Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe - Little Broken (2024)

Healthy pumpkin bread made with wholesome ingredients. It’s moist, perfectly spiced, and not to mention easy to make.

Love fall desserts? Try our 5-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread or Easy Apple Tart.

this recipe

Pumpkin season is finally here, and a healthy pumpkin bread recipe just might be the best thing to make right now!

This easy pumpkin bread is made with good ingredients such as white whole wheat flour, honey, pumpkin purée, shredded apples, and olive oil.

It’s an easy recipe to throw together for the yummiest sweet treat. Plus, you can easily change up the recipe by adding in some nuts, dried fruit, or even chocolate chips.

What Makes Pumpkin Bread Moist?

The secret to a moist healthy pumpkin bread recipe lies in two ingredients.

First is the grated apples. Use just about any variety of sweet apples, such as Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady apples.

Just make sure to peel the apples before grating. The apples are added right into the batter, adding a touch of sweetness and making the bread deliciously tender.

The second ingredient is olive oil. It gives the pumpkin bread rich moistness and depth that mingles perfectly with the honey and pumpkin spices. I recommend high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make pumpkin bread:

  • white whole wheat flour
  • baking soda
  • ground cinnamon
  • nutmeg
  • cloves
  • kosher salt
  • pumpkin purée
  • olive oil
  • grated apples
  • eggs
  • honey
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What Kind of Pumpkin to Use in this Recipe

Canned pure pumpkin is the best option because it has great flavor and is quick and easy to use.

You can also make your own homemade pumpkin puree. The flavor is even better than canned pumpkin!

To do this, cut open a small pumpkin, scoop out the seeds, and roast in the oven until it’s cooked all the way through.

Scrape out the flesh into a blender and puree. If it’s too watery, gently simmer it in a saucepot until it thickens.

Don’t use canned pumpkin pie filling. This has added spices and doesn’t produce the flavor we’re looking for in this recipe.

How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe

  • First, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a large bowl.
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  • Next, in a separate large bowl with a wooden spoon, mix together the pumpkin puree, olive oil, apples, eggs, and honey. Stir in the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Some lumps are okay.
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  • Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and, if desired, sprinkle the top with pumpkin seeds.
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  • Bake for 55 to 60 minutes in a 350-degree F oven or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. It should come out with a couple of cooked crumbles.Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, and then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
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Serving Suggestions

This is the best bread to serve during pumpkin season!

Enjoy it warmed up with a cup of coffee or orange juice for breakfast. Spread with butter, almond butter, peanut butter, pumpkin cream cheese, or marmalade. Or with a scoop of vanilla yogurt.

It also goes well with crunchy granola, power smoothie, strawberry chia pudding, or avocado toast.

Extra Tips & Notes

These tips and tricks will help you make the best healthy pumpkin bread recipe.

  • Measure correctly. Measure out your dry ingredients correctly. Here’s a great guide that shows you how.
  • Use the best-quality olive oil. Use quality extra-virgin olive oil.
  • Baking soda NOT baking powder. Use baking soda, not baking powder. They are not the same thing. Make sure your baking soda is not expired.
  • Do not overmix! Do not overmix the batter. For best results, follow the instructions below.
  • Eggs at room temperature. Let the eggs come to room temperature before using them, so all the ingredients are at the same temperature.
  • Cool all the way. Allow the bread to cool completely on a cooling rack before cutting into it.
  • Make a double batch. Make an extra loaf to freeze and save for later.

Variations

This recipe is adaptable to make into your own. Here are some options you can try depending on your tastes and preferences.

  • Use pumpkin pie spice in place of individual spices.
  • Use apple sauce instead of shredded apples.
  • Replace the shredded apples with almond milk or greek yogurt.
  • Add vanilla extract for extra flavor.
  • Add nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips.
  • Turn this bread into pumpkin muffins using a large six-cup muffin tin or a regular 12-cup muffin tray.
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How to Store

Refrigerate: Keep the leftover bread in an airtight container on the counter for three days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Reheat: The best way to warm up individual slices of bread is to gently heat them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. They will get hot very quickly, so only heat them for a few seconds.

Freeze: This is the best pumpkin bread to freeze for later. You can make an extra loaf and save it for a day when you’re craving that warm pumpkin spice flavor.

Wrap the loaf in two layers to keep out the freezer burn. You can use a combination of plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a large freezer bag.

FAQs

Can I use a different flour to make healthy pumpkin bread?

White whole wheat flour is used to make this pumpkin bread, but you can use oat flour, almond flour, coconut flour, or all-purpose flour.

How can I keep the bread from sticking to the pan?

Spray the bread pans with non-stick cooking oil to ensure the bottom doesn’t stick.Alternatively, you can line the pans with parchment paper and pour the batter over the paper. Use a spatula to make sure the corners are filled and the top is even.

What kind of apples can I use in healthy pumpkin bread?

You can use any type of apples but Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady are the best.

What can I top this bread with?

You can easily add toppings to add crunchy texture or sweetness. Some crunchy options are chopped pecans or walnuts, sliced almonds, or pumpkin seeds. For a sweet option, dust powdered sugar on top or drizzle with a maple glaze.

More Pumpkin Recipes

Craving more pumpkin recipes? Try these sweet and savory recipes!

  • Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
  • Pumpkin Chili Recipe
  • Pumpkin Pecan Granola
  • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
  • Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Print

Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe - Little Broken (8)

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

★★★★★5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Katya
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 10 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

This healthy pumpkin bread recipe is made with good ingredients such as white whole wheat flour, honey, olive oil, and shredded apples. It’s insanely moist and full of delicious pumpkin flavor!

