Years ago, when I first went to Starbucks I was mesmerized by their baked goods. I did try the Starbucks pumpkin bread which is tasty but waaaaaaay too sweet for my clean tooth. Also it is not made with wholesome ingredients. Not even close. I bet it contains white flour, white sugar and some type of cheap GMO oil. Starbucks food looks awesome but the nutrition facts would kill even someone who you can’t kill anymore.

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On a side note, it took me around 12 years of living in Canada before I set my foot in Starbucks. Why go spend $2-5 for a cup of something you can make at home for $0.20?! When your entire family’s monthly income is $2K, you simply do not go to Starbucks. I remember back in 2011 we had a 4 year old, a newborn and both of us unemployed scrambling for pennies to pay the mortgage so we do not end up losing our house. And before that we were paying off student loans, buying real estate, getting married and having babies. The last thing on my mind was to give my hard earned money to Starbucks.

Many immigrants really do watch every penny because there is no mom and dad to help. Although both of our poor single moms did try to help with last of their $’s as much as they could. But it was so uncomfortable to receive that type of help for me and Alex. We did few times, like I said, when we couldn’t pay our mortgage. So, the last thing we were gonna do was to buy a cup of Starbucks with our moms’ hard earned pennies. Anyways.

Obviously, things have improved by 2012 when I started writing my blog. Clearly I was going to Starbucks occasionally and craving their pumpkin bread which lead me to re-create my own healthy pumpkin bread, healthy banana bread (followed by amazingly reviewed healthy banana muffins) and even healthy pumpkin muffins with cream cheese. So, this whole wheat pumpkin bread recipe was my 2nd recipe I ever posted.

I have changed the recipe later and posted this version in 2013. In case, you liked the previous recipe I am posting it here for you. Otherwise, the main recipe is new as of 2017.

Clearly, my understanding of “healthy” has evolved over the years. At first, I thought as long as bread contains no sugar and applesauce instead of oil, we can call it healthy. With white flour. RIP.

Then I switched to white whole wheat flour, oat or wheat bran and flaxseed.

As years went by, I found myself not really baking with white whole wheat flour because I can’t find it. Plus I am not sure if it is really that much more nutritious than all purpose flour. Is it? Anyways, when fall and all things pumpkin season comes I find myself not being able to bake my own pumpkin bread recipe LOL. Ridiculous, right?!

Now that I have simplified the recipe, I bake this healthy pumpkin bread every Fall. It is hearty, healthy and delicious. If you feel like baking something pumpkin without flour, try these healthy pumpkin blondies or flourless pumpkin muffins.

Be healthy!

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe with canned pumpkin, applesauce, whole wheat flour, oats and no refined sugar. Easy, moist and delicious.

Author: ifoodreal.com
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 37 minutes
Yield: 12 slices

Ingredients

3 eggs, large
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
15 oz can pumpkin puree (I use organic BPA free)
3/4 cup honey or maple syrup*
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder, aluminum free
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup oat flour**
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds + more for decorating
Cooking spray (I use Misto)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line 9 x 5 loaf pan with unbleached parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs for 10 seconds. Add applesauce, pumpkin puree, maple syrup or honey, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk well until mixture is smooth and no visible lumps.
Add oat flour and whole wheat flour; mix gently just enough to combine. Be careful not to over mix. Add walnuts and pumpkin seeds; give a few more gentle stirs to combine. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and level gently with spatula. Sprinkle with a handful of pumpkin seeds. Bake for 90 minutes our until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool off for 30 minutes. Holding onto the flaps of parchment paper remove pumpkin bread from a loaf pan and let it cool off completely before slicing. This bread is dense and delicate. Slice into 12 thicker slices with serrated bread knife.

Store: Store covered in a cool dry place for up to 5 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Notes

*This pumpkin bread is moderately sweet. **You can make your own oat flour by grinding up quick oats in a blender or food processor.

★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.

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