These Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars are soft, chewy, and loaded with all the cozy fall spices we crave right now! Believe it or not, zucchini is the secret ingredient in this healthy pumpkin bar recipe. I know, it sounds weird, but it sneaks in extra veggies and keeps every bite ridiculously moist. If you’re craving a high protein fall dessert that still feels like a treat, these gluten-free pumpkin bars are it! If you’re craving more pumpkin recipes, I have your macro-friendly versions covered!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- Ready In: 45 minutes
- Serves: 16
- Calories: 207 cal
- Protein: 11.6g
- Fat: 7.9g
- Carbs: 24g
- Why You'll Love It: Soft, chewy, and loaded with warm fall spices, these protein pumpkin chocolate chip bars are secretly packed with zucchini for added moisture and nutrients.
About This Recipe
I love any good pumpkin recipe like the next human, so I knew I had to try and make a more macro-friendly option. I absolutely love these protein pumpkin chocolate chip bars and honestly enjoy them year round! It took a few tweaks, but my family and I are in LOVE.
We’re talking pumpkin, zucchini, almond butter, vanilla protein powder, and a sugar-free sweetener… all the good-for-you stuff, perfectly balanced with rich chocolate chips and cozy fall spices.
It was so fun trying out different versions of this recipe until I landed on the perfect combination. If you are hanging out with me on Instagram, you probably remember the different versions I tried! I am always trying new, macro-friendly recipe combinations. If you like making yummy macro-friendly food like me, you should check out my cookbooks too! They are full of yummy recipes that make macro-friendly eating easy.
Don’t take it from me! Here’s what others think:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“My absolute favorite recipe on the internet! I make these at the beginning of the week and eat off of it, it’s the best!” – Callie
Lillie’s Helpful Tips
- I like to let my almond butter sit at room temperature for a bit before mixing. It blends into the batter so much more smoothly when it’s not cold and stiff.
- Keep a close eye on the bars around the 28-minute mark. Every oven runs a little differently, so pull them out as soon as a toothpick comes out clean.
- I like to use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips rather than stirring too aggressively. It keeps the batter from getting overworked.
Main Ingredients for Pumpkin Protein Bars
- Large zucchini: I use large zucchini here, puréed. Yellow squash works just as well if you have it on hand!
- Pumpkin purée: So good for you and adds moisture so your bars don’t dry out.
- Almond butter: I love how almond butter adds healthy fats and keeps the texture rich and fudgy. Any nut or seed butter should work as a swap.
- Vanilla protein powder: I love using Active Stacks vanilla protein powder (a gluten-free, non-dairy, beef protein powder). The flavor is so yummy! I haven’t tried this recipe with any other brands yet because Active Stacks is that good.
- Oat flour: You can buy oat flour or simply blend old-fashioned oats in a blender or food processor.
- Spices: You could keep it to just Pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon, but if you like a spicier pumpkin spice as I do, adding cloves and nutmeg really makes everything pop!
- Liquid stevia: Or use your favorite sweetener! Don’t throw a bunch of dry stevia in there, as it can leave a weird, bitter aftertaste. If you like things sweeter, add up to ¼-½ cup maple syrup or sugar. We like them just slightly sweet as written.
- Flake salt (optional): I love finishing the bars with a little sprinkle of flake salt on top. It makes the chocolate flavor really pop.
Dietary Adaptations
GF/DF: Just make sure you use gluten-free oats, dairy-free chocolate chips, and a dairy-free protein powder like this one I suggested!
How to Make Protein Pumpkin Bars
- Start off by chopping your zucchini into pieces. No need to peel them— that’s where you get a lot of vitamins!
- Then throw them in the food processor and puree until smooth. If you don’t have a food processor, you could blend your zucchini in a blender as well.
- Next, whisk your eggs in a large mixing bowl. Then, add almond butter, puréed zucchini, and vanilla extract. Make sure you mix everything well before adding your dry ingredients.
- Now that your wet ingredients are ready, add protein powder, oat flour, Kosher salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Mix until combined. Then add liquid stevia or your sweetener of choice, and make sure it’s one you like!
- Stir in chocolate chips, pour into a parchment-lined 9×13 pan, and bake at 350°F for 30–35 minutes.
- Sprinkle with flaky salt and serve warm or cold, with a little butter, almond butter, honey, or whipped cream! Or, of course, plain is great too. Enjoy!
How To Store
To keep your pumpkin chocolate chip bars at their best, store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself, and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read the full privacy policy here.
Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
Equipment
- Food processor https://on.ltk.com/+2jNMpG6TQlVf6wAa2TbguA
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini or yellow squash, puréed (230g)
- 4 eggs
- 15 oz can of pumpkin purée
- 1/3 cup almond butter (90g)
- 1 ½ Tbsp vanilla extract (22g)
- 4 scoops vanilla protein powder (I'm using Active Stacks) (120g)*
- 3 cups oat flour (345g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp clove (if you like a little more spice)
- 1 tsp nutmeg (if you like a little more spice)
- 1 Tbsp liquid stevia, or favorite sweetener (15g)**
- ½ cup chocolate chips (120g)
- Optional flake salt (for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
- Chop your zucchini into pieces (no need to peel) and puree in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Whisk your eggs in a large mixing bowl.
- Add almond butter, puréed zucchini, canned pumpkin, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Add your dry ingredients (protein powder thru cinnamon) and mix until combined.
- 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.
- Stir in chocolate chips and pour into a parchment-lined 9×13 pan. (I like to sprinkle extra chocolate chips over half the pan for the kids!)
- Bake at 350°F for about 30-35 minutes.
- Sprinkle with flaky salt and serve warm or cold, with a little butter, almond butter, honey, or whipped cream! Or of course, plain is great too. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Tag @LillieEatsAndTells on Instagram with #LillieEatsandTells! We’d love to see your creations!
Amazing!!!
YAY! So glad you liked it!
I inadvertently forgot to add sweetener! But, it didn’t matter, my teenage boys loaded their plates with them and scarfed them down. Thank you for such wonderful, tasty macro friendly recipes!
yay! thank you, rachel!
My absolute favorite recipe on the internet! I make these at the beginning of the week and eat off of it, it’s the best!
I baked and it is green in the middle and has black spots (not chocolate) on the bottom less than 3 hours after baking). What caused this?
Can you use almond flour?
Love love your recipes
This was really good…reminds me of the pumpkin loaf at Starbucks.
How would you edit this recipe for high altitude?
Any recommendations for an egg substitute?
I followed the instructions and the amount of flour seems way off to me. I had to mix in about a cup of almond milk to get it to a spreadable consistency and the texture is not what I expected – like a very dense cake. An unusual miss for me as I make lots of your recipes and they are usually spot on.
That’s so weird! We’ve made them a few times. Thick but like brownie batter… what kind of protein? Did you use weight measurements by chance of the oat flour?
I used PES Science which I have used successfully in the past. I did weigh the flour vs. measure -normally I scoop into the cup and weigh just to see but didn’t this time. Maybe my squash didn’t have as much moisture?
The ingredient list includes the pumpkin puree but it doesn’t mention adding it anywhere in the instructions. We missed it when making this ☹️
Oh no! Fixed! I’m so sorry that was skipped in the instructions!
Great recipe!
The recipe instructions say to whisk eggs but the ingredient list doesn’t have eggs. Which part has the error?
Hi how many eggs?