Healthy Pumpkin Bread
Published 9/30/2022
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Your fall baking dreams have come true with this Healthy Pumpkin Bread! Packed with pumpkin puree and a few chocolate chips + the just right amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, this pumpkin bread recipe is something your whole family will enjoy!
We have healthy and delicious bread recipes galore here on Fit Foodie Finds! From this easy cinnamon apple bread to this vegan banana bread to this blueberry banana bread, we’ve got you covered with healthy bread loaves for every season.
Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe!
It’s finally here! Pumpkin everything season. And, to honor this wonderful time of year, we’re here with the most deliciously moist healthy pumpkin bread. Bookmark this recipe because it will quickly become your go-to fall loaf recipe.
This delicious and moist healthy pumpkin bread is truly a fall favorite. We love whipping up a few loaves for friends and family and have even served this pumpkin bread at Thanksgiving.
How is this Pumpkin Bread Better For you?
There are so many different pumpkin bread recipes on the internet, but this one tops the charts for HEALTHY pumpkin bread. Here’s why:
- 100% whole grains – We’ve tested this recipe with both all-prupose flour (more traditional) and white whole wheat flour (a bit denser). If you use white whole wheat flour, that is considered a whole grain.
- All-natural sugar – the only kind of sugar you’ll find in this pumpkin bread recipe is coconut sugar and maple syrup. 2 sugars that are plant based and better for you. We recently retested it with brown sugar and that works too.
- Ready in under 1 hour – 60 minutes and done!
here’s a tip
If you’re trying to adapt any bread or muffin recipe to be a bit healthier, we suggest swapping for whole grains when possible and using an all-natural sugar. You can also take a look at the fat content and use pureed fruit or Greek yogurt in place of some oil.
Healthy Pumpkin Bread Ingredients
We won’t get into the nitty-gritty of every ingredient in this bread until you scroll on down to the recipe card, but here are the true heroes of the show when it comes to this healthier pumpkin bread:
- Flour: This pumpkin bread can be made with either all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour. All-purpose will give you a more traditional spongy loaf, whereas white whole wheat is a little denser.
- Pumpkin puree: The star of this pumpkin bread is obviously the pumpkin puree! It’s what gives this classic recipe a sweet twist! Make sure to buy unsweetened pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie puree.
- Spices: The runner-up star of this recipe is, of course, the perfect combination of fall SPICES. In this recipe, we used cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, and seriously, they’re the perfect harvest flavors to complement the sweet pumpkin flavor.
- Almond milk: I love the nutty flavor of almond milk, but feel free to use any kind of milk for this pumpkin bread.
- Vanilla extract: Cuz every loaf deserves some vanilla.
- Maple syrup: Instead of using refined sugar, we stuck with maple syrup, our favorite plant-based sugar!
- Coconut oil: This recipe calls for coconut oil. If you don’t have this oil at home, you can easily sub for a different baking oil, such as canola oil.
- Eggs: We haven’t tested this recipe eggless, but you can always try to sub 2 flax eggs!
- Chocolate chips: These are absolutely optional, but over here at FFF we’re big fans of the chocolate and pumpkin flavor combo, and think you will be, too 😀
Ingredient Swaps
While we recommend following our baked good recipes to a tee, here are some swap suggestions if you don’t have an ingredient or two.
Flour – try a gluten-free all-purpose flour instead.
Sugar – we’ve made this bread with brown sugar instead of coconut sugar and it’s just as delicious, just not unrefined. You can also try using honey or agave instead of maple, but we truly love the warmth maple syrup gives this healthy pumpkin bread recipe.
Spices – Have homemade pumpkin pie spice at home? Try that or even gingerbread spice! You can even use our chai spice.
Coconut Oil – Instead of coconut oil, you can try using olive oil, canola oil, or even melted butter.
Toppings/Mix-Ins for Pumpkin Bread
A slice of this healthy pumpkin bread is entirely moist enough to enjoy on its own, but if you’re looking to jazz it up a bit, it’s also delicious using the following as toppings and/or mix-ins.
- Butter
- Nuts
- Ghee
- Peanut butter
- Nutella
- Honey
- Cream cheese
Pumpkin Bread Baking Tips
Don’t over mix: When in doubt, do NOT overmix the batter. If you do so, you risk overwhipping the eggs, which will leave you with a flat loaf.
Let cool completely: This is probably our #1 tip for preventing a bread flop. I’m speaking from experience here when I say let the bread cool completely before slicing! The bread continues to bake as it cools and if you cut it too soon it may fall apart or seem uncooked.
