The best Vegan Pumpkin Bread is made with simple ingredients from your pantry and bakes up perfectly moist and flavorful! It uses 1 whole can of pumpkin puree, is healthy, dairy-free and eggless – but most importantly it’s delicious!
Fall is here – it’s time to get the oven going and the house smelling like autumn!
Who doesn’t love the taste of fall, and what better way to bring in the fall than with a loaf of vegan pumpkin bread wafting through the air. Especially one that’s healthy and so easy to make!
Turn on the oven, open up the windows and let your neighbors smell all the deliciousness. It’s seriously the best air freshener!
Adapted from my favorite Vegan Banana Bread, this pumpkin loaf baked up beautifully and worked well replacing the banana with one full can of pumpkin puree. It’s the best vegan pumpkin bread if I do say so myself!
If you are a pumpkin lover, for variation give these Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal, Pumpkin Oat Muffins or Pumpkin Spice Pancakes a try. The whole family will love them!
Ingredients You’ll Need
In this recipe, flour, pumpkin puree & spice, sweetener and almond milk are made into a batter and baked to perfection, creating a perfectly moist and flavorful loaf of the best vegan pumpkin bread.
Here is everything you will need, including ingredient substitutions:
- Pumpkin Puree – Instead of the standard 1 cup of puree, like many recipes, I prefer to use the whole can of pumpkin puree, as to not waste or have to use the rest up later, which I never end up doing. I think you’ll love this 1 can pumpkin bread recipe as much as I do! Be sure to only use 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Flour – Use just about any flour – spelt, white whole wheat, all-purpose, 1 to 1 GF flour blend.
- Sugar – I used coconut sugar, but feel free to use your favorite. I have also made this using ⅔ cup maple syrup at room temp in place of sugar with great results (works with oil or applesauce).
- Applesauce or neutral oil – I’ve used both with great results, use your preferred. Applesauce may yield a slightly denser loaf. Here is an easy homemade Unsweetened Applesauce.
- Plant milk – Preferably unsweetened, use your favorite – almond, soy, cashew, oat, etc.
- Spices – I used the pumpkin pie spice mix, plus a little extra cinnamon for that added boost of flavor. If using the individual spices, adjust the measurement to suit your taste.
- Baking powder + baking soda – If you don’t have baking soda on hand, double the baking powder.
- Toppings: Add chopped pepitas, walnuts or whole sesame seeds or oats to the top for added texture and visual appeal. Sometimes I’ll lightly sprinkle the top with raw sugar before baking (this is my daughters preferred topping).
Now, let’s put it all together…
How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Making vegan pumpkin bread is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Here you can find photos for reference when baking your loaf.
- Simply mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl, add in the wet ingredients and mix, just until the flour is combined.
- Place batter in a 9 x 5 loaf pan, top with optional pumpkin seeds (shown above right) and bake for 55 – 60 minutes.
- Once done, let cool (shown below) and enjoy the flavors of fall!
And that’s it – the best 1 bowl vegan pumpkin bread made easy and healthy!
Top Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients for best results. Cold ingredients do not incorporate as well as when they are at room temp. Room temp ingredients will yield a fluffier pumpkin loaf.
- Don’t overmix batter. Just mix until there are not streaks of flour. Overmixing may result in a loaf that does not rise well and may become gummy in the center.
- Add chocolate chips. For variation, try adding a handful of chocolate chips to the batter!
- For best results, remove loaf from pan after 10 minutes and let cool on wire rack. Letting your loaf remain in the pan while cooling may result in a soggy bottom and possibly gummy center.
F&Qs
Can I make pumpkin bread gluten-free? Absolutely! You can use any gluten free flour blend, oat flour, or buckwheat flour, replacing 1 – 1 the amount of flour called for. I do not recommend using all coconut flour as it’s tricky to work with.
Can I make this quick bread recipe oil-free? Yes! Replace the oil with unsweetened applesauce for a healthy, oil free pumpkin bread. The loaf may be a little denser but the flavor will still be great.
Can I make pumpkin bread without baking soda? You sure can! Instead of using baking soda, use 1 level tablespoon baking powder with great results!
How To Store + Freeze
- Counter + Refrigerator: Once cooled, pumpkin bread can be stored, covered, on the counter for up to 3 – 4 days. Or store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Freezer: Vegan pumpkin bread is freezer friendly and can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer wrap or freezer bags, removing as much air as possible before closing. Let thaw in the refrigerator. Pumpkin bread can also be stored, covered, on the counter for up to 3 – 4 days. Or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
More Vegan Quick Bread Recipes
Vegan quick breads are the best! They are so easy to make and can be kept stored in the refrigerator or freezer to keep longer. Take a look at these other quick breads, you just may find yourself a new favorite!
