Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Check out Pumpkin Muffins, Pumpkin Cookies, or this favorite Pumpkin Cake.

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients In Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe

• Canned Pumpkin: Make sure you’re using plain canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Vanilla Greek Yogurt: Use Greek yogurt, preferably honey-vanilla flavored for an even sweeter bread.
• Egg and Vanilla: Binds the ingredients together.
• Coconut Oil: Measure after melting and make sure it’s cooled to room temperature before adding. Other oil will work as well.
• Light Brown Sugar: Pack the sugar lightly when measuring to avoid over-sweetening.
• Baking Soda and Salt: Helps the bread rise and balances the sweetness.
• Spices: Make your own pumpkin pie spice using a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
• All-Purpose Flour or White Whole Wheat Flour and Oat Flour: Avoid using regular whole wheat flour as it can make the bread too dense.
• Dark Chocolate Chips or Chopped Nuts (optional): Fold these in with the dry ingredients to make sure they don’t sink to the bottom of the bread.

How To Make Pumpkin Bread Healthy

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 4.5 x 8.5-inch bread pan.
2. Whisk together all wet ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Mix dry ingredients in another bowl; add chocolate chips or nuts if desired.
4. Combine dry mix with wet, avoiding over-mixing.
5. Pour batter into the pan; sprinkle with brown sugar (optional).
6. Bake for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let it cool, cut into slices, and then enjoy each bite!

Tips For Success

• Quality Matters: Use Libby’s® pumpkin, LouAna® melted coconut oil, and Greek Gods® honey vanilla yogurt for the best results (not sponsored). Skip low-fat or plain yogurts.
• Mix-Ins: Dark chocolate chips are delicious, but you can leave them out or use chopped nuts instead.
• Mixing: Don’t over-mix to avoid a dense loaf. Grease and flour your pan for easy removal after a 10-minute cool down.
• Toothpick Test: Insert a toothpick into the center. The bread is done if it comes out with moist crumbs or clean.
• Loaf Pan: Use the recommended pan size for even baking and accurate cooking times.

How To Make “Oat Flour”

Oat flour adds moisture and flavor to this Pumpkin Bread Recipe. To make it:

1. Add old-fashioned or quick oats to a blender or food processor.
2. Blend until it turns into a fine powder, like flour.
3. Stir to make sure all the oats are finely ground.
4. Measure the oat flour after grinding, not the whole oats.

Healthy Pumpkin Bread FAQs

What Makes This Pumpkin Bread Healthy?

• Whole Grains Galore: I use oat flour for extra fiber and nutrition.
• Packed with Vitamins: The pumpkin adds vitamins A and C.
• Lightly Sweetened: I use just a little sugar to sweeten the bread.
• Good Fats: Coconut oil is heart-healthy.
• Extra Goodies: Oats and Greek yogurt provide antioxidants, protein, and more!

Other Healthy Pumpkin Recipes:

• Healthy Pumpkin Muffins with chocolate chips
• Pumpkin Protein Shake using vanilla protein
• Healthy Pumpkin Cookies with oats
• Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake without flour
• Pumpkin Granola with nuts and seeds

SaveSaved Pin Print

5 from 42 votes

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

By Chelsea Lords

This Healthy Pumpkin Bread combines quality nutrition with all the classic flavors of fall.

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 slices

Equipment

• Bread pan 4.5 x 8.5-inch
• Blender

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ Cooking spray

Wet Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup pumpkin see note 1
• ▢ 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt see note 2
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/3 cup melted coconut oil see note 3
• ▢ 3/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed

Dry Ingredients

• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice see note 4
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour or white-whole wheat flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup oat flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped nuts, optional

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 4.5 x 8.5-inch bread pan and lightly flour. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth and well combined.
• To make oat flour, blend either old-fashioned or quick oats until they form a fine powder that resembles flour. Measure out the required amount after blending.
• In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. If you're adding chocolate chips or nuts, fold them in now.
• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just blended. Avoid over-mixing to prevent the bread from becoming too dense.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Optionally, sprinkle 2 tablespoons brown sugar on top for a crunchy crust! Bake for 40–55 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a fork or toothpick into the center; it should come out clean or with moist crumbs. If the bread's top starts to brown too quickly, shield it with foil.
• Let bread sit in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing or it will crumble.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Ensure you’re using standard canned pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Use only 1 cup of pumpkin, not the entire can. For optimal results, choose a high-quality pumpkin puree that’s not too watery.

Note 2: Ensure you use Greek yogurt, not regular. We highly recommend Greek Gods® honey-vanilla Greek yogurt for this recipe. 

Note 3: Once you’ve melted the coconut oil, measure to get 1/3 cup. Before mixing with other ingredients, make sure the coconut oil has cooled to room temperature. If it’s too warm, it may lead to clumping.

Note 4: This blend consists of warming spices. It’s available in the spice section of many grocery stores, or you can create your own using our Pumpkin Pie Spice recipe.

Storage: Store wrapped individual slices in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days. For longer storage, wrap individual slices and freeze. To enjoy, microwave a frozen slice for 10–15 seconds.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 845IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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