Home > Desserts > Healthy Pumpkin Bread Healthy Pumpkin Bread September 21, 2023 | 114 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Welcome Fall with our Healthy Pumpkin Bread! It’s nutritious without skimping on the classic flavors or mouthwatering textures! Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Check out Pumpkin Muffins, Pumpkin Cookies, or our favorite Pumpkin Cake. Healthy Pumpkin Bread Introducing our Healthy Pumpkin Bread made with Greek yogurt! We put this recipe to the test, refining it again and again to get it just right. It’s moist, full of fall flavors, and made with wholesome ingredients. Give it a try and enjoy a pumpkin bread that’s both tasty and wholesome! Ingredients In This Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe Oats: Add texture and heartiness. Greek Yogurt: Adds moisture and increases flavor. Coconut Oil: Provides moisture and a hint of coconut flavor. Egg: Brings ingredients together and helps the pumpkin bread rise. Pumpkin: Offers flavor, moisture, and color. Cinnamon: Adds warm spice flavor. White Whole Wheat Flour: Gives structure and a mild nutty flavor. How To Make Pumpkin Bread Healthy Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 4.5 x 8.5-inch bread pan. Whisk together all wet ingredients in a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients in another bowl; add chocolate chips or nuts if desired. Combine dry mix with wet, avoiding over-mixing. Pour batter into the pan; sprinkle with brown sugar (optional). Bake for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool, cut into slices, and then enjoy each bite! Tips For This Recipe Quality Matters: Use Libby’s® pumpkin, LouAna’s® melted coconut oil, and Greek Gods® honey vanilla yogurt for the best result (not sponsored). Avoid low-fat or plain yogurts. Mix-Ins: While dark chocolate chips provide antioxidants and healthy fats, you can skip them. If you do, consider substituting chopped nuts instead. Mixing: Avoid over-mixing to prevent a dense loaf. Grease and lightly flour your pan for easy removal after a 10-minute cool down. Toothpick Test: When testing the bread’s doneness, insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out with moist crumbs or clean, the bread is done baking! Loaf Pan: Use the recommended loaf pan size. Different sizes can alter baking times and might result in uneven cooking. QUICK TIP What’s the difference between canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie filling? Canned pumpkin is just pureed pumpkin, while pumpkin pie filling contains added ingredients like sweetener and seasonings. For Healthy Pumpkin Bread and most non-pie recipes, use plain canned pumpkin. How To Make “Oat Flour” Oat flour adds moisture and flavor to this Pumpkin Bread Recipe. To make it: Add old-fashioned or quick oats to a blender or food processor. Blend until it’s a fine powder that resembles regular flour. Stir around to ensure all oats are finely ground. Measure the oat flour after grinding, not as whole oats. Healthy Pumpkin Bread FAQs1Why Is My Pumpkin Bread Dry? Overbaking or using too much flour. Not enough wet ingredients or overmixing the batter. How our recipe ensures moist bread: Precise measurements for balanced moisture. Greek yogurt and coconut oil add richness and moisture. Clear instructions on mixing and baking time. 2Does Pumpkin Bread Have A Lot Of Calories?Each slice has 221 calories (for a 12-slice loaf). Though not super low-calorie, it’s made of wholesome ingredients beneficial for your body. 3Can I Freeze This Pumpkin Bread?Yes! Let freshly baked bread cool, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store in an airtight container or bag and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw individual slices in under 10 minutes at room temperature or a bit longer in the fridge. 