Healthy Pumpkin Bread!
This amazing healthy pumpkin bread recipe is so fluffy, no one will guess it's made with honey, coconut oil and whole wheat flour. Easily vegan/gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on November 18, 2021
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Raise your hands if you’re excited about fall! I’m looking forward to pumpkin treats, cooler weather and dusting off my favorite boots. The leaves on the trees outside look tired, so I think we’re in for a show soon.
I’m satisfying my pumpkin cravings with my favorite pumpkin bread while we wait for those magnificent red and orange trees. This recipe is a simplified and perfected version of my old honey-sweetened pumpkin bread.
It’s made with pumpkin purée and spices, of course, plus honey (or maple syrup), white whole wheat flour (which is more neutral-flavored than regular) and coconut oil. Combine all of those in one bowl and you’ll get some seriously amazing pumpkin bread.
If you’re a fan of my banana bread, you’re going to love this recipe, too. This recipe is highly adaptable to special diets, and I’ve added notes for adjustments under the recipe. Pumpkin bread for everyone!
Watch How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Bread
I’ve been making recipe videos with my brother. We’ve gotten into more arguments than I’d like to admit, but we’re in a great rhythm now. Let us know what you think of our pumpkin bread video, will you, please? It’s short and snappy, and I hope you love it.
Please let me know how this bread turns out for you in the comments! I hope you love it as much as I do.
Craving more pumpkin treats and wholesome baking projects? Here are a few of my favorites:
- Healthy pumpkin muffins (just like this pumpkin bread, but in muffin form!)
- Pumpkin pecan scones with maple glaze
- Pumpkin pancakes
- Pumpkin waffles
- More pumpkin recipes here!
Healthy Pumpkin Bread
This amazing pumpkin bread is naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup, and made with whole wheat flour. It’s so moist and fluffy, no one will ever guess! You can easily make this pumpkin bread vegan and/or gluten free—check the recipe notes for details. Recipe yields 1 loaf.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup milk of choice or water
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (NOT baking powder; they aren’t the same!)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- Totally optional: ½ cup mix-ins like chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dried fruit…
- Pinch of ground cinnamon, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together together with a whisk. Add the eggs and whisk until blended. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave.)
- Add the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice, baking soda, vanilla and salt, and whisk to blend. Lastly, switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. Some lumps are ok! If you’re adding any additional mix-ins, gently fold them in now.
- Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. If you’d like a pretty swirled effect, run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (typically, if I haven’t added any mix-ins, my bread is done at 55 minutes; if I have added mix-ins, it needs closer to 60 minutes). Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my honey whole wheat pumpkin bread and healthy banana bread.
Storage suggestions: This bread is moist, so it will keep for just two or three days at room temperature. Store it in the refrigerator for five to seven days, or in the freezer for up to three months or so. I like to slice the bread before freezing and defrost individual slices, either by letting them rest at room temperature or lightly toasting them.
*Oil options: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.
Make muffins: Here’s my pumpkin muffin recipe.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.
Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free flour blend works well. Or, substitute 2 ½ cups certified gluten-free oat flour instead. Do NOT substitute coconut flour.
Flour alternatives: An equal amount of all-purpose flour can be used in place of the whole wheat flour.
Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.
Recommended equipment: I love my Fiesta Loaf Pan in Turquoise (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This looks like a great recipe. I’m glad you mentioned the Olive Ranch Olive Oil because I use that one, but haven’t used it in any quick bread recipes. Thank you!
I love all of your healthy breads…and have made the zucchini, banana and pumpkin multiple times!
I made the pumpkin one recently and didn’t have quite enough pumpkin left to make a second one so I smashed up a banana and added to the pumpkin to make up a cup, per recipe. I wasn’t sure if would be ok, but it was delicious! Just wanted to let you know.
Thank you for sharing, MaryBeth! I’m glad it worked well for you.
Absolutely delicious. Will make this again and again. Thank you from Toowoomba Australia ❤️
I loved it !
And I made my own maple frosting
Perfect
Needed an extra ten minutes in oven but I think that’s cause my oven is propane
Great recipe thank you !! Healthy and delicious
So easy, delicious, and moist. Love that I can enjoy my favorite flavors of fall without a bunch of white sugar.
Recently I made your banana and pumpkin bread recipes with a few minor changes. I used 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and replaced the oil with unsweetened applesauce. Added chopped walnuts. Both turned out moist and delicious! I love your website! Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
I’ve made this recipe many times. I prefer the taste of maple syrup over honey in this recipe so that’s what I use. I also add 1/2 c toasted chopped pecans.
My coconut oil always clumps up when I add the maple syrup so this time I mixed the coconut oil and honey together then warmed them on half power in my microwave until the oil was melted, about a minute for me. I then whisked them until they had emulsified and then added the rest of the liquid and pumpkin. A game changer! The batter was nice and smooth.
Thanks for this healthier and very tasty recipe, Katie.
