Better Than Starbucks MOIST Vegan Pumpkin Bread -Truly 1 Bowl Recipe!
Super moist and tender, this vegan pumpkin bread recipe is truly made in one bowl and honestly rivals the Starbucks pumpkin loaf. Perfectly spiced and topped with either a cinnamon streusel or vegan cream cheese icing for the moist MOIST and soft pumpkin bread you’ll ever have, vegan or not!
Why this vegan pumpkin bread is even better than Starbucks
You can stop the search. The best vegan pumpkin bread is officially here. And, like my classic vegan banana bread, it’s even better than Starbucks, TRUST ME.
With fall coming in very fast, you might be craving that classic Pumpkin Spice Latte and a good slice of Starbucks pumpkin bread. Unfortunately, Starbucks doesn’t have a vegan version of their pumpkin bread. But don’t worry- we can make it at home just as easily and naturally vegan.
This vegan pumpkin bread is every bit as moist and tender in texture, with sweet warming spices that come through for the ultimate pumpkin flavor.
Made in just one bowl and with just a few simple ingredients, this is easily one of my easiest vegan quick bread recipes (though the vegan gingerbread loaf is a favorite! Check out my vegan cookbook for even more!) and the perfect cozy fall breakfast treat that you need this holiday season.
Wonderful after a Thanksgiving dinner with a cup of coffee, or even for Christmas morning breakfast!
How is this pumpkin bread vegan:
I am quite obsessed with how simple this easy vegan pumpkin bread is. It’s so incredibly quick to throw together, and your kitchen will smell just absolutely amazing throughout the process.
Plus, the ingredients are so incredibly simple- most you have in your pantry already! But the key ingredients that make this vegan pumpkin bread so special are:
- Oil: No butter is required here- oil locks in way more moisture for a bouncy and tender soft pumpkin bread slice!
- Organic sugar & light brown sugar: You really need BOTH for a super moist pumpkin bread that has flavor beyond just sweetness. Technically, you can also use coconut sugar to be refined sugar free, but the richness in flavor from the light brown sugar really brings home the autumnal flavors. Just be sure your sugar is organic or certified vegan- all other sugar might NOT be vegan then!
- Pumpkin spice: This is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. You can purchase it in stores or make it yourself!
- Pumpkin Puree: Not JUST the flavor and moisture of this bread, but the egg replacement as well. Yep, you read that right! Pumpkin puree is one of my favorite vegan egg replacements. Just like my one bowl pumpkin cake, it helps the recipe to rise perfectly while locking in that moisture.
- Baking soda & baking powder: Because we don’t use eggs, we’re leaning a bit more on the leavening agents to do the rising work alongside our pumpkin. Combined with the pumpkin, it acts as if it’s an egg!
Overview: Step-By-Step How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Bread
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
To make a vegan pumpkin bread:
- If you’re making a streusel topping, prepare that first! Then onto the pumpkin bread.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Then add in the dry ingredients, and whisk gently into the wet ingredients. Mix the batter JUST until all of the dry is mixed into the wet. You don’t want to over mix the batter
- Pour the pumpkin bread batter into the loaf pan.
Now for this next part, you can either add a cinnamon streusel on top for a vegan pumpkin bread with streusel topping or you can just bake it as a regular (but still absolutely amazing) vegan pumpkin loaf!
Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven and cover it to let it cool for 10 minutes before serving!
Optional add-ins:
You can, of course, jazz up your vegan pumpkin bread with a few of these optional stir ins:
- Vegan chocolate chips
- Walnuts
- Cranberries
- Pumpkin seeds or pepitas
- Pecans
How do you keep pumpkin bread moist?
The question everyone is asking! So because this is an eggless pumpkin bread, you might be thinking it’s impossible to get a moist pumpkin bread.
Nope! In fact, because this is a vegan pumpkin bread, it’s actually extraordinarily moist, thanks to the pumpkin and oil.
That being said, here’s a trick for making sure that your pumpkin bread is always moist:
- Keep the vegan pumpkin loaf covered immediately after your remove it from the oven!
I like to use a piece of parchment paper (the same one I use to keep the streusel from burning- if you’re using the streusel!) and just gently place it over the loaf pan. Allow the vegan pumpkin bread to sit for 10 minutes covered, then carefully remove it from the pan.
How to know when vegan pumpkin bread is done
Typically, pumpkin bread, whether vegan or not, usually cracks at the top, and that’s how you’ll know it’s done.
However, if you’re going with the cinnamon streusel route on top of this vegan pumpkin bread, I recommend sticking a toothpick into the middle of the loaf to check the doneness. The toothpick should be completely clean when removed.
Either way, the toothpick method is a very good and tried-and-true method. If you’re not doing the cinnamon streusel topping, though, another trick you can do is towards the end of the suggested bake time, lightly press the top of the pumpkin bread.
If it bounces back, then you know it’s ready. If it’s sort of slow to bounce back, it still needs some time.
Mini loaves:
I recently tested this recipe as mini loaves, and it worked perfectly! I tested the loaves without the streusel, and the full recipe made 4 loaves baked at 350F for around 32 minutes (though check on them after around 30 minutes).
As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!
Happy Pumpkin Bread Baking!
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Watch how to make vegan pumpkin bread:
Better Than Starbucks MOIST Vegan Pumpkin Bread – Truly 1 Bowl Recipe!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 65
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Super moist and tender, this vegan pumpkin bread recipe is truly made in one bowl and honestly rivals the Starbucks pumpkin loaf. Perfectly spiced and topped with either a cinnamon streusel or vegan cream cheese icing for the moist MOIST and soft pumpkin bread you’ll ever have, vegan or not!
Ingredients
*Please note that the video features a pumpkin bread recipe that is slightly different than the written. The written version is the most improved upon and therefore should be the one to follow!
