Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting

If I’m being completely honest with you, I think pumpkin bars are the absolute MVP of fall baking. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a slice of pumpkin pie, but these bars? They are essentially an excuse to eat cake with your hands, and I am here for it. There is something about that specific ratio of spiced, dense cake to the thick, tangy layer of cream cheese frosting that hits the spot in a way nothing else does.

This isn’t a fancy, high-stress patisserie project. It’s a sheet pan recipe, meaning it’s rustic, forgiving, and designed to feed a crowd (or just you for a week—no judgment here). The base is incredibly moist—somewhere between a fluffy cake and a fudgy brownie—loaded with warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Why This Recipe Is Special

What makes this version stand out is the texture. I’ve tried so many recipes that turn out dry or sponge-like. By using oil instead of butter in the batter and a generous amount of pumpkin puree, we get a crumb that stays soft for days. Plus, the frosting isn’t just sugary sweet; it has that crucial tang from the cream cheese to cut through the richness of the spice.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s Impossible to Mess Up: Seriously, you don’t need advanced baking skills here. If you can stir, you can make these.
• The “Better Next Day” Factor: While they are amazing fresh, I swear they get fudgier and more flavorful after sitting in the fridge overnight.
• Crowd Pleaser: This makes a large batch. It’s perfect if you have to bring something to a potluck, office party, or family gathering.
• Customizable: You can dress them up with nuts, chocolate chips, or keep them classic.

Kitchen Tools & Ingredients

Here is exactly what you need to grab. I’ve included both US and Metric measurements so you don’t have to do any math.

The Tools

• Jelly Roll Pan (10×15 inch / 25×38 cm): This is crucial. If you use a standard 9×13 deep pan, you’ll make a cake. If you want bars, you need the larger, shallower sheet pan.
• Electric Mixer: A hand mixer or stand mixer works best for the frosting to get it super fluffy.
• Rubber Spatula: For scraping down the bowl—we don’t want to leave any batter behind!
• Sifter or Whisk: To break up clumps in the flour and spices.

The Ingredients

• Pumpkin Puree (15 oz / 425g can): Important: Make sure you buy “100% Pure Pumpkin,” not “Pumpkin Pie Filling.” The filling has pre-added spices and sugar that will throw off the recipe.
• All-Purpose Flour (2 cups / 250g): The structure of your bars.
• Sugar (1 ⅔ cups / 330g): White granulated sugar works best here for a light texture.
• Vegetable Oil (1 cup / 240ml): I use oil (canola or vegetable) instead of butter because it keeps the bars moist even when they are cold from the fridge.
• Eggs (4 large): These provide structure and lift.
• Baking Powder (2 tsp) & Baking Soda (1 tsp): The heavy lifters that help the bars rise.
• Spices: Cinnamon (2 tsp), Pumpkin Pie Spice (1 tsp). Note: If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, just add a pinch of nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
• Salt (½ tsp): To balance the sweetness.
• Cream Cheese (8 oz / 225g): Block style, full fat. Must be softened to room temperature.
• Butter (½ cup / 113g): For the frosting. Also needs to be softened.
• Powdered Sugar (2 cups / 240g): Sift it if it looks lumpy!
• Vanilla Extract (2 tsp): Use the real stuff if you have it.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Set the Stage Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease your jelly roll pan generously with butter or cooking spray. I personally like to grease the pan and line the bottom with parchment paper just to guarantee nothing sticks, but just greasing it works too.

2. Mix the Wet Ingredients In a large bowl, I want you to combine your eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and the entire can of pumpkin. Whisk this together vigorously until it’s fully combined and looks glossy and orange. It should smell amazing already.

3. Add the Dry Goods In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. My tip: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients slowly. Switch to your rubber spatula here.

4. The Gentle Fold Stir until the flour streaks just disappear. Don’t go crazy mixing it! If you over-mix flour, the bars can get tough. We want them tender.

5. Bake It Pour that gorgeous orange batter into your prepared pan. Use your spatula to spread it out to the corners so it’s even. Pop it in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. How to tell it’s done: Insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, pull it out. If it has wet batter on it, give it 2 more minutes.

6. The Hardest Part (Cooling) You have to let the bars cool completely in the pan. I know, it’s tempting to frost them while warm, but if you do, your frosting will melt into a sad, sugary puddle. Go watch an episode of your favorite show and come back in an hour.

7. Whip the Frosting While the bars cool, grab your mixer. Beat the softened cream cheese and softened butter together until they are smooth and creamy—no lumps allowed! Add the vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar (about a half cup at a time) with the mixer on low speed so you don’t get a sugar cloud in your face. Once incorporated, turn the speed up and whip it for 2 minutes until it’s fluffy.

8. Assemble Spread the frosting over the cooled bars in an even layer. Cut them into squares (I usually get about 24 bars).

Serving Ideas & Variations

• The “Fancy” Look: Sprinkle chopped walnuts or pecans on top of the frosting for a nice crunch.
• Chocolate Lover? Stir a ½ cup of mini chocolate chips into the batter before baking. Pumpkin and chocolate is an underrated combo.
• Spiced Frosting: Add a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the frosting for an extra kick of warmth.

Storage & Make-Ahead

• Fridge is Mandatory: Because of the cream cheese in the frosting, you must store these in the refrigerator. Cover them tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container.
• Freezing: These freeze surprisingly well! You can freeze the frosted bars (cut them first, freeze them on a tray, then bag them) for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Pro Tips & Secrets (Just Between Us)

The Temperature Rule: I cannot stress this enough—your cream cheese and butter for the frosting must be at room temperature. If the cream cheese is cold, you will get tiny white lumps in your frosting that no amount of mixing will fix. If you forgot to take it out, microwave the cream cheese (out of the wrapper!) for 10-15 seconds just to take the chill off.

Don’t Overbake: These bars are meant to be moist. It’s better to pull them out a minute too early than a minute too late. They will continue to cook slightly in the hot pan after you take them out of the oven.

The Pan Swap: If you don’t have a jelly roll pan (10×15), you can use a 9×13 pan, but the baking time will increase significantly (probably 35-45 mins) and they will be much thicker—more like a cake than a bar.

The Nitty Gritty

• Yields: 24 Bars
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 45 Minutes (plus cooling)
• Calories: ~280 kcal per bar

I really hope you give these a try. There is something so grounding about the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin filling the house. If you make them, I’d love to hear how they turned out—did you add walnuts? Did you eat the frosting straight out of the bowl? (I won’t tell).