Moist & Lofty Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread (Dairy-Free)

This community-favorite gluten-free pumpkin bread gets an unbelievably tender, springy crumb from a blend of gluten-free flours: sweet rice, millet, and oat flours. Made with 1 bowl and 20 minutes of active time. It's kissed with golden pumpkin pie spice and can be made with canned or homemade pumpkin puree.

Make it next-level delicious with a drizzle of buttery maple glaze on top.

This gluten-free pumpkin bread has been a reader-favorite since I shared it back in 2019. Here are some things that make this recipe easy to love. It's:

• moist & floofy
• springy & tender
• tall & handsome
• bright orange
• not too sweet
• gently spiced
• easy to make with just a bowl and a whisk
• takes just 20 minutes of active time

Why This Recipe Works

I adapted this gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe from my gluten-free & dairy-free carrot cake, which has the most lofty, pillowy texture kissed with gentle spices. To convert it to a pumpkin bread recipe, I tested many different variations to get it just right.

Here's why this recipe turns out the most lofty, springy, tall and handsome pumpkin bread:

• Extra egg: This recipe is naturally dairy-free because it uses an extra egg where there would usually be some dairy (buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream). The protein in the eggs makes the batter bake up extra fluffy, helping the cake form a lofty crumb.
• Gluten-free flours: A blend of gluten-free flours (sweet rice, millet, oat, and tapioca) creates a dreamy texture without the need to add any xanthan gum.
• Minimal sugar: I use less sugar than most recipes call for, which makes the bread just sweet enough.
• Using oil instead of butter keeps the bread soft and tender, even when chilled.
• Bright color: It's laced with golden pumpkin spice blend which makes the color bright, and finished with a pour of maple glaze for an addictive finish.

If you don't believe me, check out the loads of positive reviews in the comments below, including this one:

Key Ingredients

This gluten-free pumpkin bread comes together with a handful of ingredients. For more substitutions, or to share your own, slide into the comments section below where many readers have shared their variations.

Flavor-Bomb Flours

• A trio of gluten-free flours – millet flour, oat flour, and sweet rice flour – work together to create a fine, sturdy crumb like you might get from a blend of white and whole wheat flours. I use Bob's Red Mill flours which are milled in a certified gluten-free facility.
  • For my celiac readers who can't tolerate oats, try trading the oat flour out for sorghum flour by weight.
  • Sweet rice flour can be swapped for an equal weight of GF AP flour.
  • And millet flour can be swapped by weight for sorghum, teff, or buckwheat flours.
• Tapioca flour makes the crumb extra plush and pillowy.
  • Arrowroot starch or corn starch can be subbed.

Wet Ingredients

• Close to a whole can of pumpkin puree goes into this gluten-free pumpkin bread. I use an organic brand from my co-op that is always thick and bright orange. You could definitely use homemade squash puree if you prefer.
• Four large eggs help this gluten-free pumpkin loaf bake up extra fluffy. The protein in the egg whites creates a cakey crumb while the egg yolks add tenderness.
• Granulated sugar works better than brown sugar here as it keeps the color bright. I use organic granulated sugar, which is blond in color with a hint of molasses still in the crystals. Just seven-eighths of a cup makes this gf pumpkin bread perfectly sweet to my taste.
• A neutral oil such as sunflower oil, grapeseed, or mild olive oil, makes this bread divinely moist. Unlike butter-based cakes, this one stays soft even when refrigerated.
• Homemade pumpkin pie spice adds color and vibrant flavor.

See the recipe card below for the full ingredients and quantities.

Method

This easy gluten-free pumpkin bread comes together with just one bowl and a whisk. Simply whisk together the wet ingredients, whisk in the dry ingredients, pour into a loaf pan, and bake!

This recipe makes a tall loaf, serving 10.

Storage

Store leftover GF pumpkin bread covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. I like to slice the bread and layer the slices with parchment paper in a large container. Since it's humid where I live in San Francisco, I refrigerate my pumpkin bread after a day. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Let the slices come to room temperature before serving to bring out the flavors.

