These Pumpkin-Zucchini Breakfast Bars bring together the best of summer and fall in one recipe. The nutrition and freshness from the zuke combined with the beautiful flavors of the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice will make this your new favorite freezer-friendly breakfast recipe.
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I wanted to buy some zucchini to use it to add more volume to some homemade turkey burgers, and unfortunately the Trader Joes I went to only sold it in packs of 5. So now I just have a ton of zucchini lying in my vegetable crisper just waiting to be used.
So naturally, I look up “zucchini recipes” online. I don’t know what I was expecting, but there were so many options! I just got too overwhelmed, gave up, and decided to make a version of my Pumpkin Pecan Oat Bars with some zucchini in there too. It was so much easier coz I already had a base recipe that I knew tasted great.
While oats are a good source of fiber already, this recipe also calls for flax and chia which are about 30% fiber! They also have a high amount of healthy fats. All in all, you’re treating your insides as well as your taste buds with these.
If you freeze and save some zucchini from when your garden is overflowing with this summer squash or stock up on cans of pumpkin for when it’s not Thanksgiving, you can make these bars anytime of year! Maybe I should actually try to be this organized and plan ahead.
Freezer-friendly Pumpkin-Zucchini Breakfast Bars (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Flaxseed Meal, 3.5g
- 1 Tbsp Water
- ⅔ cup Rolled Oats, 66g
- 2 tsp Chia Seeds, 9g
- ⅔ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ⅛ tsp Cinnamon, Ground
- ⅛ tsp Nutmeg, Ground
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- Stevia Sweetener, 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp sugar worth (Use your brand's Conversion Chart)
- ½ cup Zucchini, Shredded (Moisture Intact), ½ medium, 88g
- ¼ cup Pumpkin Puree, Canned, not Pumpkin Pie Filling, 61g
- ½ cup Almond Milk
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a 5” x 5” glass baking dish with parchment paper or foil and lightly grease.
- Make flax egg: Combine flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and set aside for 15 min.
- Pulse half the oats in a food processor for 30 seconds to make oat flour.
- Transfer to a bowl, and mix together dry ingredients.
- Finely shred zucchini, squeeze out moisture and chop to make even finer.
- Transfer to large bowl and whisk in wet ingredients.
- Add dry mix to wet, and whisk lightly to combine.
- Pour mixture into prepared dish and flatten with back of a spoon.
- Bake for 30 min until top is browned.
- Cool for 15 minutes, then lift out of pan using the lining. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 45 minutes and cut into slices.
Notes
- Make sure to use pumpkin puree, and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Squeeze out as much zucchini possible, or the bars will be mushy on the inside.
- Cool bars completely before storing.
- Fridge: 1 week in an airtight container.
- Freezer: 1 month in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Thaw and heat in microwave at 10 sec increments until warm, before eating.
- Servings: 6 bars (3½”l x 1¼”w x ¾”h) | Serving size: 1 bar
- Calories: 63kcal
- Fat: 1.9g | Saturated fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 9.8g | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 1,1g
- Protein: 2.1g
Can you use eggs in place of flaxmeal.. if so how many
Hi! You can use eggs in this recipe too! With the current numbers it would be 1/3 egg, so I would say use 1 egg and make all the other ingredients 3x. Also use a bigger baking pan.
Can you use just flaxseeds (rather than flaxseed meal) in this recipe?
Hi Francesca! You could try it flaxseeds as well!
Or maybe process the seeds in a food processor so they get a little powdery.
I’d love to know if you try it out!