Love this recipe! Used chia eggs and oat milk. I think I know what the issue is for reviewers who say it takes much longer to bake… I used one CAN pumpkin purée instead of one CUP! Even after reading the recipe multiple times, my brain just made the substitution. Might help to list it as 8oz purée? Anyway, even tho it came out more like a pumpkin bread pudding, it was still delicious and I can tell it will be perfection when I get my ratios straightened out! Also added toasted pecan pieces. SO good!!
Great to hear, Nanci!
Yummy and healthy!!! Thanks!!!
This is a great recipe. I added pecans, walnuts and butterscotch chips… I love that honey was the sweetener. Easy and delicious. I will definitely make this again! Thank you
You’re welcome, Cindy!
Love the music with the video!
(And I’ll make the pumpkin bread!)
:)
I have never been so excited for fall, including all the leaves I will play with
I made your other pumpkin offering in cupcakes but put it in a bread thingy deeeelicious. This time I added a bit of yogurt we shall see.
Kate you are a jewel and I miss cookie and yet he is so still with us. Many blessings gs dear soul
Hi from New Zealand, Kate.
Pumpkins are very much out of season here currently, but I am about to plant my seeds so in 6 months time I will be trying this recipe! I am wondering if you can tell me where you purchased the gorgeous turquoise loaf pan? Best wishes to you, I enjoy receiving your emails and recipes
Best wishes
Steph, Auckland, New Zealand.
Absolutely perfect , I always use all your recipes , I add chopped dates and pecans. I use nothing but date sugar when recipe calls for any type of sugar and I use half the amount.
Thanks for all the delicious recipes.
You’re welcome, Ella!
We really enjoyed the healthy pumpkin bread .. I used avocado oil (love it when a neutral oil is needed) and added a maple glaze for the top. I would have loved to add nuts to the recipe, but I shared the loaf with my nut-allergic friends. With the glaze I was able to sprinkle the top of our half with pecans and they stuck nicely to the glaze.
I cannot wait to try making a vegan/gluten free version for my sister … I’m sure she will love it. Thanks so much for another great recipe, Kate!
You’re welcome, Mo!
Your video is very good I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I made this recipe gluten free, with sugar instead of honey, and with dark chocolate chips… in a bundt pan! It turned out really well, thank you!
You’re welcome, Janelle!
Mmm! Another winner! Our family of six blitzed through a double recipe of your banana bread yesterday and we’re enjoying a double batch of this yummy seasonal pumpkin bread today. We couldn’t detect a herbal note from the olive oil. I think next time we’ll try swap out a tablespoon or two of molasses for the sweetener. Thanks!
Thank you, Katharine!
Excellent recipe! I used a touch of molasses in the 1/2 cup of maple syrup because I ran out of real maple syrup. Also spread a little maple butter on a slice to eat. Delicious fall treat and very moist!
Thank you, Christy!
Recipe turned out great even though I reduced the amount of honey to slightly less than 1/2 cup. Can I replace oil with butter?
I recommend this best as written. I haven’t tried it with butter. The amount may vary.
Hi, I was wondering what you think about using egg whites instead of the whole egg for this recipe? Do I need the fat of the yolk, or will whites work?
This recipe is best as written. I hope you try it!
What temperature and how much time would I bake this recipe in mini loaf pans?
The temperature will be the same, you will just need to reduce the time. I’m not sure without trying it. Keep an eye on it about half the time and then go from there.
This is the best pumpkin bread I ever made. It is not too sweet, has the perfect amount of fat, moist without being soggy. Tastes like pumpkin without being over powering. Absolutely delicious. I used oat flour, maple syrup and add ins were walnuts and raisins. Thank you!
Looking for a way to make this wonderful bread lower carb,
I made this recipe for the first time today. It was a bit dry. Well… my bad. I left out the milk! I will try it again, next time making it as written. I think it will be good lightly toasted with a dab of butter. I added raisins.
Great to hear, Carmen!
Delicious! I only had a quarter cup of maple syrup so I shored it up with an eighth cup each dark molasses and corn syrup, and the slight molasses flavor is very nice so anyone who likes molasses should consider adding a little (not too much!). I used olive oil since I never use coconut oil and can’t taste it at all so no problems there.
I was really scared at first when I took the loaf out of the oven because it looked dense and I thought it might be dry. but to my surprise it was extremely moist and fluffy on the inside! Definitely am making again!
Great to hear, Allix!
Hey there! Love this recipe, and I have made it several times. I am just curious, do the nutrition facts include with chocolate chips added? Or are they for the basic recipe without any add ins? Thanks!
This is with what is show, so no chocolate chips.
I made this pumpkin bread with the maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice and gluten free flour. It’s tasty but has no pumpkin flavor at all. Disappointed.
I’m sorry to hear that. Sometimes the pumpkin spice can be lacking if not fresh.
I love this recipe and return to it every fall. I use avocado oil, same amount. Delicious!
I love all your recipes…so healthy and great instructions with basic ingredients!
