Easy, Anti-Inflammatory Apple Pumpkin Bars

Call me basic, but one trend I’ll gladly partake in every year is pumpkin spice-flavored everything. In other words, you bet I’ll have a grande PSL on hand as I dust off my UGGs the moment temperatures drop below 74ºF in Southern California. I mean, come on, what’s not to love about the warmth of anti-inflammatory spices like cinnamon paired with creamy pumpkin? It’s a match made in heaven, and there’s no convincing me otherwise.

That said, let’s address the obvious: Coffee, especially pumpkin spice lattes, isn’t for everyone’s palate. So, how else can you pumpkin spice your life that doesn’t involve drinking an overpriced beverage? Fam, let me introduce you to the best anti-inflammatory apple-pumpkin bars that are bound to become your all-time favorite fall-inspired breakfast recipe. Best part: They take less than 10 minutes to prep.

Experts In This Article

• Yumna Jawad, recipe developer and content creator behind Feel Good Foodie

How to make apple pumpkin bars in four simple steps

Yes, everything that Yumna Jawad—the wildly popular recipe developer behind Feel Good Foodie—touches in the kitchen turns to gold. From her beyond easy five-ingredient Lebanese pita bread recipe to her genius scrambled oats, Jawad’s tasty concoctions are nutrient-rich, easy to follow, and chock full of flavor. Today, on the menu, we have her easy apple pumpkin bars that check every box.

Pumpkin is packed with vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, magnesium, and potassium (even more than a banana per serving). Meanwhile, applesauce is among the most digestion-friendly foods for all ages.

The ingredient list is simple, and consists mainly of household staples you likely already have in stock—think AP flour, cinnamon, sugar, and eggs. After running down the ingredient list all you may need to pick up from the grocery store are a can of pumpkin puree and some unsweetened applesauce. Once you’ve gathered all of the ingredients (likely the hardest part), the rest is easy… like really easy.

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Much like most standard baking recipes, you’ll want to split your ingredients two ways: dry vs. wet, and mix each of the ingredients in their respective groups together. This helps ensure that when you combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl, everything will be as evenly distributed as possible. For context, this means combining flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in Bowl A, while you beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, and applesauce in Bowl B. Once that’s all said and done, the key is to avoid over-mixing the batter to ensure your apple pumpkin bars come out nice and fluffy, just the way we like it.

Why these apple pumpkin bars are worth the hype

Aside from the obvious (they’re delicious), these apple pumpkin bars pack a bevy of benefits. Pumpkin is packed with vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, magnesium, and potassium (even more than a banana per serving). Meanwhile, applesauce is one of the most digestion-friendly foods we know and love at all ages. Plus, we can thank nature’s multivitamin (eggs) for the little boost of protein found in this recipe. The best part? Each batch of this recipe yields 24 bars, so you can consider your weekly meal prepping done.

For even more pumpkin goodness in your life, we recommend pairing a slice of this decadent apple pumpkin recipe with a cozy cup of pumpkin spice tea for the prime fall vibes.

Apple pumpkin bars 

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tsp cinnamon
2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp baking soda
1/4 Tsp salt
4 eggs room temperature
2/3 cup cane sugar
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and applesauce in another large bowl.
3. Gradually pour the dry ingredients into wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.
4. Pour the batter into an ungreased 9 x 13 baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.

Jawad’s pro tip: Customize the recipe by adding nuts or chocolate chips. If you’re adding either one, do so after the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together and fold them in gently. You can use a half cup of either one or a mix of both.

You can’t go wrong with a gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe:

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