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
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Quick Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
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. 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).
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Karen
Can I use oat flour? Or spelt flour? Or anything other than gluten-free, whole wheat or all purpose?
Kate
Hi Karen, I don’t recommend oat flour or spelt flour. If you are interested, you can search through the comments to see if others may have tried a different variation (ctrl + F) Sorry!
Katharine
Second week running with a loaf of this lovely pumpkin bread. It’s so nice shared with the family on a Sunday.
★★★★★
Kate
Perfect thing for a Sunday!
Geoffrey
Kate. The recipe was great! I used olive oil instead of coconut oil because I was out. I used 1 cup of white whole wheat and 3/4 cup of Spelt Flour. We have bees and chickens so I used our girls’ honey and fresh eggs. It was really moist and delicious. I added some chopped walnuts and a scattering of choc chips. I served it warm with a dollop of real whipped cream for dessert after our Valentine’s Day dinner.
I had leftover pumpkin puree so I made it again tonight. To experiment, this time I used apple sauce instead of oil. I didn’t have a full cup of pumpkin puree so I used half a banana. I used 1 cup of Spelt and 3/4 cup of white whole wheat (reverse of first time). And, of course, I added walnuts and chips again. This one is dairy free. I used Ripple (pea protein milk) instead of reg milk. I’ll let you know how it comes out.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing what your tried! I’m glad it worked well for you, Geoffrey. I appreciate the review.
Sam
♡♡♡ this.
As most bakers do, I swapped a few things: used a 1/4 c combo of dark molasses and coconut nectar (didn’twant too much sweetness), just 1/4 c coconut oil, flax egg, fresh pumpkin puree. But the basics are all yours. The only downside is that it’s not pumpkin colored but hey, taste over looks. Thank you.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Sam!
Amelia
Hi Kate, I’m from Singapore and I just baked this. It was delicious, your recipe is the simplest I’ve come across on the internet. I love it. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe. Have a good day!:)
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Amelia!
DJ
I’ve made this recipe at least 4 times now. Every time better than the last. My changes:
– I about double the amount of pumpkin (I use half of one of the big cans) and use about 2 cups of flour.
– I also up the spices. If you like more spices, put more in. I like the flavor notes they add. I add twice the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. But keep the cloves and allspice at their prescribed amount (I’m not such a fan of those… they are only ok).
– I don’t have a big bread pan, so I use two smaller pans (maybe 4″x8″). I keep the same cooktime (about 55 mins), checking them every 5 mins after 45 mins. I have yet to overbake these. If anything, I underbake them, which leaves them very moist.
– I tried two batches (2 days ago) going plant based. I had an epic fail at making flax paste. I had unsweetened applesauce on hand, so I put in about half a cup of unsweetened applesauce and a quarter tsp more of the baking soda instead of eggs. I used coconut milk vice cow milk. I used coconut oil and local honey. Turned out fantastic. Again, remember to bake them long enough, but not too long. I may have gone through a few toothpicks.
– I prefer these with pecans. If you can get the pecan parts (I can’t remember the real name right now – not whole, half, or sliced, you want the little quarter inch by quarter inch chunks). You can make them without, but they bake nicely in, they are not hard crunch when you eat them. Delicious.
– These freeze great. I double wrap them in plastic wrap. I’d love to tell you they last months in the freezer… but I eat them before that time comes. Most they’ve hibernated in the freezer is a month. I thawed them out to delicious. The thought of pre-slicing before freezing is also genius.
– I have yet to make this with another fruit (i.e., banana), but I think the consistency would be great for this recipe.
– FYI: the consistency of the batter when it’s about to go into the pan: This is not a dough like pizza dough. This is loose. Like a wooden spoon can stir it, yet its not goopy. I have to spoon it into the pan with the bowl tipped. So it’s not runny or pourable, but it’s not a dough either.
– Last, you’ve got to make this. It’s a great breakfast bread, low in fat, low in sugar, natural, and tastes good!! Great find!
DJ
I forgot to add:
– I use somewhere between one quarter and one third of a cup each of coconut oil and honey. Part of this is because my coconut oil is solidified and because after I scoop in a random amount to a pan and heat it up, it always turns out less than I expect. Further, I reduce the honey to keep this bread on the less sweet side. I figure I get enough sugars in other stuff throughout my diet, no need to add extra to this recipe. It still turns out fine.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your detailed comment on your approach! I appreciate the review.
