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.
Want more festive pumpkin treats? You’ll love this healthy pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, and even pumpkin brownies!
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.
Most recently I even made some pumpkin oatmeal cookies, pumpkin protein bars and pumpkin bars – I’m obsessed!
Then I used leftovers for a savory dish; parmesan, pumpkin, and spinach quinoa!
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 (and also for my zucchini muffins and cranberry orange muffins!). 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.
And if you want another spice quick bread recipe, you’ll love my gingerbread loaf!
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. If you want a gluten-free option, try my almond flour pumpkin bread!
- 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 Quick Breads Recipes
- Healthy banana bread
- Healthy zucchini bread
- Healthy chocolate bread
- Healthy apple bread
- Almond flour cinnamon bread
- Zucchini Lemon 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!}
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.
Video
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.
Nutrition
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Hello and welcome to iFOODreal.
My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys, a wife to Alex and we reside on magical Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is our healthy family recipes blog. Originally from Ukraine, I grew up on real food. As an adult, I struggled with diets for years because none worked long-term. Now for over 10 years, I cook easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.