This is quite literally the best vegan pumpkin bread you’ll ever make. Hands down my favorite healthy fall dessert or breakfast, this vegan pumpkin bread is undetectably eggless, dairy free, oil free, and low in sugar! Sprinkled with a delicious cinnamon streusel on top, this is the ultimate moist vegan pumpkin bread!
What makes this healthy pumpkin bread vegan?
As you probably read from the description, this pumpkin bread is entirely eggless, soy free, dairy free, and oil free.
We don’t use any animal products whatsoever to make this pumpkin bread, yet keep the same traditional moist and delicious pumpkin bread taste and texture.
In place of eggs: we’re using ground flaxseed “eggs”
In place of dairy: we’re using a combination of applesauce and maple syrup
And that’s it!
How do you make this pumpkin bread oil free?
This vegan pumpkin bread is also completely oil free, thanks to the applesauce.
One of my favorite vegan baking tricks is using applesauce for nearly everything! This trick helps to also keep this healthy pumpkin bread lower in fat, as well as reducing the sugar measurements since apples are pretty sweet.
Plus, pumpkin adds a lot of moisture already, so we’re off to a great start.
There is some oil in the cinnamon streusel topping, but you can completely omit the streusel if you don’t want to make a pumpkin bread with streusel, and just add in some vegan chocolate chips for something extra fun!
How to make vegan pumpkin bread
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. All you’ll need for this super moist yet oil free vegan pumpkin bread is:
- Flour: you can use all purpose, gluten free 1:1 baking flour, or cassava flour. I’ve tested all 3 and they work perfectly! If you want to make this an entirely Paleo vegan pumpkin bread, use the cassava flour and add in 1/4 cup dairy free milk.
- Coconut sugar: you can also use regular sugar, but keep in mind, it won’t be refined sugar free then.
- Pumpkin spice
- Cinnamon
- Ground flaxseed: this will be used to make a flaxseed “egg”
- Applesauce
- Pumpkin Puree
- Leavening agents: don’t forget the baking powder and baking soda!
To make a vegan pumpkin bread:
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the wet ingredients and mix the batter until all of the dry is completely mixed into the wet. I recommend using a rubber spatula for this part.
- 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 bread!
Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven and cover it to let it cool for 10 minutes before serving!
Make a vegan gluten free pumpkin bread:
If you’d like to make this a vegan gluten free pumpkin bread, simply swap in gluten free 1:1 flour or cassava flour (the latter will make it entirely Paleo as well).
I’ve tested all 3 methods with nearly identical results. If you’re going the gluten free route, I highly recommend using cassava flour, as I find it’s the most consistent to a regular pumpkin bread texture.
However, a gluten free 1:1 baking flour works just as well, with very similar results.
Vegan Pumpkin Bread with a Pumpkin Spice Streusel Topping
Personally, I love a little something extra on my pumpkin bread. This cinnamon streusel takes this easy vegan pumpkin bread to a whole new level.
Simply combine coconut oil with flour, coconut sugar, and cinnamon (or pumpkin spice if you’re feeling extra “basic” lol).
Sprinkle the crumble on top of the pumpkin bread batter, and cover with tin foil. This will prevent the streusel from browning too quickly in the oven.
Remove the tinfoil just over halfway through the baking time, and continue to bake until the bread is done!
Now keep in mind that because I recommend using coconut sugar, the streusel will look much darker in color than a cinnamon streusel made with regular sugar.
You can use regular sugar if you’d like, so that the streusel will be lighter in color and more easily detected if it’s browning too fast.
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 applesauce. Even though we’re not using any oil in the actual loaf, the applesauce provides a lot of moisture to help from drying out the bread.
That being said, here’s a trick for making sure that your pumpkin bread is always moist:
- Cover the pumpkin bread immediately after your remove it from the oven!
I like to use a piece of tinfoil (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.
How to store pumpkin bread
- 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.
Hope you love this vegan pumpkin bread as much as I do! If you make it, let me know down below in the comments section.
As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!
Happy Pumpkin Bread Baking!
More healthy vegan pumpkin recipes:
Nut Free Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
Vegan Pumpkin Bread Recipe with Cinnamon Streusel
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is quite literally the best vegan pumpkin bread you’ll ever make. Hands down my favorite healthy fall dessert or breakfast, this vegan pumpkin bread is undetectably eggless, dairy free, oil free, and low in sugar! Sprinkled with a delicious cinnamon streusel on top, this is the ultimate moist vegan pumpkin bread!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour, gluten free 1:1 flour, or cassava flour
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp pumpkin spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 1/3 cup filtered water, set for 5 minutes
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup unsweetened dairy free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/4 cup extra unsweetened coconut or almond milk, if using cassava flour
- Optional: chocolate chips
Pumpkin Spice Streusel:
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp pumpkin spice or cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F and either oil a 9″ loaf pan or line a 9″ loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut sugar, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add in the ground flaxseed mixture, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, unsweetened applesauce, dairy free milk, and vanilla extract. Fold the batter until all of the dry is completely mixed into the wet.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted coconut oil with the flour, coconut sugar, and pumpkin spice/cinnamon.Â
- Sprinkle the streusel on top of the batter and cover with tin foil.
- Place the pumpkin bread into the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Then remove the tin foil, and continue baking for another 25 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean and the streusel is lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and cover lightly with tin foil to rest for 10 minutes.Â
- After 10 minutes, carefully remove the loaf from the pan and serve.
- To store:Â 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.Â
Notes
- To make gluten free: you can use gluten free 1:1 baking flour at the same ratio.
- To make Paleo: you can swap in cassava flour at the same ratio, and add in an additional 1/4 cup dairy free milk.
Keywords: vegan pumpkin bread, vegan pumpkin bread recipe, gluten free vegan pumpkin bread, pumpkin bread with streusel topping
oh my yum… even the batter taste amazing!!!
★★★★★
Aw so happy to hear it!!! ENJOY!
Suggestions on baking as muffins?
Hi Samantha! You can definitely bake these into muffins- it will bake faster, so check them after 25 minutes to see where they are in the process. Alternatively, there’s also a pumpkin muffin recipe that’s very similar to this one! Here is the link: https://thebananadiaries.com/healthy-pumpkin-muffins/
What can replace the coconut sugar?
Hi Hadley! You can use brown sugar or regular sugar here instead 🙂
Hi there,
can you replace applesauce with coconut oil or vegan butter? If so, would the measurement be the same?
thanks!
Hi Charlotte! I haven’t tried entirely replacing the coconut oil/vegan butter with applesauce. I imagine the bread might be a bit “gummier,” but if you want a lower in fat pumpkin bread, you’re more than welcome to try- I just can’t guarantee results! If you try it, the measurements will be 1:1!