If you love pumpkin, you HAVE to try this easy pumpkin bread recipe! Moist, warmly spiced, and filled with pumpkin flavor, it's the perfect fall treat.
Once I tried this pumpkin bread recipe, I finally understood what all the fall pumpkin hype was about. To be honest, I didn’t get it for a long time. Why go crazy for pumpkin when apples, sweet potatoes, and hundreds of amazing squash varieties (spaghetti, delicata, acorn, and butternut, to name a few) are in peak season too? Enter: this pumpkin bread recipe. Super moist, warmly spiced, and filled with delicious pumpkin flavor, it totally won me over to team pumpkin.
I typically crave pumpkin bread at two times of day: in the morning for breakfast or in the afternoon with a coffee or tea. Because I wanted this recipe to be one I could feel good about enjoying first thing in the morning, I made it on the healthy side. Honestly, it’s the best pumpkin bread I’ve had! It’s lightly sweet, so the bold, spiced flavors really shine through. And though it’s wonderfully moist, it’s not too rich, so I have no problem polishing off a generous slice (or two). If pumpkin season means having this recipe on repeat for a while, I’m 100% on board.
Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this healthy pumpkin bread recipe:
- Pumpkin, of course! My loaf uses a full cup of pumpkin puree, which gives it the perfect moist texture and adds delicious pumpkin flavor.
- Whole wheat pastry flour – My favorite flour for healthy baking! A mix of half all-purpose flour and regular whole wheat flour would work here too.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For moisture and richness. I often use olive oil when I bake, but feel free to swap in a neutral oil if you prefer.
- Almond milk – Or whatever type of milk you keep on hand. Regular milk and my homemade oat milk are both great choices.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and eggs – They help the loaf puff up as it bakes.
- Cane sugar – For sweetness.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice – For warm, cozy fall flavor. A tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice would also do the trick!
- Vanilla extract – It enhances the spices’ warm flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
This pumpkin bread recipe is so easy to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, make the batter. Whisk together the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix, or the pumpkin bread will be dense.
Then, bake. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350°F until the top springs back to the touch or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Finally, enjoy! Devour a slice plain, or slather it with butter, honey butter, or almond butter. Leftover pumpkin bread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, wrap slices in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow the slices to thaw at room temperature, or unwrap and defrost them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Pumpkin Bread Recipe Variations
Do you like nuts, fruit, or chocolate in your pumpkin bread? Feel free to adapt this recipe to suit your tastes. Here are a few fun ways to change it up:
- Add some crunch. Stir in 1/2 cup of your favorite chopped nuts, and sprinkle some on top. Pecans or walnuts would be especially good!
- Make it fruity. Fold 1/2 cup dried cranberries, dried tart cherries, raisins, or chopped dates into the batter.
- Go the chocolate route. Sometimes, you just need a slice of pumpkin bread that’s studded with melty chocolate chips. If that’s what you’re craving, fold 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips into the batter, and scatter more on top for good measure.
- Frost it. Craving a more decadent treat? Slather this loaf with my tangy cream cheese frosting!
- Make it vegan. Substitute 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 6 tablespoons warm water for the eggs. This version isn’t quite as puffy, but it’s still delicious.
Let me know what variations you try!
And if you have pumpkin puree leftover, use it to make pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin waffles, or a pumpkin spice latte!
More Favorite Easy Baking Recipes
If you love this homemade pumpkin bread, try one of these easy baking recipes next:
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Easy Apple Cake
- Apple Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Or any of these 25 Super Fun Baking Recipes!
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour*
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- ½ cup almond milk, or any milk
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 eggs**
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, almond milk, sugar, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes clean.
Notes
made this today following the recipe exactly, and mine sunk and was gooey after 60 mins baking at 350- any ideas what i could have done wrong?
Hi Jeanine,
Can I use a natural sweetener instead of cane sugar? Like maple syrup?
Also, instead of canned pumpkin, I usually have frozen puréed pumpkin. Would that work?
