Pumpkin Pecan Pie Bars

Pumpkin pecan pie bars are made with a homemade sugar-cookie crust, pumpkin filling and a pecan streusel topping for one fantastic Thanksgiving dessert. Recipe includes a gluten-free option.

If there’s one thing we love about Thanksgiving, it’s all of the desserts.

In our family, we like to have a mix of some traditional pies, such as classic pecan pie, and less-traditional favorites, such as pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin cream cheese pie. 

This recipe for pumpkin pecan pie bars is one that comes from my friend Erin over at Texanerin Baking. She shared the recipe with us several years ago and I was recently reminded at how much I love these bars.

I mean, combining two classic Thanksgiving pies into one delicious bar dessert? That’s a hard combo to beat.

Fuss-free pumpkin pecan pie bars

I’ve been wanting to combine pumpkin and pecan pie for a while now. A combination of the two just sounded more delicious than a regular pumpkin or pecan pie!

I originally wanted to make a pumpkin pecan pie, but the filling plus topping was just a little bit too much for a pie dish. Then I went with mini pies, and though super cute, they took forever to prepare and kind of stuck to the muffin liners. 

So here we have the easiest and least fussy version – pumpkin pecan pie bars!

My favorite part of these bars is the crust. I’ve never been a big fan of crust (unless we’re talking chocolate cookie crust, like in these mini pumpkin cheesecakes!) but this isn’t your ordinary crust.

There’s half a cup of sugar in there, making this more of a sugar cookie-like crust. And it’s awesome.

If you have any gluten-free family members, this is a great treat that you can easily make gluten-free. I like to use the Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour – it’s an easy sub for all-purpose flour

That’s all you need to make this recipe gluten-free! And honestly, it’s just as delicious as the all-purpose flour version. If you have that flour, then you can also make my pumpkin cupcakes, which are honestly the best pumpkin cupcakes I’ve ever had!

How to make these pumpkin pecan pie bars

Even though this recipe has 3 components to make – the crust, the pumpkin pie filling, and the pecan topping – don’t stress. These bars are actually quite easy to make! 

Ingredients you’ll need

Instead of a traditional pie crust, we’re going to make a sugar-cookie-like crust for these bars. You’ll need:

• ½ cup room-temperature unsalted butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking mix for a gluten-free version

Make sure your butter is softened before you mix the crust together. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my tips for softening butter quickly. 

Next, we’ll make the pumpkin pie filling. For that, you will need:

• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 large room-temperature eggs

When buying your pumpkin, make sure you grab pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has extra ingredients that will throw off the ratio for this recipe.

I love adding some brown sugar to this filling. If you are out of brown sugar, you can make a quick brown sugar substitute to use instead. 

Evaporated milk comes in 2 sizes: 5-ounce and 12-ounce cans. This recipe uses the smaller can size, so make sure that’s what you’re grabbing at the store.

Finally, we’ll mix together a simple pumpkin streusel for the pecan topping. That will need:

• ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking mix for a gluten-free version
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ cup room-temperature unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

I like to use cinnamon for the pecan topping, but you could also use pumpkin pie spice if you want to bring those ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove flavors through the entire dessert.

Making this recipe

Start by making the sugar-cookie crust. Use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This will take about 3-5 minutes. 

Add the vanilla, salt, and flour and mix on low until combined and crumbly.

Press the crust dough into a parchment-lined 8×8-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 15-17 minutes, just until the crust starts to brown around the edges.

Set the crust aside to cool for about 15 minutes while you prepare the pumpkin and pecan portions.

For the pumpkin pie filling, whisk together all of the ingredients except for the eggs. Once the mixture is well combined, add the eggs and whisk until incorporated. Set this aside.

For the pecan topping, mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Use your fingertips to mix the softened butter in, then stir in the pecans.

Pour the pumpkin filling evenly over the crust, then sprinkle the pecan streusel on top. 

Bake the pumpkin pecan pie bars for 40 minutes. The topping should be crisp and the middle should be set.

Let the bars cool completely before cutting and enjoying with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. 

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