Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Square photo of a loaf of whole wheat pumpkin bread, sliced, on a wooden cutting board with a bread knife next to it.

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This pumpkin bread is sweetened naturally with maple syrup, made with 100% whole wheat flour, and uses olive oil in the batter. The result will surprise you! It is an absolutely delicious, fluffy, moist quick bread with just enough sweetness - my whole family prefers this to more traditional, sugary pumpkin bread recipes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Cooling time10

Total Time1 10

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 238kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

Equipment

1 Loaf Pan about 9" x 5" - I like using nonstick for recipes like this.

Ingredients

1 scant cup pumpkin puree about a half a can - I recommend Libby's, see notes
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for greasing the pan
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup whole milk or plant-based milk for a dairy-free option
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice see notes
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine grain salt
1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with some oil (I pour a bit of olive oil in the loaf pan and use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides). Optionally, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the loaf pan across in the short direction, allowing it to overhang the sides, and grease the top of that too (this will make the pumpkin bread extremely easy to remove from the pan after baking).
In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 scant cup pumpkin puree, ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ⅓ cup pure maple syrup, ¼ cup whole milk, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon fine grain salt until very well combined.
Swap to a spoon or spatula and gently stir in the 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour until just combined and there are no dry spots left (do not over-mix!).
Bake at 325 degrees F on the middle rack for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Allow the loaf to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before removing. Slice into 8-10 pieces and enjoy!

Notes

A 15-oz. can of pumpkin puree has about 1 ¾ cups in it. This recipe uses half a can, which makes it easy to use the other half in other recipes. You can use up to a full cup in this recipe and be fine. Or, use the whole can and double the recipe for two loaves of pumpkin bread!
Canned pumpkin often varies depending on brand with how much liquid is in it. I find that Libby's canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling - that's different!) is the best option for most recipes that require pumpkin puree where the amount of liquid matters, such as this pumpkin bread.
If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own! Or for this recipe, use a combination of 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon each of ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. It's not that serious - feel free to omit any of these or change the amounts depending on what ingredients you have in your spice cabinet.
To make without eggs, you can likely use two flax egg replacements here. I haven't personally tried flax eggs in this specific recipe, but it should work just fine for making this recipe egg-free or vegan (with plant-based milk or water in place of the whole milk).
Loaf pans have quite a bit of variety both in size and material/color. I really love the USA Pan 1-lb. nonstick loaf pan - that's what I used in this recipe and what you see in the photos. You may have to adjust your timing for baking based on these factors. A large pan will create a shallower loaf and may need less time to bake. A dark colored pan retains heat more than a light colored or glass pan, so you may need more or less time depending on the color. Just keep an eye on it and use a toothpick to test doneness - it's not that serious, don't worry!

Nutrition