Too nervous for pie? Guests rave about these creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars with a 2-ingredient gingersnap crust! Made with canned pumpkin, coconut sugar, and silken tofu, these foolproof bars taste like pumpkin pie, no eggs required. The best holiday dessert!
These divine bars are easy as pie, literally. We're talkin' creamy and decadent pumpkin pie in bar form complete with an insane two-ingredient crust.
Just like my beloved Healthy Pumpkin Bars, they're shockingly healthy, vegan AND gluten-free! Is this real life? We are so not intimidated.
My husband's "mmmm" after laying mouth on these was louder and lengthier than any sound he's ever muttered before. That's right, tofu got an overzealous stamp of approval by my meat-and-potatoes loving boyfriend. Let's do it!
Ingredients
- Canned pumpkin: We're using one full can of pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Make your own roasted pumpkin if you fancy.
- Silken tofu: After much trial and error, I found this is the key to creaminess and what keeps these bound together without eggs. Find it in the Asian non-refrigerated aisle of the grocery store or in the refrigerated section by the tofu. I use Nasoya brand. We don't want firm tofu here!
- Ginger snaps: When I was developing this recipe, I was keen on a very easy crust you can't mess up. Cookies for the win! I love these pecan cookies, too.
- Coconut sugar: A more natural sugar option that still as the brown sugar flavor. You can also use brown sugar.
- Corn starch: To help the mixture stay together without eggs. You could also use arrowroot or tapioca starch.
- Coconut oil: The liquid to make our crust cone together. You could also use vegan butter.
- Spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves for warm classic flavor.
How to make (step by step)
Make the crust by pulsing cookies and oil in the food processor. Press into pan.
Make the filling by adding those ingredients to the food processor.
Pour filling into crust lined pan.
Bake, cool, slice and top with whipped cream!
Storage tips
These will stay delish in the fridge for up to four days.
I do not recommend freezing these since the texture of the tofu can change.
I hope you're as obsessed with this recipe as I am!
I'd be super grateful if you'd take a moment to leave a quick star rating and review below. Comments mean the world to me and your honest feedback helps me to continue to share recipes you'll crave!
Nourishing Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 8 hours 45 mins
- Yield: 9 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Too nervous for pie? Guests rave about these creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars with a 2-ingredient gingersnap crust! Made with canned pumpkin, coconut sugar, and silken tofu, these foolproof bars taste like pumpkin pie, no eggs required. The best holiday dessert!
Ingredients
For the crust*:
- 5 oz ginger snaps (I love these pecan cookies, too!)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
For the bars:
- 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar, packed (or brown sugar)
- 8oz silken tofu*
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Line pan with parchment paper going both ways.
- Place cookies in bowl of food processor and pulse until it forms fine crumbs. Add solid coconut oil and process again for a minute or until more wet looking.
- Press mixture evenly and firmly into pan (this may take a few minutes). Bake crust for 8 minutes. Leave oven on and set crust aside to cool.
- To the same food processor bowl, add the filling ingredients. (I like to add a pinch of freshly ground pepper for extra spice!) Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour on top of baked crust and smooth out with spatula.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until filling is no longer jiggly. Cool on wire rack for an hour before placing in fridge to set for 4 hours or overnight for best results. Slice into squares and serve with whipped cream of choice! (I love So Delicious' coco whip.)
Notes
*You can find silken tofu either in the refrigerated tofu section of the grocery store or in the international aisle. It should say silken, as the recipe will not be the same with regular tofu.
GLUTEN FREE: Make sure cookies are certified gluten free.
CRUSTLESS: Recipe will work without the crust. Simply skip the the first two steps and bake filling in lined dish for 45 minutes.
Valerie says
These pumpkin pie bars are our Thanksgiving dessert go-to!! I’ve made them every year (and even once in July for my husband’s birthday - per request lol). They’re that good! Cookie crust and filling both come together in minutes. Truly a Thanksgiving recipe that makes everyone happy!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Love this so much, Val!! I need to make them again!
Jacqueline says
These are so good, I'm about to make them for the second time. I only wish the recipe was less confusing for non-Americans. I think the pumpkin needs to be converted to ml & the cookies to grams & the tofu to....? It would be a lot easier to follow if there was an actual kitchen measurement to use, not just the packaging units since most countries don't use ounces.
Alexis Joseph says
Ahh thanks so much for the feedback! I've never converted something to ml but I will definitely look into that. I'm glad you enjoyed them!
Maggie Jones says
wonderful find..will be dreaming about my first pumpkin pudding desert!
Dylan says
One of my all-time favourites! So good!
Alexis Joseph says
Yayyy!!
