This Healthy Pumpkin Bread is naturally sweetened with honey, made with whole wheat flour and is full of warm cozy spices. It is so moist and fluffy, no one will guess it is healthy.
Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
This healthy pumpkin bread is easy, moist and fluffy. And the best part is, if you ask me – minimum ingredients.
Do you love pumpkin year round? We are more of “baking with pumpkin in fall” household.
Like a clock, between September and October you will find me alternating between this healthy pumpkin bread recipe, healthy pumpkin muffins with cream cheese (just like Starbucks) and pumpkin chocolate chip bread.
Ingredients for Healthy Pumpkin Bread
- Canned pumpkin purée: Do not confuse with pumpkin pie filling that has added sugar and flavours.
- Flour: Whole wheat or spelt flour. These are the only flours I tested this bread with. Gluten helps bread to rise and requires different amount of liquids than gluten free flours.
- Liquid sweetener: You can use any liquid sweetener like maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup, date syrup, agave etc. The goal is to keep liquids and dry ingredients ratio the same.
- Eggs and oil: Any mild tasting oil like avocado oil, melted coconut oil or grapeseed oil works. You can use olive oil and its taste is not prominent in this bread.
- Spices: Pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Bread
- Combine liquids and spices. You want to whisk eggs first. Now add pumpkin purée, maple syrup or honey (make sure it’s liquidy), oil, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and soda, salt. Whisk well. There is no need for 2 bowls with quick breads.
- Add flour and mix ins. Stir gently with spatula until you see no more white spots. You can add up to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries as mix ins. I just sprinkled 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds on top.
- Bake for 50-60 mins at 350 degrees F. Toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle and deep. Make sure to remove bread from the loaf pan after cooling in it for 10 mins. Otherwise, hot pan keeps baking it and bread might be dry.
- Serving: Cool for about 1 hour and slice with serrated knife.
Tips, Variations and Substitutions
- For best results follow the recipe: Baking is a science and likes precise measurements. Gluten free flours and dry sweeteners will not work in this recipe as they will throw off batter consistency.
- Don’t overmix: If you overmix the batter, bread will come out dense. Just give batter a few stirs until no visible white pockets of flour and then pop it in the oven.
- Solidified (hard) honey: Melt it on the stove by warming up in small pot. If you like more sweet breads, increase maple syrup to 1 cup.
- Optional add-ins: Up to 1/2 cup chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, raisins.
How to Store, Freeze and Reheat
Day 1-2: I like to place cooled pumpkin bread back into the loaf pan and keep covered with a towel on the counter. Sliced bread dries out faster.
Day 3-5: If you have any bread left at this point, refrigerate it tightly wrapped in plastic or in a plastic bag.
Freezing: Freeze baked and cooled bread in a plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter for 3-4 hours. Again, it’s better to freeze bread whole and not sliced.
More Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
More Healthy Quick Breads Recipes
- Healthy banana bread
- Healthy zucchini bread
- Healthy chocolate bread
- Healthy apple bread
- Browse all quick breads and muffins.
I bake this healthy pumpkin bread recipe every Fall. It is hearty, healthy and delicious!
Healthy Pumpkin Bread {Moist and Easy!}
This Healthy Pumpkin Bread is naturally sweetened with honey, made with whole wheat flour and is full of warm cozy spices. It is so moist and fluffy, no one will guess it is healthy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: North American
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 15 oz can pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 3/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 cups spelt or whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- Cooking spray (I use Misto)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray ceramic non-stick 9 x 5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs for 10 seconds.
- Add pumpkin puree, maple syrup, oil, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk until combined.
- Add spelt or whole wheat flour and stir gently just enough to combine. Be careful not to over mix.
- Add desired mix ins like walnuts, raisins, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips etc. and give a few more gentle stirs to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and level gently with spatula. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds on top, if you wish.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes our until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool off more. Cut into 10 slices with serrated bread knife and enjoy!
Store: Store covered in a cool dry place for up to 2 days. Refrigerate covered for 3 more days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Gluten free flour: Please use only whole wheat or spelt flour in this recipe. For gluten free recipe, check out my almond flour pumpkin bread.
- Sweeter bread: If you like very sweet breads, increase maple syrup to 1 cup.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
Very good, easy to make. I used half almond flour and half whole wheat flour. Used pure Vermont maple syrup for the sweetener.
