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Now that autumn is in full swing, I need to introduce our cream cheese and pumpkin roll bars. They are the best pumpkin recipe to make if you love the classic pumpkin roll holiday dessert.
For me, making a pumpkin roll was very intimidating for the longest time, and still is a bit. If I feel like I don’t have the time or attention to put towards making a pumpkin roll it will not turn out and then I have just wasted my time and ingredients. Well with these pumpkin roll bars, you do not have to worry about any of that! It is the easiest pumpkin roll recipe you can make and still get that wonderful flavored dessert we all know and love.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Pumpkin puree
- Vanilla extract
- Water
- Flour
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cream cheese
Equipment Needed
- 9×13 inch pan
- Hand or stand mixer
- Medium-sized mixing bowls (2)
- Spatula
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Butter/Table knife
How To Make Cream Cheese and Pumpkin Roll Bars
- When you are ready to make these pumpkin roll bars, start by preheating the oven to 350 ℉.
- Then prepare your 9×13 inch pan by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl beat together the softened butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until they are nice and smooth.
- Next you need to add in the eggs, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and water until it is all combined and well blended.
- Now in a separate mixing bowl you need to mix together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt making sure it is all mixed in well.
- Then add those dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (AKA the pumpkin and butter mixture) and combine it together well.
- Once that is mixed together, spread ⅔ of the pumpkin mixture into the bottom of the pan.
- In another small bowl mix the cream cheese, eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla with your mixer on medium speed.
- Continue mixing it all up until the frosting is nice and creamy.
- Then drop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese frosting across the whole pan and then try your best to spread it out throughout the pan with a spatula.
- Now drop the remaining pumpkin mixture over top of the cream cheese layer and then spread that out as best as you can.
- To create the swirl on top, use a butter knife and place the tip in batter and swill it around to give the cream cheese and pumpkin layers a little mix.
- Then place the pan in the oven for 30-35 minutes and let it bake until the center of the pumpkin batter springs back when you slightly push on it.
- Pull them out of the oven and let the bars cool completely, then cut them in squares and enjoy!
Recipe Modifications
- Gluten-Free: You can make this recipe gluten-free and have it turn out wonderfully. Take a look at the Pioneer Woman’s list of 16 best flour substitutes and pick the one that works for you and your dietary restrictions.
- Added Caramel: If you want to make this into a caramel cream cheese and pumpkin roll bars recipe, simply add 2-3 tablespoons of caramel syrup to the cream cheese mixture and then drizzle more caramel over top!
Explore More Delicious Pumpkin Brownies and Bars
We absolutely love pumpkin recipes, especially in the fall and winter. Check out our comprehensive collection of pumpkin recipes here.
- 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Brownies
- Chocolate Pumpkin Chess Squares
- Frosted Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Bars
- Magic Pumpkin Bars
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Cream Cheese and Pumpkin Roll Bars Recipe
Cream cheese and pumpkin roll bars have everything you love about a classic pumpkin roll – spiced pumpkin cake with a cream cheese swirl.
Serving servings
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 Tablespoons butter, (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree, 1 can
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 package, softened
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth.
- Beat in eggs, pumpkin, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and water until well blended.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin/butter mixture and combine until well blended.
- Spread about 2/3 of the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
- Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the pumpkin batter.
- Dollop the remaining pumpkin batter over the cream cheese batter and spread out as evenly as possible. Use a table knife to swirl together the cream cheese and top layer of pumpkin batter.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center of the pumpkin batter springs back when touched.
- Cool completely in pan, then cut into bars.
Notes
One thing that I like about pumpkin roll is that it is served cold, so we put these bars in the fridge and ate them cold- they were delicious! You could eat them at room temperature too. I also thought that they were yummier on the second day (if they last that long!)
Nutrition
Calories: 185 kcal · Carbohydrates: 30 g · Protein: 3 g · Fat: 6 g · Saturated Fat: 3 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 40 mg · Sodium: 189 mg · Potassium: 98 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 19 g · Vitamin A: 3513 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 37 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
These look GREAT!! I love the swirls and the bars look ridiculously moist. Pinned 🙂
This is awesome! I have wanted to make a pumpkin roll forever but (1) I don’t have a jelly roll pan and (2) they scare me. So this is a perfect recipe!
This is a must for Christmas. It’s official I’ll be making these and wrapping them in a fab way for my adult Christmas gifts! And I may have trick up my sleeve to make it my own…I’ll be sure to share!
Thanks for this great post!
I am making these right now. Time to take them out of the oven in 3 minutes! Easy recipe and mixing directions. I’m sharing with my family tomorrow for Thanksgiving 🙂
i made these & i must say they are fabulous! so easy, and very appealing to the eye! i’m sure my family will LOVE these tomorrow for Thanksgiving! 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I made it last night (using whole wheat white flour and reduced-fat cream cheese, not that it helped much, hah!) and everyone at work is asking for the recipe and telling me to make it again. Delicious!!! I even managed to make it look good, which is not one of my strong points.