- Applesauce Bread (Oil Free)
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Healthy Blueberry Banana Oat Bread
- Buckwheat Banana Bread (Gluten Free)
If you try this pumpkin loaf recipe or have a question, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintCLASSIC VEGAN PUMPKIN BREAD (1 BOWL + HEALTHY)
Simple, minimal ingredients, bring in the fall season with a freshly baked loaf of pumpkin bread wafting through the air! This easy, 1 bowl pumpkin bread recipe is vegan + wfpb.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 55 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: Makes 8 - 10 slices 1x
- Category: Quick Bread
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) flour (spelt, all-purpose, whole wheat, 1-to-1 GF flour blend)
- ½ – ¾ cup (150 g) sugar (coconut, turbinado or organic pure cane)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or 1 tsp each cinnamon & ginger and ½ tsp each nutmeg & allspice and a pinch of clove
- pinch of mineral salt
- 1 – 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ⅓ cup (75 ml) water or unsweetened almond milk (at room temp)
- ⅓ cup (75 ml) neutral flavored oil (or coconut oil is liquid state) or applesauce
- 1 can (15 oz) 100% pumpkin puree or 1 ½ cups (338 g) fresh pumpkin puree
- small handful pepitas (pumpkin seeds), for topping (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease loaf pan.
Mix: In a medium size bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine oil, sugar, water/milk and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture along with the pumpkin puree and mix well. Careful not to over mix, but be sure there is no flour clumps. Taste batter, adjusting flavor or sweetness to your liking.
Bake: Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, place in oven, on center rake, and bake for 55 – 60 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and let cool 5 – 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and transfer bread to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
Sliced pumpkin bread is delicious warmed in a toaster oven and served with a smear of vegan butter.
Makes 8 – 10 slices
Store: Let cool completely before storing. Keep covered on the counter for 2 – 3 days. Warm in the toaster oven.
Notes
Use room temperature ingredients for best results. Cold ingredients do not incorporate as well as when they are at room temp. Room temp ingredients will yield a fluffier pumpkin loaf.
Adjusting oil: I’ve made this loaf using less oil, anywhere from 2 – 4 tablespoons, while substituting the remaining amount called for with almond milk or water. It turned out fabulous while cutting some fat out of the recipe. Use applesauce in place of oil as well, loaf may be a little denser – but still delicious!
Spices: I used the pumpkin pie spice mix plus some extra cinnamon. I like all the flavors. If using the individual spices adjust the measurement up to suit your taste. Use less spice if you want to taste more of the pumpkin. Remember to always start with the smaller amount and work your way up. You cannot take away, but you can always add.
Optional flax-eggs: Since there are no flax-eggs here, if you wish you can add two flax-eggs in place of the water + add 3 extra tablespoons water or you can simply add two tablespoons of flaxseed meal to the batter with the dry ingredients. Ground flax seeds have great nutritional benefits and can be added to boost the nutritional profile of this recipe. If you have some on hand, go for it!
Sugar adjustments: Adjust the sugar up a little if you like it a bit sweeter. Because this batter is on the thicker side, you can also add in up to ¼ cup, or replace dry sugar with, warmed or room temperature pure maple syrup. Chilled maple syrup needs to be warmed or it will harden the coconut oil.
Maple Syrup: I have successfully made various loaves using ⅔ cup maple syrup at room temperature. I made a loaf using all unbleached all-purpose flour and another with half all-purpose and half whole wheat. Also, I tested one loaf with light flavored olive oil and another with applesauce. All my loaves baked up perfectly!
Toppings: Add chopped pepitas, walnuts or whole sesame seeds or oats to the top for added texture and visual appeal. Sometimes I will lightly sprinkle the top with raw sugar before baking (this is my daughters preferred topping). Even a cinnamon sugar mix would be delicious!
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Shamar says
I haven’t even made this recipe yet. But I already know it’s gonna be great for one main reason. My young child has been recently diagnosed with EOE an allergy related problem that in short, causes swelling In the esophagus which makes food to become stuck. She is currently and temporarily on a restrictive diet until we can pinpoint her allergies. This poor kids can’t eat egg, gluten,dairy, nuts or eggs! It’s Easter Sunday in Germany and no stores are open. I wanted to give my little girl a treat and I happen to have a can of pumpkin purée. I’ve been looking for recipes and most call for many items that most people don’t have in their kitchen. I was getting frustrated. Then I found this recipe! I’m still not even sure if she will be able to swallow it but I’m very thankful the recipe doesn’t call for ground unicorn horn or something to that effect!
★★★★★
JM says
I’ve made this 4 times in the last 30 days. Great recipe! I made it with 1/2 oat flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour and went with the applesauce option.
(for my latest loaf, I added fresh cranberries and chopped pecans-my new favorite way!).
Thanks for sharing this!
