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.
I didn’t have any ground cloves so that was left out. I also left out the ground ginger and added around half a cup of chopped uncrystallised ginger pieces instead. I sprinkled a few chunks of uncrystallised ginger on top instead of pumpkin seeds too. The bread is a fabulous colour and texture, moist without being heavy and I just love the chunks of ginger as a hit of flavour and texture change.
Awesome, thanks so much for sharing and the great review Sally!
Tried this recipe, haven’t found the perfect pumpkin bread recipe yet….it turned out underbaked even after baking it for long, I even cranked up the temp, tented it with foil, but still no use! However, I must say, the taste was exceptional. The sugar was just right, not too sweet!
Thank you!
Hi Rakshi, so glad you liked the taste, but sorry to hear it was under-baked. I would highly recommend getting an oven thermometer, they are SO helpful to seeing exactly what temperature the oven is reaching inside. 🙂
Great recipe and the detailed instructions were helpful. I made a loaf today with no changes (except to omit the cloves and nutmeg) and it turned out perfectly. The texture was nice and fluffy. I probably would add back the nutmeg or at least a little of it next time. I also like that this one doesn’t seem as sweet as others. And the warming of water for the flax egg really helped to thicken it. I’ve done it with cold water other times and it takes much longer. Thank you!
Thanks so much Vanessa! So happy the recipe was a success!
This is a great recipe! I made it exactly as written, except that I used an aquafaba egg instead and dark brown sugar. I weighed the ingredients as suggested. It is not too sweet, and the spices are perfectly balanced. Thank you so much for posting this, I love it.
Awesome! Thanks so much Carla!
This bread was so moist and delicious! Between my sister, my boyfriend, and myself, the whole loaf was gone in 2 days! My sister even stated that this is the best bread she ever had! My only issue with this bread is that I baked it for 1 hr 15 mins and felt that it was still slightly undercooked, and it had almost a sticky texture. When I checked on the bread during baking, it looked like it had risen significantly, but after taking it out, the whole top became flat. Not sure if this means anything, I don’t bake bread very often.
Hi Sabrina, so glad everyone enjoyed it! It sounds like maybe the oven wasn’t reaching the right temp, this can be quite common! I really recommend an oven thermometer, they are really affordable and so useful. You just place one in your oven and then you can tell what temperature the oven is actually reaching inside.
Great recipe, thanks! I only used half of the amount of sugar indicated, and it’s sweet enough.
Glad you enjoyed it Neringa!
Hi. Can I substitute monk fruit sugar for cane and coconut sugar for brown sugar?
Thanks. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Hi Angela, I think it would be better to use coconut sugar to replace all the other sugar. Monk fruit sugar is much sweeter so might throw off the balance of flavor a lot.
Made this last night and it turned out perfectly! I was looking for a recipe where I didn’t have to buy (or create) pumpkin spice. Thank you so much, awesome recipe – can’t stop eating this!
Awesome! Thanks so much Vanessa!
Delicious! I’m addicted to these recipes!
* Added rating
Thanks Yalini!
Can you substitute pumpkin pie spice for the spices? If so, how much do you use? Thanks
Hi Lori, yes sure you can, I would use 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
Thanks!
OMFG, this bread is SO good. I think it’s pretty sweet but I like it a lot. Instead of a flax egg, I did use a real egg and it came out nicely (I wanted a dairy free recipe, lol). I mixed in pecans and it adds a really nice crunch! I did have to bake for a bit longer than an hour, I think I ended up baking for 65 minutes. Next time I think I will try and make it vegan so I can share! Thank you for sharing!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the great review!
Trying to meet the needs of a diverse group of children, Gluten free, egg allergy(yay vegan egg options!), and nut/seeds allergy. Has anyone tried this recipe with buckwheat flour? I’m a little nervous to try a general gluten free flour mix since some contain almond flour. Can I substitute a potato starch egg recipe for the flax egg? I am afraid of the flax eggs since we already know this child is allergic to sesame seeds.
I love the sensory experience that baking gives young children and I really don’t want these kiddos excluded, they didn’t choose to have all these allergies.
Hi Mia, I haven’t tried it with buckwheat flour, but if you can find a gluten-free blend that doesn’t have almond flour I think that would work well. Instead of the flax egg you can use 3 Tbsp applesauce or even extra pumpkin purée (3 Tbsp). All the best!
Hi 🙂 Would chia seed ‘egg’ work here instead of flaxseed?
Yes that should work perfectly.
This pumpkin bread is DIVINE, but I tweaked the recipe slightly. I used 1/2 cup of ww flour, and 1 &1/2 cups unbleached white flour, only 1 cup pumpkin purée, and 1 cup + cashew milk (basically enough milk to make a thick batter). I baked 50 minutes using parchment paper but without foil tenting. At 50 minutes my toothpick came out clean, and it looked perfect and cooled. The bread sliced up easily when cooled and has such an amazing pumpkin flavor!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Lori!
Can I use a pumpkin puree for pumpkin pie instead. I bought it by mistake so I’d like to use it. It looks yummy.
Hi Helene, if it’s a pumpkin pie filling then no, as it’s usually mixed with other things. If it’s pure pumpkin purée then that’s fine.