No mixer needed, just a whisk & large spatula.
★★★★★
That’s awesome!
Is the cholesterol content correct? It seems rather high for the ingredients used.
Please Google – there is good and bad cholesterol.
Would it be alright if I made it with agave syrup .Also, I have only metal non stick pans. In case I don’t have whole wheat flour, can I use white . I realize it is not as healthy but just in case. My husband is diabetic so I am h experimenting with agave
Agave is fine. And I have a few readers subbing white flour in my recipes and they say it works. 🙂 Enjoy, Carol!
I have made four of these and given them as thank you gifts to people who have helped me. Rave reviews! There’s one baking right now, perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon because they are so easy to whip up!
★★★★★
Fantastic! Glad everyone enjoyed my recipe.:)
We loved this!!!!!!!
You’re cool to me because I also stay home with 2 small boys. 🙂
But mostly you’re cool because this is so tasty with not much sugars. Finally a winner muffin!
PS I did a full cup of almond flour (so almond-wheat mix) and it came out great. Worth a try! Then you get a little extra protein
★★★★★
That is awesome. Good to know about the half and half ratio, I would do the same for myself.
My boys are not so little anymore but those times were exhausting and yet now I fondly think of them with a tear here and there. Enjoy your boys! The best thing I ever did – raised kids myself no matter how hard it was.
Everyone in my family loved this! It was delicious.
★★★★★
Delicious pumpkin bread! You are right, Starbucks can’t even compare!
★★★★★
Hi Olena, just made your pumpkin bread and I can’t stop eating it, it is AMAZING, seriously AMAZING !!!!!! I’ve eaten half the loaf, thank god it’s healthily. It’s SO fluffy and tasty !
Thank you Olena ???☺️?
You are welcome, Monica!:)
Can I use parchment paper if I do not have ceramic pan?
Definitely.
So…I’m starting a thirty day challenge this Friday. No white flour, or refined sugar. I’m making my husband join the party because he could benefit from this as well. Your blog saves me! lol Oh and wish me luck!
Good! You will be fine! Combine it with a few HIIT workouts a week and you will see a big difference. Not to mention how much your gut flora will improve with good bacteria!
I just finished off the last of this bread – it was perfect! I was looking for a recipe to use up some halloween pumpkin puree and found this one. It is absolutely delicious and I feel good about giving it to my family. Thank you! I love the blog and will be coming back often for inspiration ; )
Thank you, Lana! We love that bread too.:)
I just made this pumpkin bread and it cooked perfectly & right on time. Instead of using parchment paper, I sprayed the pan with cooking spray and then floured the pan. It came out of the pan easily. One thing I would do next time is make it sweeter. It is fine for my taste, but others in the family may not be so easily convinced! Thank you for the recipe!
Haha, yes for some people out there with not so cleaned up taste buds it might be not sweet enough.;) I feel like you though.:) Glad you liked it.:)
Community Health Store now carries the “Farmer’s Market” brand that you had in your picture. With BPA free liner. And they were on sale for Thanksgiving, so I stocked up. I am going to try the crumb muffin next. I am taking a “staycation-vacation” week, so cooking and freezing treats. I cannot stick to any healthy eating plan if I don’t have a treat, so just with this bread I am set for a few weeks of treats 🙂
Oh, cool. I hear you. I do the same. I’d rather bake healthy treats and stock up on organic dark chocolate, than reach for [email protected] And we know, the sweet tooth devil moment will come.:) Have fun!:)
Thanks for a great recipe! I made it today and it took me less than 10 minutes to get it in the oven. I did not have any apple sauce on hand, but substituted with blended bananas 1:1. Bananas did not overpower at all and i could definitely taste the pumpkin flavor. I also used 1/3 cup of coconut sugar instead of agave. I mixed it in 1/2 cup of warm water and added to wet ingredients. If i was using apple sauce and not bananas, i would probably go up to 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. This bread is a keeper!
You are welcome.:) Great substitutions, I’ll keep that in mind. Did you manage to find BPA free organic pumpkin puree?
This bread looks AWESOME!! So moist looking! Love that you added 2 whole cups of pumpkin!
Love – “stop dreaming and start eating” 🙂