Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal Squares with Maple Pecans
Pumpkin baked oatmeal baked firm enough to slice into squares, sweetened with maple syrup and topped with toasted pecans. One pan covers breakfast all week.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- 20 min
- Serves
- 9
Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal Squares with Maple Pecans is a vegan breakfast recipe made with ground flaxseed, water, old-fashioned rolled oats. It takes 55 minutes of hands-on time, plus 20 minutes resting, serves 9, and each serving has 226 calories, 5 g of protein and 4 g of fiber.
Most baked oatmeal is spooned from the dish like a pudding; this one is built to cut. The liquid is dialed back to roughly 1.3 parts to 1 part oats and a double flax egg does the binding, so the squares hold their edges cold from the fridge and reheat without drying out. A full cup of pumpkin purée keeps the crumb moist and gives it real squash flavor rather than just spice, and half the pecans go into the batter while the rest toast on top.
Ingredients
Batter
- 2 tbsp14 gground flaxseed
- 5 tbsp75 gwater
- 2 cups162 gold-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 tsp9.2 gbaking powder
- 2 tsp5.2 gground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp1.4 gground ginger
- ¼ tsp0.6 gground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp0.3 gground cloves
- ½ tsp3 gfine sea salt
- 1 cup245 gcanned pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
- 1¼ cups304 gunsweetened soy milk
- ⅓ cup107 gmaple syrup
- 2 tbsp27 gmelted coconut oil
- 2 tsp8.4 gvanilla extract
- ½ cup50 gpecans, roughly chopped
Topping
- ¼ cup25 gpecans, roughly chopped, for the top
- 1 tbsp20 gmaple syrup, for brushing the top
- 1 cup227 gcoconut yogurt, for serving (optional)
Kit: 8x8-inch baking pan, parchment paper, large mixing bowl, whisk
Tips
- Use pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, which is pre-sweetened and spiced and will throw off both the sugar and the texture.
- Rolled oats only. Quick oats turn the squares pasty and steel-cut oats will still be hard after 40 minutes.
- If the top is browning faster than the center sets, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
- For neater squares, chill the cooled pan for an hour before cutting — cold oatmeal slices like a bar.
Swap ideas
- Walnuts or pumpkin seeds in place of pecans
- Walnuts bring a slight bitterness that plays against the maple; pumpkin seeds keep it nut-free and stay crunchier on top.
- Oat milk or almond milk for the soy milk
- Oat milk makes the crumb a touch softer and sweeter; almond milk is thinner, so the squares are marginally less rich.
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar instead of the maple syrup in the batter
- Drier, more cake-like crumb with a caramel note — add 2 extra tablespoons of soy milk to make up the lost liquid.
- Stir 1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins into the batter
- Adds tart, chewy pockets and a little more sweetness throughout.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
226kcal per serving
Everything else · 9 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 3.4 g 17%
- Sugars
- 11.3 g
- Sodium
- 259 mg 11%
- Potassium
- 245 mg 5%
- Calcium
- 149 mg 11%
- Iron
- 1.8 mg 10%
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg 1%
- Vitamin B12
- 0.29 µg 12%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Seeds, flaxseed, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry, Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate, Spices, cinnamon, ground, Spices, ginger, ground, Spices, nutmeg, ground, Spices, cloves, ground, Salt, table, Pumpkin, canned, without salt, Soymilk, original and vanilla, with added calcium, vitamins A and D, Syrups, maple, Oil, coconut, Vanilla extract, Nuts, pecans
Method
Stir the ground flaxseed and water together in a small bowl and set aside until thick and gel-like, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F and line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt until the spices are evenly distributed.
Whisk the pumpkin purée, soy milk, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla and the thickened flax gel in a second bowl until completely smooth with no streaks of pumpkin. If your kitchen is cold, warm the soy milk slightly first so the coconut oil doesn't seize into flecks.
Pour the wet mixture into the oats and stir until every oat is coated, then fold in the 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. The batter will look loose and soupy — that is correct; the oats drink it up in the oven.
Scrape into the lined pan and smooth the top. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup pecans over the surface and press them in lightly so they don't slide off when you cut.
Bake for 38–42 minutes, until the top is set and dry to the touch, the edges have pulled away from the parchment and browned, and the center springs back rather than dimpling when pressed. A knife slid into the middle should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter.
Brush the hot top with the tablespoon of maple syrup and let the pan cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes. Cutting warm gives ragged squares; cutting cool gives clean ones.
Lift out by the parchment, cut into 9 squares and serve warm, with a spoonful of coconut yogurt if you like.
Storage: Cool completely, then cut into squares and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days. Reheat a square in the microwave for 45–60 seconds, or in a 325°F oven for 10 minutes. Wrap individual squares and freeze up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Questions
- How much protein is in pumpkin baked oatmeal squares with maple pecans?
- Each of the 9 servings has 5 g of protein, 4 g of fiber and 226 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is pumpkin baked oatmeal squares with maple pecans vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does pumpkin baked oatmeal squares with maple pecans take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 40 minutes of cooking, so 55 minutes of hands-on time, plus 20 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make pumpkin baked oatmeal squares with maple pecans ahead?
- Cool completely, then cut into squares and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days. Reheat a square in the microwave for 45–60 seconds, or in a 325°F oven for 10 minutes. Wrap individual squares and freeze up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- What can I substitute in pumpkin baked oatmeal squares with maple pecans?
- Walnuts or pumpkin seeds in place of pecans — walnuts bring a slight bitterness that plays against the maple; pumpkin seeds keep it nut-free and stay crunchier on top.. Oat milk or almond milk for the soy milk — oat milk makes the crumb a touch softer and sweeter; almond milk is thinner, so the squares are marginally less rich.. 1/4 cup coconut sugar instead of the maple syrup in the batter — drier, more cake-like crumb with a caramel note — add 2 extra tablespoons of soy milk to make up the lost liquid.. Stir 1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins into the batter — adds tart, chewy pockets and a little more sweetness throughout..
- Does pumpkin baked oatmeal squares with maple pecans contain gluten or tree nuts?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 21, 2026 ·American