Question this recipe looks so good but could you give me the exact measurement of pumpkin puree..12oz or 16oz can. I am going to substitute a local puree of pandanus that seems to work just like pumpkin:)
Thanks so much for all these great recipes and look forward to your reply.
I wish that the recipes had quantities in the metric system.
Hi Kate, I made your recipe, both the bread and the muffins. They were excellent. I shall make them again. The best things were: whole wheat, no added sugars…my husband is diabetic and it is always a challenge to find healthy, tasty recipes which are not loaded with sugar or made with white flour. Thank you, Arundhati
Love this recipe. My family made it at home as written, except substituted oil with a mixture of canola oil and unsweetened applesauce. We got inspired and mixed in 1/2 cup mini chocolate baking chips. Yummy. Even better next day after loaf cooled. We think this pumpkin bread is awesome for a snack or dessert, but even “awesomer” for breakfast.
Hello Kate,
Thank you for giving your followers this wonderful recipe. I have another loaf of this delicious bread in my oven right now. I add a few chocolate chips for the chocolate lovers. I have made several of your recipes and have never been disappointed. You are my go to for a never fail, healthy and delicious recipe.
My husband and I have 2 adult children and they are fans too!
Thank you!
Lisa
I followed the recipe exactly, (used EVOO and honey) and added some walnut pieces and a few chocolate chips. I also sprinkled some turbinodo sugar on top along with some pumpkin seeds.
I found this to be a bit dry compared to most breads I’ve made which was surprising given the oil. It is definitely not sweet, which is not a big issue for me as I generally use less sugar in most recipes – but a touch more sweetness would have been better. The pumpkin and spice flavors are not as prevalent as I had hoped. I’m a huge Cookie & Kate fan and I’ve made other healthy versions of breads that I’ve liked, but this one for me was just so-so. I spread a little jam or honey on it to make up for the negatives.
I’ve made this twice! The second time, I replaced 1/4 cup of the flour with Cocoa powder and made a chocolate loaf. I love this recipe and will continue to make it!
These are wonderful! And you don’t even miss the white sugar! They are rich and moist too! I used Bob’s Red Mill GF flour, unsweetened coconut milk, chocolate chips and had great results!
Hi-
Is there any way to save 2 loaves if I put too much pumpkin in the bread? It is baked but much to dense? So bummed….
Thanks!
I’m sorry to hear that! Did you over mix the batter?
This was amazing! I added mini chocolate chips to it, the whole fam loved it! Thanks for another great recipe.
You’re welcome, Leandra! I appreciate your review.
Delicious! Excited I don’t have to choose between health and fun holiday baking. This recipe is a winner!
a few years ago, a friend of mine raved about his sister’s pumpkin bread recipe and after making it for myself, it’s become one of my favorites too :)
it’s cold and I’m wasn’t in the mood to leave the house so today I used brown sugar as a 1:1 replacement for the honey/maple syrup and it turned out great! I also used dried cranberries and walnuts since I was sadly out of chocolate chips and I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to just chocolate
so grateful for your recipes and love the ways they’ve become centerpieces of many wonderful memories that have brought my favorite folks together
I’m happy it turned out well! Thank you for your review, MK.
Absolutely perfect.No guilt ,clean ingredients,simple.
This recipe is delicious and came out perfectly. I used avocado oil instead of coconut/olive oil and Namaste Perfect Flour Blend instead of wheat flour. The texture was perfect and an hour was just the right amount of time. Many times when I use GF flour my recipes come out more doughy and dense. Maybe it was the recipes, because this cooked perfectly! Thank you for sharing!
That’s great to hear!
I had just made this Healthy pumpkin bread, added nuts and chocolaty chips, because my husband likes it . Absolutely delicious!!!
Thank you❣️
I have more pumpkin so I am going to make another one and this time will make it plan.
I like to cut to slices wrap and freeze. Perfect with coffe!!! Thank you Katherine, Kate❣️❣️❣️
Made this last night— was a family fave. I used avovado oil instead of coconut oil and next time I may try to cut it with some applesauce. I also sprinkled a small amount of shredded unsweeten cocunut on top before I poped it in the oven. It was yum! This will be something I put in the rotation.
2024 resolution – better diet. Every recipe calls for ridiculous amount of sugar until I found yours. Well after the customary 10 minute post-oven cooling period, we all had a slice and I had to come back here to say, excellent recipe. It came out perfectly and was absolutely delicious. So glad I kept seaching!!
Could you convert this recipe to an instant pot?
I don’t think this would work in an instant pot, sorry!
This recipe needs more pumpkin and sugar. Not good.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe, Liz.
Hi Kate! This was so delicious! I followed the recipes exactly with maple syrup and it was light and fluffy and delicious. I was nervous about it being flat and dense with the liquid sweetener (maple syrup) but it wasn’t at all.
The only thing is that the nutritional values are incorrect. It is actually about 290 calories per 1/8 serving.