Sally
Thank you for suggesting other ingredients. I made these muffins and found them to be dry with very little pumpkin flavor. I think the applesauce substitute and more spices would help. I felt like there was too much flour in the mix so I will reduce this.
Sally
Thank you for suggesting other ingredients. I made these muffins and found them to be dry with very little pumpkin flavor. I think the applesauce substitute and more spices would help. I felt like there was too much flour in the mix so I will reduce this a bit. Any suggestions as to what I might have done wrong would be helpful.
Dhanya
Omg! I made this today! Turned out perfect. Moist and tasted soooooo yummmy! Thanks a lot.
I used applesauce and flax.egg, also cake was perfect in 45min!
I will definitely make this a 100 time! It’s perfect recipe
★★★★★
Kate
Great, Dhanya!
Cindy Gardner
Kate, I think I love this recipe as much as you do. I finally cut up my beautiful cinderella pumpkin that had been sitting on my kitchen counter since Oct. I’ve made about six loafs in the last month. This recipe is perfection! Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved this recipe, Cindy!
allegra
Didnt know where to post this but just letting you know that the link for healthy banana bread doesnt seem to be working these last few days, tried accessing it from different places but just goes to the picture! :)
Kate
I’m sorry for your experience with Cookie and Kate this weekend. My website hosting made a big mistake and I’ve worked with them to resolve the issue. All should be working now. Let me know if you have any issues!
allegra
Cant wait to make this recipe but its impossible for me to find white wholewheat flour here! Is wholemeal flour the same/can i use it instead?
Kate
I believe they are one in the same!
Denise
So I took some of the previous comments into consideration when I made this recipe for the first time…and loved the results. I used buttermilk instead of regular milk which made a thicker batter and helped the bread cook more evenly, especially in the middle. I added twice the amount of pie spice and a bit extra maple syrup. Since I used my own pumpkin puree, I needed to add some extra flour so the batter wasn’t too runny. I grind my own wheat, which makes an amazing wheat flavor. Fresh ground always has a lighter texture and flavor. The results were amazing. The bread was moist, flavorful and hard to resist. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad the comments were helpful.
Rita
How do you do your pumpkin puree please
Denise
I cook the pumpkin squash style. When it is finished cooking, I simply puree it in the blender. It can be used right away, frozen, or canned. If you use frozen puree it will have more liquid. It can be strained before using, but will also need a little more flour to balance out the extra moisture.
Rae
Great recipe! I’ve made this bread twice this week already! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Rae! Thanks for your review.
Bella
I really, really love making this pumpkin bread, Kate! Everyone whose tasted it loves it, too. I’ve been using store bought pumpkin puree but am challenging myself to make my own. Do you have a recipe for it? :) Thank you so much!
Kate
I don’t have a puree specific recipe, but you could try adapting this soup with the roasted pumpkin: https://cookieandkate.com/creamy-vegan-pumpkin-soup
Michelle
So good! Used Bob’s Red Mill Paleo flour because I have celiac. Turned out amazing. Served it at a dinner party, everyone lived it!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Michelle!
Jeannette
I love this recipe and so does my toddler! I’ve made this one, the banana version, and I’ve also used sweet potato in place of pumpkin! It’s been a success every time and between the fruit/vegetable and the whole wheat flour, she’s happily eating something I can feel reasonably good about!
★★★★★
Kate
I love it! Thanks for sharing, Jeannette!
Elizabeth
Hi Kate! I have made this bread about 15 times now — absolutely love this recipe and how it tastes!! Thank you so much!
I’ve made it with GF flour + almond flour + oat flour before to make it GF but the last two times I made them with whole wheat flour. I noticed that when I bake with whole wheat flour the bread is much more dense. Is it supposed to be like that? Is there a way to make it less dense and more fluffy while still using whole wheat flour?
Also, every time I bake this my bread looks really nice in the oven but once it cools it looses volume and sinks down quite flat. What am I doing wrong and do you know how to prevent this from happening?
Thank you so much for your response in advance!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome! I’m glad they are working for you with so many variations. I appreciate the review!
