This vegan pumpkin bread is seriously the best ever! It’s tender and moist and packed with fall flavors. It’s also really easy to make using simple ingredients.
I’m totally thrilled with this vegan pumpkin bread.
I’ve been loving the quick breads lately and enjoying vegan banana bread and vegan zucchini bread and of course vegan cornbread.
This pumpkin bread is so easy to make, the hardest thing about it is waiting for it to finish baking in the oven! Especially with those delicious aromas wafting through the house.
The pumpkin flavor comes from lots of pumpkin purée. We didn’t skimp on the pumpkin, so the flavor is really delicious. And then we have all those delicious pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
The first time I made this I went a little heavy on the ginger and cloves, it was still good but I knew I had to tone it down a little. Once I did the flavor balance of pumpkin and spices was just perfect.
A sprinkle of pumpkin seeds on top finishes the look perfectly!
The batter for this vegan pumpkin bread is thick! So don’t be surprised and think I left out some crucial ingredients! It’s a bit heavy to stir it properly and I’ll admit I handed the mixing bowl to Jaye and told him to do it!
It does come together though and the final result is beautifully moist.
How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Bread
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- It’s super easy! Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add some white and brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger and salt and mix together.
- Then prepare a flax egg by adding 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal to a bowl and then adding in 3 tablespoons of hot water and letting it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add in pumpkin purée, oil, vanilla and the flax egg to your mixing bowl and mix in. The batter will be very thick.
- Transfer the batter to a prepared 9×5 loaf pan – it should be sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper with overhang on each side (see photo below). Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds (pepitas).
- Bake for 60 minutes at 350°F.
- Keep an eye on it while baking and if it is showing any signs of over-browning then bring it out at the 40 minute mark and tent it with foil and put it back in for the remaining 20 minutes.
- Tenting with foil just means to put foil loosely over the top in a ‘tent’ shape so that it doesn’t press down on the bread from the top.
- Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing it (using the parchment paper overhang to easily lift it out of the pan) and placing it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Ingredient Notes
You can use fresh or canned pumpkin purée. Using canned pumpkin purée is easier as you don’t have to make it from scratch but if you want to make it up fresh then it’s really easy to do. Just bake peeled and chopped pumpkin on a parchment lined baking tray at 350°F for 30 minutes until soft and cooked. Let it cool and then purée it in the food processor. Let the puréed pumpkin stand in a sieve over a bowl for an hour or so to let any excess water drip off. Canned pumpkin purée isn’t wet so your freshly made purée should not be either.
You can really use any oil that you like. We have made this with olive oil and canola oil and coconut oil and loved all three. However, some brands of olive oil can leave an aftertaste so it’s not always the first choice for a lot of people and canola oil or vegetable oil can be a better neutral tasting option. If you’re using coconut oil then it should be melted first. Just a note though that using coconut oil results in this batter being even thicker which can make it more difficult to work with. The end result will be the same though.
Recipe Success Tips
Weigh your flour for the most accurate results in this recipe. If you don’t have a food scale then make sure you use the spoon and level method for measuring flour which is the most accurate way to measure flour when using cups. Just spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
The batter is very thick. This is perfect and results in perfectly textured moist pumpkin bread. So just be patient in mixing it as it can take a little arm power.
Recipe Q&A
Chocolate chips would be a great addition! Add a cup of chocolate chips to the batter and fold them in before baking for a delicious chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Other optional add in’s could be chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cranberries or raisins. Keep any add-in’s to around a cup in total.
Sure, if you’d like to make this pumpkin bread gluten-free then use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. Something like Bob’s Red All Purpose Baking Flour would work well. It must be a blend that is meant to replace regular flour in baking. Don’t use something like coconut flour as that will not work well.
Yes you can! This recipe only uses ¼ cup of oil and it can easily be replaced with ¼ cup of applesauce for an oil-free option.
Keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature and it will stay fresh and delicious for a few (3-4) days. It can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Yes! It is freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Vegan Pumpkin Recipes
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ½ cups Pumpkin Purée (337g) Canned or fresh
- ¼ cup Canola Oil (60ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
- ½ ounce Pumpkin Seeds (14g) Pepitas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the white and brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt and mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by adding 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal to a bowl and then adding in 3 Tbsp of hot water from the kettle, leave to sit for a minute or so to become gloopy.
- Add in the pumpkin purée, oil, vanilla and flax egg and mix in. The batter will be very thick, but have patience and mix in carefully and it will combine properly. Mix until just combined and don’t overmix.
- Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with non-stick spray and then line it with parchment paper so that the parchment paper hangs over the sides, so that when the pumpkin bread is baked, you can easily lift it out of the loaf pan using the parchment paper.
- Transfer the batter from the mixing bowl to the loaf pan and smooth down evenly.
- Sprinkle pumpkin seeds (pepitas) over the top.
