This super moist pumpkin bread is deliciously fragrant, amazingly tasty, and topped with toasted pumpkin seeds for a crunchy bite. It’s the perfect fall recipe. Yields a large loaf that you can share with family and friends to celebrate fall! Gluten-free and dairy-free.
Pumpkin Bread: A Fall Favorite
Each time fall rolls along and pumpkins start appearing at farmers’ markets, lining the front porches in the neighborhood, and overflowing from their corner in the supermarket, I feel a huge rush of excitement. Fall is synonymous with so many things – from the crisp autumn air, to the auburn leaves falling from the trees, to wearing sweaters on a daily basis, and most importantly, everything pumpkin.
I love cooking with pumpkin – from savory foods such as creamy pumpkin soup, delicious pumpkin risotto, or easy pumpkin gnocchi, to sweet recipes such as pumpkin cheesecake, crustless pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, and tender pumpkin scones – I’ve made them all.
Of all the pumpkin recipes I’ve made, my favorite has probably got to be pumpkin bread, because baking a fresh loaf and smelling the aroma of pumpkin fill the house as it bakes, and then pulling it out of the oven to feel the heat rush in your face is just heavenly.
Why This Recipe Works
Some gluten-free pumpkin bread recipes turn out a little dry, but this amazing recipe yields a large loaf of super moist pumpkin bread. Soft, tender and bursting with the flavors of fall, with toasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top for a perfectly crunchy contrast, this is just so good you’ll want to eat it over and over again!
Best of all, this is also dairy-free, which means even those who are lactose-intolerant can also enjoy it! It’s also extremely filling, great for a crowd and perfect for the chillier days that are headed our way.
Ingredients You’ll Need + Notes/Substitutes
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I like to use a gluten-free all-purpose flour that is made up of lighter flours and starches (such as rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch) and that comes with xanthan gum (which is the replacement for gluten). I do NOT recommend using a gluten-free flour blend made up with heavier flours such as bean flours as these will result in baked goods with a denser texture.
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Pumpkin pie spice can be easily found in major supermarkets, but if you don’t have access to that, you can simply make your own pumpkin pie spice or substitute it with equal amounts of ground cinnamon.
- Brown Sugar: I used light brown cane sugar in this recipe, but you can also use dark brown sugar or coconut sugar if you prefer.
- Eggs: Feel free to replace the eggs with an egg-replacer or aquafaba or even flax eggs.
- Mashed Bananas: The mashed bananas are what make this loaf so moist and tender, but feel free to substitute it with equal amounts of applesauce if you prefer.
- Pumpkin Puree: I always recommend using fresh homemade pumpkin puree (because it doesn’t contain the nasty additives and preservatives that come with the canned version). However, if you only have canned pumpkin available, that will work just as well.
- Pumpkin Seeds: These are optional, but feel free to swap out the pumpkin seeds for chopped nuts (such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds) if you prefer.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. Preheat Oven and Prepare Loaf Pan
Pre-heat oven to 375 deg. Fahrenheit (190 deg. Celsius) and line a large loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Prepare the Batter
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice. Whisk the dry ingredients well and then set the bowl aside. In a large bowl, mix the mashed bananas, eggs, pumpkin puree and the brown sugar together, then beat well with a hand mixer or whisk until smooth.
Pour the dry ingredients bit by bit into the wet ingredients, and stir together until just combined. Slowly fold in the 1/3 cup of the pumpkin seeds with a spatula until evenly distributed.
3. Pour Batter in Pan, Top with Seeds and Bake
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle extra raw pumpkin seeds on top. Bake in oven for 60 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Let Cool Before Slicing and Enjoy!
Let the pumpkin bread to sit in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool on cooling rack. Allow the pumpkin bread bread to fully cool before slicing (remember: a warm loaf is a fragile loaf).
Expert Tips/Tricks:
- Tent with Foil: If you inserted a toothpick in the middle of the bread and it comes out slightly wet, it means you need to keep baking the bread some more. However, if the top of bread starts to get really brown, simply tent the pan with aluminium foil (cover it with aluminium foil), which will prevent the crust from browning further, but will still allow the bread to continue cooking on the inside.
- Let Bread Cool Fully: I understand that it’s very tempting to want to slice the bread immediately after taking it out from the oven. However, bear in mind that this recipe yields an extremely moist loaf – and that a warm loaf is a fragile loaf. Letting the bread cool totally allows the bread to continue cooking with the residual heat, and if you slice it too early, it may fall apart.
