The best vegan gingerbread loaf is soft and moist and gorgeously flavored with molasses, cinnamon and ginger. Perfect for the holidays!
This vegan gingerbread loaf is a beautifully spiced holiday dessert that you are going to love.
It’s really easy to make in 1-bowl with simple ingredients and the result is a soft, moist and rich molasses and ginger spiced loaf that really delivers in terms of flavor and texture.
It’s also topped with an optional orange frosting that complements the flavors perfectly.
You’ll also love our vegan gingerbread cookies, vegan gingersnap cookies and vegan gingerbread cake.
Recipe Ingredients:
Ingredient Notes
- Applesauce – adds moisture without being too heavy. If you’re looking for a substitute for this you can use 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of hot water) in place of the applesauce.
- Molasses – unsulphured molasses tends to be milder and sweeter than sulphured. Most of the commercial brands sold will be unsulpured, however, avoid blackstrap molasses as it tends to be too bitter. Grandma’s Molasses is a good brand of unsulpured molasses if you’re in the USA.
- Soy milk – can be switched for a different non-dairy milk.
- Canola oil – can be switched for vegetable oil.
- Powdered sugar and orange juice – create the optional orange frosting/glaze.
Step By Step Instructions
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.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and allspice. Mix together.
- Add soy milk, molasses, canola oil, applesauce, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. Mix into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Transfer to a 9×5 loaf pan (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper that overhangs on either side) and smooth down.
- Bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Transfer the loaf to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Sift powdered sugar into a bowl, add orange juice and mix into a thick glaze.
- Spoon the glaze over the top of the loaf and spread it out, then place the whole loaf into the fridge for 10 minutes so that the glaze can set.
- Slice and serve!
Baker’s Tips
Measure your flour properly. Ideally weigh it out on a food scale, but if you don’t have a food scale, then make sure to spoon and level the flour, don’t scoop it. Simply spoon it into your measuring cup (don’t pack it down) and then level off the top with a knife.
Don’t overmix the batter. Mix until just combined. Overmixing can affect your texture and rise.
Gluten free. For a gluten free version you can try using a gluten free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. We have not tested it for this recipe, but this is what usually works well.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
It’s freezer friendly for up to 2 months and can be frozen either frosted or unfrosted. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Vegan Holiday Baking Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Gingerbread Loaf
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Allspice
- ¾ cup Soy Milk (180ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup Unsulphured Molasses (60ml)
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml)
- 3 Tablespoons Applesauce
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
Orange Glaze (Optional):
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar (120g)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Orange Juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper so that there is overhang on either side.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and allspice. Mix together.
- Add soy milk, molasses, canola oil, applesauce, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. Mix into a batter. Don't overmix.
- Transfer to your prepared 9×5 loaf pan and smooth down.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Transfer the loaf to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Sift powdered sugar into a bowl, add orange juice and mix into a thick glaze.
- Spoon the glaze over the top of the loaf and spread it out, then place the whole loaf into the fridge for 10 minutes so that the glaze can set.
- Slice and serve!
Notes
- Measure your flour properly. Ideally weigh it out on a food scale, but if you don’t have a food scale, then make sure to spoon and level the flour, don’t scoop it. Simply spoon it into your measuring cup (don’t pack it down) and then level off the top with a knife.
- Molasses – unsulphured molasses tends to be milder and sweeter than sulphured. Most of the commercial brands sold will be unsulpured, however, avoid blackstrap molasses as it tends to be too bitter. Grandma’s Molasses is a good brand of unsulphured molasses if you’re in the USA.
- Applesauce – adds moisture without being too heavy. If you’re looking for a substitute for this you can use 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of hot water) in place of the applesauce.
- Gluten free. For a gluten free version you can try using a gluten free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. We have not tested it for this recipe, but this is what usually works well.
- Storing: Keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
- Freezing: It’s freezer friendly for up to 2 months and can be frozen either frosted or unfrosted. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Awesome recipe! Super simple and easily customizable. My fiance and I made some healthier swaps and it still turned out great. We made 3 different versions with varying spice levels. In all cases we used buckwheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, and used monk fruit and date sugar (each are a 1:1 ratio with regular sugar) instead of brown sugar. For the sweeteners, on one attempt we did 75% monk fruit and 25% date sugar, then on the other two attempts we did 50-50 – both are great. We did NOT swap out the molasses since that would compromise the flavor, nor did we swap out the apple sauce (we used Santa Cruz Apple Sauce which by default has no added sugar). We also swapped canola oil for avocado oil, and finally we used unsweetened oat milk instead of soy milk. We did not make the glaze.
We will note that the first loaf was a bit dry because of the buckwheat flour, but that can be remedied by adding more plant milk. To really get a stronger gingerbread flavor, we also added more all spice and ginger. All in all we made a low glycemic version of this recipe that our diabetic family members, and kids and adults alike, could enjoy and it was a hit!
Thanks so much for sharing your substitutes Ashley! And thank you for your great reviews!
Amazing recipe that turned out great! I’m going to be serving this on Christmas 🙂
Awesome Megan! Thanks so much for your lovely review!
Any suggestions for using fresh ginger? I got a supermarket freebie, ginger (crushed, I think) frozen in little cubes. I know that one cube = 1-2″ of fresh ginger.
I’m not vegan, but of all the recipes I’ve looked at, this one fits the ingredients I have and has a lot less fat. Thanks for sharing it.
This is a great recipe
Thanks Elizabeth!
YUM!!! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Loved it! Moist and just sweet enough.
Awesome! Thanks JT!
Absolutely delicious! I used gluten-free flour so my daughter could eat it and no one noticed! Thanks for the fabulous recipes!
So happy it was a success!
Moist, flavourful and so yummy! A great dessert for the festive season.
Can you use any other syrup instead of molasses?
You can, but it definitely won’t be the same. Molasses is a crucial flavor component for gingerbread.
Can we use soft brown sugar instead?
Sure!