's first-grade teacher is celiac, so this looks perfect for a Thanksgiving teacher gift for her (and for me to snack on ;-))! Will they hold their shape if they can't be in the fridge all day? We live in Florida and I worry they'll melt before the school day is out.
Stacey says
Hi Catherine, Thank you so much. I would try to keep them in the fridge a much as possible. Maybe her school has a fridge in the office, or cafeteria that you can keep them in?
Kelly says
These bars were AMAZING! I made them this morning before church, and popped them in the fridge to set. I brought them to my mom's house for a family dinner this evening (I also doubled the recipe and made it in a 9x13 pan) and served it with the paleo whipped coconut cream from paleo cupboard. Needless to say, EVERY SINGLE PERSON loved it!! Honestly it was one of the best desserts I have made- especially because nobody knew it was gluten free- and no one cared ha ha. My aunt and I try to avoid gluten and dairy so this was just right for us, and I didn't feel bloated and tired after dessert which is usually the case. Thank you for the wonderful recipe, great instructions and I will be trying more of your recipes this week! 😀
Stacey says
Kelly, thank you for your kind words and positive feedback. It really makes my day! 🙂
~ Stacey
Sandy says
I can't wait to try these. I love pumpkin and so does my family.
Stacey says
Sandy, thank you trying these. I think you will like them.
~Stacey
Dawn Knowles says
We made these tonight. They were amazing. I doubled the recipe like others said and baked it in a 9x13 pan. I also don't tolerate nuts well, so I used chopped sunflower seeds in the topping and they worked great. Thanks for the great recipe.
Stacey says
Dawn, thank you for trying the recipe and letting know your results. I also use the ground sunflower seeds in place of almond meal in some recipes, and they work well.
~Stacey
Kristina says
Could I use Honey instead of Maple Syrup?
Stacey says
Kristina, you can use honey instead of maple syrup
~stacey
Rebecca Daniels says
I already know I'm going to love these! So I planning on making the 9 x 13 pan right away. How long do you cook the 9 x 13 size? I don't want to overcook them 🙂 Thanks!
Stacey says
Rebecca, thank you. I think you could bake for anywhere between 28 to 30 minutes. Test at 25 minutes to see if the middle is done.
~Stacey
dee says
These are great! Kids love them. Tastes like pumpkin pie cake!
Stacey says
Dee, thank you for the feedback. My kids think they taste like pumpkin pie cake too, and they prefer them to pumpkin pie.
Sincerely,
Stacey
Gretchen says
Doubling the recipe and using 9X13 worked really well...my bars came out almost cakey, and such a great pumpkin taste! My improvised topping was good, but it didn't 'stick' to bar as much...probably adding some coconut oil will help that. I bet some kind of coconut cream whip would taste great on top of this too. Great recipe!
Stacey says
Gretchen, thank you for the great feedback! Yes, I think the coconut oil does really help the toppings stick. The topping I made is pretty sticky. I usually do put the whipped coconut cream on top of it too, and it is my favorite way to serve it.
Thank you for trying it and commenting.
sincerely,
Stacey
Gretchen says
I just made these tonight...going to take some to work tomorrow and to my tennis social. I made one batch per the recipe in an 8X8 pan, and then doubled the recipe and put it in a 9X13, and changed the topping to a 'sprinkle' of the almond/pecan meal, spices, sugar, and shredded coconut. It browned nicely. I will report back tomorrow after we eat some of them!
Stacey says
Gretchen, thank you for giving these a try and commenting. I doubled the batch this time too since I had a large group over this year for Thanksgiving. Let me know how your topping turned out. I love it when people get creative with the recipes and put their own stamp on it.
Sincerely,
Stacey
Kelly says
I really love your recipes!.
Stacey says
Kelly you really made my day! It brings me joy to hear that! Thank you, I really appreciate that you try the recipes and comment:)
Sincerely,
Stacey
Tezra says
These were incredible!!! So moist and just the right amount of sweetness! What a tasty fall treat! Thank you for this recipe! Will definitely have to wow all those unhealthy skeptics with this recipe!
Stacey says
Terra, Thank you so much for commenting. I am thrilled you enjoyed them. Your comment made my week! So sweet of you to try these, and take the time to give feedback!
Sincerely,
Stacey
erin says
Where do you add the syrup?
Stacey says
Hello Erin, you add the maple syrup in step three. It was there, but disappeared. I put it back in the directions. Sorry, I must of lost it when transferring my recipe from Microsoft word to the website. Thank you for letting me know.
Sincerely,
Stacey
Mary Johnson says
Hey there! any idea how long these will last? I'd like to make them Wednesday evening for a party on Saturday... think they'd be okay in the fridge for a couple days?
Stacey says
Hello Mary, Yes they should be fine in the fridge for a couple days. As long as they stay in the fridge, there shouldn't be any problems. I have made them in advance before and it was fine. I would think they would be good for at least 5 days in fridge before starting to dry out.
Thank you for commenting.
Sincerely,
Stacey
Carole says
I just got a chuckle out of your "crab" count.... I believe you meant carbs, right? 🙂
Stacey says
Carole, that typo some how snuck by Microsoft word, lol. At least I didn't type "crap count" again. My typing is not very accurate, lol.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention, so I could fix it before any crabs were harmed.
Stacey~