Easy Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Bread 🎃 This simply scrumptious recipe captures all the cozy colors and flavors of fall baked into perfectly sweet & tasty loaves. Do you smell the pumpkin spice?
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. Those gorgeous autumn colors – pumpkin orange, cranberry red, golden raisin and spice browns. Pumpkin bread is the perfect way to capture the colors and flavors of fall, all in a single glorious recipe!
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I’ve been in the mood to bake pumpkin bread. Despite the fact that I live in San Diego where it’s 80 degrees in autumn and the palm trees never change color – fall is still fall. It doesn’t matter to me if the weather feels like the middle of summer. I’m ready to pull out the pumpkin plates & decorate the house with swags of wheat and cattails. It’s time to sort through the pantry, stock up on fresh flour and spices and yes – hot as it is here – it’s time to start baking! So what is the first thing I’m baking this fall? You got it . . . the best easy vegan pumpkin bread ever!
How to Make Perfect Vegan Pumpkin Bread
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.
Bakers – turn on your ovens & start baking!
This recipe is inspired by the smash-hit Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread, originally posted several years ago by Laurie Bennet 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.
What can you substitute for eggs in pumpkin bread?
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.
I don’t like to use much oil, so I cut the oil content in half by using applesauce and reduced the sugar by one-third. Then I bumped up the flavor with a dash of pumpkin pie spice (couldn’t resist) and a splash of vanilla.
🥕NOTE: This pumpkin bread recipe can be prepared oil-free. See below.
Variations
I loved 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 tweak it to your liking without sacrificing the wonderful texture and flavor.
🥕Here’s a variety of delicious add-in ideas for this pumpkin bread recipe:
- Raisins – any variety
- Fresh or dried cranberries
- Dried cherries
- Chopped dates
- Pecans, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds
- Dark or white chocolate chips
Since this recipe makes enough for three full-size or several mini-loaves, you can have fun creating an assortment of pumpkin breads for your family and friends. If you don’t want to divide up the batter into several 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 three different loaves below.
🥕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 Cobbler
- Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread
- Easy Vegan Apple Pie
very vegan 🌱 very good
Easy Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- Three 8"x 4" bread loaf pans (or you can use 4 – 6 mini-pans – reduce baking time)
- One large mixing bowl
- One medium mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- One rubber or silicone spatula
- Electric hand or stand mixer, or a large spoon to hand-mix
- 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
- 1/2 Cup applesauce
- 1/2 Cup vegetable oil Replace with extra 1/2 cup apple sauce for oil-free version
- 2/3 Cup water
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 3 1/2 Cup unbleached flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp 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) three 8"x 3" inch loaf pans or 4 – 6 mini pans.
- In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, egg replacer, oil, applesauce, 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.
- Pour into the prepared pans.
- Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven, *(reduce time for mini-loaves).
- Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in 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. Oil-Free Version prepare by replacing oil with 1 cup apple sauce. 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. If you decide to use mini loaf pans, it might be easier to use the butter & flour method. I suggest initially setting your timer to no more than 25-30 minutes and just keep an eye on your loaves until they’re fully baked. Use a toothpick to check them. You’ll know they’re done when an inserted toothpick comes out dry & clean.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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Super tasty. Even my none pumpkin liking child loved this recipe. Highly recommend giving this one a go.
So happy to know that your pumpkin bread was a smashing success!🎃 Thanks a bunch for sharing!🥕