Easy Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Bread 🎃 This simply scrumptious quick bread recipe captures all the cozy colors and flavors of fall baked into perfectly sweet, moist & tasty loaves.
What is it about pumpkin bread that heralds the arrival of fall? Just the thought of that amazing aroma of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves aka "pumpkin spice" wafting from the kitchen evokes such warm and cozy memories.
This easy homemade vegan pumpkin bread is known as a "quick bread", just like my recipes for vegan cranberry orange bread, simple zucchini bread, and lemon blueberry bread. As the name suggests, a quick bread is just that – a leavened flour-based loaf that does not require yeast or additional time for rising/proofing in order for the bread to increase in volume. Quick breads rise while baking, much like cakes and muffins.
Combining just the right balance of ingredients and flavors is the key to creating perfect pumpkin bread. It should be moist but not gooey. Dense but not heavy. Spicy but not too intense. Sweet but not like cake and pumpkin-y but not like pie. It should hold together so you can neatly eat a slice with a fork or in your hand. A few bites of really great pumpkin bread can be the perfect companion to a pot of coffee in the morning, a cup of tea in the afternoon, or a glass of wine after dinner.
This recipe is inspired by the smash-hit Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread, originally posted several years ago on Allrecipes. With more than seven thousand 5-star reviews and probably as many different versions of it posted all over the internet - vegan and non-vegan - I decided to put my own spin on it using all vegan ingredients and less fat & sugar.
I don't like to use much oil, so I cut the oil content in half by using applesauce (see more in the FAQ's below) and reduced the sugar by one-third. I also added a splash of vanilla.
🎃 Ingredients
🥕 See the printable recipe card below for quantities & details
- Pumpkin puree
- Vegan egg replacer - see FAQ's below for options
- Applesauce
- Vegetable oil - I used canola
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Flour - I used unbleached all-purpose
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cinnamon - ground
- Nutmeg - ground (I love grinding it fresh from whole nuts)
- Cloves - ground
- Ginger - ground powdered
- Vanilla
Variations
I love how this updated recipe turned out. It's super moist, just sweet enough, has everything you want in a vegan pumpkin bread but is versatile enough that you can enjoy it simply as is or dress it up with add-ins such as:
- Raisins - any variety
- Cranberries - fresh or dried
- Cherries - dried
- Dates - chopped
- Nuts or seeds - pecans, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds
- Chocolate chips - vegan dark chocolate or white chocolate
🥕Baking Tips
I prefer lining my loaf pans with parchment paper. Simply cut and criss-cross two strips to fit the wide and narrow sides & bottom of your pans. It makes it super easy to lift the baked loaves out of the pans & clean up is quicker! See FAQ's below for directions on baking muffins with this easy homemade vegan pumpkin bread recipe.
I opted to hand-mix my batter, using a large spoon and silicone spatula. I love my electric mixers, but with a quick bread like this, I found hand-mixing to be quite easy and less mess.
🎃 Instructions
Preheat oven to 350º degrees F (175º C)
Line loaf pans with parchment paper or spread a small amount of vegan butter around interior of pans & dust lightly with flour.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, egg replacer, oil, applesauce, vanilla, water and sugars until well blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. The batter will be thick. A few lumps are ok (don't over-stir or the texture of the bread may become tough).
Pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack before serving.
Enjoy!
🥕 "Add-in" Tip
Since this recipe makes enough for two loaves, you can have fun creating an assortment of pumpkin breads. If you don't want to divide up the batter into separate bowls, just pour the plain batter into all of your loaf pans, then poke the other ingredients into the unbaked loaves using a bamboo skewer or toothpick, like I did with the different loaves below.
🎃 FAQ's
The original (non-vegan) recipe calls for eggs, which I've substituted with vegan egg replacer. There are several packaged powder egg replacers available which work well. You can also make your own by combining one tablespoon ground flax meal with three tablespoons of water (per egg). Allow it to sit 5 - 15 minutes to thicken before using.
The original non-vegan recipe specifies double the quantity of oil that is in this vegan version. I substituted half the oil with applesauce. While you could use entirely applesauce in lieu of oil, I think the texture of the bread will be dry in comparison and with a stronger flavor of apples.
Yes! This recipe yields enough batter for 2 loaves, one loaf & one dozen muffins, or two dozen muffins. For muffins, I suggest greasing the muffin tins with a small amount of vegan butter and lightly dust with flour. You can use paper cupcake liners, however, I have found the paper sometimes sticks to the muffins.
Bake muffins at 350℉ for 30 minutes. You'll know they're done if you press the top of a muffin lightly with your finger and it springs back up. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Simply cover the loaf in food safe plastic wrap or place it in a ziplock bag. For muffins, I like to keep them in the baking tin and covering them with plastic wrap. Store refrigerated or at (cool) room temperature for up to 3 days.
🥕If you love this yummy pumpkin bread , wait till you try these scrumptious vegan baked dessert recipes!
- Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Easy Vegan Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
- Easy Vegan Berry Crumble
- Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread
- Easy Vegan Apple Pie
very vegan 🌱 very good
Recipe
Easy Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- Two 8"x 4" bread loaf pans
- One large mixing bowl
- One medium mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- One rubber or silicone spatula
- Wire whisk (optional)
- Wire cooling rack
- Parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz Can pumpkin puree
- 4 vegan egg replacer* equivalent of 4 eggs, using vegan egg replacer (I use this one) See notes below for options
- ½ Cup applesauce
- ½ Cup canola oil or your choice
- ⅔ Cup water
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 3 ½ Cup flour all-purpose
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
Optional ingredients you can add:
- dried cranberries
- raisins
- walnuts chopped
- pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- vegan chocolate chips (these are my favorite)
- orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º degrees F (175º C)
- Grease and flour (or line with parchment) loaf pans
- In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, egg replacer, oil, applesauce, vanilla, water and sugars until well blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
- Using a large spoon or spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Don't over-stir. A few lumps are fine.
- Pour into the prepared pans.
- Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
🥕Baking Tips:
Vegan egg replacer *Equivalent of 4 eggs, using your choice of packaged vegan egg replacer or you can make your own by combining one tablespoon ground flax meal with three tablespoons of water (per egg). Allow it to sit 5 - 15 minutes to thicken before using. I prefer lining my loaf pans with parchment paper. Simply cut and criss-cross two strips to fit the wide and narrow sides & bottom of your pans. It makes it super easy to lift the baked loaves out of the pans & clean up is quicker! I opted to hand-mix my batter, using a large spoon and silicone spatula. I love my electric mixers, but with a quick bread like this, I found hand-mixing to be quite easy and less mess.Nutrition
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please rate it in the comments below. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sharing your experience helps others decide if they should give it a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
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Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
sarah
Super tasty. Even my none pumpkin liking child loved this recipe. Highly recommend giving this one a go.
Connie Edwards McGaughy
So happy to know that your pumpkin bread was a smashing success!🎃 Thanks a bunch for sharing!🥕