Enjoy your favorite peanut butter chocolate chip protein bar at home with these homemade pumpkin pie perfect bars! They’re made gluten and dairy free with almond flour, oat flour, collagen, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice.
Made with just a few simple ingredients, this copycat pumpkin pie perfect bar recipe makes for a delicious, nutrient-dense snack! This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, with protein from peanut butter and collagen. They’re packed with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, giving these bars that fall flavor we all know and love!
You know I’m all about all things pumpkin all fall long and I will take any chance I get to add pumpkin to different recipes, which is why I’m so excited to share this copycat recipe with you that’s just as delicious as store bought!
What are Perfect Bars?
Perfect Bars are a refrigerated protein bar made from a base of peanut butter, honey, milk powder, whole dried egg, and a whole food powder. They’re about $2-3 each and found in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods, Target, Trader Joes and Aldi (sometimes). I’ve found that Trader Joes has the cheapest price!
Their pumpkin pie Perfect Bar is seasonal and comes back in the fall. This homemade pumpkin pie perfect bar recipe is not an exactly the same as what is in the pumpkin pie Perfect Bars but is equally as delicious with protein and nutrition!
Are perfect bars healthy?
As a registered dietitian I get this question a lot. Perfect Bars got super popular for the first refrigerated bar and for being so delicious and coming in a variety of indulgent flavors like mint chocolate chip, birthday cake, salted caramel, and my personal seasonal favorite, pumpkin pie! But are they healthy?! Let’s take a look at the ingredients.
The main ingredients in Perfect Bars are peanut butter, honey, egg protein, rice protein, and their whole food powder which includes, kale, flax seed, orange, lemon, papaya, tomato, alfafa, celery, kelp, dulse, carrot, and spinach. They also contain flax seed oil, sesame seed oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, and pumpkin seed oil.
Off the bat I see nothing wrong with these ingredients and appreciate that they boosted the bars with the whole food powder that gives these bars extra nutrition from these different fruits and veggies.
I also like that they are made with whole food protein like eggs, rice and peanut or almond butter. Bars range from 12-15 grams of protein, 17-19 grams of sugar (I like that it’s natural from honey), 20-22 grams of fat (coming from the flax seed oil, sesame seed oil, sunflower oil, olive oil and pumpkin seed oil, which are good sources of healthy fat) and between 310-330 calories.
As a peanut butter and cookie dough lover, I personally like them because they satisfy my craving for dessert in a healthier way. I know I’m getting a little more nutrition, including protein then let’s say I would be getting from a scoop of ice cream for the same amount of calories.
Because they are calorically dense (around 330 calories per bar) I would consider a full bar as a snack in some situations vs. others. 100-250 calories is around the size of a typical snack, so these are a little bit bigger than that. In some cases, I think a half would be enough and other times a whole bar makes sense to have.
Depending on the day and time, I’ll have half of a perfect bar before a workout, maybe the rest after with something else, or a whole bar if I’m out and about and need something more substantial to hold me over for a while. Rob and I love to play this game where we leave half in the fridge and eat the other persons half! It’s only not funny when you really wanted to finish the rest of your bar later!
Ingredients for homemade pumpkin pie perfect bars
- creamy unsweetened peanut butter – I use the Whole Foods brand one with the brown top and it worked perfectly!
- pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie mix! Always grab cans of pumpkin puree at the store! Pumpkin puree adds more vitamin A, C, E potassium and fiber to these bars/bites.
- blanched almond flour
- GF or regular oat flour
- maple syrup – I also tested this recipe using honey (which is what Perfect Bar uses), and while it tasted good it didn’t taste as similar to the original perfect bar as maple syrup did surprisingly!
- collagen – I used this one from mindbodygreen that I add to all my smoothies and baked goods. If you don’t have collagen, you could substitute a unflavored or vanilla protein powder.
- pumpkin spice or cinnamon
- salt
- mini or regular chocolate chips (dairy free if desired) – I also made this recipe with white chocolate chips and the combination with the pumpkin flavor was delicious!
equipment/ utensils
- 8X8 baking pan
- parchment paper
- mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
- spatula
how to make homemade perfect bars
Making copycat pumpkin perfect bars couldn’t be easier! You don’t need any fancy equipment and they “cook” in your freezer!
- Whisk. Whisk the almond flour, oat flour, collagen, pumpkin spice, and salt together
- Melt. Melt the peanut butter for just a few seconds in the microwave.
- Mix. Add the peanut butter, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract and mix together until well combined.
- Spread. Scoop the dough out into the pan, and use a spatula to evenly spread it around 3/4 of the pan. Use the edge of the spatula to
- Sprinkle. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the batter and press down lightly so they stick.
- Freeze. Place the baking pan in the freezer (no need to cover) for at least 30 minutes for the bars to harden.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Perfect Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup blanched almond flour
- ¾ cup regular or GF oat flour
- 2 servings of collagen this was 4 tbsp. for mine
- 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
- dash of salt
- ½ cup creamy unsweetened peanut butter, melted
- 1/3 + 1 tbsp. pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine almond and oat flour, collagen, pumpkin spice and salt. Whisk together.
- Measure out the peanut butter and microwave for about 15 seconds until slightly melted. Add to the flour mixture along with the maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.
- Mix dough together until well combined. Line an 8X8 baking pan with parchment paper and using a spatula, scoop the dough into the pan so that it only cover 3/4 of the pan and is an even thickness. Use the side of the spatula to form a small edge on the side of the dough that’s not up against the pan. (see images above).
- Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, pressing down lightly into the dough.
- Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Remove and use a sharp knife to cut into bar or bite-sized pieces.
- Store in a covered container in the fridge (or freezer for a harder texture) for up to a week.
more healthy pumpkin recipes you’re sure to love
- pumpkin chickpea blondies {GF & DF}
- pumpkin s’mores cookies (GF & DF}
- pumpkin cream cold brew {DF}
- pumpkin smoothie bowl {GF & DF}
- healthy pumpkin pancakes {GF & DF}
pumpkin cookbook
Love everything and anything pumpkin like I do?! Keep up with all things pumpkin this fall with me on Instagram Be sure to check out my new pumpkin cookbook, The Great Big Pumpkin Cookbook available now on Amazon and Target.com with over 50 pumpkin recipes, including gluten free, dairy free, and paleo friendly recipes!
pin this recipe for later!
These bars look so great. I absolutely loved making them. They were equal parts healthy and delicious. These are definitely going to be part of my daily post-workout routine. Thank you for such an amazing recipe.
So glad you liked them! Happy pumpkin season!