The Pumpkin Roll is not difficult. I make them ahead of time and put them in the freezer & pull them out for last minute hostess gifts
I make pumpkin rolls every fall and my family go crazy over them. I’m looking forward to making this recipe this fall for my family to enjoy. thanks for sharing
I am not a fancy baker, and yet I can make a pumpkin roll. In fact, people have paid me to make pumpkin roll cakes for them! So I believe YOU CAN DO IT.
And you should know that the top layer swirling of this recipe makes me a little nervous. But I’m going give it a try. Can’t wait to taste it. Thanks for the recipe.
i made this last night it was super easy and looked great but the taste was not right. when you make a pumpkin roll you don’t bake the cream cheese part and i think that is what threw me off.
Thank you for this ladies! My family has always loved the original Pumpkin Rolls, but I just do not always have time to do all that is involved. My family will love this, and I thank you for the simplicity.
This is such a grea recipe! One question though…Is it possible to use fresh pumpkin? And if so what should I do with it in order to prepare it to be similar to canned? Thank You so much
I think that you could use fresh pumpkin, however, I am not sure how it compares to canned. I actually have never used fresh pumpkin (I just like the convenience of canned!), so I am not much help! I am so sorry. Let me know if you try it!
These were delicious, but the tops didn’t cook all the way (I personally like them better that way). Great recipe and super easy!
I made this for a party and had nothing but good comments and requests for the recipe! I will be making this MANY more times!!
These are lovely! Do you store them in the fridge or at room temperature?
I found this on Pinterest and just made them. In fact. I’m eating them as I write this post. They are the bomb!
What kind of cake do you use for this recipe?
made them for the young women last weekend, and they loved them!
i just made these – smell awesome. However, the bottom layer is not “cake” consistency – more doughy. Baked as directed until top ‘sprung back’. Don’t look like the photo except on top. In the photo the bottom cake layer looks like a cake consistency. What did I do wrong?
Batter consistency & everything looked the same as photo – I’m wondering if I should bake the bottom first then add cream cheese mixture & remaining batter & return to oven. But, I’m afraid if I do this the bottom will be too dry – I have been baking many years and this has never happened. Am puzzled – should I have baked longer even though the “top sprung back”?
You cut up pumpkin flesh, cook down on stovetop and mash. Use same amount as you would canned.
I made these a couple days ago and I had to let them bake a little longer. I think It was 40 mins, maybe a few mins more. But I most definitely got a cake like consistency on the bottom. I am actually about to make them again for turkey day tomorrow! I don’t have a mixer so I am getting my workout in for the day! haha I will say that after I refrigerated them the consistency did become more dense which I actually liked better! but my boyfriend liked them at room temp! I think you should give it another go!
i just made 3 pans of them. the first batch turned out fine, but the batter was runny so i omitted the 1/4 cup of water on 2nd batch and they were fine. i’m really aggravated because somehow i managed to turn my oven up to 500 on the last batch (knob is on the front of the stove so i assume my ample stomach turned it up while i was working on these). baked them 30 minutes. i have charcoal – dang it! waste of time and money! my husband and i sampled the first batch – delish. was taking these to take to 3 different places tomorrow. i guess the 3rd place gets a bottle of wine instead. their loss! i will make these again!
I just made these and they turned out delicious! I cooked mine for 40 minutes and it came out like a thick moist cake! I will make these again, thank you for the recipe.
Could I make this 1+1/2 and use a 1/2 sheet pan?
We have never done that so we don’t want to say that it will work. Let us know if you give it a try!
How did it make your kitchen smell?
A wonderful holiday fall smell!!
Baking is my specialty and I did not care for this recipe at all. It was too dense and does not even compare to pumpkin roll, which really isn’t hard to make. I’m sticking with my pumpkin role recipe which is always a hit. This disappointed! I took this to a fall family picnic and came home with 3/4 of the pan left… ended up throwing it away.
I’ve made these like 100 times and they always turn out perfectly. I don’t make any changes to the recipe at all, other than the fact that I never buy unsalted butter. I just use regular ol’ stick butter. (Imperial brand, usually.) Otherwise, the ingredients are exact and the baking time is right on. They are delicious!!! One tip maybe for those who have haven’t had success with this recipe…make sure you are using a GLASS 9×13 baking dish.
Any changes to make it gluten free?
Same amount flour? I use Bob’s red mill 1.1 or should I use all purpose GF flour
Just now seeing this. I use Libby’s pumpkin pie mix that already has all the stuff in it & just add a yellow cake mix to do a pumpkin roll or cupcake/muffins. Don’t be afraid of making a pumpkin roll. I watched a couple of you tube shows & just did it. It’s not hard. Maybe you have already tried it by now? I’m gonna try your bar recipe with the pumpkin & a cake mix. I think it will bw fantastic. yum
Can you freeze this. Just wondering if that works
Also have you made in a loaf pan? If so do you change the temp or time
This recipe is for a 9 x 13 inch pan. If you are putting it in a loaf pan, you will have enough batter for 2 loaf pans. That is what we advise – one loaf pan would make these bars very thick.
These should freeze great. Put in a freezer bag or covered well.
We made these for a neighborhood get together and everyone loved them.