If you need to satisfy all of your Fall baking needs, look no further than this healthy pumpkin bread with streusel topping and maple glaze. This gluten free recipe is easy to make and is the perfect snack, breakfast, or dessert!
I nearly lost my mind testing this healthy pumpkin bread recipe. I think it took about 7 tries to get it exactly perfectly right, but oh my gosh was it worth it.
It’s perfectly fluffy, moist, gluten free and passes for breakfast, snack, AND dessert. Sounds like a winner to me! Plus, it can easily be made vegan!
You guys have been loving my chocolate chip banana bread and banana muffins lately so I wanted to make a bread for Fall and thought pumpkin bread was the perfect recipe. Maybe I’ll do apple bread next year?!
If you love this recipe and want more Fall flavors, try my sweet potato casserole or vegan pumpkin pie next!
How to make healthy pumpkin bread
To make the streusel topping, combine the GF flour, coconut sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly pour in the melted oil and combine with your fingers or a fork until crumbles form. Set aside.
To make the loaf: Whisk together the coconut sugar, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and eggs.
You need 1 1/4 cups of pumpkin puree, which is slightly less than 1 15 ounce can. I usually just feed the rest to my dog (he loves it lol), but you can save it for a smoothie, oatmeal or try my pumpkin cookies instead!
Next, use a wooden spoon to stir in the oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice.
Add the batter to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Mine was 8 1/2 x 4 x 1/2, but a 9×5 will also work. Smooth out the top.
Evenly spread the streusel topping on top of the bread allowing it to crumble between your fingers. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the maple glaze, simply whisk together all ingredients until well combined.
Let the bread cool for at least 2 hours before glazing and slicing, otherwise it will be crumbly! Once cool, drizzle the glaze on top, slice, and enjoy!
Why did it deflate and crumble?
This could be for a few reasons, one of which is due to undercooking, especially since this bread is gluten free.
I suggest a baking time of 50 minutes which will cook the bread all the way through the center and make sure it is nice and fluffy.
The second problem could be that you cut the bread before letting it cool completely. Doing so alters the structure of the proteins in the flour, so please be sure to let cool completely before slicing to keep the bread as fluffy as possible.
I do not recommend playing around with the proportions of the pumpkin, maple syrup, coconut oil, etc. as these are the key ingredients that make this bread moist.
I’ve tried this bread many different ways (I’m *almost* sick of pumpkin at this point lol) and these proportions yield the best texture.
The best loaf pan
For the best results, bake in a 9 inch aluminum loaf pan. I have tried this recipe in a ceramic pan and it cooks much differently than an aluminum pan.
This type of aluminum conducts heat very well and ensures the bread cooks evenly and at the same rate throughout the loaf.
Storage tips
Once prepared, this recipe will keep for about 3 days on the counter or 5-7 days in the fridge. Keep it in an air tight container to prevent it from drying out. Because of the oil and almond butter in the recipe, it will stay pretty moist on it’s own.
To keep this healthy pumpkin bread as moist as possible, keep it in an air tight container (once sliced) and store it in the fridge.
You can pop a slice in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and it will be like it’s fresh from the oven!
Frequently asked questions
Can I make it refined sugar free?
To make this bread completely refined sugar free, you can sub the maple glaze for my maple cream cheese glaze.
Since we’re already using coconut sugar and maple syrup in the loaf itself, no changes will be needed there.
What kind of pumpkin should I use?
For this recipe, you want to use pure pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling! The only ingredient should be pumpkin.
Can I add chocolate chips?
Yes! This pumpkin bread is also delicious as a chocolate chip pumpkin bread, so feel free to throw in about 1/2 cup of your favorite chocolate chips!
Can I make it vegan?
Yes. However, the texture will be a bit different. You cab sub the two eggs for two flax eggs by combining 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed with 5 tablespoons of water.
Set aside to thicken and use this in place of the eggs. The flavor will be the same, but the bread will not get the same rise as it will with the real eggs.
Flavor tip: Not all pumpkin pie spices are created equal. The simply organic pumpkin spice is the best and most flavorful in my opinion!
Looking for more? Try these!
- Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
- Sweet Potato Muffins
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
Follow along on on instagram and subscribe to my email list for more recipes and updates. Leave a comment and rating below if you try this recipe and let us know how it turns out!
Healthy Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Bread:
- 2 cups oat flour
- 1 cup fine almond flour
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 2 eggs ideally at room temperature
- ¼ cup melted refined coconut oil
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2-3/4 cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar I used 3/4 cup
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Streusel:
Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon non dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, coconut sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly pour in the melted oil and combine with your fingers or a fork until crumbles form. Set aside.
- To make the loaf: Whisk together the coconut sugar, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and eggs.
- Use a wooden spoon to stir in the oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice. Be sure to spoon and level the flour into your measuring cups, don't pack it in or scoop right from the bag.
- Add the batter to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Mine was 8 1/2 x 4 x 1/2, but a 9×5 will also work. Smooth out the top.
- Evenly spread the streusel topping on top of the bread allowing it to crumble between your fingers.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- For the maple glaze, simply whisk together all ingredients until well combined.
- Let the bread cool for at least 2 hours before glazing and slicing, otherwise it will be crumbly!
- Once cool, drizzle the glaze on top, slice, and enjoy!
Victoria says
I would love to make this but I don’t have cups (in Italy we don’t use them), is it possible to have the recipe written in grams? thank you so much!
also I can’t eat much sugar, could I use only maple syrup or only sugar? (it’s okay if it is not too sweet)
thank you ♡
Claire Cary says
In the recipe card you can convert to metric! You can cut the sugar in half if you prefer!
Genie Robinson says
One of your pinable options for this recipe says it’s vegan. Not with the inclusion of eggs…
Claire Cary says
I explain how to make it vegan in the post!
Liz says
I don’t normally leave reviews but this one deserves one!! This pumpkin bread really is delicious and so moist! I like nuts in my loaves so I added walnuts! I’m not much of a baker but this recipe is so easy to follow and the bread is always perfect! Thank you for the recipe 😊
Claire Cary says
Perfect! Thank you, Liz!
Ana Maria Peñaherrera says
Hi,
I don’t have the pumpkin pie spice, can I make my own??
Claire Cary says
Yes!
Teresa says
Hi
I was wondering why apple cider vinegar?
Claire Cary says
It reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise!
Kaela says
I have an oat allergy. What do you recommend to sub for the oat flour?
Claire Cary says
Unfortunately, there is not a good sub for oat flour here
Hanneke says
I have been trying out healthier pumpkin bread recipes (no flour or refined sugars) usually the ones with almond flour don’t rise and are crumbly, the ones with just oat flour are dense or even gummy. But this one with both almond and oat flour was just right. Did’t rise very much but was fluffy, moist and not crumbly. I made it plain, without the toppings, still really tasty. And a plus for me is the use of coconut sugar, I really like the taste and how its better for my blood sugar.
Claire Cary says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Kelsie says
This sounds delish! I don’t like using coconut oil. Can I substitute the oil for canola or olive oil? Or would this not work?
Perhaps butter as this is somewhat solid at room temp so might be similar?
Claire Cary says
Yes! I would recommend butter instead of the coconut oil
Renee Walls says
Can I substitute the eggs for flax eggs?
Claire Cary says
I haven’t tested that but it should be ok. The texture is going to be much denser though!
Andriana Gavrilovic says
Way too difficult to navigate this recipe, the streusel is repeated 3 times and we couldn’t find the actually loaf recipe. I spent 20 minutes scrolling this page to navigate the recipes and then gave up.
Claire Cary says
Hi Andriana,
If you click “jump to recipe” at the top of the page, it will take you to the recipe card which clearly outlines every step of the recipe. The streusel is not repeated 3 times.
Laura says
I only have a ceramic pan is that ok?
Claire Cary says
Yes, that will work, but it might bake differently than if you used an aluminum pan. The bake time should be roughly the same, but if you notice the top browning before the center is done, cover it with aluminum foil until the center is done. let me know how it turns out!
jacquie says
please make apple bread – i have been searching for a good recipe that is wholesome and not too sweat but can’t find one. Why wait for next year? Apples are still abundant and will be for awhile.
Claire Cary says
I will try to squeeze it into my calendar this year 🙂 things are tight, but I’ll see what I can do!