Use a toothpick to test doneness: There is nothing worse than over or under-cooking your pumpkin bread. So? Make sure to use a toothpick to test the doneness before removing it from the oven. Stick your toothpick in the middle of the bread and press it halfway down. If it comes out clean, you know it’s done!
Can I turn this pumpkin bread into muffins?
Yes! You can easily turn this healthy pumpkin bread into a muffin recipe. Here’s how to do it:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Then, line a muffin tin with muffin liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Follow the directions on how to make the batter and then transfer the batter into a muffin tin filling each muffin 3/4 of the way full. You might get 14-16 muffins out of this batter.
- Bake at 350ºF for 22-24 minutes.
- Let muffins cool for at least 5 minutes before removing them from the tin and transferring to a cooling rack.
We also have a few other muffin recipes that contain pumpkin. Try them: Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins.
CHeck it out!
6 Healthy Muffin Recipes – 1 Base Batter
Are you a muffin queen just like us? Here’s our favorite base recipe for healthy muffins + 6 different healthy muffin recipes you can make with it! Get all 6 healthy muffin recipes HERE!
How to Store Pumpkin Bread
Store this healthy pumpkin bread in an air-tight container or gallon-size Ziploc with a piece of paper towel on the bottom to soak up the moisture. Store at room temperature on the countertop for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5.
How to Freeze Pumpkin Bread
- Let the bread cool completely.
- Then, tightly wrap it in a piece of plastic wrap and then once more with a piece of tin foil. Remove as much air from around the bread as possible.
- Write the name of the recipe and the date on the bag.
- This bread will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Thaw Pumpkin Bread
To thaw frozen pumpkin bread, remove it from the freezer and let sit at room temperature on the countertop until fully thawed. Do not refreeze once thawed.
Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Dry
- 1.75 cups all-purpose flour, or white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, + more for topping!
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed , or coconut sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened, plain almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 350ºF and spray a bread pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl (minus the brown sugar) and mix together. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, cream the brown sugar and maple syrup together until combined. Then, add one egg at a time to sugar mixture until combined. Add almond milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla and mix again.
- Slowly transfer dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Finally, add in melted coconut oil, and mix again.
- Pour batter into greased bread pan and sprinkle on more chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake at 350ºF for 45-50 minutes or until the center of the bread is fully cooked.
- Remove pumpkin bread from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Then, remove from pan to finish cooling.
- Enjoy!
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.
The pumpkin bread was so scrumptious! The wonderful aroma filled our entire kitchen. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
This is a perfect fall bread! I will make it again soon.
The pumpkin bread was very comforting with plenty of Autumn flavor and warm spices.
I’ve had uneven baking experiences with loafs in the past, so I used this recipe in muffin format. This recipe was absolutely delicious! My muffins were moist, and the pumpkin flavor was perfect! I also opted to add in white chocolate chips, which complimented the flavors. Will definitely make again!
Fun! White chocolate chips!
Absolutely delicious!!
Can I use a 9″ pyrex pie plate to bake this or do I need a bread container ? Would the bread tin be better than the pie plate ?
Delicious! I did have to bake it for closer to 60 min. The chocolate chips are good but I think I prefer cranberries in pumpkin bread so I’ll try that next time!
Not the best photo 😂 but these muffins are DELICIOUS! Skipped the chocolate and replaced with chopped walnuts so they add a little more nutrition. Subbed with a GF all purpose flour, apple sauce instead of maple syrup to reduce sweetness a bit and roasted/blended a carnival squash cause that’s what I had on hand! I ate three immediately upon coming out of the oven – slathered with butter of
Course!
Great idea to use chopped walnuts!
This bread is delicious!! My husband is gluten free and I usually sub King Arthur Measure for Measure flour in baked goods, but I find it’s a little too dense for breads and muffins, so for this bread I tried using 1 cup GF flour and 3/4 cup oat flour and it turned out beautifully – my coworkers couldn’t tell it was GF! I also reduced the amount of maple syrup and increased the coconut oil to lower the sugar a little. Definitely will be making again!
Thanks so much for sharing that these modifications worked for you, Melissa! Looks DELISH 😀
Loved this pumpkin bread. I’ve made many different ones over the years, and this one is definitely one of the best – moist, great flavor, and truly not hard to pull together at all. Only complaint is that it took maybe a full hour to bake through – common problem for me, though and really not a big deal. Definitely saving this one!
Aw, we’re blushing! Thanks so much, Cara 😀