This moist and healthy Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread recipe is a simple and straightforward take on the seasonal classic made dairy-free and sweetened with maple syrup. Enjoy a thick slice with your favorite nut butter for a delicious snack!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- All it takes is two bowls and a quick whisk of the dry into wet ingredients
- It’s completely dairy-free and refined-sugar free, with an ingredient swap to make it vegan
- Celebrates the flavors and colors of the fall season
- Gets you one step ahead on your holiday prep as the bread keeps for days and freezes beautifully
If you’re looking for a miniature version, you can try these pumpkin muffins, too! One of the best!
Ingredients for Healthy Pumpkin Bread
This is a clean cut recipe for pumpkin bread that only requires a handful of ingredients, many of them part of my healthy kitchen pantry <– check out that link for my favorites!
Here’s what you need:
- whole wheat white flour – whole wheat white flour or whole wheat pastry flour will provide a softer, tender loaf. half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour is a good sub or an equal amount of 1:1 gluten-free baking flour will make it gluten-free.
- pumpkin spice – you can use store bought or make it at home using this simple recipe. This pumpkin bread recipe calls for a full tablespoon, but you can decrease it to just 1-2 teaspoons if you want less spice.
- baking soda – for lift and that beautiful brown color.
- salt – to bring out all the fall flavors.
- canned pumpkin – make sure to use pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie mix. We will talk about this more below.
- pure maple syrup – for moisture and sweetness, use the real stuff out of the glass jar.
- coconut sugar (or dry sweetener of choice) – I love the subtle sweetness and fruitiness of coconut sugar. Plus, it is completely unrefined. Brown sugar, either light or dark, is your next best option. Feel free to increase the amount of sugar to up to 3/4 cup, depending on how sweet you like your bread.
- oil – use a neutral oil, like avocado oil or refined coconut oil. Unrefined coconut oil is your next best option, but it does impart a slight coconut flavor. Olive oil is another great option, which will give it a slightly herbal flavor.
- eggs – use two whole eggs or two flax eggs in its place to make it vegan.
- vanilla – a subtle floral sweetness you just can’t get from sugar.
- non-dairy milk – use your favorite – almond, coconut, oat or cashew all work here. You could even use water, if you do not have non-dairy milk on hand. I don’t recommend using a protein-based milk here.
What Kind of Pumpkin to Use
Use 100% Pure Pumpkin, not Pumpkin Pie Mix. The pure pumpkin has one ingredient – pumpkin. The pumpkin pie mix is mixed with sugar, spices and a ton of unwanted preservatives we don’t want and need.
Libby’s is the quintessential pumpkin brand on supermarket shelves, but I have seen Whole Foods, as well as many large grocery stores, sell their own brand.
Farmer’s Market brand is another option, which is organic, but is often more liquid-y than Libby’s brand. If you see there is liquid sitting in the top of the can, try to drain it before measuring out for this recipe.
How to Make
This is a quick bread recipe that is just that – quick and SO easy! All it takes is a simple mix of the dry into wet ingredients and you have a pumpkin bread batter ready for the oven in no time.
Combine Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Whisk Wet Ingredients
In a large bowl add pumpkin, maple syrup, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until ingredients are well combined.
Combine All Ingredients
Add dry ingredients to large bowl of wet ingredients, using spatula to stir a couple of times, then add in milk and continue stirring until just combined. Avoid over-working the batter so you don’t end up with a tough bread.
Pour, Bake and Cool
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 35 minutes uncovered. Cover top of bread loosely with foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Insert toothpick into middle of bread, it should come out with little to no crumbs when done. Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then on wire rack to cool completely.
Serving Suggestions
This whole wheat pumpkin bread is moist, flavorful and best enjoyed warm with your favorite nut butter, such as coconut butter, cashew butter or almond butter.
But a little slab of real salted sweet cream butter is amazing too, of course.
How to Store
The pumpkin bread is super moist, so it will keep wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for up to 3 days. If you think it will last longer than that, store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze, cool completely (optionally slice), wrap tightly in parchment paper, then transfer to a freezer plastic storage bag, seal tight, label, date and freeze for up to 3 months.
STORAGE TIP: I like to slice the bread before freezing and wrap each slice individually, then store in the plastic storage bag as noted above. This way, I can defrost individual slices by letting them defrost to room temperature or warming them through in the microwave or toaster oven.
Recipe Tips
Gently combine your wet and dry ingredients to avoid overworking the batter. The more you work the batter, the tougher the bread will be.
Lightly grease and/or line your bread pan for an easy release.
Add chocolate chips if you want a little extra sweetness. You may want to reduce the pumpkin spice blend to two teaspoons if adding chocolate chips.
Adjust oven rack to lower middle position to avoid the top of the bread from browning too much. I also cover the top with foil about halfway through.
Check the middle of the bread with a toothpick for wet batter. The bread will be done when an inserted toothpick comes out with little to no crumbs.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love:
If you make this Pumpkin Bread recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review on the blog! I love hearing from you, and it helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
Dry
- 1.75 cups whole wheat pastry flour, or whole wheat white flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice , homemade blend linked!
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Wet
- 1.25 cups canned pumpkin
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar, see notes
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup non dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and spray 9×5 inch loaf pan, or line with parchment paper; set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl add pumpkin, maple syrup, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until ingredients are well combined.
- Combine: Add dry ingredients to large bowl of wet ingredients, using spatula to stir a couple of times, then add in milk and continue stirring until just combined. Avoid over-working the batter so you don’t end up with a tough bread.
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 35 minutes uncovered. Cover top of bread loosely with foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Insert toothpick into middle of bread, it should come out with little to no crumbs when done. Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then on wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information
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