Best Vegan Pumpkin Bread (Healthy + Easy)
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.This moist and flavorful vegan pumpkin bread is a simple and easy autumn quick bread that comes together in less than an hour. It makes a delicious breakfast or anytime snack!

When autumn arrives everything pumpkin floods the shelves of the grocery store!
I absolutely love pumpkin season: it’s one of those amazingly versatile flavors that can be either savory or sweet! And this vegan pumpkin bread is no exception. It’s comforting, warm, easy to make, and filled with subtle fall flavors.
The best part? No one will be able to tell this pumpkin bread is vegan. And as an added bonus, it’s whole grain, lower in sugar than most pumpkin bread recipes, and under 200 calories for a HUGE slice!
This is a simple quick bread you can make again and again throughout the season and enjoy with your morning coffee for a vegetarian breakfast or a pick-me-up afternoon snack.
This easy, vegan pumpkin bread recipe is moist, and is loaded with warm spices and rich pumpkin flavor. It bakes up tall and makes 12 large slices.
It will disappear before you know it! So keep this recipe handy because you’ll be making it again and again!
👩🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Best Vegan Pumpkin Bread ever!
- Easy Vegan Baking Recipe
- Gluten-Free Option
- Oil-Free Option
- Simple Autumn Quick Bread
- Healthy Nutrient Rich Ingredients
- Low in Sugar
🥘 Ingredients
This homemade vegan pumpkin bread comes together super easily and is made with simple ingredients! For the full ingredients list and instructions, see the recipe card below.
For the Wet Ingredients: Pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), brown sugar (recommended over cane sugar), applesauce, vanilla extract, and olive oil (note: you can also use melted coconut oil or canola oil) are combined to form the wet ingredients. Depending on how sweet you like your bread, you can reduce the amount of brown sugar to 1/2 of a cup.
For the Dry Ingredients: To ensure all the dry ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the loaf, sift the whole wheat pastry flour (or you can also use regular whole wheat flour), baking powder, salt, and spices together.
🍽 Equipment
📖 Variations
Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread: To make this pumpkin bread gluten-free, substitute the 1 and 3/4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour for a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, or buckwheat flour. I haven’t tried this with coconut flour or almond flour, but I imagine a homemade blend of gluten free flours could work. You can also try my gluten-free pumpkin coffee cake for a twist on this recipe!
Oil Free Vegan Pumpkin Bread: Instead of adding olive or vegetable oil, use an additional 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce.
Refined Sugar Free Vegan Pumpkin Loaf: Make this recipe refined sugar-free by substituting the 1 cup of brown sugar for 1/2 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of coconut sugar. This will reduce the overall amount of sugar as well as use unrefined sugars to lightly sweeten this quick bread.
Add Different Toppings: Try making this vegan pumpkin bread with icing or a streusel topping! Or top with your favorite crushed nuts, seeds, or even powdered sugar or pumpkin pie spice!
Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread: Instead of using 1 cup pumpkin puree, use 2/3 cup pumpkin puree and 1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas in this easy recipe!
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread: Add 1/4 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips into the batter before transferring to the loaf pan!
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a small loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, applesauce, and oil until smooth and well combined.

Step 2: In a separate large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.

Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat until mixed well. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan lined with parchment paper.

Step 4: Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf, comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely before slicing. Once cooled, slice into 12 individual slices and serve!