★★★★★
Kristiana kordas says
Can I use almond, oat or coconut flour instead?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
You can sub up to 1/3 cup of almond or coconut flour in this recipe, or use all oat flour. I don’t recommend using all almond or coconut flour, unless specifically specified as it doesn’t contain gluten and can be tricky when vegan baking. Hope that helps!
Jessica says
Delicious!! I added some garlic and cardamom powder too. I was surprised by how well it rose, even half way into baking :) I cut off the ends to “make it look nice” aka eat some myself before giving it to my dad. The bottom centimeter looks a little dense and my toppings got slightly burnt so I think I might lower the temp a little next time and bake a little longer. My oven may run a little hot? Do you have any suggestions? I did 350F for 60 minutes. :) thank you!
★★★★★
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Your additions sounds great, adding a little savory and delicious cardamom! I would suggest getting an oven temperature checker. They are pretty cheap and will help make sure your oven temp is correct. Also, if using applesauce it may be a little denser. And be sure to not overmix the batter. Hopefully that will help with bottom from being a little dense. So glad you loved it other than then that!
Jessica says
Thank you! Also, I meant ginger and cardamom hahaha I think I’m going to try again without the apple sauce and see how that bakes. Thanks :) My dad didn’t know this was vegan and loved it.
Jessica says
Thank you! Also, I meant ginger and cardamom hahaha I think I’m going to try again without the apple sauce and see how that bakes. Thanks :) My dad didn’t know this was vegan and loved it.
Suzy says
Substituted with gluten-free flour blend from Trader Joe’s and it worked really well! Also spread vegan butter mixed with maple syrup + cinnamon on top of my slice. So good!
★★★★★
Lindsey Ronald says
I also found this to be gummy. I used maple syrup, like I do w every pumpkin bread, instead of sugar and a neutral grape seed oil instead of applesauce.
I let it cool and it’s still gummy.
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Sorry you had an issue! I was curious and tested a loaf this morning using unbleached all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup of room temp pure maple syrup along with a light flavored olive oil and my loaf baked up perfectly. My only guess is that the batter was overmixed. I do hope you try again with better luck. Thank you so much for sharing!
Gweneth says
I was so excited for this but it will all go in the trash. I followed the recipe as directed. I did substitute applesauce for oil. Used half coconut flour with half regular. I was careful to not over mix. I used homemade pumpkin purée.The batter was thick so I had doubts but out in the oven hoping for the best. Never rose, thick and gummy. Very disappointed. A waste of ingredients and time. ☹️
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
So bummed for you that it didn’t turn out. There’s nothing worse than wasted time and ingredients, I know! The only thing that I can think of is the coconut flour, that is a really tricky flour to use when vegan baking. I only recommend subbing up to 1/3 to 1/2 cup when making vegan breads. I’m also wondering if homemade pumpkin puree is somehow a little ‘wetter’ than canned, which may affect it as well. I will have to retest with homemade puree. I do hope you try again with better results, this time using less coconut flour (or omitting it all together). My apologies!
Rabecca Draviam says
Tastes good, but the texture is *very* gummy. Perhaps because I used applesauce instead of oil. Would adding a flax egg help with this?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
The applesauce could be the culprit as it will yield a slightly denser bread, but it shouldn’t be gummy at all. I just made loaf today with applesauce and it was perfect. It could be that the batter was over stirred. Stirring until just combined is best. Any additional stirring may cause the gluten to not rise as well. Letting it cool completely before cutting may also help. Hope these tips help and you try it again with better luck!
Carli says
I made this the other day and it was great! I have a question though- if I were to use 2 8 x 4 pans, could I use this recipe as is and split the batter between the 2 pans? Thanks!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Yes, you can do that. Bake time will be about 35 – 45 minutes. Would love to know how it goes, it’s super helpful to others as well!
Laura says
Made this today and it turned out great! Easy and delicious, would totally recommend
★★★★★
Deborah says
This isn’t actually a one bowl recipe. The directions use two bowls. I made this with gluten free flour yesterday. I used two different AP flour blends. The results were a delicious. The texture was more like pudding bread than like what I expected from a quick bread, but that was probably a result of the GF flour.
Tonight I made this using regular flour. It rose a lot higher. The bread was still moist, but not overly so. Much more like a regular quick bread than like pudding bread.
I added about 3/4 cup of nuts to both breads. That was about the right amount of nut to bread ratio for me. I also doubled the amount of spice I used. I like bold flavours with my pumpkin.
I love your site. It is one of the best ones for finding vegan recipes I am almost sure to enjoy.
★★★★
Squidymamma says
Love that this bread uses a whole can of pumpkin! My husband had to go gluten and egg free and he was so excited about this bread, said it was amazing! Thank you!
★★★★★
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
So glad you enjoyed it! Cheers :)
Ann says
So good! I didn’t have almond milk so I used water instead haha still came out amazing! Thank you!
Susan says
Delicious! I made it with applesauce and the consistency was spot on. Will definitely be making again.
★★★★★