Hi Amira, we haven’t tested this recipe with a natural sweetener, but these pumpkin muffins are naturally sweetened and so delicious! Your frozen puree should work great in either recipe.
Easy and delicious; moist and flavorful. I used half white flour, half wheat, used a tablespoon of Penzey’s pie spice, and added half a cup of chopped walnuts. I like that this is not overly sweet. Perfect for breakfast or with a cup of tea as an afternoon snack.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Are there nutrition facts available for this recipe?
Hi, we don’t calculate nutrition facts for our recipes, but you can always plug the recipe into an online nutrition calculator like MyFitnessPal if you need detail nutrition info. Hope this helps!
I love your homemade brownies recipe, and I’m very anxious to try this one. But what if I don’t have any wheat flour on hand? Will other flours work just as well?
Hi April, it should be fine with just all purpose flour.
Hi! Is there any reason I can’t/shouldn’t make these into muffins? I know you have a pumpkin muffin recipe on the site as well but I made this bread last time and it was delish but love serving muffins for a larger group.
Hi Cari, the muffin recipe will be puffier and will definitely make 12 muffins. I think the bread is a little more dense and they might just be squattier.
Thank you for this absolutely amazing recipe! Made this today and added dark chocolate chips, used buttermilk instead of almond milk , and also reduced the sugar by half and it turned out perfect! (my family doesn’t like very sweet things)
Made this last night to have with my morning coffee it was tempting to try it last night before I went to bed at 10:30pm. Smelled awesome, did add pumpkin spice and then lastly chopped walnuts and dates, very nice, would make again
Those additions sound delicious! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Made this for my OCT book club gathering and it was pretty well received.
I followed the exact instructions but added some pecans and dried cranberries (1/2 cup of each). I also added 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice after reading some of the spice comments.
The bread deeply split while baking across the top which I wasn’t quite expecting, so as a presentation not the greatest look, but of course did not effect the taste. I served it on its own, but the next day had a slice and decided to add a bit of butter – which put it over the top. I highly recommend it spread with some butter. Fall is officially here.
Hello Jeanine,
I wish I could send you a picture!
My pumpkin bread looked perfect, tested and it was done. Then, when turning it over, the center top broke. It looked uncooked, I placed it on a baking sheet back in the oven.
My poor bread look awful… but, I tried it and was delicious. I used less sugar because I added dried bing cherries and walnuts.
I keep enjoying it with ricotta on top for added protein at breakfast. I’m about to finish it, my husband only ate a piece twice. …
what did I do wrong Jeanine?
Hi Maricelle, it either sounds like it could have baked a little more or you tried to remove it from the pan before it was cooled.
Cooked for 1hr and was still so so dense and wet, like pumpkin pie…taste was not great at all.
Hi Ashley, did you change anything about the recipe?
Delicious! I didn’t realize I was out of eggs so I used the flaxseed option instead. What a pleasant surprise! Lack of eggs will never stand between me and pumpkin bread again. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Can you double this recipe?
Have you ever replaced the flour in your baked goods with Gluten free flour?
Hi Amy, I have but I haven’t tested every recipe. Sometimes it works great as a 1:1, other times we tweak some things. I haven’t tried this one, but this banana bread is awesome: https://www.loveandlemons.com/gluten-free-banana-bread/
I love your recipes! I regularly make your pickled red onions from your cookbook. And I’ve been looking for a healthier pumpkin bread recipe—is it sweet enough with 1/2 cup sugar?
Hi Pam, we think it’s sweet enough!
can you sub another oil for olive?
Yep! A neutral oil like avocado oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil will work great.
Can the pumpkin bread be made with gluten free flour or almond flour?
Hi Jeanne, I haven’t tried but I think a GF blend will work. A don’t recommend 1:1 almond flour replacement, when I use almond flour, the wet/dry ratios are usually not the same.
Do we know the carb count per slice for diabetic
Hi Tammy, we don’t calculate nutrition info but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.