Ashley
Followed it exactly and it came out great! I love that there’s no refined sugar and the amount of sweetness of the bread is perfect. This is my new favorite pumpkin bread recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Ashley!
Jill
I love your Healthy Pumpkin Bread recipe. I’m going to try your
Honey whole wheat banana bread next.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it! Let me know what you think, Jill.
Laura
This recipe is so delicious. I can barely tell the difference between this and my usual pumpkin bread recipe filled with butter & white sugar! Thanks!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Laura! Thanks so much for your review.
Rebecca McGregor
Hi Kate and Cookie …tonight I have made for the first time your pumpkin bread … my goodness so delicious , flavoursome and super spongy . I tried it with all spelt flour and it came out really well .
Served it warm with a dab of ricotta and drizzle of maple syrup !
Love love … thank u Kate
Bex and Bruno ( my cavoodle) we are kiwis living in Fiji and loving cooking your recipes !❤️
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing!
Elle
I made this bread yesterday and it smelled amazing, though it’s didn’t rise much. The bread seems very dense. The taste is there, but it is only about 1 1/2 inches tall? I used maple syrup and almond milk. My grandmother told me I should have used baking powder, but I prefer to follow recipes exact the first time I make them (hence I used baking soda like the recipe says, and it was brand new baking soda too). Any tips?
Hannah
Your grandmother was right. Baking powder is necessary for this recipe because there’s no acid for the baking soda to react with to rise (unless you were to use buttermilk). Making this now with baking powder instead, in the mood for fall!
Caroline Lewis
I thought the same thing when I read the recipe. Baking soda needs an acid. Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to try this recipe with my girls this afternoon!
Hope
This pumpkin loaf turned out great. It is very tasty. My only complaint that it doesn’t taste like pumpkin very much, more like banana bread. I would definitely add more spices or even pumpkin puree to bring out the flavor more. Still a great recipe though!!!
★★★★
Kath Walker
Hi,love to see your recipes. I have a problem ,I would like you to help me with, if possible. My daughter is gluten intolerant, some of her school friends have nut allergies or dairy intolerance.. We would love to bake a cake for Halloween, that they can all enjoy.is it possible ,can you help.
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Kath! I try to provide substitutions as much as I can at the bottom. Check-out my monster cookie recipe. I believe some have used a sun butter and it has worked well!
Hannah
Made this yesterday morning with maple syrup, almond milk, and white all purpose flour. I also added golden raisi s. It came out wonderfully! Super moist and flavorful. My grandmother (seasoned baker) loved it. (:
★★★★★
Jade
I made it as listed and added dark chocolate chips. Took about 10 extra minutes to cook, but came out perfect and delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
Sounds delicious, Jade!
Norma Rodriguez
I used your recipe for the first time when I bought 8 bags of wheat flour on sale and needed a healthy alternative to my old butter loaded recipe. I never went back. Your recipes are my only go to recipes. Thank you for being so generous!!! With these beautiful recipes! I give you 1000 stars!!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Norma!
Jody
Love this recipe! The only thing I change is I half the oil for flaxseeds and bake for 60-65 minutes…
★★★★★
Hend Hasaballah
I didn’t have pumpkin so I used butternut squash instead and it turned out amazing
Thanks for the great recipes ❤️
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Hend!
Kennedy
Kate – I am allergic to corn so what would you suggest I use in place of the baking soda?
Julia
Hi!
Could you sweeten this with ripe bananas or apple sauce instead of honey?
Kate
I believe others have tried applesauce with luck, but I haven’t tried it. Sorry!
Jennifer
This was delicious and a hit with my family! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jennifer!
Gee
How do the nutrition facts change with gluten free flour?
Kate
Hi Gee! You can use the sources I have noted in my nutrition disclaimer to input your specifics: https://cookieandkate.com/nutrition-disclaimer/. I hope this helps some!
Ashley
I made this over the weekend and added chocolate chips. The flavor was great and I cooked it until a toothpick came out clean but the texture was still a little gummy. I would make this again.
★★★★
Kate
Chocolate chips are a great addition! Thanks for your review, Ashley. It sounds like your bread needed to stay in just a little longer.