- 1 1/4 cup (300 g) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) organic granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (150 g) organic light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup (160 g) cooking oil, such as avocado oil, olive oil, or a blend
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice blend
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 cup (250 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour
Below are the optional toppings. Keep in mind that the cinnamon streusel changes the baking time by 20 minutes.
Cinnamon Streusel:
- 1/2 cup (67 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground pumpkin spice blend
- 1/3 cup (75 g) light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Vegan Cream Cheese frosting:
- 1/4 cup (65 g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (65 g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Please read through all instructions before beginning.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9″ 1 lb. loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Measure out all ingredients before beginning.
- If using a the streusel topping: Whisk together the melted vegan butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon until it resembles a crumble. Then set aside.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Mix until combined. Then add in the pumpkin spice, baking powder, and baking soda, whisking to integrate.
- Finish the pumpkin bread batter: Add in the flour. Whisk until the dry JUST combines with the wet. Be careful NOT to over mix. It’s okay if there are still some clumps- the batter shouldn’t be entirely smooth, just no dry mixture showing.
- Bake the pumpkin bread: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. If topping with the streusel, sprinkle the streusel on top. Place the pumpkin bread into the oven to bake. If baking with the streusel, baking for 1 hour and 20 minutes, covering the pumpkin bread after 1 hour to prevent the streusel from burning. For a plain pumpkin bread, bake for 65 minutes. Remove the pumpkin bread once fully baked and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Slice and serve: Allow the pumpkin bread to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack to cool for another 10 minutes. If using the frosting, cool entirely before topping with frosting.
- Cream cheese frosting: To make the frosting, use a hand mixer to cream together the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese. Then add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, and mix just until combined. Top the pumpkin bread with the frosting, slice and enjoy!
- Storage: wrap the pumpkin bread in plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for up to 2 days or store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the bread by slicing it and placing the slices into a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, place a piece on a piece of tin foil and heat for 5 minutes at 350F.
Notes
Gluten free: use gluten free 1:1 baking flour to make this a vegan gluten free pumpkin bread. I recommend using King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour blend.
Storage:
-
- Room Temperature: Because this pumpkin bread is so moist, you can store it easily at room temperature for 2 days. I recommend wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap to ensure that it keeps as long as possible.
-
- Fridge: Alternatively, you can keep this pumpkin quick bread in the fridge, wrapping it in plastic wrap the same day. The vegan pumpkin bread will last for about 5 days with this method (although I bet you’ll finish it before then!).
-
- Freezer: If you want to have pumpkin bread for weeks after you make it, not a problem! I recommend slicing the pumpkin bread and storing in a freezer safe bag for up to a month. To reheat the pumpkin bread, simply place a slice on a piece of tin foil and heat in the oven at 350F for 5-7 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 173
- Sugar: 16 g
- Sodium: 121.9 mg
- Fat: 2.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.7 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 2.6 g
- Cholesterol: 6.3 mg
this pumpkin bread looks fantastic! I plan to make it tonight; the text and video are so long it isn’t easy to find the simple recipe for those of us who have cooked and baked for years; I’m sure the finished product is worth the time, though
So Yummy! Next time Ill use a lighter oil. Olive oil was a bit heavy however my husband could not stop raving about how tasty it was.
Let me know how that comes out! So glad you both enjoyed!
Hi there, I just made this pumpkin bread the second time and it’s amazing!! everyone loves it.
I’ve made this three times and it’s fantastic! I prefer the frosting to the streusel – the cream cheese flavor really complements and brings out the pumpkin. I prefer the sweetness as the recipe is written, but I added 1/4c extra sugar to the loaf I was giving to a friend who has a major sweet tooth.
Oh my goodness this is awesome 🙂 WOO!! Thank you so much for the kind review!! ENJOY!
Absolutely delicious! My family can’t get enough of these. I substituted coconut sugar for the sugar and brown sugar and used coconut oil. I highly recommend these!!!
This is so so awesome 🙂 WOW! Thank you so much for this review!!
I don’t leave comments a lot but feel I have to leave one because I have made this bread now a few times and it is BANGIN’ and it’s gotten many compliments so definitely try it out! I only had coconut oil on hand so used the same amount and it’s so lovely
This is amazing!! WOW!! Thank you so so much!! So happy you loved it so much 🙂 It’s one of my favorites too!
My grandson is vegan, and his sister, my 20 yr old granddaughter, made this for our family around Thanksgiving. OH MY! It was absolutely wonderful, so much so that she has made it for me twice since then! She has now sent the recipe to me, and it is going in my “favorites” in my recipe box! Not only is it delicious, it is low in calories, AND vegan! Thanks SO much for sharing!!
This is wonderful 🙂 WOW! Thank you so much for the review!! ENJOY!!
Yuum! I am an avid baker and I have a pumpkin coffee cake recipe I usually use but didn’t have eggs. I was skeptical about this recipe but it is AMAZING and it works because of the amount of pumpkin – which can make up for things like eggs, applesauce, yogurt, etc. I added more baking soda (3/4 tsp) and salt (1/2 tsp) because the original amounts are low for a typical “cake” like this but other than that, followed the recipe. I also used a different topping recipe (1/4 c flour, 1/3 c brown sugar, 1/2 c chopped walnuts, 3 Tbsp melted butter). I baked this at 350 for 40 min in an 8×8 pan (making it a ‘cake’ and not a ‘bread’) – let sit for 15 min then moved to a baking rack for 30 min and had a slice when it was still warm. Thank you for this excellent recipe!
I make this weekly! Delicious. Scrumptious
Oh goodness this is GORGEOUS!! So so grateful you love it as much as I do 🙂 Thank you for the review! Enjoy!!