Dive right into fall with these healthy chocolate chip pumpkin bread oatmeal bars! Make now for a nutritious breakfast all week long or freeze for a grab and go option when you’re in a hurry!

Vegan | Gluten Free | Nut Free & Peanut Free | Soy Free | Dairy Free

It’s that time of the month again…Recipe Redux time!!!

Here’s how it works: Every month there’s a theme and group of health-minded bloggers share recipes reflecting that theme. This months theme is…

Fantastic Freezer Meals…

Share your tips and tricks for making one, or more, freezer meals. It’s the end of the gardening season for some of us; let’s store away that produce in heat-and-eat-from-the-freezer-meals.

If you haven’t seen my past Redux contributions, here are three of my favorites…

30 Minute Spicy Lentil Bolognese

Homemade Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter

Nut Free Chocolate Chip Lara Bars

But back to the subject at hand…FREEZER MEALS.

To be 100% honest, I’m AWFUL at making freezer meals. The thing is, when I make something for my blog that would be a great freezer meal, I end up eating it all week for any meal because my freezer is the size of my pinky toe. Yes, I ate my spicy lentil bolognese for breakfast one day!

Although my freezer is small, some of my freezer essentials are homemade soups and veggie burgers, flash frozen veggies and fruit, and breakfast items so I can always have a nutritious dinner chock full of veggies and/or wake up with a nutritious meal even if I’ve been away for months on end.

Since I alwaysssss have breakfast in the house I knew I wanted to share a quick breakfast bar that is perfect for the freezer…but I don’t think they’ll last that long in your house! Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe so you do have enough to freeze and have pumpkiny, cinnamony breakfast in a minute flat! After all, September is Better Breakfast Month!

And yes, you read that right. I went there. All the way to pumpkin town. In September.

I know no one wants to push away summer, but it was chilly for a few days and I loved every second of it, so I went there! ((sorry I’m really not even the slightest teensy weensy bit sorry!))

So about these bars…and pumpkin…and the absolute BEST time of the year…

I mean, what’s better than popping open that first can of pumpkin and having that cinnamon pumpkin scent permeate throughout your home?!

NOTHING! The answer is obviously nothing!

Except maybe making your own pumpkin puree…

Growing up the only pumpkin thing I ever ate was pumpkin bread. My mom made the worlds BEST pumpkin bread (that over the years I’ve lightened it up). She also makes the worlds best zucchini bread (from which I made these muffins). They are both considered dessert recipes in my house for their respective seasons but yum-believably deeeelish!

So when I saw The Healthy Maven’s recipe for Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Oatmeal Bars I immediately thought of adapting them to a pumpkin bread version! Thanks for the inspo, Davida!

I love oaty everything, but especially overnight oats and oaty baked things! So with a few simple swaps I whipped up these pumpkiny oatmeal bars that you will be obsessed with! Pinky swear.

These healthy chocolate chip pumpkin bread oatmeal bars are…

Vegan (dairy free & egg free)

Gluten free (with certified g-free oats)

Nut free and peanut free!

Full of fiber

Lightly sweetened with coconut sugar

Perfect for grab-and-go breakfast or snack

Kid-friendly and school-approved snack, free of the most popular allergens!

Plus, the recipe is so simple your kids can help you make it!

Combine oats (three ways), cinnamon, ground ginger, coconut sugar, and the rest of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the “wet” ingredients — pumpkin, banana, vanilla, coconut oil, your favorite milk, and the flax “egg” — and mix well to combine.

Toss in the chocolate chips, pour into a baking dish and in just over 20 minutes you’ll have a nutritionally balanced breakfast, snack, or even dessert!

Now take a whiff of that pumpkiny amazingness…

Print Yum Healthy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread Oatmeal Bars {vegan. gluten free.} Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Yield: 12 bars Serving Size: 1 bar Ingredients 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

3/4 cup oat flour (ground up rolled oats, gluten free if necessary)

1/4 cup oat bran (gluten free, if necessary)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free, if necessary)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup coconut sugar or date sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 medium banana, ripe and mashed

1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)

1/4 cup milk (any non-dairy or dairy milk should work)

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life) Instructions In a small bowl, combine flaxseed with 3 tablespoons warm water. Mix and set aside for at least 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8×8 inch baking pan with coconut oil. Add oat flour, oat bran, rolled oats, baking powder, coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger and salt to a large mixing bowl and combine with a whisk. In a small bowl combine flax “egg,” banana, pumpkin puree, milk, coconut oil and vanilla. Gently add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Gently fold chocolate chips into the batter. Add batter to your greased pan and bake for 20-23 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 25-30 minutes before cutting into bars. Enjoy room temperature, or my favorite, warm with a dollop of nut/seed butter for breakfast! Bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or room temperature for 1 week. If freezing, allow to cool and wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in airtight ziploc bag. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes 0.1 https://chelseyamernutrition.com/healthy-chocolate-chip-pumpkin-bread-oatmeal-bars-vegan-gluten-free/ Don’t Forget to PIN IT…

Now can you say healthy chocolate chip pumpkin bread oatmeal bars five times fast?!

I’ll bet you a bar…

XO

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Check out these other freezer-friendly meals…





