This easy vegan pumpkin bread is a pumpkin spice lover's dream! It's quick and easy to whip up in 1 bowl in just minutes and bakes up perfectly moist and delicious every time. Pop it in the oven and fill your home with the aroma of pumpkin spice. Add chocolate chips or top with my homemade vegan cream cheese frosting for an extra decadent treat!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's quick and easy to make!
- This recipe is dairy-free, egg-free, and easily made soy and gluten-free as well.
- It's perfectly moist, yet not mushy.
- This bread is sliceable and doesn't fall apart and crumble.
- It's packed with 77% of your daily RDA for vitamin A in one slice!
This recipe was born out of my vegan pumpkin muffin recipe. I made the muffins all of the time but wanted to make a bread version instead. My first batch turned out delicious but too crumbly. I quickly realized that pumpkin bread usually requires an egg or an egg-like substitute as a binder. I added the equivalent of 2 flax eggs to the bread and then it baked with a perfect texture!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Pumpkin Puree - 1 cup of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) You can also use 1 cup of homemade pumpkin puree.
- Sugar - any vegan sugar will work. Brown sugar, coconut sugar, or Sucanat will give it a richer flavor and darker color.
- Refined Coconut Oil - you can also use vegan butter, margarine, or another neutral-flavored oil. I find that coconut oil gives the best texture.
- Plant Milk - soy, oat, almond, or hemp will all work well.
- Vanilla - for flavor
- Flax Meal - mixed with water to make a flax egg. You can also use a chickpea flour egg instead.
- Flour - you can use white, wheat, or gluten-free flour mixes or my homemade gluten-free flour mix. I have tested this recipe with many types of flour and they all work well.
- Baking Powder - to help it rise.
- Baking Soda - to help it rise.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - for flavor. You can also use 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg instead.
- Spray Oil - to coat the inside of your loaf pan. You can also use regular oil or line your pan with parchment paper instead.
🥄 Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° F
- Mix together flax meal and water and set aside.
- Then add all the wet ingredients (pumpkin, melted coconut oil, soy milk, vanilla, and flax egg) plus the sugar to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir well.
- Sprinkle the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice) on top of the wet ingredients then stir into a thick consistent batter. (It will be a thick batter).
- Add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, or dried cranberries and mix again. (optional)
- Pour into an oiled bread loaf pan.
- Bake at 350° F for 50 minutes.
- Allow it to cool in the loaf pan for about 15 minutes before taking it out and then an additional 25-30 minutes before slicing. (This allows it to set and slice perfectly).
- Top with my homemade vegan cream cheese frosting! (optional)
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- Be sure to spoon-measure the flour. This means measuring the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leaving it off. You don't want to press the flour down or you will have too much and your loaf with be too dense.
- Stir the dry ingredient into the wet until they are incorporated and you have no lumps. Don't over-stir your batter or your pumpkin bread will be chewy.
🍞 Gluten-free instructions
You can simply use a gluten-free flour mix to make this gluten-free pumpkin bread. I have tested it with many varieties and it comes out well with all the gluten-free mixes that I've tried as well as my own gluten-free flour recipe. I do not recommend using almond or other grain-free flour in this recipe. (The loaf in all of the photos is made with a gluten-free flour mix).
✨ Make this into muffins
Use my vegan pumpkin muffin recipe, for perfect vegan pumpkin muffins. There are a few significant changes that I make between the pumpkin bread and muffins that make a big difference like the flax egg, bake temperature, and bake time.
🌟 Egg replacers
I use a flax egg to replace the equivalent of 2 eggs in a traditional pumpkin loaf. The flax has a nice taste and texture and works well as a binder, especially with gluten-free flour.
🍭 Make this less sweet
This is a sweet, but not overly sweet pumpkin bread. Even though it does call for a cup of sugar, pumpkin can tend to be bitter and needs sugar to sweeten it to most people's taste. You can cut the sugar in half if you prefer for much less sweet bread. Do not use maple syrup or another liquid sweetener to replace the dry sugar, or your bread will be too wet.