4Why is My Pumpkin Bread Gummy? Excess moisture from ingredients. Overmixing the batter. Not baking long enough. Our recipe’s solution: Correct wet-to-dry ingredient ratio. Instructions to avoid overmixing. Precise baking time for a fully cooked loaf. 5How Long Does This Healthy Pumpkin Bread Last?It’s lasts 2-3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. In the fridge, the Healthy Pumpkin Bread can last up to a week when stored in an airtight container. What Makes This Pumpkin Bread Healthy? Whole Grains Galore: We use oat flour for added fiber and nutrition. Packed with Vitamins: Thanks to the pumpkin, this bread is rich in vitamins A and C. Lightly Sweetened: We use minimal amounts of sugar to sweeten this bread. Good Fats: We use coconut oil, which is heart-friendly. Extra Goodies: With ingredients like oats and Greek yogurt, you’re getting 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 FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Healthy Pumpkin Bread 5 from 36 votes - Review this recipe The best ever Healthy Pumpkin Bread is bursting with fall flavors and made with lots of healthy ingredient swaps. This Yogurt Pumpkin Bread with yogurt can be made with or without chocolate chips. SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Healthy Pumpkin Bread 5 from 36 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe The best ever Healthy Pumpkin Bread is bursting with fall flavors and made with lots of healthy ingredient swaps. This Yogurt Pumpkin Bread with yogurt can be made with or without chocolate chips. Course Dessert, Snack Cuisine American Keyword healthy pumpkin bread 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 (1 loaf) Chelsea Lords Calories 221kcal Author Chelsea Lords Cost $5.76 Equipment4.5 x 8.5-inch bread panCooking Spray IngredientsWet Ingredients▢ 1 cup canned pumpkin (Note 1)▢ 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt (Note 2)▢ 1 large egg▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract▢ 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (Note 3)▢ 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packedDry Ingredients▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda▢ 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon▢ 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (Note 4)▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg▢ 1 cup flour, all-purpose white or white-whole wheat (avoid regular whole wheat)▢ 1/2 cup oat flour (blended up oats)▢ 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped nuts, optional InstructionsPREP: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 4.5 x 8.5-inch bread pan and lightly flour. Set aside.WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth and well combined. MAKE OAT FLOUR: 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. DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. If you're adding chocolate chips or nuts, fold them in now. COMBINE: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just blended. Avoid over-mixing to prevent the bread from becoming too dense.BAKE: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Optional: Sprinkle 2 tbsp 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. STORAGE: 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 crumbles!). 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. Recipe NotesNote 1: Pumpkin: 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: Yogurt: Ensure you use Greek yogurt, not regular. We highly recommend Greek Gods® honey-vanilla Greek yogurt for this recipe. Note 3: Oil: 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: Pumpkin Pie Spice: 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. Nutrition FactsServing: 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 We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
Looks so delicious Chelsea 😀 I used to bake with pumpkin quite a lot but haven’t in absolutely ages! This bread looks and sounds so comforting with all the warmth from the spices. Perfect! 😀 Reply
I’m so glad you kept experimenting with this healthy pumpkin bread, Chelsea! Gorgeous pictures, too! Reply
The only thing better than pumpkin bread is healthy pumpkin bread with chocolate–it’s practically a no-brainer! Reply
So happy to see some pumpkin action! Bring on the fall baking! And I love that you really took the time to test this bad boy, because it looks perfect! Reply
This looks delicious- so moist! And I really appreciate all the testing that went into it 🙂 Pinning! Reply
The recipe is at the bottom of the blog post after you scroll through the pictures and text. Is that what you mean? It is outlined in a box 🙂 Reply
Wow, you’ve worked hard on this recipe, but no doubt it’s perfect! Those melty chips look amazing! Reply
Crazy? No. Genius? Yes. I’m ready to try any kind of healthy pumpkin bread…I can’t get enough of pumpkin! The exact same thing happened to me when I made my first pumpkin bread (funny story there, my oven’s gas was finished..*covers face*) but I can tell from how amazing this looks that this bread tastes GREAT! Reply
