Healthy Pumpkin Bread: Welcome Fall with this tasty and nutritious bread that doesn’t skimp on the delicious textures and flavors you know and love.

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

Moist and flavorful healthy pumpkin bread slices, packed with nutritious ingredients and fall spices.

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients laid out for making nutritious 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.
A bowl containing pumpkin puree, eggs, and liquid ingredients being stirred.

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!
A bowl of ingredients being mixed together, to be used in the healthy pumpkin bread recipe.

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.

Quick Tip

What’s the difference between canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie filling? Canned pumpkin is pureed pumpkin, while pumpkin pie filling has added sweeteners and spices. For Healthy Pumpkin Bread and most non-pie recipes, use plain canned pumpkin. 

Creating oat flour for the gluten free pumpkin cake recipe, blending oats into a fine powder.

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.
Adding batter into a greased baking pan.

Healthy Pumpkin Bread FAQs

Why Is My Pumpkin Bread Dry?

Common Issues: Over-baking, too much flour, not enough wet ingredients, or overmixing can cause problems when baking.
How I Keep This Bread Moist: I use precise measurements, add Greek yogurt and coconut oil for extra richness, and follow easy mixing and baking steps to keep the bread moist.

Why Is My Pumpkin Bread Gummy?

Too much moisture, over-mixing, and under-baking can be problems. My recipe solves these issues with the right balance of wet and dry ingredients, tips to prevent over-mixing, and exact baking times for a perfect loaf.

How Long Does This Healthy Pumpkin Bread Last?

It stays fresh for 2-3 days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge if kept in an airtight container.

A loaf of moist pumpkin bread with a rich orange color, sliced and ready to enjoy.

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!

Delicious moist pumpkin bread, with chocolate chips throughout.

Other Healthy Pumpkin Recipes:

5 from 40 votes

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

This Healthy Pumpkin Bread combines quality nutrition with all the classic flavors of fall.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 12 slices

Equipment

  • Bread pan 4.5 x 8.5-inch
  • Blender

Ingredients 
 

  • 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.

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

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5 from 40 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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122 Comments

  1. Elle says:

    5 stars
    I love this recipe and have been making it for years! Would you consider updating it to include weight measurements (in grams)? Thank you so much!

    1. Chelsea says:

      So happy to hear this! I just added the measurements in grams. Thanks for your feedbackโ€”I’m working on including grams in every recipe on my site! ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. Elle says:

        Thank you so much! Just opened the website to make a double batch and this will make it so much easier! You’re the best ๐Ÿ™‚

        1. Chelsea says:

          So thrilled to hear this! Enjoy!

  2. Becky says:

    Can I use 1-1/2 cups of oat flour instead of 1 cup of regular flour and 1/1 cup oat flour?

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Sorry not on this recipe; I tried and it didn’t work

  3. Terry says:

    Can I use plain Greek yogurt instead of vanilla Greek yogurt? If so, do I need to increase the vanilla extract?

    1. Chelsea says:

      Absolutely, and you can just keep the vanilla the same! ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Christeen says:

    5 stars
    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 didnโ€™t have any oats, so just used a little more flour and it still came out perfectly. Thanks so much for sharing this!

    1. Chelsea says:

      I am so happy to hear this! Thank so much Christeen! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Amy says:

    5 stars
    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!