Ellie Magee
I subbed a g-f flour mix: 1 1/4 c almond flour, 1/2 c. Millet flour, and 1/4 c sorghum flour(1/2 tsp of x-gum). I found the bread to have a nice texture and the 1/2 maple syrup was just the right sweetness-that was my biggest concern. Used almond milk and avocado oil…also added a T. of vanilla yogurt. I used 1 1/4 c of pumpkin…also the loaf may release better w parchment on bottom of pan. It took at least an hour to bake with the addition of pecans.
I’ll make this again and sub in applesauce for half of the oil. I like best that it uses a natural sweetener and not too much of it.
Very good recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing your variation, Ellie! I appreciate your review.
M
Hi,
Can you sub applesauce for the oil?
Kate
I haven’t tried it, but I believe some others have with luck! I recommended searching the comments to see what they recommend.
Leanne
Hi
Love love love this bread, have made it as written and as in suggestions gluten free. Great! Now I would like to ake this for a friend who is vegan. have you actually tried it with the flax egg version? Thanks!
Kate
I believe from others this has worked very well with a flax egg.
Denise Hershey
Slowly phasing all my baked goods over to plant-based and using little to no refined sugars. I knew to turn to your website first as your maple-sweetened banana muffins are one of my all time faves (and taught me my go-to method for mixing melted coconut oil and maple syrup!). I used flax eggs in a ratio of 2T ground flax to 2.5T water, but next time might reduce the water a bit. I might also use baking powder in addition to soda as another reviewer commented to see if they rise more. As is, these loaves are squat, dense little loaves, but tasty, moist, healthful and (my favorite) not overly sweet! Plus, hands down, just super easy to throw together and get into the oven.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your comment, Denise!
Debbie Grady
This bread is a staple with me now and I always wanted a good pumpkin bread recipe for around the holidays and wanted one without sugar and this was it!
It’s really incredible and tasty I have made it so many times and now have two in the oven as I write this. I am bringing these to work and have before and it gets gobbled up so quickly. Love the smell too when first done, smells like autumn. I use the olive oil option and the milk as opposed to water and the honey as opposed to the maple syrup and it comes out perfect. This is a five star bread !!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Debbie!
Aina
I made this bread and it was a bit too dense. What should I do to fix this?
sera
This is a great recipe! I added chocolate chips and a little layer of cinnamon brown sugar to the top of mine. My daughter prefers chocolate in all the things. It was delicious! I think it was even better the second day. Another great recipe Kate!
★★★★★
Mia
I’ve just made this bread along with the muffins as I had a superfluity of pumpkin purée. I followed your recipe with the exception of using fresh pumpkin purée, using 1.5x the recommended amount of spices, adding chopped pecans and sultanas, reducing the amount of honey by around 30%, and using half spelt flour since I ran out of wholewheat and thought buckwheat wouldn’t work (I read somewhere in the comments that it worked well). Although it tastes beautiful, especially topped with almond butter and roasted pumpkin seeds, it’s horrifically dense and stodgy, which i don’t find hugely palatable. I’m not sure what I’ve done wrong, other than incorporating spelt, but perhaps it’s concerning the baking soda? I’m determined to make it work though, so I’ll try it with 100% wholewheat some time.
★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Mia!
Janik
Absolutely delicious, turned out very moist. I used half brown sugar and half honey since I ran out, and half gluten free flour half oatmeal flour. Added pecans. The only thing I’d do different is put less baking soda since there’s an aftertaste of it.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Janik!
Helen
I just made this with all purpose flour, honey, and oat milk and it came out perfect! Just the right amount of sweetness I was looking for. I also added chopped walnuts and espresso chocolate chips. I would recommend adding more spice to the recipe since the pumpkin spice flavor isn’t as strong as I thought it to be, but overall it’s a great sugarless recipe!
★★★★
Edwina Steel
Thank you Kate. Made this today. Very good. The warm seasonings stand out nicely. Will make again.
★★★★★
Irene
I replaced bobs red mill 1 to 1 baking powder, doubled pumpkin, and used 2 cups of flour. Came out great! Made half with chocolate chips and the other half plain. 55 mins was perfect.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Irene!
Monica
Love love love the videos! Short and sweet but being a visual person, they are so helpful! I used a combination of oat flour and almond flour to make it gluten free and it turned out great.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you find them helpful!
Molly McMahon
I just made this and oh boy, it’s delicious! It’s moist and wonderful and the crust is just perfect!
★★★★★