Pumpkin Gooey Bars

Moist, gooey, and full of fall flavor!

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Jump to:

• 🗝️ Key takeaways
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 📖 Variations
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🥫 How to store leftovers
• 💭 Things to know
• 👩‍🍳 FAQs
• 📚 Related recipes
• 📓 Meal plans in minutes
• 📞 The last word
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🗝️ Key takeaways

• So easy! Starts with a boxed cake mix and has a 10-minute prep.
• This casual pumpkin dessert is perfect for after-school, bake sales, potlucks, and lazy weekend movie nights!
• Be sure to check the How to store leftovers section for my tips on freezing individual servings for quick carb cravings!

In this delicious dessert recipe, you'll dollop gooey pumpkin filling over top of a moist spice cake layer for a Thanksgiving table-worthy treat.

Fussy pies are so last year—these easy gooey pumpkin bars are always a huge hit and are sure to become one of your new favorite desserts for fall.

🧾 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

📖 Variations

• Spice cake mix goes great with rich pumpkin flavors, but you can swap it for another kind. Chocolate, yellow, and white cake mix work just fine.
• Feel free to use homemade pumpkin puree. Just be sure to drain it well so that your gooey pumpkin bars bake with the right texture.
• Make your own pumpkin pie spice using my tried-and-true blend: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon cloves, and a pinch of ground chipotle—the chipotle's optional, but it adds a subtle, Southern warmth.

🔪 Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.

1. Dump the cake mix into a large bowl.
2. Add the eggs and room-temperature butter.
3. Combine cake mix ingredients, and press into a prepared pan.
4. Bake as directed.

1. Place the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, remaining butter, and pumpkin spice.
3. Sift in the powdered sugar and combine until smooth.
4. Pour over top of the cake batter. Top with nutmeg, if desired, and bake.

🥫 How to store leftovers

Out of all the pumpkin desserts, these gooey pumpkin bars go fast. However, they'll keep well if you happen to have leftovers—and, they taste great with morning coffee!

Refrigerate

Cover the bars with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store 'em in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like to separate each slice with some wax paper so the soft crust doesn't stick to the pumpkin mixture.

Heads up: because of the gooey layer, you can't safely store these at room temperature.

Freeze

To make them last a little longer, transfer the pumpkin gooey bars to an airtight container, and freeze for up to 3 months.

The best way to do this is to flash-freeze the bars. Place the cooled, cut pumpkin bars on a baking sheet and put in the freezer for 2 hours or until firm and frozen.

Now, they store super easily.

You can add each bar individually to a small Ziploc bag for individual servings that you can just toss in the kids' lunches.

Or, you can place them in layers in an airtight container with parchment between the layers. They won't stick together so you can grab one or two easily.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Don't overcook these dessert bars, or they'll lose that gooey, soft texture. The best way to check for doneness is to look for a slight wiggle in the center of the pan—however, the bars shouldn't be wet.

• Remember, at the grocery store, look for pure pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling is not the same thing, though it looks similar.
• Don't opt for low-fat cream cheese. It's too watery and not as tasty.
• Use the paddle attachment, not the whisk. Otherwise, you'll add too much air into the batter. Gooey cake tastes best when it's a little dense.
• I prefer butter to grease my dish, but cooking spray works too.
• Press the cake batter firmly into the corners of your baking dish. This way, the top layer won't spill over the edges, and you'll have pretty bars!
• Don't put a piping hot baking dish into the fridge to cool. It can ruin other sensitive fridge items, and you risk shattering the glass.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

📚 Related recipes

• Your family will crave the warm, cozy flavors of Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake. It takes just five minutes of prep and bakes in a half hour.
• Festive and fun, this No-Bake Double Layer Pumpkin Pie has traditional pumpkin pie flavor without any fuss—it's really simple but really good!
• Don't miss this Pumpkin Bread Pudding!
• Tired of pumpkin recipes already? Try my Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Bars for a cozy, rich treat. (The nutty browned butter is key!)

📓 Meal plans in minutes

📞 The last word

I love lots of things about fall but one of the things I love most is pumpkin spice everything!

These bars are SO good with a cup of coffee and a good book! Try them - and let me know what you think.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe