Extra Light High-Protein Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bars

Autumn will be here in a heartbeat, with all its back-to-school excitement, gorgeous changing leaves, and finally, the chance to wear your favorite sweater. But mainly, autumn is all about enjoying the kind of harvest foods and seasonal flavors you first came to love in childhood. These Extra Light High-Protein Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bars have it all: pumpkin, chocolate, squash, almond butter, and the power trio of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. You will save yourself so much stress if you have these on hand on one of those busy Monday mornings when no one can seem to find their backpack. You will love these, your kids will love these, and they can be enjoyed any time of day. And they are healthy.

What’ll You Need for Extra Light High-Protein Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 15-oz can pumpkin purée 
• ¼ cup almond butter (60 g)
• 2 small zucchini or yellow squash, puréed (400 g)
• 1 Tbsp. almond (or vanilla) extract (15 g)
• 4 servings vanilla protein powder (120 g)*
• 2 cups oat flour (215 g)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 3 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. cloves
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 2-3 tsp. liquid stevia, or favorite sweetener (10-15 g)**
• 6 Tbsp. chocolate chips (90 g)
• Optional flake salt for sprinkling on top

How to Make Extra Light High-Protein Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bars:

Whisk your eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin purée, almond butter, puréed zucchini or yellow squash, and almond extract. (For the squash, just chop them up, place the pieces in a blender or food processor, and stir until smooth). Mix well. 

Add all eight of the dry ingredients listed above (the protein powder through nutmeg), although hold off on the chocolate chips. Mix until combined. I’m using Active Stacks Vanilla Protein Powder (a non-dairy, beef protein powder). I haven’t tried this recipe with any other protein powder brands yet. Regarding oat flour, you can certainly buy it or simply blend old-fashioned oats in a blender or food processor. I use gluten-free oats to keep these pumpkin pie breakfast bars gluten-free. 

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The scents alone should conjure up some memories of a fall spent in some loved one’s kitchen. Add some liquid stevia or sweetener of choice, making sure it’s one you like! Don’t throw a bunch of dry stevia in there as it can leave a weird, bitter aftertaste. If you like your breakfast bars on the sweeter side, you might want to add up to ¼ cup of maple syrup or sugar! We like our bars just slightly sweet (how the recipe is written). I like to judge by tasting the batter.

Stir in the chocolate chips and pour your mix into a parchment-lined 9×13 pan. Don’t forget the parchment paper or you’re not going to be happy with me. Bake at 350’ for about 40 minutes.

Let them cool for a bit before cutting. Sprinkle them with flake salt and serve them warm or cold (either way, you’ll have a serious crowd-pleaser on your hands). This recipe serves 16, so these breakfast bars could carry you and the kids through an entire school/workweek while giving you the protein macros you need!

Are High-Protein Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bars Gluten-Free and/or Dairy-Free?

Yes! Just make sure that you’re using gluten-free oats, dairy-free chocolate chips, and a dairy-free protein powder like Active Stacks Vanilla Protein Powder!

Serving Suggestions:

Although these pumpkin pie bars are wonderful served warm, we love ours chilled and topped with some almond milk reddi whip for a quick treat. Of course, you could also serve them in a bowl and cover them with fruit and a drizzle of nut butter!

Similar Recipes:

• Pumpkin Pie Baked Protein Oat Bars
• Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
• Brownie Baked Squash Oats
• Dairy-Free Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Oats
• Snickerdoodle Zucchini Baked Oats
• The Best Baked Oats

Extra Light Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bars:

Pumpkin and chocolate are one of those matches that were clearly made in heaven, but one you might avoid spending time with if you’re counting macros. It IS extra-light (and gf and df!) but you’ll be getting mouthfuls of all the flavors you crave this time of year. And I know we food bloggers say this kind of thing all the time, but truly, the whole family is going to love them. What’s not to love?

If you’re looking for other easy macro-balanced recipes, check out my cookbooks. I have a new cookbook in the works that I’m really excited about! And definitely follow me on Instagram and TikTok. Those are all of the places where I share the really yummy eats as well as how to make macro-friendly eating easy. 

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