Love healthier versions of baked goods — everything in moderation I think! And I am SO ready for all the fall flavors! Reply
All your hard work paid off because this looks like one awesome loaf of healthy pumpkin bread! I’ll have to try a healthier version even though I’m partial to my super sugary loaf 😉 Reply
I think they mean they don’t understand how to prepare the pumpkin. The answer is just canned pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling but regular pumpkin) Reply
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. Do you have any suggestions for alternatives to using coconut oil? I unfortunately have a coconut allergy. Thanks so much! Reply
Thank you Emily! Unfortunately I haven’t tried anything in place of the coconut oil so I can’t say for sure what would perfectly replicate the taste and texture. In some of my other recipes I have had readers comment that canola oil has successfully worked in place of the coconut oil so perhaps that would work here as well too. Sorry to not be of more help! I typically use coconut oil instead of adding something like butter or shortening so those two could perhaps work in place as well, but I can’t say for sure without further recipe testing. Reply
This was lovely! I messed around with the recipe to make it gluten-free. Everything the same except: 2 large eggs 1 1/2 c. Bob’s Red Mill GF Baking Flour 1 tsp. xanthan gum no coconut oil — I melted it in my microwave but then forgot to add it! The loaf came out lofty and moist even without. (Must have been the extra egg.) Using a ceramic loaf pan I had to bake for an extra 20 minutes, and I tented with foil after an hour to keep the top from burning. Reply
Thanks so much for leaving a comment and telling others how you made this GF — I’m sure this will help a lot of people 🙂 Glad to hear you enjoyed the bread!! Reply
I loved how this turned out! I was wondering, would this apply to a muffin tin as well or would I have to adjust the time/temperature? I see that you have a {Skinny & Healthy} Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Muffins recipe, so I probably should just follow that one. Just wondering, why no greek yogurt for that one? Reply
So glad you enjoyed this bread!! I’m not sure about converting the bread to muffins as I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The reason the muffins don’t have Greek yogurt is because they would be too wet/moist with the pumpkin and the yogurt. I haven’t been able to figure out a recipe (yet!) where oat flour can bake well with that much moisture which is why this bread combines oat flour and white whole wheat flour with the pumpkin and yogurt. Reply
Love all the healthy swaps. With chocolate and pumpkin in the mix, what could be better? Thanks for the recipe. Reply
Yum! I doubled the recipe and it made 6 mini loaves, great for gifting. I accidentally forgot to double the sugar, and honestly I don’t miss it! I used canola oil and it was fine. Delicious spread with a little cream cheese or goat cheese! Reply
Yeah so great to hear!! And isn’t that the best feeling — less sugar and it’s still tasty?! Thanks for your comment! And yum on the cream or goat cheese! Reply
Very delicious and moist! I used whole wheat pastry flour (plus the oat flour – thanks for the tip on grinding my own), plain Greek yogurt, and I subbed raisins and chopped walnuts for the chocolate chips and cut down the brown sugar by a quarter cup. It didn’t rise quite as much, probably, but it still had a light texture and a delicate crumb. Not sure if I can wait for breakfast! Reply
Yeah!! So great to hear! 🙂 Isn’t oat flour the easiest?! And raisins + walnuts sound amazing. Thanks for the comment Amanda! Reply
I made this healthy pumpkin bread last night and it was fantastic! I used roasted pumpkin from the garden, subbed white whole wheat flour for the oat flour (I was too lazy to grind oat flour…) and used roughly 1/2 cup of sugar but I don’t think any of those things changed the recipe appreciably. Thanks for putting in the hours coming up with a healthier pumpkin bread recipe that I don’t have to cringe in giving to my littles 🙂 Reply
Delicious! My two boys absolutely love these for breakfast! And healthy (well, except for the chocolate chips, but life is short…)! Reply
I pinned this recipe along several others a while. I randomly picked this one to try this year- it seriously was delicious. I usually get tired of my pumpkin bread because they are too spicy and it competes with the chocolate or taste more like plain pumpkin (I grow pie pumpkins so make my own purée). This recipe is delicious and dangerous as I’ve eaten half a loaf in 12 hours ? Reply