Ingredients

UnitsScale

  • 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup peeled + grated apples*
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • Optional, raw pumpkin seeds

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
  3. In a separate large bowl, with a wooden spoon, mix together the pumpkin puree, olive oil, apples, eggs, and honey. Stir in the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Some lumps are okay.
  4. Pour the batter into the greased pan and if desired, sprinkle the top with pumpkin seeds.
  5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.

Notes

  • Flour: White whole wheat is a type of wheat – it’s light in color and mild tasting, however, it can be hard to find sometimes. All-purpose flour can be used instead.
  • Oil: Feel free to use avocado oil or melted coconut oil.
  • Apples: You can use just about any variety of sweet apples, such as Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady.
  • Honey: You can substitute the honey with pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, or brown sugar if you’d prefer.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 296
  • Sugar: 23.6 g
  • Sodium: 260.2 mg
  • Fat: 14.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 41.6 g
  • Protein: 5.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 37.2 mg

Keywords: easy, no sugar, fall, thanksgiving

Recipe originally published September 2018

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Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe - Little Broken (2024)

FAQs

Why does my pumpkin bread crack? ›

The thick, rough crack is a sure sign of insufficient steam. The crust wasn't moist enough to be flexible, so it hardened and set before the loaf was done expanding. Another possible reason is that your baking temperature was too high, resulting in the same effect.

Why did my pumpkin bread collapse? ›

The natural response to seeing a sunken-in loaf come out of the oven is to assume you didn't fill the pan enough. But actually, the opposite is true: You probably filled it too much. According to Fine Cooking, this is the most common reason why quick breads (like pumpkin bread) collapse while baking.

How to fix undercooked pumpkin bread? ›

In most situations, an undercooked loaf of bread can be fixed by returning it to the oven for a few more minutes. This is true for loaves where the outside of your bread may look fully set, but the inside of the bread is still gummy. Place the loaf back in a preheated oven at 350° F for 10-20 minutes.

Why is my pumpkin bread still raw in the middle? ›

When the toothpick comes out clean, the bread is done. If not, bake 5-10 minutes longer and recheck. PRO-Tip: Do not pull the loaves out without doing a toothpick check. If you remove the loaf too early, the middle will be raw.

Why is my bread breaking? ›

The dough was either too wet or too dry, The slashing of the dough wasn't sufficient or you didn't do it, Under proofing, Shaping and the skin tension.

Why did my pumpkin crack? ›

You cooled the pie too quickly

The thermal shock of a pie going from a hot oven to the fridge can rapidly contract the egg proteins and just like overbaking, this will split the filling. To avoid this, make sure to allow your pie to cool down completely before chilling.

What happens if you put too much pumpkin in pumpkin bread? ›

You might think you could overcome the lack of flavor by adding more pumpkin purée to your recipe, but you'd be mistaken: By the time you've added enough purée to taste it, your baked good would have a soggy texture on account of all that moisture.

Why did my pumpkin bread come out gummy? ›

If your pumpkin spice bread is gummy or undercooked in the center, it's typically because it either 1) needed more time to bake in the oven or 2) the batter was too wet, which led the bread to collapse in on itself a bit (this happens if you measure ingredients by volume, rather than by weight: it's easy to ...

What causes homemade bread to fall apart? ›

Too much flour and not enough water can cause crumbly bread – people often do this if the dough is too sticky and they add more flour rather than kneading through it. Other culprits can be overproving or not kneading enough – the things you need to do to get a good structure.

How to tell if pumpkin bread is done baking? ›

So, to know when pumpkin bread is done, look for the crack on the top of the bread, which is a tell-tale sign it's either done or close to being done. Then stick a skewer or toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it's ready to come out of the oven.

Why is my baked pumpkin stringy? ›

If the pumpkin flesh is still stringy (like spaghetti squash), it needs to bake a little bit longer. 7. Once all flesh is removed from the skin, place it in a bowl and blend further with an immersion blender (or use a food processor) until desired consistency.

Should pumpkin bread be refrigerated after baking? ›

Once bread is cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Store Pumpkin Bread at room temperature for up to five days. After three days, you may want to place the Pumpkin Bread in the refrigerator to prolong its life. Pumpkin Bread can keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

What happens if you eat raw dough with yeast? ›

Ingestion of raw yeast bread dough can result in mechanical obstruction and ethanol toxicosis. Efforts to remove the dough mass from the stomach may include induced emesis (asymptomatic patients) or, rarely, surgery.

Why did my pumpkin loaf not rise? ›

Why didn't my pumpkin bread rise? It could be one of these three reasons: Expired (old) baking soda or baking powder. Adding too much batter to the pan.

How do you keep pumpkin rolls from cracking? ›

How to keep pumpkin roll from cracking: The biggest trick to preventing your cake roll from cracking is to roll the cake up in the parchment paper as soon as it comes out of the oven. The hot cake will be soft and pliable and should roll up without cracking.

How to prevent bread from cracking when baking? ›

  1. Make sure the bread is adequately proofed (the rise after you shape it). If you poke it, the indentation should fill slowly and incompletely.
  2. Make sure you are getting a good tight seam when you shape it. ...
  3. Make sure you slash the top deep enough.
Jan 18, 2009

Why is my bread crackling after coming out of the oven? ›

The crackling is a sign that the crust is perfect (for. this loaf). A dry, thick crust won't crack, nor will a wet, pliable crust.

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