These Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars (Baby-Led Weaning) have only five simple ingredients and are a great fall-season recipe for babies!
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Healthy Pumpkin Breakfast Bars
These breakfast bars are naturally sweetened with bananas. They are also egg-free, dairy-free, and flour-free, and so easy to make! These chewy bars have the perfect texture for the little ones to enjoy!
Reasons to Love These Healthy Pumpkin Oat Bars
- These pumpkin oat bars are soft and chewy, great for babies. You can cut them into fingers for Baby-Led Weaning!
- This recipe is easily adaptable for toddlers and older kids. For older kids, add some dark chocolate chips to the recipe and make pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal bars, OR add some pure maple syrup.
- It is a 1-bowl recipe, so easy to clean up!
- This is a great recipe to bake with kids! Have them mash the bananas and press the mixture into the loaf tin; they will be even more interested in eating afterward.
- Healthy! Full of fiber and wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars
Read the recipe card at the end of this post for ingredient quantities and instructions!
- Bananas: Bananas are the primary source of sweetness of these pumpkin oatmeal bars. The riper the bananas, the sweeter the bars will be!
- Pumpkin puree: You can use canned or homemade pumpkin puree. Be sure to use regular puree (100% pumpkin) instead of pumpkin pie filling containing other ingredients (including sugar).
- Desiccated coconut: Added for flavor and texture. Make sure to use sugar-free coconut.
- Quick oats: I prefer quick oats in babies’ recipes, as they provide the perfect chewy texture for little ones. Look for gluten-free oats for a gluten-free version.
- Pumpkin pie spice: This spice brings a warm pumpkin flavor to these bars. If you don’t have pumpkin spice on hand, use ground cinnamon.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180C) and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, mash the bananas until smooth.
- Add the pumpkin puree, coconut, oats, and pumpkin spice.
- Mix until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan and press it firmly with a spatula.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the edges are slightly golden-brown.
- Remove the pumpkin oatmeal bars from the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing them into bars.
Recipe Notes
- I recommend greasing the loaf tin and adding a piece of parchment paper to make it easy to remove the oatmeal pumpkin bars before slicing.
- Use an 8×8 brownie pan for thinner bars and adjust the baking time.
- If the bars are not cooled enough before cut, they may break apart.
- If serving these pumpkin bars to older toddlers or kids over 2 years of age, you may add a little maple syrup or chocolate chips. However, I enjoyed them as is, and they had the perfect amount of sweetness!
Tools Needed
- 9×5 loaf pan
- Parchment paper
- Medium mixing bowl
- Silicone Spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
Serving Suggestions and Substitutions
These oatmeal pumpkin bars are the perfect fall-season breakfast recipe! Here are my favorite ways to serve them to babies, toddlers, and kids!
- Babies: 6-9m, cut into “fingers” for the baby to hold using a palmar grasp.
- 9-12m, cut into small pieces for the baby to use a pincer grasp.
- Toddlers: Cut into squares; for older children (> 2-year-olds), add chocolate chips, raisins, or maple syrup for a sweeter bar.
Substitutions:
- You can substitute the pumpkin puree with sweet potato puree if desired.
- If you don’t have pumpkin spice, you can use cinnamon instead. You may also make your pumpkin pie spice by combining ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.
Storage Instructions
These healthy pumpkin bars can be stored in an airtight container for three days in the fridge and three months in the freezer.
Place them in the refrigerator overnight or directly in the microwave to defrost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! These pumpkin oatmeal bars are sugar-free, made with wholesome ingredients, and naturally sweetened with bananas.
Pumpkin puree is made with 100% pumpkin in the composition, and pumpkin pie filling has typically added sugars and other spices.
I do not recommend this change if offered to younger babies. You can make the change, but the amount of oats will likely change in volume. I suggest weighing and keeping the same weight as the quick oats.
Yes! Let them cool completely, then store them in an airtight container for three months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator overnight or microwave.
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🥣Recipe
Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars (Baby-Led-Weaning)
Equipment
- 1 9×5 Loaf Pan
Ingredients
- 2 bananas medium and extra ripe
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180C) and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, mash the bananas until smooth.
- Add the pumpkin puree, coconut, oats, and pumpkin spice.
- Mix until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan and press it firmly with a spatula.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are slightly golden-brown.
- Remove the pumpkin oatmeal bars from the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing them into bars.
Notes
- I recommend greasing the loaf tin, then adding a piece of parchment paper to easily remove the oatmeal pumpkin bars before slicing.
- For thinner bars, use an 8×8 brownie pan and adjust the baking time.
- If the bars are not cooled enough before cut, they may break apart.
- You may add a little maple syrup or chocolate chips if serving to older toddlers/kids >2 years of age. However, I enjoyed these pumpkin bars as is and they had the perfect amount of sweetness!
Nutrition
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What age do you recommend these for?
Hi Analys. I started offering this recipe when my babies were about 9 months of age. It is only sweetened with bananas but it does have a lot of texture from the quick oats. I would start with fruits, veggies, meat, grains in a simpler form, then move on to recipes like this.