Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Sep 22, 2021, Updated May 07, 2023
Easy Vegan Pumpkin Bread is made with basic pantry ingredients! Flavored with all the warm spices, this is best enjoyed with a cup of coffee.
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Welcome fall with this easy Vegan Pumpkin Bread. Baking this bread fills your kitchen with the wonderful aroma of spices. It’s soft and moist and just perfect to enjoy with a cup of coffee!
My favorite season is here aka the pumpkin season. I love baking this time of the year, although now I don’t bake as much as I used to, yet when the air turns cooler, I feel like turning on my oven more often.
Last weekend, I felt like having a warm pumpkin bread and made this Vegan Pumpkin Bread. I adapted this recipe from my vegan banana bread recipe. Just like the banana bread, this one is so simple and turns out super moist, you won’t believe it’s vegan.
We ate this bread for breakfast 3 days in a row and I also snacked on it with my evening chai. There’s something so comforting about fall baking- all those wonderful spices that fill your kitchen with this beautiful aroma fill my heart with joy. I can’t wait to bake more for the holidays!
The best part about this vegan pumpkin bread recipe is that it needs basic pantry ingredients!
Ingredients
Flour: for this recipe, I have used all purpose flour. You can use whole wheat flour but the bread will come out more dense.
Spices: cinnamon powder and pumpkin pie spice give flavor to this pumpkin bread. If you do not have pumpkin pie spices, you can use 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg, allspice or cloves. You can skip a spice that you do not have.
Pumpkin puree: I have always used canned pumpkin for my pumpkin bakes simply because they are so readily available at grocery stores here. If you do not have access to canned pumpkin, you can use 1.5 cups of fresh pumpkin puree. I would probably cook it a little bit first since fresh puree has more moisture than canned.
Sugar: brown sugar and white sugar (make sure it’s vegan) are both used here. If you do not have brown sugar, you can use all white sugar but brown sugar adds to flavor and also makes the bread more moist.
Oil & milk: the liquid ingredients in this recipe are oil and non-dairy milk. You can use any flavorless oil here like avocado, canola or vegetable oil. I have used unsweetened cashew milk but you can use almond milk as well. If you are not vegan, you can also use dairy milk.
Step by Step Instructions
Before you start, pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees. Also grease a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with a non-stick spray and set aside.
1- To a sifter, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
2- Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Set aside.
3- To the steel bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or use your hand mixer), add pumpkin puree, oil and vanilla extract. Beat until it’s all well combined.
4- Now add the brown sugar and white sugar. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until it’s all well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed.
5- Start adding the dry ingredients now. Add 1/2 of the dry flour mix and mix until combined.
6- Now add the cashew milk (or other non-dairy milk) and mix.
7- Add the remaining half of the flour and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix the batter at this point.
8- Transfer batter to a 8 x 4 prepared loaf pan. Smoothen the top with a spatula and then top with some pumpkin seeds (if using). Bake at 350 F degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may need to bake for more time depending on your oven. I like to cover the pan with some aluminum foil at the 30 minute mark to prevent excessive browning. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.
We love this Vegan Pumpkin Bread because it’s:
- soft and moist
- made with easy to find ingredients
- makes the perfect snack or breakfast
Storage
The bread keeps well at room temperature for up to 3 days, keep it covered. If will last longer in the fridge.
You can also freeze it for couple of months.
Oil-Free Option
I have not tried this recipe without oil, but you can try replacing oil with applesauce.
Using Whole Wheat Flour
You can use whole wheat flour in this recipe, the bread will be denser compared to the one made with all purpose flour.
Notes
- Let the bread cool completely for 2 hours before slicing. If you slice it while it’s still warm it might be still gummy from the inside and that will ruin the texture of the bread.
- You can add lot of add ins to your bread like chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries.
- Every oven is different so the baking time can by anywhere between 45-50 minutes to an hour. You know it’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Do not over-mix the batter after adding the flour. If you over-mix, your bread can turn out tough. If you want your bread to be soft and nice, mix until just combined. Few streaks of flour is okay.
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PS: the cake pan in the photograph is not the one that I used for the bake. It’s only a prop.
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Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour around 228 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree 1.5 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup oil 80 ml, I used vegetable oil, use any flavorless oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 ml
- 1/2 cup brown sugar 100 grams
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar 50 grams, increase to 1/2 cup for sweeter bread, make sure white sugar is vegan
- 1/4 cup plain cashew milk 60 ml, unsweetened, or use any non-dairy milk
- pumpkin seeds for topping, optional
Instructions
- Before you start, pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees. Also grease a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with a non-stick spray and set aside.To a sifter, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Set aside.
- To the steel bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or use your hand mixer), add pumpkin puree, oil and vanilla extract. Beat until it's all well combined.
- Now add the brown sugar and white sugar. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until it's all well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Start adding the dry ingredients now. Add 1/2 of the dry flour mix and mix until combined. Now add the cashew milk (or other non-dairy milk) and mix.
- Add the remaining half of the flour and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix the batter at this point. Batter is now ready.
- Transfer batter to a 8 x 4 prepared loaf pan. Smoothen the top with a spatula and then top with some pumpkin seeds (if using). Bake at 350 F degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may need to bake for more time depending on your oven. I like to cover the pan with some aluminum foil at the 30 minute mark to prevent excessive browning. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Let the bread cool completely for 2 hours before slicing. If you slice it while it’s still warm it might be still gummy from the inside and that will ruin the texture of the bread.
- You can add lot of add ins to your bread like chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries.
- Every oven is different so the baking time can by anywhere between 45-50 minutes to an hour. You know it’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- For a sweeter bread, increase the amount of white sugar to 1/2 cup (100 grams).
- If baking in a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, the baking time will reduce by few minutes. The bread also won’t be as tall as the one made in 8 x 4 inch pan.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello Manali, Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. I made 2 loaves, one for home, the other I shared with my colleagues at work. There were no leftovers! We all enjoyed your delicious vegan pumpkin bread. Thanks again. Blessings to you all.
awesome! 🙂
Hi Manali,
Would you please try this bread with gluten-free flour?
If I try it, I will share the recipe. Btw I have had some people tell me that they get excellent results with 1:1 bob’s red mill gluten free flour, maybe give that a try?
Can we skip sugar completely? Do we have to add anything else to replace sugar to make sure ratios in this bread do not get disturbed?
sorry this is not a sugar-free bread. I cannot recommend to skip sugar since I haven’t tested the recipe without it.
Hi. Can whole wheat or millet flour be used in place of maida?
whole wheat yes- bread will be denser, it is mentioned in the recipe. I don’t know about millet, that flour is gluten-free and cannot be a 1:1 replacement here,
can we use regular milk instead of cashew milk?
sure. it just won’t be vegan then