Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Check out Pumpkin Muffins, Pumpkin Cookies, or this favorite Pumpkin Cake.
Healthy Pumpkin Bread
My family is OBSESSED with all things pumpkin (hi Pumpkin Snickerdoodles), but with the holiday season approaching and sick season quickly approaching, I’m always trying to find better options for the kids. While we indulge in this regular Pumpkin Bread all the time, I love making this healthier pumpkin bread filled with the protein and nutrients we all need! And bonus—it’s just as delicious!
I 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 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
- 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 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.
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 turns into a fine powder, like flour.
- Stir to make sure all the oats are finely ground.
- Measure the oat flour after grinding, not the whole oats.
Healthy Pumpkin Bread FAQs
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.
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.
It stays fresh for 2-3 days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge if kept in an airtight container.
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
Healthy Pumpkin Bread
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
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!!
Ahh you’re so sweet! I’m so glad you enjoyed! Thanks! 🙂
Made it tonight using coconut sugar. Delicious!
Yay soo glad to hear!! 🙂
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.
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!
This pumpkin bread looks and sounds amazing! I love pumpkin at any time of year.
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!
It says 1 cup in the recipe, sorry its hard to see! Enjoy!
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!
I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed this bread so much! Thanks so much for the comment Corrie! 🙂
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!
So thrilled to hear you enjoyed this bread Virginia! 🙂 Your substitutes sound delicious and especially that flaxseed addition, yum! 🙂
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!
Thanks Collette! I hope you love it 🙂
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 ?
Oh this makes me SO happy to hear!! I’m thrilled you loved this 🙂 And that is so awesome you grow your own pumpkins!
Delicious! My two boys absolutely love these for breakfast! And healthy (well, except for the chocolate chips, but life is short…)!
Hahaha!! I couldn’t agree more with you 🙂 Thanks so much Beth!!