Recipe FAQs:
To store the pumpkin bread, wrap it up in plastic film and store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Yes! Of course you can freeze pumpkin bread. Simply wrap it up in plastic film and freeze it for up to 3 months. Before eating, make sure to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and then if you prefer, toast it slightly before eating.
Other Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love:
- Homemade Pumpkin Puree (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Crustless Pumpkin Pie (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Easy Pumpkin Bread (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Easy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Easy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins (Vegan)
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Easy Pumpkin Gnocchi (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Creamy Pumpkin Risotto (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!
PrintSuper Moist Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 large loaf 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This super moist pumpkin bread is deliciously fragrant, amazingly tasty and topped with toasted pumpkin seeds for a crunchy bite. It’s the perfect fall recipe. Yields a large loaf that you can share with family and friends to celebrate fall! Gluten-free and dairy-free.
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 cups brown cane sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds + extra for sprinkling on top of batter
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Line Pan: Pre-heat oven to 375 deg. Fahrenheit (190 deg. Celsius) and line a large loaf pan with parchment paper
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and mix well together, then set aside
- Whisk Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the mashed bananas, eggs, pumpkin puree and the brown sugar together, then beat with a mixer until smooth.
- Prepare the Batter: Pour the dry ingredients bit by bit into the wet ingredients, and stir together until just combined. Slowly fold in the 1/3 cup of raw pumpkin seeds until evenly distributed
- Transfer Batter to Pan: Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle extra raw pumpkin seeds on top.
- Bake: Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 60 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (if top of bread starts to get really brown, tent it with aluminium foil until fully baked).
- Let Cool Fully: Allow the pumpkin bread to sit in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool on cooling rack. Let bread to fully cool before slicing (remember: a warm loaf is a fragile loaf).
Notes
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I like using a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that is made of lighter flours and starches (such as rice flour, corn starch, potato starch) and that has xanthan gum (replacement for gluten) mixed into it. I do NOT recommend flour blends that are made with denser flours such as bean flour as these type of blends will create baked goods with a denser texture.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: Pumpkin pie spice can be easily found in most major supermarkets, but if it’s not available where you can, you can either make your own or substitute it with equal quantities of ground cinnamon.
Eggs: If you are allergic to eggs, or just want this recipe to be completely egg-free, feel free to substitute the eggs with an egg-replacer, aquafaba or even flax eggs.
Mashed Bananas: The mashed bananas make the bread really moist, but if you prefer, you can also substitute it with equal amounts of applesauce.
Pumpkin Puree: I always prefer using fresh homemade pumpkin puree (because it doesn’t contain the nasty additives and preservatives that tend to come with canned pumpkin). However, if you only have access to canned pumpkin, that will work just as well.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: super moist pumpkin bread
Thank you so much for your answer Felicia!
I am going to try it tomorrow!
Is it normal to have to make a full registration every time?
You are most welcome Izabel!
Hello Felicia
Greetings from Brazil.
I woule like to thank you for sharing so many amazing recipes.
And I was wondering if you can please explain if there is a mix of flour I can make by myself. It’s a very expensive item here, unfortunately.
And right now, during this endless pandemic, we are struggling to make goos gluten-free recipes because most of the recipes I found are asking for gluten-free flour from the supermarkets. I really appreciate if you teach me.
★★★★★
Hi Izabel!
So nice to have you visiting from Brazil! 🙂 Obrigada!!
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes on the blog, and I’m so sorry to hear about not being able to get a good gluten-free flour blend! I live in Buenos Aires and thankfully I’m able to find plenty of good GF flour blends that aren’t too expensive.
You can try this blend (makes 4 cups) – I found it from the Gluten Free Palate blog:
2 cups (290g.) white rice flour
1 cup (115g.) tapioca flour
1 cup (120g.) potato starch
4 teaspoons xanthan gum
Make sure that when you are measuring the flours, you scoop the flour into the cup and then level off the excess flour.
Hopefully this helps dear!
All the best!! xx, Felicia
Thanks Felicia!
This bread tastes so good that it can be eaten on its own – I especially like the strong pumpkin flavor and fragrance with each bite into this superb bread.
A great comfort food to satisfy my craving for a great snack between meals.
Blessings!
Mum
★★★★★
Hi mummy! Yes, pumpkin bread is definitely one of my favorite recipes during pumpkin season (at least in Singapore you get pumpkin all year round)! 😉