Oh this makes me SO happy to hear!! I’m thrilled you loved this 🙂 And that is so awesome you grow your own pumpkins! Reply
Can’t wait to make this when fall comes around! I too am a big fan of chocolate and pumpkin. Making this with pumpkin flavored greek yogurt sounds like an awesome idea! Reply
Awesome recipe! I did a little subbing because I was out of brown sugar, so I added 1/3 c raw sugar + 2 Tbs maple flavored agave syrup (pure maple would have worked fine I’m sure). I also added 2 Tbs flaxseed. Because I was afraid it would be too soggy I added an extra 1/4 cup flour (I was using BRM white bread flour). Healthy Pumpkin bread turned out wonderfully! Reply
So thrilled to hear you enjoyed this bread Virginia! 🙂 Your substitutes sound delicious and especially that flaxseed addition, yum! 🙂 Reply
I made this last night, we just cut into it this morning, & it’s already half gone! I love baking pumpkin bread every fall but really don’t love that it’s often saturated with sugar & oil. This turned out really good & the natural flavor just shines I think. I used organic sucanat in place of the brown sugar, it worked beautifully. I tried a recipe that called for sucanat recently & liked the results & thought it would work well here. I also decided to leave the dark chocolate chips out to make it as healthy as possible. Delicious pumpkin bread without the sugar crash, yay! Thank you! Reply
Look forward to making this! Just a quick question…exactly how much pumpkin should I use? You say not the entire can but I can’t find where you specify how much to actually use. Thanks! Reply
Chelsea, you’ve done it again! This bread was absolutely delicious. This is probably the 20th recipe I’ve made from your blog and they ALWAYS turn out so well. Thank you thank you for making my life more exciting with your food. I also love that these are a little healthier than other recipes too. Reply
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this bread and so many recipes from my site 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to comment; it makes my day! Reply
Best bread I’ve ever made/had – and it was so easy! Thanks for this recipe, I’ll be sure to share it with others!! Reply
Searched until I found your recipe…this is exactly what I was looking for! My cookbook’s recipe called for a freaking 3 cups of sugar. I tripled your recipe (big family) and it was delicious. My kids raved. Thank you. Reply
So happy to hear this bread was a hit! 🙂 I’m glad you were able to find this recipe! Thanks for the comment Emily 🙂 Reply
This is really good! I made only two changes. I used canola oil instead of coconut oil. I used 1 heaping teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and a half teaspoon of cinnamon. I left out the nutmeg as the kids don’t like it. I will definitely make this again. Reply
How will this recipe turn out with non-fat vanilla greek yogurt? My publix doesnt sell any full fat vanilla greek! Reply
Question, do you think I could add zucchini to this to make it a pumpkin zucchini bread? Or will the moisture of the zucchini do something to the bread? Thanks in advance! Reply
I haven’t personally tried but I think the moisture from the zucchini would throw this bread off quite a bit! Reply
Holy delicious!! I am in love with this recipe. I came out perfectly, super moist and flavorful. I doubled the recipe to share, but I’m sitting at my desk hiding the loaf so I have some for tomorrow! Thank you so much! Reply
I LOVE THIS!! Thank you for doing the leg work finding the best recipe for pumpkin bread! It’s so moist and delicious and not overly sweet! I did use the pumpkin pie mix (libby’s) and whole wheat flour (not white wheat) and it’s phenomenal! Reply
So I totally missed the part where you say only use 1 cup of pumpkin. Guess it’ll be a little moist. I’ll let ya know what happens. Fingers crossed it’s still good Reply
I just made this, a triple recipe. It made one loaf, three mini loaves, and eight muffins. I used about half the sugar and I feel like I should have used a little bit more — all those spices need a tad more sweetness to let their flavor shine. I still like the idea of less sugar, so next time I’ll try with 3/4 the sugar. I’m hoping the flavors will blossom and be fabulous if we can let it sit for a day or two! Reply