- Place into the oven and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If it shows any signs of over-browning then tent it with foil (see notes)* at the 40 minute mark and return to the oven for the remaining 20 minutes.
- Lift the pumpkin bread out with the parchment paper overhang and place onto a wire cooling rack to cool before slicing.
Video
Notes
- I have made this bread with different oils including olive oil (as in the video) which has worked out great for me. However, depending on the brand, olive oil can sometimes leave an aftertaste, which is why I now prefer to recommend canola oil or vegetable oil. However, most oils will work in this recipe including coconut oil. If you use coconut oil then make sure it is melted first.
- Canned pumpkin purée is the easiest pumpkin to use, but if you can’t get canned pumpkin purée you can make it yourself – put peeled and cubed pumpkin in the oven on a parchment lined baking tray, as is, don’t add any spices or oils, and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C). Let it cool and then purée it in the food processor. Let it stand in a sieve over a bowl to let any excess water drip off.
- An alternative option to a flax egg is to use 3 Tbsp applesauce instead.
- Tenting with foil just means to put foil loosely over the top in a ‘tent’ shape so that it doesn’t press down on the bread from the top.
- Keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature and it will stay fresh and delicious for a few (3-4) days. It can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- This recipe was first published in September 2018.
Looks awesome! Having a gluten free option is great so definitely going to try this!
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi, sometimes I use Date Paste cup for cup instead of any sugar at all and it works great. Do you think that would work in this? I might try it, just wondering your thoughts. Thanks. 🙂
Hi Sydney, I have no idea if that will work in this, but let us know how it goes if you try it! All the best!
Sorry one more question what type of oil oil do you use I know there is several different kinds? To use coconut oil do you need the refined or unrefined? Thank you ????
Hi Erica, refined coconut oil just removes the coconut flavor, but when I use regular virgin coconut oil in baking I never notice any coconut flavor in the end result, so I don’t think it matters at all, whatever is easiest. 🙂
can you substitute cane sugar for regular sugar and coconut palm sugar for brown sugar? Also which is the best flour to use? Does Whole wheat flour work?
The sugar should be just fine, but the whole wheat flour will likely change the texture. 🙂
Can you use Equal instead of regular sugar?
Hi Erica, I wouldn’t think so no.
I made 2 loaves a month ago that disappeared quickly. Am getting ready for round two for the Christmas Holiday treats. I add lots of extras like raisins, cashews, walnuts and even half cherries.
Fantastic! Thanks Chuck! 🙂
Hi, I’m excitingly preparing to bake this recipe in a muffin pan. I’m assuming it should take half of the time a loaf takes to bake? I was wondering how to adjust the spices since I ran out of ground ginger?
Hi Carmen! Muffins would usually be around 30 minutes bake time. I think you could just omit the ginger if you don’t have, rather than adding any other spices. All the best! 🙂
Delicious! I made exactly as shown in recipe, except I topped with chopped pecans since I did not have any pepitas. Next time (and there WILL be a next time!) I will add nuts to the batter too. Thanks for creating this recipe
So glad you enjoyed it Chris! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Loved this recipe! I used chia seeds instead of flax. Turned out awesome and great texture and family loved it.
So happy to hear! Thanks for sharing Hannah. 🙂
This bread was dense, moist and tasty. I used a mixture of Oat Flour and White Whole Wheat Flour (I don’t use all-purpose if I can help it). I cut back the sugar as suggested by others and used canola oil.
The bread was a hit with my omni co-workers! Thanks for the terrific recipe!
So glad it was a hit! Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
I’ve made this 3 times in one week! It is the best pumpkin bread recipe I’ve ever made. I keep making it and giving out to people talking them how good it is haha!
Super quick and easy! I’ve also made one gluten free and it’s just as good!!
Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review Rachel and I’m so happy it’s great as gluten-free as well. 🙂
I’m loving this recipe. I’ve used half coconut flour and half all purpose, subbed the oil for apple sauce, and decreased the sugar by half and used coconut sugar. I add chocolate chips to help sweeten and make them into cookies!
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing Molly! 🙂
Tried this tonight. It’s tasty and moist but definitely a little chewy, maybe the texture is different because it’s vegan? It was very easy and I’d definitely make it again!
Hi Daniela, the texture shouldn’t be different because of being vegan, if it was a little chewy my first guess would be possibly overmixing the batter a little. This can cause a chewy texture because it activates the gluten in the flour a little too much. But so glad it was still tasty and moist! 🙂
This turned out great! Only substitutions I made were swapping coconut oil for the olive oil and decreasing sugar by about a third. Thanks for the recipe!
Wonderful! So happy to hear that Wendy. Thanks for the amazing review. 🙂
If I wanted to bake this in cupcake tins instead how should I alter the cooking time?
Hi Darlene, cooking time would be around 30 minutes in that case. 🙂