Home Meal Type Snacks Bars and Balls Pumpkin Spice Cereal Squares

Pumpkin Spice Cereal Squares

By Brittany Mullins

5

14

Published Oct 04, 2016, Updated Oct 26, 2021

PinSave to FavoritesPrintJump to Recipe

GFGluten-FreeDFDairy FreeVGVegetarian

These pumpkin spice cereal squares are a fall spin on my original recipe for superfood cereal squares. They’re loaded with healthy ingredients and full of pumpkin spice flavor. Gluten-free and dairy-free!

Every year around this time I tend to go a little pumpkin crazy. This year the pumpkin bender started this weekend. I made pumpkin pie yogurt bowls, these pumpkin spice squares and two batches of pumpkin oatmeal cookies. I bought little white pumpkins at Trader Joe’s to decorate with and burned a pumpkin candle all weekend long. It officially feels (and smells) like fall is here!

So, about these little pumpkin spice cereal squares… they are a take on the superfood cereal squares I posted last month. In that post I mentioned that I wanted to try them with the new Pumpkin Spice Cheerios and it didn’t take long for that to happen.

The recipe is very similar to the original just with a deeper orange hue and that pumpkin spice flavor we all love. I’d say that if you already had plans to try the cereal squares, you should just grab a box of the Pumpkin Spice Cheerios and make these first. The original squares are awesome and lovely, but these squares are legit the perfect snack for this time of year.

Can’t you just see yourself taking a few with you on your next fall hike or enjoying one as a snack after a fun day at the pumpkin patch?!

Here’s What You Need

• Pumpkin Spice Cheerios – they take my original superfood cereal squares to the next level with a delicious fall flavor!
• old fashioned oats – my fave brand of oats is Bob’s Red Mill. They have a gluten-free oats if needed too!  
• coconut flakes – make sure to grab unsweetened coconut flakes with no added sugar.
• dried cranberries – dried goji berries or raisins would work as well! Try to find dried fruit with no added sugars.
• seeds – I use a combination of pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds), sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and chia seeds to add a boost of plant-based protein and some texture variation!
• almond butter – creamy and drippy almond butter works best! Make sure it doesn’t have any added ingredients and is just almonds and salt. You can also use peanut butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter.
• honey – perfectly sticky, this natural sweetener is best for bars like these to help them keep their shape. I don’t think maple syrup will hold the bars together as well. If you want to scale back the sugar content, you could try using 1/3 cup instead of 1/2.
• pumpkin pie spice – amp up that fall flavor with pumpkin pie spice!
• vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
• salt – salt helps all of the flavors come together.

How to Make Cereal Bars

Making these cereal bars is super easy and you don’t need your oven!

Prep – Line a square baking dish with parchment paper.

Combine Ingredients – Place your Cheerios, oats, coconut flakes, dried cranberries, pepitas, sunflower seeds, hemp and chia seeds in a large bowl. Toss to combine.

Heat Mixture – In a small saucepan, heat the almond butter and honey over low-medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and sea salt.

Assemble – Pour over the cereal mixture and gently toss to coat everything. Pour the mixure into the lined pan and press mixture down firmly with a spatula or your hands.

Freeze – Place squares in the freezer for about 30 minutes to set up.

Serve – Remove from freezer, cut into squares and enjoy!

How to Store Leftovers

These bars store really well! Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you store them in the freezer, I recommend letting them thaw in the refrigerator before enjoying.

Popular Bar Recipes

• Pumpkin Protein Bars
• Protein Bars
• Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
• Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars
• Chocolate Chip Almond Granola Bars

Try These Healthy Pumpkin Snacks

• Pumpkin Bread
• Flourless Pumpkin Muffins
• Pumpkin Granola
• Pumpkin Muffins

SaveSaved Pin Print

5 from 1 vote

Pumpkin Spice Superfood Cereal Squares

By: Brittany Mullins

These pumpkin spice cereal squares are a fall spin on my original recipe for superfood cereal squares. They’re loaded with healthy ingredients and full of pumpkin spice flavor. Gluten-free and dairy-free!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 16

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1½ cups Pumpkin Spice Cheerios
• ▢ ½ cup old fashioned oats
• ▢ ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• ▢ ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ▢ ¼ cup pepitas pumpkin seeds
• ▢ ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon hemp seeds
• ▢ ½ tablespoon chia seeds
• ▢ ½ cup natural creamy almond butter
• ▢ ½ cup honey
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions 

• Line a square baking dish with parchment paper.
• Place Cheerios, oats, coconut flakes, dried cranberries, pepitas, sunflower seeds, hemp and chia seeds in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
• In a small saucepan, heat almond butter and honey over low-medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and sea salt.
• Pour over the cereal mixture and gently toss to coat everything. Pour into lined pan and press mixture down firmly with a spatula or your hands.
• Place squares in the freezer for about 30 minutes to set up.
• Remove from freezer, cut into squares and serve. Store leftover squares in the fridge.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Snack/Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pumpkin cereal squares

Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!