This healthy Vegan Pumpkin Bread is made with wholewheat flour & is completely oil-free. It is heartily stuffed with juicy chewy cranberries & crunchy pumpkin seeds & is perfect for breakfast or snacking!
This Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries & Pumpkin Seeds is perfect for when you really want cake but are trying to be healthy……
That’s like all the time if you’re anything like me.
I’ve made this bread again and again because we enjoy it so much, and now it’s here because you folks deserve to be enjoying it too. Plus pumpkin is super good for you and shouldn’t just be restricted to a few weeks around Halloween.
This Vegan Pumpkin Bread is not light and fluffy like some more cake-y pumpkin breads. It’s heartier, a little denser and very slightly chewy. Almost like a cross between proper bread (as in the yeasty sandwich kind) and a cake. It feels a whole lot more substantial than most cake-y breads.
It is just sweet enough without being ‘cake sweet’ and this sweetness is enhanced by the lovely juicy, chewy dried cranberries. For a bit of added crunch and more nutrition the pumpkin seeds works beautifully.
It’s lovely with a smear of my Easy Vegan Butter or some nut butter for breakfast, general snacking or packed lunches. It’s pretty sturdy and will hold up to being rattled around a lunch box.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PUMPKIN BREAD
FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
My Healthy Pumpkin Bread is very easy to make. All you need is a loaf pan, a mixing bowl, a small bowl or jug and a spoon/spatula. Then:
Add all of the dry ingredients to one bowl and mix them together, then add the two wet ingredients to another bowl and mix them together.
Pour the wet into the dry and mix then spoon into the pan and bake
You can also make it in a stand mixer if you prefer. I trialled it by hand and in a mixer as I am still crushing on the new Kitchen Aid my lovely hubby brought me for Christmas. Any excuse to use it is a good thing! ♡ If you do use a stand mixer be sure you don’t over-mix. The flour should be just combined so there are no dry spots.
Success Tips
- When you mix this together it will be stiff. It is not like a cake batter. It’s more like a dough. It takes a bit of elbow grease to mix it all up. Just sayin’ so you know and don’t get all weirded out and pour in a gallon of liquid to remedy it or something!
- Follow the recipe closely and as always with recipes involving flour, I highly recommend you use a kitchen scale. Cup measurements are not accurate enough to get the best and consistent results, but if you do need to use them, spoon the flour into the cup then level off the top with a knife without compacting it or shaking it down. By doing it like this you will get roughly the correct amount. If you scoop the flour up into the cup, you will end up with much more than is needed and it will affect the outcome of the recipe. Digital scales are available at most big superstores now and you can pick one up for around $10. They are a great investment and are so worth having
- Even if your loaf pan is non stick, I recommend lining the bottom of it with a strip of parchment paper. One long strip that goes along the bottom and overhangs the ends is fine, then it can act as handles for you to easily lift the loaf out once it’s baked.
- How can you tell when it’s cooked properly? You can use the toothpick test. Stick it in the centre and if it comes out clean then its done, or gently press down on the center of the loaf. If it bounces back completely, it is done. If your finger leaves a dent in the loaf it needs a little more time.
- Let the loaf cool completely before you cut it. I know it’s tempting to break into it when it’s still warm, but if you let all of the steam inside escape, you will affect the quality of the crumb. It won’t be as moist and it won’t keep as well.
Ways to adapt my Pumpkin Bread
– Switch out the pumpkin seeds and cranberries for chocolate chips
– Switch out the pumpkin seeds and cranberries for chopped nuts of choice
– Use pureed butternut squash or sweet potato instead of pumpkin puree
– Add some grated orange zest. The orange flavour works really well with pumpkin.
– Make it as muffins instead of bread
If you are loving my Pumpkin Bread then you might also enjoy my:
Vegan Zucchini Bread
Lemon Blueberry Loaf
Best Vegan Banana Bread
Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
Healthy Banana Bread
And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list for a fabulous FREE eCookbook featuring my top 10 recipes. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!
Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries & Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup / 240 g wholewheat flour , spelt flour works too
- ¾ cup / 150 g coconut sugar , or brown sugar (lighter sugars like cane and granulated white work well too, but the darker sugars are best flavour-wise.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground all spice , if you don't have all spice use an extra ½ teaspoon cinnamon with ½ teaspoon ground cloves and a big pinch of nutmeg or just sub the all spice for pumpkin pie spice
- ⅔ packed cup / 100 g dried cranberries
- ½ cup / 75 75g pumpkin seeds
Wet ingredients
- 1 slightly heaping cup / 260 g pumpkin puree , NOT pumpkin pie filling! (Pureed orange sweet potato works well too)
- ½ cup / 120 ml unsweetened plant-based milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 1lb loaf tin ( mine measures 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches). If there is a chance your tin will stick lay a strip of baking parchment down the length of the pan with some overhang each side to make it easier to remove when cooked)
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the pumpkin puree and milk to another bowl or a jug and stir together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. It is a very stiff batter, almost like a dough so do not be concerned.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth out so it's level.
- Bake for 55 minutes then check it. It might need an extra 5 minutes or so. Insert a tooth pick or a skewer and if it comes out clean it's ready.
- Remove from the tin immediately and cool on a cooling rack.
- Leave it to cool completely before cutting.
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Laura G says
This looks delicious! Can I use fresh frozen cranberries in place of the dried? If so, would I add the same amount or more? Thanks! I can’t wait to try this!
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven’t tried it but I think dried is best in this particular recipe for flavour and texture. The chewy dried cranberries are lovely in it. Fresh cranberries tend to swell and then pop when baking, leaving crater type holes and mushy areas in the baked goods, and then the area around a whole berry can be very tart. You’d also probably need to up the sugar because fresh cranberries are tart unlike dried onesand you might even need to reduce the liquid a little to compensate for their moistness.
I’m sure it would be more than edible with them, but to be at it’s best I think you need to use dried. Hope that helps!
Darlene says
Great recipe. I used whole grain spelt flour and inreased the spices. 2 tsp cinnamon and 2 tsp ginger. Added 1/8 tdp clives and 1/2 tsp nutmeg as well as the allspice. Very tasty. Thank you
LeAnn says
Very tasty!
Margaret says
I would like to do this in a bunt cake pan. Would you suggest doubling it?
Melanie McDonald says
It depends on the size of the bundt pan. This recipe as it stands fills a loaf pan that holds 6 cups. This resource shows all the different pan dimensions and volumes so you should be able to work out from that how much you need to increase the recipe. https://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
elena says
What a great recipe, easy, healthy, and addictive!!!Glad it can be frozen, other ways…Made it with spelt flour, I reduced the sugar to 100gm only (pumpkin too sweet). And as I didn’t have enough cranberries I completed the 100 g, with dry blue berries and…cooked in the bread maker (baking only setting for 59 minutes, super perfect.
I always enjoy making and eating your recipes, thanks Melanie
Melanie McDonald says
I’m really pleased you enjoyed it Elena and it’s good to know it works in a bread maker!
Sarah says
Delicious! made this and shared at a workshop i was co-hosting. everyone loved it and folks were amazed it was vegan.
Your baked good recipes are always the bomb! thanks Melanie!!
Melanie McDonald says
That’s so kind Sarah. I’m really pleased it went down well at the workshop!
Chantelle D. says
This recipe worked out great!
I used 1/2 flax and 3 cups flour to double the recipe and substituted pecans instead of pumpkin seeds, as it was what I had on hand. Thanks for the recipe!
Melanie McDonald says
Perfect. Glad you enjoyed it!
Teresa says
Thank you for this! I collect pumpkins every year after people discard them post-Thanksgiving. This year I had 30+ pumpkins of all sorts to use up. I still have many to go. But every single one, I’ve made at least two loaves of this recipe. I use fresh cranberries when I can find them, and have subbed walnuts and pecans, or throw in a handful of flax meal or oatmeal. It’s a very forgiving, moist, delicious recipe. So happy to have a good, moist pumpkin bread that doesn’t require oil or egg substitute.
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m so pleased you are enjoying the recipe Teresa. I love that you are using up all the local pumpkins that would otherwise be wasted. Good for you!
Julie says
I love recipes that don’t contain oil or egg! This bread was a big hit. I subbed brown sugar for the coconut sugar but next time I’ll reduce it a little. I made it with spelt and the texture was fantastic.
Julie says
I tried this recipe with apple sauce instead of pumpkin and it worked great. I also used 1/3 cup maple syrup instead of the coconut flour. The texture was fantastic.
Alva says
This recipe was a huge hit! I live in Sweden and when I finally could find canned pumpkin in my supermarket I was so excited to bake this. I didn’t have coconut sugar so I substituted it for ca 120g maple syrup. I have a hot fan oven so it was done in about 40 minutes. Now the whole house smells amazing. ????
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it and that you were able to work out a sub for the coconut sugar. Thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. I really appreciate it!