Keto Pumpkin Chocolate Bars are such a simple and easy dessert recipe and perfect for the fall baking season. Moist and spicy pumpkin bars can be served for breakfast, brunch, or as a snack. However, since they have a fancy gooey chocolate center, these sugar-free pumpkin bars are fancy enough to be served as a dessert at any Holiday gathering.
Keto Pumpkin Bars
This bar recipe is the epidemy of what one would call a "fall dessert". It is also probably one of my easiest-ever keto dessert bar recipes. Just like my Easy No-Bake Keto Collagen Peanut Butter Bars or these Keto Cereal S'mores Bars, Mr. Grumbles and I like to eat keto bars for breakfast, as a snack, or even as dessert.
Spicy, dense, and rich pumpkin with a creamy chocolate filling, what more could one want?! You will fall in love with these that you will be making these sugar-free pumpkin bars all year round.
Only one bowl only about 15 minutes of prep time before these easy keto pumpkin bars are put in the oven to bake.
Why you will love these Keto Pumpkin Bars
Once you make these keto pumpkin bars with chocolate, you are going to fall in love with one bite! Here are some other reasons you are going to love these easy keto pumpkin bars:
- ridiculously easy to make
- ready in no time
- fancy enough for a holiday dinner but simple enough for an afternoon snack
- a wonderfully rich pumpkin flavour
- delicious chocolate filling
- gluten-free, sugar-free and low carb
Ingredients for Keto Pumpkin Chocolate Bars
If you have a can of pumpkin, then you most likely have all the remaining ingredients to make these easy keto pumpkin bars!
- Peanut butter - Although this may seem like an odd ingredient, pumpkin and peanut butter go extremely well together. The peanut butter mellows out the pumpkin flavour and lends to a more creamy bar. However, if you do not have any peanut butter, you can use unsalted butter instead.
- Sweetener - I used Lakanto Golden for these keto pumpkin chocolate bars but I am fairly certain that any type of sweetener will work. Just remember that all keto sweeteners have varying levels of sweetness so you may need to change the quantity in the recipe to suit your taste. Lastly, don't forget that allulose browns quickly so your bars will have a more golden exterior if you use allulose.
- Egg - The egg will help bind the ingredients. Make sure that you take your egg out of the fridge ahead of time to come to room temperature.
- Pumpkin puree - Make sure that you use pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling. The best pumpkin puree on the market is Libby's and can be found at almost all grocery stores.
- Almond flour and Whey - To keep these keto sugar-free pumpkin bars low in carbs, almond flour is used instead of regular flour. I use superfine almond flour but I do believe that almond meal could work in this recipe. Whey protein powder helps to add more structure and lift to the bars. You can use plain or vanilla whey protein powder.
- Sugar-Free Chocolate - My new favourite sugar-free chocolate is by Bake Believe. Their chocolate melting wafers work best in this recipe. However, you can always use a sugar-free chocolate bar, such as Lily's Dark Chocolate Bar instead. Although you can use chocolate chips, the chips will not melt as well and you will therefore not get the chocolate gooey center.
- baking powder, salt, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon
Instructions for Keto Pumpkin Bars with Chocolate
These sugar-free pumpkin bars come require only 1 bowl and come together quickly!
Beat the peanut butter, sweetener, and egg in a bowl until light and fluffy.
Add in the remaining ingredients (except for the chocolate!) and beat until fully incorporated.
Spread ⅔rds of the batter in an aluminum-lined loaf pan. Add the chocolate to the top of the bars.
Carefully spread the remaining pumpkin batter, over the chocolate and bake at 400 degrees F. for 5 minutes and then drop the temperature to 350 degrees F for the remaining until the middle has set, about 20-30 minutes.
Easy Variations for Keto Pumpkin Bars
Here are a couple of different variations on these keto pumpkin bars:
- Use sugar-free white chocolate chips instead of chocolate
- Bake the bars without chocolate chips and drizzle the bars with sugar-free caramel sauce
- Frost these sugar-free pumpkin bars with Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting
Why do you use a sugar-free chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips?
Chocolate chips are designed to resist melting. Chocolate bars on the other hand are meant to melt. Since I wanted a rich and gooey chocolate layer, I opted for a sugar-free chocolate bar instead of chips
Can I use chocolate chips instead of a chocolate bar?