❓Recipe FAQs
The answer is – it depends! Some pumpkin bread recipes are not healthy because despite being vegan, they have tons of oil and sugar added – making them more like a cake than a healthy snack.
But this recipe is both delicious and nutritious for you! Here’s what makes it healthier than most other quick bread recipes:
Added Fiber: Using a whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour in this recipe adds needed fiber. Each slice has 3 grams of fiber.
Low in Calories: One slice of this vegan pumpkin bread comes in at 187 calories. that’s fewer calories than most quick breads that come in at 350-500 calories per slice!
Rich in Vitamins and Nutrients: Pumpkin is known to be a nutrient dense source of potassium, beta-carotene, vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins E, C and some B vitamins.
Kids will love this moist and fluffy pumpkin bread. It’s lightly sweetened and perfect for breakfast or a snack! If you’re making it for a grab-and-go breakfast that you’ll serve your kids daily, I recommend reducing the sugar to 1/2 a cup. Additionally, since this bread produces 12 large slices, I also suggest serving your little ones a half slice at a time!
Typically, there are three reasons that can cause quick breads to turn out dry. They are: 1) You added too little liquid or your pumpkin puree didn’t have enough moisture 2) Too much flour (use the spoon and level method to avoid this – see tips below), and 3) Over mixing your batter.
The main reason for a deflated pumpkin bread is expired baking powder / baking soda. Make sure that these two ingredients are super fresh before baking and you should end up with a nice fluffy moist bread!
🧊 How To Store
Allow the bread to cool completely before wrapping it with plastic wrap. Then wrap it with a second layer of aluminum foil, or place in an airtight container. This will keep the air out which will ensure it retains its moisture. Store at room temperature in a cool dry place. It will keep for 3-4 days.
You can also freeze this bread. Once the bread has cooled and you have sliced it, wrap each slice individually in foil or plastic wrap and transfer to a zip top freezer bag or airtight freezer safe container. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the microwave or toaster oven before serving.
👪 How To Serve
Serve this healthy vegan pumpkin bread with a glass of non-dairy milk, a cup of tea, or your morning cup of coffee, or a special pumpkin spice latte!
💭 Expert Tips
- Sifting the dry ingredients together will result in a lighter and fluffier crumb, as well as ensure that the baking powder, baking soda, and spices are evenly distributed throughout.
- For best results, make sure you use the “spoon and level” method (spoon the flour into your measuring cup, level with the back of a knife) to measure your flour vs. scooping the flour out with your measuring cup.
- You can change up the toppings/mix-ins for this healthy pumpkin bread. For a more dessert-like-feel, add 1/4-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips into the batter before baking. Or try adding chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans; or any dried fruit you like. If you’re including multiple mix-ins, don’t exceed more than 1 cup of total mix-ins.
- Add a flax egg for extra moisture and fiber.
- Make sure oven is preheated to 400 degrees F before placing bread in the oven to bake.
- The top will be a golden brown when ready. Check to ensure it is cooked all the way through by inserting a toothpick through the center. If it comes out clean, it is ready!
- Allow the pumpkin bread to cool in the loaf pan for 10-15 minutes before removing it and allowing it to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Do not slice the bread to serve until it has cooled completely.

🍞 More Healthy Quick Bread Recipes!
- Blueberry Bread with Banana and Oats
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Vegan Banana Bread Recipe
- Gluten Free Bread Recipe
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Coffee Cake with Pumpkin
LOVE THIS RECIPE? Please leave a 5-star rating 🌟 in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page!
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📋 Recipe Card
Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup brown sugar unpacked
- 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a small loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, applesauce, and oil until smooth and well combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat until mixed well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- Sifting the dry ingredients together will result in a lighter and fluffier crumb, as well as ensure that the baking powder, baking soda, and spices are evenly distributed throughout.
- Make sure you use the “spoon and level” method (spoon the flour into your measuring cup, level with the back of a knife) to measure your flour vs. scooping the flour out with your measuring cup.
- You can change up the toppings/mix-ins for this healthy pumpkin bread. For a more dessert-like-feel, add 1/4-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips into the batter before baking. Or try adding chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans; or any dried fruit you like. If you’re including multiple mix-ins, don’t exceed more than 1 cup of total mix-ins.
- Make sure oven is preheated to 400 degrees F before placing bread in the oven to bake.
- The top will be a golden brown when ready. Check to ensure it is cooked all the way through by inserting a toothpick through the center. If it comes out clean, it is ready!
- Allow the pumpkin bread to cool in the loaf pan for 10-15 minutes before removing it and allowing it to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Do not slice the bread to serve until it has cooled completely.
Enjoyed this for an afternoon treat and it was delicious! Perfectly light and flavorful; exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth!
So happy to hear that Sara! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
You had me at under 200 calories per slice. I love pumpkin bread but it’s definitely not the healthiest, so this recipe is going to be such a life-saver!
Yay! Thanks Nathan!
This pumpkin bread is so perfect for the season. I love that is vegan!
Thanks Artney! Enjoy!
Pumpkin bread is one of the many reasons I love the Fall season! I’ve recently gone gluten free, so I was excited to see that in the variations section, that I can easily adjust the recipe! Perfect!
Yay! I can’t wait for you to try this recipe Beth – you will love it!
This pumpkin bread is so delicious! My loaf turned out perfectly, just like the images here. It has a beautiful texture with the perfect crumb.
Aw yay! I’m so happy to hear that Denay! Thanks for letting me know!
So glad I stumbled upon this recipe. I’m using sweet potato instead of pumpkin but it is delicious.
Oooh! Sweet potato would also work really well in this recipe!
We are all about the pumpkin recipes at the moment and this bread looks so light and fluffy. I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks so much Dannii! Can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you!
This is perfect for the fall season. Nothing beats super moist pumpkin bread!
Totally! We make this recipe all season long!
I am a HUGE pumpkin bread fan, so I am very excited about this healthier version. I will definitely be trying it!
Awesome! I’m sure you’ll love this recipe Danielle!
Would this work with gluten free flour?
Hi Jennifer! I haven’t tried it, but theoretically with 1:1 gluten free baking flour it should work!