Deliciously soft & chewy, pumpkin granola bars with pecans & chocolate. Vegan, gluten-free & perfect for Fall!
And so the pumpkin recipes begin!
I have a few awesome pumpkin themed recipes planned, and this is the first.
In case you haven't gathered, I am a massive pumpkin fan. There is just something about their cute pudginess that makes me smile.
I love going to the local pumpkin patch to pick my pumpkins. Pumpkins as far as the eye can see in all directions! My son is past wanting to decorate pumpkins for Halloween, and in his words wouldn't be seen dead at a pumpkin patch so I tend to go alone, or drag my poor husband along for company.
I will never be too old for pumpkins!
Once I have my pumpkin stash, I tend to make my own puree as I need it. I literally just cut my pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and place the two halves face down on a baking sheet covered with either baking parchment or a Silpat. I then roast on 380 until soft. Once the pumpkin has cooled down I scoop out the soft flesh and store it in mason jars in the fridge until it is needed. If you can't be bothered to do this then canned puree works just as well in this recipe.
These Pumpkin Granola Bars with Pecans & Chocolate are deliciously soft and chewy. The crunchy pecans add great texture and the flavour goes so well with pumpkin. The bars themselves aren't too sweet so if you decide to make them without the chocolate then you might want to add a little more sugar (1 -2 tablespoons more max). With the added chocolate drizzle the balance of sweetness is perfect.
I would love to hear what you think of these Pumpkin Granola Bars with Pecans & Chocolate so please leave your comments below. If you are on Instagram feel free to share your pictures with me (@avirtualvegan). I love to see your versions of my recipes. Add the hashtag #avirtualvegan so I don't miss them!
Pumpkin, Pecan & Chocolate Granola Bars
Author:Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 180g / 2 cups rolled oats
- 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds (you could sub these for chia seeds)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (see recipe notes)
- 40g / ⅓ cup pecan nuts , chopped
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar (any other granulated sugar will also work)
Wet ingredients
- 4 tablespoons cashew butter , or almond
- 112g / ½ cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 4 tablespoons / ¼ cup brown rice syrup (see recipe notes)
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses (if you don't have blackstrap molasses add an extra tablespoon of rice syrup instead)
For the chocolate drizzle
- 90g / ½ cup dairy free chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons non dairy milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Line a 8 x 8 pan with baking parchment so it hangs over the sides.
- Add all the dry ingredients EXCEPT the sugar to a large bowl and stir well.
- Add all the wet ingredients and the sugar to a small saucepan.
- Heat over a medium heat, stirring frequently until everything has melted and is well combined (this takes a couple of minutes).
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir really well.
- Pour into your prepared tin and press down evenly all over.
- Add to the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove and leave to cool in the tray for 30 minutes.
- Cut into 10 pieces. A pizza cutter works very well for this.
- Add the milk and chocolate chips to a small bowl and melt gently over a pan of simmering water or very carefully in the microwave.
- Drizzle over the top of the bars and refrigerate until set.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Joanie Lewis says
Hi Mel - always wonderful to try one of your delicious recipes. I used coconut nectar and they wanted to crumble when cutting. They stayed together but don't look as perfect as yours! All the same, they taste delicious. Thanks for all your hard work and commitment.
Melanie McDonald says
If you used coconut nectar instead of the brown rice syrup that will be why they didn't hold together as well. The rice syrup is the "glue" in this recipe. So pleased you enjoyed them though and thank you!
Annie Csak says
Bought my first pumpkin today, so cute I really don't want to use it. However, can I substitute Date Syrup for the Brown Rice Syrup?.....I might have to buy me another pumpkin to keep on my counter.
A Virtual Vegan says
Date syrup is a totally different consistency and might not hold the bars together so well. The rice syrup is really thick and gloopy so holds them together really well and makes them lovely and chewy.
Gill says
We have them here in the UK in Lincolnshire. and Cambridgeshire
A Virtual Vegan says
Do you mean pumpkin patches? It's funny as when I was living in the UK I didn't ever hear about them but now I don't live there I notice that they are all over the place. Devon and Cornwall have quite a few too. I really regret not going to them when my son was small!
Aidan says
Hi!! I'm super excited to try this but can you specify exactly which ingredients are the dry and which are the wet?
Sorry for the silly question!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Aiden, Not a problem. I am sure if you are wondering lots of other people will be too, so I have amended the ingredients list to show the wet and the dry ingredients. I hope you enjoy them!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Colette. It's weird there aren't pumpkin patches in the UK. It never crossed my mind when I lived there. Perhaps as pumpkins lay on the ground while growing they don't do well in the UK because it's generally a bit wetter?
I'm certainly making up for years without them now!
Katie says
Hey her! This looks like a great recipe! I was wondering what you would use to replace the rice syrup and the pumpkin spice? Not sure what pumpkin spice is and have never seen it in the UK! Thank you xx
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Katie. It seems I have lost touch with UK grocery stores having been in Canada for so long! I've just had a quick Google and it seems rice syrup is available online in the UK. Amazon has some and a few online health stores. It's a hard one to substitute. It has the texture of honey or golden syrup but isn't so sweet. You could use honey or golden syrup but the bars will be sweeter so I would omit the sugar if you do. Obviously don't use honey if you are vegan. Agave nectar would also work but again omit the sugar.
As for the pumpkin pie spice it's really easy to throw together so you could make up a small amount to keep in a little jar. You might well already have the individual spices in your store cupboard. It will come in handy to add to lots of different things. Here's a link to a recipe which has the same ingredients as mine
http://www.food.com/recipe/pumpkin-spice-66963. I think I will add the link to the recipe later in case anyone else runs into the same problem!
Su Carlson says
Oh I miss that picture of pumpkin patches. Thanks for reminding me of that wonderful view. We just don't have that in UK.
I make my own granola based on your recipe each week, adding different fits each time, for us now and the thought of adding pumpkin, or any of the squashes for that matter, and making a bar sounds like great fun.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Su! I'm glad you liked the pumpkin patch picture and I'm also glad it generated some lovely memories! Pumpkins just aren't such a big thing in the UK are they? I just love Halloween here. I'm sorry you will miss it ????
I do hope you get to eat some pumpkin though. It will remind you of the good old times here in Canada! Glad you're still enjoying my granola too. It's time o created some new flavours!
Take care xxx