Moist, easy to make, and full of autumn spices this recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Bread is so darn good! It's packed with canned pumpkin and topped with pumpkin seeds for a little added crunch. It works great as a quick breakfast, snack, or even as a dessert topped with a little vegan whipped cream.
Who does not love a good pumpkin bread!?! It's even better for some of us when it is vegan. And what makes this recipe so amazing is that between the taste and texture you can't tell that it is vegan at all. It's got both the perfect rise and balance in moisture without the use of eggs or any dairy!
In fact, I sent a loaf of this bread to work with my significant other one day and the entire crew could not understand how a vegan pumpkin bread could be so good.
But nowadays most of us who do vegan baking know that it's not really that hard to get super yummy vegan baked goods with some time and effort. Once you know a few tricks on how to replace eggs and how to use a few chemical reactions to create rise it seems like dairy was never needed in the first place. The use of dairy is just what we were taught and knew before. Yet, now we know. The possibilities are limitless and this recipe takes total advantage of that.
However, full disclaimer here. This recipe took a lot of tries to get it to perfection. I have made a lot of quick breads in the past like my super yummy Apple Cinnamon Bread, but working with the canned pumpkin mixed things up a bit. Not to mention, I wanted it packed with pumpkin, so I had to spend some time balancing the moisture with the dry ingredients and leavening agents. In the end, I realized that many of my versions worked. This particular one just turned out to be my favorite.
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Ingredients Needed
This recipe requires your basic quick bread ingredients along with some canned pumpkin puree and a few spices. All of them are easy to find at almost any market.
- Canned Pumpkin: You need canned pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie mix will not work and result in an epic fail because it is way too watery.
- All-purpose Flour: I have not tried using gluten free flour for this recipe.
- Brown Sugar: You need light brown sugar.
- Sugar: You can use granulated or cane sugar.
- Cornstarch: The cornstarch acts a binder and creates a better crumb. Arrowroot is a good substitute.
- Baking Powder: One of the main leavening agents of the bread.
- Baking Soda: Another leavening agent that works together with the acid in the vinegar to give fantastic rise.
- Salt: I used fine grain kosher salt.
- Neutral Oil: Oils like canola, sunflower, and safflower work well and have very little flavor.
- Almond Milk: You can use water if you don't have any plant based milk on hand.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Works together with the baking soda to create a beautiful dome on the bread. White vinegar can also be used.
- Vanilla Extract: Helps to enhance the flavor of all the spices and pumpkin.
- Cinnamon
- Ground Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Cardamom
- Ground Cloves
*Note: If you don't have the spices you can make your own mixture or use 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice.
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Bread
You start by preheating your oven to 375° fahrenheit and prepping a 9x5 loaf tin by greasing it and dusting it with flour. I also line the bottom of my tin with parchment paper to be on the safe side.
Then you sift your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Now, add all your spices and whisk the flour mixture together.
Next, in a different bowl you mix your brown sugar, sugar, canned pumpkin, apple cider vinegar, almond milk, oil, and vanilla together until nice and smooth. You want to make sure that there are no chunks of sugar.
Then you make a well in your in your flour mixture and pour the wet pumpkin mixture into the bowl. Now, fold it together just until moist and the flour is fully incorporated. But be careful not to overmix your batter.
The next step is to pour the batter into your prepped 9x5 tin and sprinkle with the raw pumpkin seeds. Then bake for 65 to 70 minutes until the loaf is golden and firm. It's super important not to open the oven door as the loaf is baking. You can check it at 60 minutes but no sooner. A toothpick will come out clean when the pumpkin bread done.
Once baked, place the loaf still in the tin on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing. However, you will still want the loaf to cool for a few more minutes before cutting into it to ensure the best texture.
Storage
The vegan pumpkin bread will keep for up to a week when wrapped in plastic or stored in an airtight container. You can also store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just allow it to thaw out at room temperature.
Top Tips
- Canned Pumpkin: For this recipe is it crucial that your use canned pumpkin. If you don't your batter is going to be too thin and the loaf will not bake correctly. So don't even try pumpkin pie mix or pumpkin that you cooked and pureed yourself. I have tried that and it doesn't work. The pumpkin puree must be creamy not watery, which is what you get when you buy canned pumpkin at the store.
- Weigh Ingredients: To the get the best results you want to weigh your dry ingredients. There is no way to know if your cup of flour weighs 120 grams or 175 grams unless you do this and every cup of flour varies unless done by weight. The amounts you need are stated in the recipe and make for much faster prepping in the long run. So if you bake a lot I recommend you get yourself a digital scale. They are cheap and easy to use. However, if you don't have a scale you can follow this method of measuring out flour to get a more accurate result.
- Mixing Method: In recipes like quick breads the way in which and order that your mix the ingredients is important. It takes no extra time or effort. It just means you need to follow the directions and not throw everything into a bowl.
This Vegan Pumpkin Bread recipe is amazing because it's...
- Super moist packed with pumpkin
- Topped with yummy crunchy pumpkin seeds
- Totally dairy free
- Quick and easy to make
If you try this recipe please let me know how it turns out by leaving a comment and rating. You can also hashtag #danceswithknives with a photo of your creation on Instagram where you can find me @dances_with_knives.
More Vegan Baking Recipes
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Crumble
- Vegan Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cake with Almonds
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Easy Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (219 grams)
- ¼ cup cornstarch or arrowroot (28 grams)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup light brown sugar (216 grams)
- ⅓ cup sugar (67 grams)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (white vinegar also works)
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk or water
- 1 ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
- ½ cup neutral oil (canola, sunflower, safflower)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375° fahrenheit. Then prepare a 9x5 loaf pan by greasing and dusting with flour. I also line the bottom with parchment paper to prevent any chance of sticking.
- Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Now add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamon, cloves, and whisk all the dry ingredients together.
- In a different bowl mix together the light brown sugar, sugar, canned pumpkin, apple cider vinegar, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. I use a whisk. You want to break up any chunks of sugar and have it dissolved overall. The mixture should be creamy and smooth.
- Make a well in the flour mixture. Then pour the wet pumpkin mixture into well and fold to combine. You want to mix just until all the flour is incorporated together with the pumpkin. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle with the raw pumpkin seeds. Then bake for 65 to 70 minutes. Try hard not to open the oven door until at least 60 minutes have passed. When the pumpkin bread is done a toothpick should come out clean.
- Once baked place the loaf tin on a cooling rack and allow the pumpkin bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the tin.
- The pumpkin bread will keep for about a week wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container. You an also freeze it for up to 3 months.
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