Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake is packed with delicious fall flavors and uses healthier ingredients. You’ll only need one bowl and a wooden spoon to whip this dessert together.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake
If you’ve enjoyed these Flourless Pumpkin Muffins or have tried this Healthy Pumpkin Bread, I know you are going to love this healthier Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake.
Check out this dense, flavor-packed, fall-flavored treat, made with better-for-you ingredients. It’s also a snap to whip up — you only need one bowl, pretty standard ingredients, no hand mixers, and one baking pan.
With oat flour instead of wheat, applesauce in place of lots of oil, coconut oil (a healthier oil), an egg, pumpkin puree, and plenty of spices, this truly is a better-for-you treat. I have to say, though, the nutritional value does go way down if you serve it with a ginormous scoop (or two) of vanilla bean ice cream…but since you are “saving” all those calories anyway… 🙂
How to make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake
The descriptions below correlate with the photo collage above.
- Add all the wet ingredients to a large bowl: The canned pumpkin, applesauce, melted-and-cooled coconut oil, egg, almond milk, and vanilla extract.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Stir until well combined.
- Wet ingredients finished!
- Add in all the dry ingredients: Measure cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and dark chocolate chips.
- Mix: Until ingredients are completely combined.
- Transfer: Spoon the cake batter into a greased and floured (with oat flour) 9-inch cake pan. Bake!
How to make oat “flour”
If you have quick oats or old-fashioned oats, you can have oat flour in a flash!
- Place the oats (you can use old-fashioned or quick oats, but not steel-cut oats) into the bowl of your food processor or small blender jar.
- Pulse the oats until ground into a powder-like consistency that resembles flour (see photo above on the right).
- Stir the oats around if needed to be sure all the oats are finely ground and there aren’t any full oats left.
- Make sure to measure your oat flour after it’s been turned to flour and not in the original whole oat form.
What is pumpkin spice made of?
I have a recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice right here. Pumpkin pie spice is generally a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. If you love spice, feel free to add up to an extra 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice into this Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake.
Quick tips
- Use good quality, thick canned pumpkin: My favorite brand of canned pumpkin is Libby’s® (not sponsored). A lot of other brands water down the pumpkin and if it is watery, that affects the texture and taste of this cake. Press out excess liquid from wet pumpkin with a few paper towels. While we’re talking about canned pumpkin, make sure you’re using 100% canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
- A lot of pumpkin recipes call for a full can of pumpkin. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake only needs 1 cup. (Ideas on how to use leftover pumpkin are included below!)
- Melted coconut oil: If you add hot melted oil to the cake, it will clump. Melt the oil and then wait for it to completely return to room temperature before adding it in.
- Generously grease the pan: Before adding any of the pumpkin cake batter, make sure to prepare the pan.
Quick Tip
Ensure all the products you are using are indeed gluten free. While all the ingredients listed are naturally gluten free, they are sometimes made in facilities where gluten is present, and cross-contamination could take place. To be safe, always check the labels of what you’re using.
Recipes using leftover pumpkin:
- Pumpkin Overnight Oats—For a fast and healthy breakfast
- Pumpkin Protein Shake—Like pumpkin pie in a glass
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars—Decadent treats
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread—Just enough sweetness and lots of tasty goodness
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles—A pumpkin twist to a classic recipe
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake
Equipment
- Baking pan 9-inch round
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup oat flour see note 1
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease and flour a 9-inch round baking pan. Make sure to be generous with the flour as it can be tricky to get out! Alternatively, line the pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
- If the pumpkin puree is excessively wet, blot it with a paper towel before adding. In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup pumpkin, applesauce, almond milk, room temperature melted coconut oil, egg, vanilla extract, and sugar. Whisk until ingredients are well combined.
- Add in the oat flour (see note 1), cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and dark chocolate chips. Mix until batter is combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 40–50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Be careful to not over-bake the cake as that will take away a lot of the moisture and softness.
- Cool the cake for about 10 minutes before transferring out of the cake pan onto a wire rack to allow it to finish cooling. This cake is best cooled thoroughly to room temperature. Right out of the oven it is very moist and needs a couple of hours to firm up a bit.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Place the oats (you can use old-fashioned or quick oats, but not instant) into the bowl of the food processor or small blender jar.
- Pulse the oats until they are ground into a powder-like consistency that resembles flour.
- Stir the oats around to ensure that all the oats have been finely ground and there aren't some full oats left.
- Make sure to measure your oat flour measurement for this Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake after it's been turned to flour and not in the original whole oat form.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just made this cake with sweet potato instead of pumpkin and it was wonderful!!! Please tell me you have a recipe for chocolate peanut butter cake!
So happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks! I don’t, but I do have a recipe for chocolate peanut butter muffins: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/skinny-double-chocolate-peanut-butter-muffins/ Enjoy!
I would need to use the gluten free oats, so do I need Xanthan Gum? I want to make sure before trying these so I don’t mess it up. Thanks!
Nope 🙂 Gluten free oats should work just fine without anything else added. Enjoy Stephani 🙂
Can I substitute cocoa powder for the chocolate chips? Looking to stay away from the processed chips. I buy organic baking cocoa, would that work? Do you have an alternate recipe that’s chocolaty that would use no chips?
Sorry that substitution won’t work here. And I don’t yet unfortunately 🙁
I’m going to sub in carrot or butternut puree, ’cause that’s what i have in excess right now!
I encourage you to give bean brownies another shot – not that they’re necessarily healthier, but because they can be delicious and I hate to see things treated unfairly. I use a recipe that adds flour (sub gf if you need) as well as the beans – otherwise they’re gooey. But beans – and most are interchangeable, including chickpeas – even in small amounts will keep any brownie or cake recipe from becoming dry. And, like a grain of wheat or oat, they are merely a seed and are a tasteless base to carry other flavours – like chocolate!
Awesome!! You will have to let me know if you like it with the butternut or carrot puree! 🙂 Ahh I totally wish I liked black bean brownies but haven’t ever liked a version I’ve tried. I think we’ve tried them 3 or 4 times and haven’t ever like them much 🙁
I used canned carrots when I didn’t have pumpkin. It was wonderful! My daughter loved it! I’ve made the pumpkin/chocolate chip with oat flour muffins about 11 times in 2 months. I keep them in the freezer and pop in the microwave when I want some. Heavenly! Thanks Chelsea.
Oh awesome!!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this cake! 🙂 And what a compliment!! I’m thrilled you’ve made and enjoyed the muffins so many times, makes my day! 🙂
HI
This looks luscious! Pumpkin and Chocolate are great together. But I am way down here in New Zealand, so I will have to make my own pumpkin puree, what volume do I need?
Thank you, Gabrielle
Do you think you could substitute honey for the sugar? And if so would it still be the same amount?
I haven’t tried subbing out all of the sugar for honey and wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t believe the texture or taste would be very great
I love pumpkin and chocolate chips and I love where your head is on saving calories for future brownies LOL! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Amber! 🙂
This looks so rich and dense. I’m dying to try this. I love that its gluten free too!
This cake sounds fantastic, Chelsea! I love your flourless creations, especially since they involve pumpkin. Sounds just perfect!