Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Bread is a reader's favorite fall recipe packed with delicious spices, juicy chewy cranberries, and crunchy pumpkin seeds. It's an easy quick bread that is perfect for breakfasts or snacks!
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"OMG! This is absolutely delicious (and so easy to put together!). I love the addition of dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds - genius idea! Another winning recipe, Mel! Thanks for helping me make Autumn even tastier than usual!" - Leigh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Hello, fall, and hello pumpkin! Bring on the Vegan Pumpkin Bread! This hearty and delicious recipe is a real reader favorite. It's packed with pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavors and has amazing texture thanks to the delicious and very customizable mix-ins. I love to use dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds but you could use chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or any other dried fruits.
Smear thick slices with vegan butter or almond butter and enjoy for breakfast or snacks throughout fall and beyond!
Mel x
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Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Flour - This recipe has been tested and works well with wholewheat flour, spelt flour, all-purpose flour (plain in the UK), or a good quality all-purpose gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- Sugar - Brown, white, cane, or coconut sugar are all ok to use.
- Pumpkin puree - You can use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree in this recipe. Got extra? Make my Vegan Pumpkin Pasta for dinner! Any other squash puree will work as will sweet potato puree.
- Dairy-free milk - Any such as oat milk, soy milk, cashew milk or almond milk.
- Baking powder & baking soda - The two are important in this recipe so don't use one and not the other.
- Spices - Use the individual ones listed or switch them out for pumpkin spice!
- Mix-ins - I love to use dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds for their flavor, color, and texture, but you could omit them completely or use chocolate chips, chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans, and any dried fruit you like. Just keep the quantity roughly the same.
You will also need an 8.5 x 4.5-inch or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Let's Make Vegan Pumpkin Bread!
Can't wait to make it? Here's a quick visual walkthrough (see the recipe card and recipe video for the full and detailed version):
- Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix all of the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
- Mix the wet with the dry.
- Spoon into a loaf pan and bake.
Success Tip
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.
Recipe FAQS
Yes, any type of squash puree (such as butternut squash) will work in this recipe. Sweet potato will work too!
Yes. Simply substitute the spices in the recipe for 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
Recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cup (250 grams) flour , all-purpose (plain in the UK), spelt, wholewheat or 1 for 1 GF all-purpose baking flour
- ¾ cup (150 grams) sugar , coconut, brown sugar, cane. or white
- 1 teaspoon baking soda , (bicarb in the UK)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger , (or switch the 3 individual spices for 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅔ packed cup (100 grams) dried cranberries , or other mix-ins of choice
- ½ cup (75 grams) pumpkin seeds , or other mix-ins of choice
Wet ingredients
- 1 slightly heaping cup (260 grams) pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup (180 ml) unsweetened plant-based milk
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease an 8.5 x 4.5inch or 9 x 5inch loaf pan. Lay a strip of baking parchment down the length of the pan with some overhang at each end to make the loaf easier to remove when cooked.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the pumpkin puree and milk to another bowl or a jug and mix them together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. It is a stiffish batter so do not be concerned.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula so it's level.
- Bake for about 55 minutes or until golden and starting to come away from the sides of the pan. Test it by inserting a skewer, toothpick or sharp knife into the centre. If it comes out clean it's done. If not give it a few more minutes.
- Remove from the tin immediately and cool on a wire rack.
NOTES
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Virginia Sorensen says
Wondering if this can be made using muffin / mini muffin tins instead?
Melanie McDonald says
That should be fine!
Jeremy says
This is such a great recipe!
I've made it many times.
I now like to soak the cranberries in ginger liquor and use less all spice and cinnamon, I love this loaf with the ginger really shining through.
I was skeptical about the pumpkin seeds, but they really add a nice element and it doesn't take away from the feeling that this is a treat!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Kathy says
Tried this recipe today I had a big can of pumpkin so I doubled the recipe subbed the sugar for maple sugar and brow sugar swerve and did half dried cranberries and half fresh it was really good!!! I had to omit the nuts but still very tasty,I also made homemade pumpkin butter to serve with it. Thank you for the recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Kathy. I bet it's delicious with pumpkin butter!
Leigh says
OMG! This is absolutely delicious (and so easy to put together!). I love the addition of dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds-genius idea! I can serve this to nut-free friend. Another winning recipe, Mel! Thanks for helping me make Autumn even tastier than usual!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Leigh. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it so much!
Gary says
Made this the other day. Used a half cup brown sugar. Served it with whipped Tofutti "better than cream cheese". It tastes just like Starbuck's pumpkin cream cheese muffins that we used to love. Thanks!!
Maria Calzada-Oliva says
Hi Mel, there is no pumpkin puree tin where I live, so could you tell me what's the difference between both? You say not to use the pie filling. Could I just steam the pumpkin and blend it?
Many thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes you can easily buy a pumpkin or squash and cook it then blend up the flesh to make your own puree. I recommend roasting it rather than steaming though. That's because if it's too wet it can affect the texture of whatever you're making. When you roast i dried it out more than steaming and it concentrates the flavour too. All I do I cut is cut in half, scoop out the innards, and lay each half face down on a parchment-lined baking tray. Roast until it's soft and you can easily stick a fork or knife in it. Then scoop out the flesh and puree. Hope that helps!
You can even use cooked and pureed orange sweet potato/yam in place of pumpkin in just about any recipe including this one if that's easier.
Maria says
Thank you Mel, I will try soon!!
Jess Eiss says
This is delicious, and I'm so happy it didn't have any fat to have to replace! I think it's a little bitey with all the allspice, but overall, it has really nice texture.... so glad I pinned it and tried it. Thank you!
Patricia Giannelia says
I had a large can of pumpkin puree (28 oz), so I doubled the recipe, and also made the pumpkin cookies, so the oven was utilized to the max, and it proved the perfect amount of pumpkin.
In addition, both the loaves and the cookies were delicious!
great recipes, thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them both Patricia!
Kanchan says
Hi Mel
Your recipe is a super hit at my place
I’m new to baking and tried your recipe
It’s come out very nice
Only concern is my dough was hard so I added little milk to make it semi hard. Did my bread turn out little dry because of that
Love
A Virtual Vegan says
The dough is quite stiff with this recipe. But, did you weigh the ingredients? Particularly the flour? If you used cup measurements you could have inadvertently used more flour than intended. They aren't an accurate way to measure when baking because every single time you fill a cup you get a different weight of flour. It's impossible to get consistent results. For best results a digital kitchen scale is essential. You can pick them up really cheaply. Under $15 usually. Hope that helps!
Charlotte Lee says
Hi :) would tinned pumpkin puree work (no additional ingredients), or does it have to be fresh?
A Virtual Vegan says
Canned pumpkin is fine.
Sue says
Made this with yellow raisins. It is quickly disappearing!? Thanks for the recipe.
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 great! thanks Melanie!!
Melanie McDonald says
That's so kind Sarah. I'm really pleased it went down well at the workshop!