Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Published Nov 12, 2023 Updated Oct 12, 2026
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A sweet and easy gluten-free pumpkin bars recipe for any festive occasion! Light and fluffy pumpkin cake squares filled with pumpkin pie flavors and topped with cream cheese icing–the ultimate dessert for a cozy Fall season! With a dairy-free option!
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Bars
A light, fluffy, gluten-free pumpkin bar recipe topped with delicious cream cheese frosting. All the pumpkin pie flavors, the soft, moist cake texture, and a sweet and creamy topping. What could be better than that?!
These gluten-free pumpkin squares are a lightened-up version, made with applesauce instead of oil and simple pantry ingredients that you probably already have on hand. I’ve included dairy-free and low-sugar options so you can customize this dessert to your dietary needs, taste, and preferences!
These take just a few minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake. They’re the perfect dessert for Fall holidays, potlucks, and gatherings big or small!
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten-free flour blend: I always test and recommend all-in-one blends that are a 1:1 swap with all-purpose flour. My favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. My other favorite all-in-one blends include Cup4Cup gluten-free flour and King Arthur gluten-free flour.
- White sugar: For low sugar, replace with Swerve. It’s a 1:1 swap.
- Pumpkin pie spice: This spice blend is a mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger. It’s typically pretty easy to find in stores, but you can always make your own. See expert tips for the recipe.
- Canned pumpkin puree: Make sure this is a plain can of unsweetened pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Unsweetened applesauce: I use applesauce instead of coconut oil or another cooking oil for a lightened-up version of your typical pumpkin cake bar.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese: Softened to room temperature.
- Powdered sugar: You can substitute maple syrup to taste.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal. Whisk together the dry ingredients: all-purpose gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl.
Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients: granulated sugar, canned pumpkin, applesauce, and eggs in a separate large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until the batter is smooth and all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Step 3 & 4: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 5: In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and unsalted butter together until creamy and smooth with an electric hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until the icing is well combined and smooth.
Step 6: Once the pumpkin bars have cooled completely, spread the cream cheese icing evenly over the top. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. Enjoy!
Mac’s Pro TipS
Recipe Tips
- Dairy-Free: The recipe for the pumpkin bars is completely dairy-free. If you want to make the cream cheese frosting dairy-free, substitute vegan butter and non-dairy cream cheese as alternatives to regular cream cheese and butter.
- Low-Sugar: For a low-sugar option, substitute Swerve granulated sugar for the white sugar in the pumpkin bars and Swerve powdered sugar for the powdered sugar.
- Gluten-Free Flour: When you choose a gluten-free flour blend, make sure that you look for 1:1 blends. This means they are a direct substitute for regular all-purpose flour and contain xanthan gum, which is a key ingredient in gluten-free baking. It helps with the structure and texture of gluten-free baked goods (which is the job of gluten in wheat flour).
- Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice: 3 tbsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice, and 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves. Combine in a small bowl, then use 2 tsp in this recipe and save the rest in your spice cabinet.
- Mix-ins: Feel free to add chopped pecans or walnuts, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips into your pumpkin bar batter.
More Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipes
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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bars
- 2 cups gluten-free I use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 baking flour
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar* for low sugar replace with Monk Fruit or Swerve, it's a 1:1 swap
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz block cream cheese or swap for dairy-free (I love Kitehill)
- 1/2 cup butter or swap for dairy-free/vegan butter
- 2` tsp s vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, canned pumpkin, applesauce, and eggs. Mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until the batter is smooth and all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it out evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once the pumpkin bars have cooled completely, spread the cream cheese icing evenly over the top. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. Enjoy!
Cream Cheese Icing
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and unsalted butter together until creamy and smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until the icing is well combined and smooth.
Notes
- Dairy-Free: The recipe for the pumpkin bars is completely dairy-free. If you want to make the cream cheese frosting dairy-free, substitute vegan butter and non-dairy cream cheese as alternatives to regular cream cheese and butter.
- Low-Sugar: For a low-sugar option, substitute Swerve granulated sugar for the white sugar in the pumpkin bars and Swerve powdered sugar for the powdered sugar.
- Gluten-Free Flour: When you choose a gluten-free flour blend, make sure that you look for 1:1 blends. This means they are a direct substitute for regular all-purpose flour and contain xanthan gum, which is a key ingredient in gluten-free baking. It helps with the structure and texture of gluten-free baked goods (which is the job of gluten in wheat flour).
- Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice: 3 tbsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1.5 tsp ground allspice, and 1.5 tsp ground cloves. Combine in a small bowl, then use 2 tsp in this recipe and save the rest in your spice cabinet.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- To freeze, wrap individually in plastic wrap, place in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are so moist and delicious. The cream cheese icing was such a nice balance.
Blown away by this recipe! I used Swerve sugar and they didn’t last long at all. My boyfriend wants them again next weekend.
This makes me so happy. Thank you so much!
I love your GF/DF recipes!!! I have a question, I just found out I’m sensitive to eggs and usually in baked good sub Apple sauce for eggs but the recipe already has Apple sauce, do you have any suggestions how I can sub out eggs?
Added 2 tsp of cinnamon also and a little extra salt. For the sugar, I cut it down and used 1 cup white and 1/3 c of brown. You cannot tell these are gluten freeand I used Great Value GF flour. Great recipe!!