If you don't have a chocolate bar on hand, you can either use chocolate chips and sprinkle them over the top. Or, if you want a little more creaminess to the chocolate layer, you can melt the chocolate chips with ¼ teaspoon of coconut oil in the microwave (at 50% power), stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate has melted. Once melted, carefully pour the mixture over the pumpkin layer.
Why is there such a large variation in the final baking time?
Baking time is dependent on which type of cookware you use. Since we are making these keto pumpkin bars in a loaf pan, the type of loaf pan may be different than what I used. Since I was using a ceramic loaf pan that is quite thick and requires additional time to heat the actual ceramic, my bars took a total of 35 minutes. However, if you are using a silicon loaf pan, your bars may only take a total of 25 minutes.
Why did you add cinnamon to the pumpkin pie spice?
As much as I love pumpkin pie spice, I sometimes find it a little "strong" in flavour. To combat this, I often reduce the amount of pumpkin pie spice and a dash of cinnamon powder. This is purely to suit my tastes so feel free to use any spice or combination that you wish.
Why do you bake these keto pumpkin chocolate bars at two different temperatures?
If you use two temperatures for baking these sugar-free pumpkin bars, you will get a slightly taller and lightly crisp top as opposed to using just one temperature.
Can I use allulose in this recipe?
Yes. However, keep in mind that allulose causes browning much quicker than other keto sweeteners so you may need to loosely cover the bars so that they do not get too brown on the top.
Why did you make this in a 9 x 5 loaf pan?
Making a smaller version allows everyone to bake without feeling obliged to finish off the whole pan (although I am almost sure you are going to want to after you take your first bite!). If you want to make a larger serving size, simply double the recipe and bake these bars in an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9-inch pan
Why do you add whey protein powder to the baking mix?
Whey protein powder adds the necessary protein to help to lift these bars. Since gluten-free flours such as almond flour and coconut flour do not contain very much protein, they tend to create more dense baked goods. By adding a little whey protein powder, the protein content of our baked goods increases and helps to give gluten-free desserts a little extra rising power!
What type of pumpkin can you use in this bar recipe?
Any type of pure pumpkin will work. I used basic canned pumpkin from my grocery store. If you want, you can always roast your own pumpkin and then puree it in a food processor to make homemade pureed pumpkin. Make sure that you do not use Pumpkin pie filling as this is NOT the same as pure pumpkin.
How should you store these Keto Peanut Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Bars?
You can store these bars in an airtight container on the counter for about 2 days or you can place them in the fridge for about 5 days. These bars freeze really well and will stay for about 3 months in the freezer.
More Keto Fall Recipes
Looking for other keto fall recipes like this? Try these:
More Keto Bar Recipes
These are some of my favourite easy keto bar recipes:
Keto Pumpkin Chocolate Bars
Keto Pumpkin Chocolate Bars are such a simple and easy dessert recipe and perfect for the fall baking season. Moist and spicy pumpkin bars can be served for breakfast, brunch or a snack. But with a fancy gooey chocolate center, these bars are fancy enough to be served as a dessert on any Holiday gathering.
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 10 bars 1x
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin "Blondies":
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ⅓-½ cup brown sugar substitute
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tbsp whey protein powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the Filling:
- 2-3 oz sugar-free chocolate bar, chopped, depending on how chocolatey you want your bars.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray it well.
- In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, sweetener and egg and beat for 30 seconds. Add in the almond flour, whey, vanilla, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon (if using), baking powder and salt. Beat until all the ingredients have been incorporated. Remove ⅓ rd of the mixture and set it aside. Spread the remaining ⅔ of the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top and sprinkle the sugar-free chocolate over the top of the batter.
- Drop dollops of the reserved batter over the top of the chocolate layer. Spread the dollops out to try and get a smooth layer of batter over top.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F. and then drop the temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue to bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until the center begins to set (you can also test the bars with a toothpick which should come out clean when inserted although it might come out with a little batter on it which is fine.)
- Allow the bars to cool for 20 minutes and then using the aluminum foil or parchment paper, remove the bars and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into 10 pieces
Notes
- These bars are 72% fat so fit well into a keto diet
- Feel free to use butter instead of peanut butter
- For less sweet bars, use only ⅓ cup of sweetener.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Dessert, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American, Fall
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 138
- Sugar: 1.6
- Fat: 7.5
- Carbohydrates: 8.5
- Fiber: 3.1
- Protein: 4.2
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