Diane says
These bars were so delicious I made them for Thanksgiving and again on Christmas! Mine turned out a bit dark because I was adjusting the oven to different temps due to different recipes and didn’t wait for it to adjust to the proper temp but they were still yummy!!!
Alexis Joseph says
Awesome, I'm thrilled you loved these Diane!
Janice says
This smells so good, I can't wait to taste it. I goofed! i forgot the cornstarch, but used firm tofu. Will this recipe still set once in the fridge?
Alexis Joseph says
Nice! I have never made this without the cornstarch so I can't say how it'll turn out, but that definitely helps bind it so it will likely be mushy but will taste good!
Valerie says
Made these for thanksgiving last year and came back to them again this year (as our pumpkin pie) bc we love them that much!!!! They come together in minutes - SO easy, perfectly spiced and sweetened and the cookie crust is beyondddd... Honestly love recipes like these that are so easy where crust and filling are both in the food processor (didn’t even wash it in btw) and bam... the prep is done. Also love that it uses a whole can of pumpkin so there aren’t any 2-scoop leftover situations (but also love your trick on just freezing those if needed! 😊). Used So Delicious frozen whip on this and it was AWESOME - best combo and loved not having to spend time on Thanksgiving making my own non dairy whip. Will def make this again next year and maybe throw it in a pie crust form!
Alexis Joseph says
Hahaha the 2-scoop situation...nightmare LOL. Love that So Delicious whip!! Sending you virtual hugs! XOXO
Alexis Joseph says
Yay!!
Rebecca Way says
Pumpkin pie bars are delicious! I haven’t found a better recipe in my eight years being vegan!
Alexis Joseph says
Yayyyy, thanks a ton Rebecca!!
Colleen Reeves says
My husband and I are not GF or vegan and we LOVED these bars. Such a wonderful, creamy texture with the perfect crunch from the crust. These bars are my go-to treat in the fall!
Alexis Joseph says
Thanks so much, Colleen! These are a favorite around here.
Frances says
so would using an egg in place of silken tofu work? Do you know the ratio if it does?
Alexis says
I've never tried this with eggs since I formulated it to be vegan. Traditional pumpkin pie recipes call for 3 eggs and 1 cup evaporated milk. I would use another recipe if you're looking for one that's been tested with eggs to ensure it will turn out. Enjoy
Jessica says
Definitely making this for Thanksgiving! Can you swap arrowroot powder for cornstarch or will that not hold up as well? Appreciate the help and can't wait to whip this up!!
Alexis says
Definitely!
Donna Grill says
Great Recipe. Love it.
Lisa says
Oh boy, I've been searching forever for vegan pumpkin pie that isn't too difficult to make! I'm wondering if I can adapt this recipe with a vegan pie crush, hmmm.
Looks delicious!!
Alexis says
Yes for sure you can! Just pour it into the pre baked pie crust and bake until set.
Kim says
OMG...these are delicious!!!
So good! The crust is perfect.
I bought a 16 ou tofu, so I have 8 ou left. I am going to make the crustless version next. Do you recommend I drain the tofu?
Thank you for sharing!!!
Alexis says
So glad you liked it!!! Yes always drain 🙂
Kim says
Thank you!!
Leah says
Is there a substitute for the tofu? I can’t do soy.?
Alexis says
No, sorry girl!
Chris says
Can you tell me where you purchase simple mills toasted pecan cookies?
Alexis says
Sure! I buy them at Kroger, which I linked to in the post. You can also find them at Whole Foods or buy them online through Amazon.
Kaitlyn says
I was skeptical about a tofu pumpkin bar, but these turned out AMAZING! I love this recipe, and I’m definitely making this again. Thank you for sharing!
Alexis says
Yayyy so glad you loved them!
Suzanne@feedinglove says
Oh this looks incredible! I will have to look for simple mills this weekend. I have some silken tofu waiting for a new recipe so this is perfect :). I make a PB pie with it every year for my husband's birthday - no one knows it is in there and the pie gets devoured!
Bryan says
The pecan crust is definitely a game changer! I want to try this recipe out just for that. I already texted this recipe to my girlfriend so we can get the ingredients
Paula says
About how many cookies is 5 oz? Or can u give cup measurements for crust
Alexis Joseph says
It varies box to box so check the weight of the package--this 10oz box for example would add up to 25 cookies, or half the package. Hope that helps!
Kori says
These look and sound ah-mazing!!! I love the sound of the crust, and I'm excited to make a baked good with tofu. Yum!
Cora says
YUM!! I looovveee desserts made with silken tofu. It's seriously a magic ingredient - but I haven't yet thought of using it with pumpkin! Feels like a no brainer now. I'm just going to have to see if I can get these cookies in Canada, or find myself a suitable alternative.
Alexis says
Me too--totally agree that it's straight MAGIC!