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 made the pumpkin bread yesterday and followed the recipe exactly. It was delicious! It’s soft, moist and a great balance of pumpkin flavor and spice. The batter was really thick but when it baked it was surprisingly light and got a lot of rise in the oven. Every recipe of yours I’ve tried has been a success. Thank you!
Yay! This is awesome to hear Colleen! Thanks so much for the wonderful review. 🙂
This recipe is so good! So full of flavor and wonderfully moist. Highly recommended!
Fantastic! Thanks so much for the awesome review Terri. So happy you loved it! 🙂
I’ve made this recipe 3 times and I love it so much! I used vegetable oil instead of olive oil. Added 1/4 tsp cardamom, too.
So glad you loved it! Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
I was looking for a quick vegan pumpkin bread recipe for my sister, and found this highly rated recipe. Thought great! Looks simple so I made it and it didn’t quite turn out. I thought hey maybe I accidentally screwed up the recipe or something so made it again, being extra careful the second time, and turned out the same. It didn’t rise or have much of a flavor other than the pumpkin itself even after adding in extra cinnamon. Not sure what’s wrong with it after reading the other reviews but it didn’t turn out the best.
Hi Julia, if it didn’t rise then I would guess that your baking powder might be expired or if not expired, just not fresh enough. It happens as they sometimes sit on the shelf too long. Mine definitely rises very well when I make this. In terms of flavor, I think something must have gone wrong there because this is definitely very flavorful.
I have made this pumpkin bread a number of times and it is always an absolute hit! My non-vegan friends all love it and none of them could even tell that it was vegan. Sometimes for a little added sweetness, I make a thin glaze frosting to go on top but it is fabulous with or without it. Thank you for this recipe as well as all of the others, your site is always my go to for everything I make!
So glad to hear Alycia! Thanks for the lovely review and rating! 🙂
Hi, can you Use Wholewheat flour, instead of all purpose flour?
Thanks.
Hi Lilian, you could try it, but it would alter the texture. 🙂
I used whole wheat pastry flour and it worked great.
Thank you for this excellent recipe! I was initially a little skeptical because of the amount of baking powder and the thickness of the batter. But it bakes up beautifully: delicious and moist. I’ve made this twice and added chopped crystallized ginger both times. So good!
Oh wow chopped crystallized ginger is a fabulous idea for this! So glad you like the recipe, thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been looking for a vegan pumpkin bread recipe for ages. The others I’ve tried, and the ones I’ve veganized myself, have all been too sweet and/or two oily and/or too much like pudding. This one is perfect. It is an immediate permanent resident of my recipe collection.
That is wonderful news! Thanks so much for the fantastic review! 🙂
I made this last week and it was amazing! Super easy and delicious! In the past, with other recipes, the outside was super well done with the inside undercooked; not a problem this time. The second time I made this, I substituted steamed and cooled sweet potato for the pumpkin and it was also so delicious. I’ll definitely make this again; maybe with some add-ins next time such as cranberry, nuts or chocolate chips. Thanks for the great vegan recipe!
Fantastic! So great to hear it was a success with sweet potato too. Thanks so much for the sharing and the awesome review. 🙂
Thinking about adding chopped pecans in with the mix. Yay or nay?
Definitely yes! Would be great! 🙂
Super delicious! My kids and husband loved it!
Yay! Thanks Diana! 🙂
I’ve been a baker my whole life. I gave this recipe a shot and to my surprise it came out better than I thought. I will definitely be doing this recipe again soon.
Wonderful to hear that! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Your recipes for pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake and pumpkin cookies look amazing! Will these all work with Stevia instead of sugar? Any ideas of how to do sugar free replacement for the brown sugar?
Hi! Sorry I don’t have any experience in baking with stevia! In lots of my recipes people have commented that they successfully reduced the sugar, without making any other changes to the recipe. So I think you could definitely experiment with it. But in terms of how much stevia to use, I would have no idea sorry! 🙂
Can I substitute the flax egg with applesauce? A friend said she thought I could substitute 1/4 cup of applesauce for an egg to make a recipe vegan.
Thanks!
Hi Kim, yes you can, but I would use 3 Tbsp.
This is the best vegan pumpkin bread recipe! I added vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips, and it turned out great! I will use this recipe many times this season. Thank you!
Wonderful! Thanks so much Brooke. 🙂