This is the best pumpkin bread I have ever made! Less oil, but better taste! My old recipe called for a cup of oil. Ew. Reply
This was exactly what I’ve been looking for!! Sooo moist and delicious! I used coconut sugar and whole wheat spelt flour and it was amazing!! PS: I’ve tried soooo many recipes for a healthy pumpkin bread and this one is the only moist one I’ve made. Thank you! Reply
Hello! I’m just about to make this for my daughter for a grab and go breakfast alternative! I’m just wondering what the serving size is? I usually cut big pieces for myself 🤭, but I’d like to keep it even for a breakfast food. Thanks! 👍 Reply
This was amazing! I used sprouted spelt flour in place of both the white and oat flours. Very moist and delicious. Thanks! Reply
I was looking for a healthy pumpkin bread recipe this morning. I made yours and it was delicious. Very moist and easy to make. Thank you. Reply
I just put mine in the oven …I noticed that in the text the directions do not mention adding brown sugar to dry mixture. I’m sure most people will remember since it is listed above in the ingredients- but for those of us that follow the directions – step-by-step – be sure to add it! We love sugar in my house so I sprinkled more on top too. We’ll see how it comes out- Reply
This bread is so moist and flavorful, I can’t thank you enough! Instead of choc chips I went with apples, raisins and pecans since I’m in a fall mood. Its so delicious and easy. Reply
What do you mean by vanilla Greek yogurt? Do you mean just like plain 0% or full fat? Do you mean like sweetened and vanilla flavored? Reply
This is exactly what I use 🙂 https://www.kroger.com/p/the-greek-gods-honey-vanilla-greek-style-yogurt/0007835557010 Reply
The recipe looks delicious. Anyway the flour can be substituted for all oat flour? Trying to stay away from regular flour. Thank you. Reply
I actually have tried this recipe with 100% oat flour and unfortunately it didn’t work; I’m sorry! Reply
Does the calorie count include the optional chocolate chips? Also, can quick oats be used instead of the oat flour? Reply
No it doesn’t. I wouldn’t recommend quick oats in place of the oat flour, oat flour will absorb more liquid Reply
This turned out delicious! I doubled the recipe , making two loaves. I froze one, well wrapped, and it was very good 4 months later. Reply
Best pumpkin bread recipe ever! So delicious and super moist! ( I didn’t have enough greek yogurt, so I used half non-fat sour cream, and it turned out perfect! I am also not a fan of nutmeg, so I substituted it with allspice.) Can’t wait to make this again! Reply
I just made these & they taste great! I had to swap the pumpkin with a 10 oz jar of Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter (which contains spices & sugar) because I did not have pumpkin puree. So, I didn’t add any of the spices, except a light sprinkling of cinnamon. Reduced the brown to sugar to a 1/4 cup. Added walnuts. Made 16 regular sized muffins, baked for 20 mins. Really good! Reply
Very good! Cut back on the brown sugar. I actually doubled the recipe and made a loaf with raisins and a loaf with dark chocolate chips. This recipe is a keeper! Reply
Wow! This was great! I used unflavored plain Greek yogurt and didn’t have pumpkin spice – so I used a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and allspice. It came out SO moist, fluffy, not too sweet. Baked it for 45 mins and it was perfect. Sharing this with all my friends! Reply
Made the recipe 3 times in 3 weeks, the whole family loved it! We couldn’t get enough! Thank you for the recipe! Reply
I absolutely love this recipe so much and I even reduced the brown sugar to half a cup because I used a Madagascar vanilla Greek yogurt when I made it last time.. I seriously could not stop eating it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us… Have you ever made it as muffins?? I’m tempted to try to do that today instead of a bread because our kiddos tend to prefer muffins these days! Reply
I am so thrilled to hear this! I haven’t made it as muffins, however I have a really great pumpkin muffin recipe: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/skinny-healthy-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins/ Reply
This recipe was AMAZING! Absolutely delicious- super moist, crunchy top, sooo flavorful. My husband and I loved it and will now be making it often. I didn’t have any oats, so just used a little more flour and it still came out perfectly. Thanks so much for sharing this! Reply
