Welcome all things fall and whip up a batch of pumpkin pie bars!
Pumpkin puree is mixed with sugar and spice, then baked in a buttery shortbread crust.
The result? A delightful dessert that you’ll crave on repeat!
A Fall Favorite
- This easy recipe tastes like pumpkin pie and packed with sweet spiced pumpkin flavor!
- Make them ahead, these pumpkin pie bars have simple ingredients and are perfect for making ahead of time.
- Easy serving! Cut into squares any size you need to serve a few or serve a crowd.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Pie Bars
Crust – The buttery richness of a shortbread crust balances out the sweet and savory flavor of the pie filling. Use a ready-made pie crust or make your own graham cracker crust to switch it up!
Pumpkin – Use canned pumpkin, be sure to choose pumpkin puree and not pumpkin filling (which is already seasoned and contains milk and sugar).
Filling Eggs, evaporated milk, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice are all you need to make this recipe come together. Easy peasy!
Variations – Mix in a tablespoon of maple syrup in Step 4 for a deeper flavor. Dried cranberries or toasted chopped walnuts can also be folded into the batter after the evaporated milk is poured in Step 5.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Prepare and bake shortbread crust (per the recipe below).
- Combine the remaining ingredients (except evaporated milk) in a large bowl.
- Stir in the evaporated milk and pour the filling into the crust.
- Bake until the center of the pumpkin pie bars is set.
- Cool completely and refrigerate before serving with whipped cream.
A few squirts of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup turn pumpkin pie bars into a decadent dessert. Candied pecans or homemade granola also make tasty and crunchy toppers for pumpkin pie bars!
Keeping Pumpkin Bars Fresh
Keep leftover pumpkin pie bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy them cold or heat them up in the microwave!
Squares can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months. Frozen bars will thaw by lunchtime so stick them directly in your lunchbag!
Pumpkin Spice Delights
Did your family love these Pumpkin Pie Bars? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Pumpkin Layer
- 29 ounces pumpkin puree 1 can
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 24 ounces evaporated milk 2 cans
- whipped cream or whipped topping for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×13" pan with parchment paper or grease lightly.
- Combine shortbread crust ingredients with a mixer or pastry cutter until the crumbs start to stick together. Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on.
- In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt.
- Stir in the evaporated milk. Pour into warm crust.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the center is set and no longer jiggly. Cool completely.
- Once cooled, refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. Serve topped with whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Hi I haven’t made this dish yet but was curious if by butter you meant unsalted or salted butter; also by brown sugar did you use dark or light?
Hi Daniel, we use unsalted butter and light brown sugar in this recipe :) Let us know how it turns out if you decide to try it!
These were divine! Exactly what I was looking for / needing. I can’t stand crust on a traditional pie. But this shortbread crust was exactly what I never knew existed! Thank you, thank you for revolutionizing a pie I once despised!
So glad you loved it, April! :)
We really didn’t care for these.
Just made this recipe. It’s in the oven cooking right now so can’t comment on taste yet, but just a warning to others; as I poured the filling onto the crust some of it broke apart. Maybe I poured it in too soon or I poured in too fast?? Or maybe the crust was not in the oven long enough?? Not sure how it happened but just wanted others to know. It was a very easy to make! Keeping my fingers crossed!
I hope you enjoyed it, Elaine!
Made for dessert last night. Cut recipie in half and used an 8 inch pan Everyone loved it!
This looks great for our family Thanksgiving! I think I would like finely chopped pecans in the shortbread crust. Do you think I should offset the flour by the amount of pecans used to keep the texture right?
I have never tried that, but it sounds delicious. I would love to hear how it turned out for you, Shannon!
Hello Holly, can you substitute whole milk in this recipe for the evaporated?
Evaporated milk is a bit thicker than whole milk so I can’t say for sure how it would work. I haven’t tried half and half either but I think it would be a closer consistency. If you do try either, I’d love to hear how it works for you!