Freezing Pumpkin Bread

Here are two options for freezing pumpkin bread that work well:

• Bake an extra loaf, but don't glaze it yet. Tuck the whole loaf into a large freezer bag and freeze until needed, up to a month or two. When you're ready to enjoy, defrost the loaf (either in the refrigerator or at room temperature) then glaze the loaf, slice, and enjoy.
• Bake the loaf, but don't glaze it yet. Cut the loaf into slices, lay the slices on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy clean up. Layer any overlapping slices with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze the slices. Tuck the frozen slices into a freezer bag and freeze until needed, up to a month or two. When you're ready for a slice, pop one into a toaster oven and toast until defrosted and warmed through. Enjoy a warm slice with a scoop of ice cream. Or make a batch of glaze to drizzle over the slice as you toast them.
• If you're freezing slices of pumpkin bread that have already been glazed, let the slices defrost slowly at room temperature so that the glaze stays firm.

What to do with extra pumpkin puree?

This recipe uses a hefty 1 1/3 cups of pumpkin puree. If you use canned pumpkin, you'll have a scant 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree leftover after making this recipe. (For the record, I tried putting the whole can in the loaf. Trust me, this version is much better!)

Here are some ideas on how to use it up:

• whip up a batch of crispy, clumpy pumpkin spice granola
• cook it into an easy stovetop pumpkin pudding
• stir it into your favorite oatmeal recipe

Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free pumpkin bread, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

4.97 from 52 reviews

Moist & Lofty Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread (Dairy-Free)

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This sneakily gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin bread gets an unbelievably tender, springy crumb from a blend of gluten-free flours: sweet rice, millet, and oat flours. Made with 1 bowl and 20 minutes of active time. Make it next-level delicious with a drizzle of buttery maple glaze.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Cooling Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon softened vegan butter or coconut oil, for the pan
• 1 ⅓ cup (300 g) pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (190 g) organic granulated sugar*
• ⅔ cup (125 g by weight) sunflower oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup (110 g) Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oat flour*
• ⅔ cup (105 g) Bob's Red Mill sweet rice flour*
• ⅔ cup (95 g) Bob's Red Mill millet flour*
• 3 tablespoons (22 g) Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour*
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea or kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon golden pumpkin pie spice*

To Finish

• 1 recipe maple glaze (optional)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Rub a 9x5 loaf pan with the butter or coconut oil and line the bottom and sides of the pan with two criss-crossed pieces of parchment paper cut to fit.

Make the Batter

• In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
• Place a mesh strainer over the bowl (or over a different medium-sized bowl) and sift in the oat, sweet rice, millet, and tapioca flours along with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric (if using), nutmeg, and allspice.
• Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth.

Bake the Pumpkin Bread

• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake the pumpkin bread until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs, 55 to 65 minutes. Check the loaf after 45 minutes and rotate if it’s browning unevenly or move it to the lower rack if it’s browning too quickly.
• Remove the loaf from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.

Finish the Pumpkin Bread

• Meanwhile, make the maple glaze and let stand 20 minutes to thicken.
• Place the pumpkin bread still on the wire rack on a large plate. Pour the glaze over the pumpkin cake letting it drip down the sides. We like to scoop up extra glaze that collects on the plate and slather it on slices of pumpkin bread.
• Let the glaze set until firm (you can pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to speed this up). Slice and enjoy.

Storage

• Store this pumpkin bread covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Notes

Ingredient Substitutions

• In place of sugar, sub by weight coconut sugar or maple sugar
• In place of oat flour, sub by weight sorghum flour or teff flour
• In place of sweet rice flour, sub by weight gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Bob's 1 to 1
• In place of millet flour, sub by weight sorghum flour or teff flour
• In place of tapioca flour, sub arrowroot flour
• In place of the golden pumpkin pie spice, you can use the following: 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger, 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon turmeric (optional, mostly for color), ½ teaspoon packed freshly ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice

To substitute all-purpose wheat flour or gluten-free flour, omit all of the flours and tapioca and use 332 grams (about 2 1/3 cups) of all-purpose flour in its place. I haven't tested this myself, so please leave a comment if you give it a try! GF AP blends are all different from one another, my favorite being Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 flour, which is based on sweet rice flour. Stay away from any flour that contains bean or quinoa flours as those can have a strong, unpleasant taste in sweets. 

Nutritional values are for 1 of 10 slices. 

Nutrition

Calories: 420kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 5gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 383mgPotassium: 256mgFiber: 3gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 5412IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 2mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!