🥡 Storing and freezing
Storing: The pumpkin bread will keep well on the countertop for about 24 hours or 3-5 days covered in the fridge.
Freezing: Allow the bread to cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap or another airtight container. Freeze the pumpkin bread for up to 3 months.
✨ More sweet bread recipes
- Vegan Zucchini Bread
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Chocolate Muffins
- Healthy Vegan Muffins with Hidden Veggies
- Orange Cranberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan pumpkin bread recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons flax meal
- 1/3 cup water (to mix with the flax meal to make a flax egg)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted (or vegan margarine)
- 1/4 cup soy milk or any plant-based milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (gluten-free, regular wheat or whole wheat flour will all work)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
- 1 spray oil on the loaf pan
Optional Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips or raisins, nuts or cranberries. (plus a few more for sprinkling on top) (optional)
- 1 cup vegan cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Mix together 2 tbsp flax meal and 1/3 cup of water and let it sit for a few minutes.
- Add 1 cup of pumpkin, 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup soy milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup sugar, and the flax mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir well.
- Sprinkle the dry ingredients (2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice) on top of the wet ingredients then stir into a thick, consistent batter. Stir it just enough to get the wet and dry ingredients mixed together.
- Add chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, or dried cranberries and mix again. (optional)
- Pour into a greased or parchment-lined loaf pan.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 50 minutes until the top is dry and golden brown.
- Allow it to cool in the loaf pan for about 15 minutes before taking it out, and then an additional 25-30 minutes before slicing. (This allows it to slice perfectly).
Notes
- Be sure to spoon measure the flour. This means measuring the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leaving it off. You don't want to press the flour down or you will have too much and your loaf with be too dense.
- Stir the dry ingredient into the wet until they are incorporated and you have no lumps. Don't over stir your batter or your pumpkin bread will be chewy.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
This came out so lovely! Great texture - moist but not gummy. Smells wonderful and isn’t overpowering in flavor like some pumpkin breads can be. Will be my go-to from now on!
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Lindsay!
AMAZING !!!!
Followed recipe exact,ly, and added raisins and dried cherries (that's all I had). Best pumpkin bread I have ever made! Thanks, Monica. Next time I will add walnuts.
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Robin. The raisins and dried cherries sound delicious! 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful pumpkin bread recipe. This is really delicious. We did not make the cream cheese frosting because it was so good just as it was, plus we did t have any vegan cream cheese. It is moist and very good, it’s perfect for these beautiful autumn days.
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Kathleen. 🙂
Hello, is pumpkin puree used in this recipe raw or cooked? Is there a difference if you use raw pumpkin puree vs cooked?
Pumpkin puree is already cooked before it is canned, so there is no reason to cook it again. To make your own puree, you have to cook the pumpkin and mash it down.
I made this recipe twice, the first time I made it, I used a whole can and it was really dense and mushy. Almost like there was no way for it to be fully cooked. I just made it again only using one cup and it’s delicious! I added extra vanilla and extra pumpkin spice to really bring out the pumpkin flavor and it’s nice, plus it added more moisture. I also used vegan butter this time instead of olive oil and I think that contributed to it too! Hope this helps
Love the recipe but you forgot to add the flax egg in the bottom recipe when combining ingredients. We has to add it in at the very end when we realized it’s wasn’t apart of the written direction.
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe! Thanks for letting me know about the oversite. It's fixed now. 🙂
Can I use 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar?
Yes, that will work fine. Enjoy! 🙂
I made this for my cousin’s vegan fiancé for our Thanksgiving and it was a hit with everyone! I’m making another loaf tonight for my husband. This one is a keeper!
I'm so happy that you liked it, Megan!
Would it work if I replace pumpkin with banana? I need a vegan banana bread recipe.
Yes, this is very similar to my banana bread recipe. You can see that one here... https://thehiddenveggies.com/gluten-free-vegan-banana-bread/
Can I use coconut sugar in place of regular sugar?
Yes, you can. It will make your bread a little darker, but it will taste great. Enjoy! 🙂