Pumpkin Mochi Bars (vegan, gluten-free, oil-free)

It’s Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival this weekend and it is a time of gathering and thanksgiving. Pumpkin symbolizes good health when eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival and these pumpkin mochi bars are perfect for this holiday. These pumpkin mochi bars are a delicious cross between pumpkin pie and mochi. It’s filled with warm spices, chewy, and dense like mochi. You guys have been loving all the mochi recipes on the blog, so I had to do a fall inspired mochi!

These pumpkin mochi bars are super easy to make and only take a few ingredients. All the ingredients are pretty easy to find, but make sure you use sweet rice flour. Sweet rice flour is the star ingredient and what makes the mochi, so don’t try and substitute a different flour. I like the Mochiko brand and you can find that at any Asian store and even most regular grocery stores.

The pumpkin in these mochi bars makes them super moist. It has my favorite crispy exterior and a chewy interior. They are best eaten day of and fresh, however they do keep for a few days on the counter in an airtight container. The crispy exterior will soften after being stored in the container, but it will still be very tasty. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave for 10 seconds or in a toaster oven (the toaster oven will help crisp up the exterior).

These pumpkin mochi bars are vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free too. They are so dang good and perfectly sweet. If you make them, make sure to tag me on Instagram @nutsaboutgreens and leave a comment below!

Pumpkin Mochi Bars (vegan, gluten-free, oil-free)

These pumpkin mochi bars are a delicious cross between pumpkin pie and mochi. It’s filled with warm spices, chewy, and dense like mochi. 

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:1 hour hr

Total Time:1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp water)
• 3 Tbsp cashew butter (or any nut/seed butter)
• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (from the can, stirred well)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup Mochiko sweet rice flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. I sprayed the pan first before laying down the parchment paper. It helps the parchment paper stay put.
• In large bowl, add the sweet rice flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Whisk until well combined.
• In a medium bowl, make the flax egg by combing the ground flaxseed and water. Set aside and let it thicken for 5 minutes. Add the cashew butter, brown sugar, coconut milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.
• Add the wet to the dry. Whisk until well combined. Pour batter into the lined loaf pan. Smooth batter evenly into the pan. Sprinkle some optional pumpkin seeds on top. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes then lift the mochi out with the parchment paper and place on a wire rack to cool completely. It is important to let it cool completely before slicing. Enjoy! 
• Best when eaten fresh. Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days on the counter. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave for 10 seconds or in a toaster oven. Leftovers will lose it’s crisp edges, but it’s still good!

Servings: 8

Author: valeria.chao