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 41 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 41 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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124 Comments

  1. Anet says:

    Does the calorie count include the optional chocolate chips? Also, can quick oats be used instead of the oat flour?

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      No it doesn’t. I wouldn’t recommend quick oats in place of the oat flour, oat flour will absorb more liquid

  2. Lindsy says:

    5 stars
    Best Iโ€™ve made, added raw pumpkin seeds on top for crunch

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      So happy to hear that! Love your idea to have pumpkin seeds on top ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Renee says:

    The recipe looks delicious. Anyway the flour can be substituted for all oat flour? Trying to stay away from regular flour.

    Thank you.

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      I actually have tried this recipe with 100% oat flour and unfortunately it didn’t work; I’m sorry!

  4. Izabel H says:

    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?

  5. Kimberly says:

    5 stars
    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.

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Yum! That sounds awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed! ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Sherry says:

    I just put mine in the oven …I noticed that in the text the directions do not mention adding brown sugar to dry mixture. Iโ€™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 โ€“ be sure to add it! We love sugar in my house so I sprinkled more on top too. Weโ€™ll see how it comes out-

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      It’s in instruction #2; goes in with the wet ๐Ÿ™‚ Hope you enjoy!

  7. Heidi says:

    5 stars
    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.

    1. Chelsea says:

      I’m so happy to hear this Heidi! Thanks for your comment! ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. Bree says:

    5 stars
    This was amazing! I used sprouted spelt flour in place of both the white and oat flours. Very moist and delicious. Thanks!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Yum! That sounds awesome! Thanks so much for sharing! ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. Nathalie says:

    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 ๐Ÿคญ, but I’d like to keep it even for a breakfast food. Thanks! ๐Ÿ‘

  10. Lindsay says:

    5 stars
    This was exactly what Iโ€™ve been looking for!! Sooo moist and delicious! I used coconut sugar and whole wheat spelt flour and it was amazing!! PS: Iโ€™ve tried soooo many recipes for a healthy pumpkin bread and this one is the only moist one Iโ€™ve made. Thank you!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Yay! So thrilled to hear this was a hit ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you Lindsay!