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. Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring this post!
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
If you're a fan of pumpkin desserts and quick breads, you're going to love this moist and tender gluten-free pumpkin bread.
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. 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.
Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions
This gluten-free pumpkin bread comes together with a handful of ingredients.
Dry Ingredients & 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. Each flour plays a specific roll. For my celiac readers who can't tolerate oats, try trading the oat flour out for sorghum flour by weight.
- Tapioca flour makes the crumb extra plush and pillowy.
- Baking soda and baking powder add lift.
- A good dose of fine sea or kosher salt pops the flavors of sugar and spice. If iodized table salt is all you've got, dial it down by half. Table salt has finer crystals meaning you get more in a teaspoon than irregularly-shaped fine sea or kosher salt crystals.
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.
- For an egg-free and/or vegan pumpkin bread, try my recipe for GF pumpkin muffins, which has egg-free and vegan versions.
- 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.
- For a refined sugar-free option, try using coconut sugar or maple sugar instead. Or try my GF pumpkin muffin recipe which uses maple syrup and coconut sugar.
- 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.
- A touch of vanilla extract adds floral notes.
How to Make Moist Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
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.
How to Enjoy GF Pumpkin Bread
Cut this gluten-free pumpkin bread into thick slices and enjoy it on its own, or serve it with any or all of the following:
- Accompany slices with steamy mugs of apple cider hot toddies
- Dollop slices with whipped crème fraîche or mascarpone cream
- Toast slices and serve warm topped with horchata ice cream or crème fraîche ice cream
- Skip the glaze and schmear slices with less-sweet cream cheese frosting, vegan cream cheese frosting, or paleo cream cheese frosting.
Allergy-Friendly Variations
This gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe is naturally free of gluten, dairy, and nuts. It's also low-FODMAP.
For refined sugar-free, trade the cane sugar for the same weight of maple sugar or coconut sugar.
For vegan pumpkin bread, make the vegan version of this gluten-free pumpkin muffin recipe and bake it in a loaf pan.
How to Keep Pumpkin Bread Fresh
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.
Can I Freeze Pumpkin Bread?
You can! I found that the glazed loaf is tricky to defrost because the icing melts if you try to defrost a slice in the toaster oven (my preferred method). But 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.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake or Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
This pumpkin "bread" is really just pumpkin cake in a loaf pan. You could absolutely bake the batter in cake pans and slather the layers with my less-sweet cream cheese frosting, vegan cream cheese frosting, or paleo cream cheese frosting. I think you could use two or three 8-inch pans or two 9-inch pans, decreasing the bake time as needed. If you try this, please let me know!
This pumpkin loaf can easily be baked into gluten-free pumpkin muffins. Divide the batter among 16 muffin cups lined with paper liners, filling them two-thirds full. Decrease the bake time to 20-30 minutes.
Or try my new gluten-free pumpkin muffin recipe! It makes 12 muffins, is refined sugar-free, and includes vegan and dairy-free options.
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 in more pumpkin recipes:
- whip up a batch of crispy, clumpy, easy pumpkin granola
- cook it into an easy stovetop pumpkin pudding
- make a maple pumpkin latte from Heartbeet Kitchen
- stir it into your favorite oatmeal recipe
- make GF pumpkin pancakes from Snixy Kitchen
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin bread, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Moist & Lofty Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread (Dairy-Free)
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
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)
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
- 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
Debbie Feely says
I need to try this. It really makes me miss eggs, but I’m eating similar muffins recreated from your Chai Nectarine Skillet cake in your book. Half a cup applesauce and half a cup sour cream in place of the eggs here. I’m sure these proportions would be even better. Maybe some day I’ll be brave and try Just Egg but soy and chickpea allergy make that a scary and expensive test.
Alanna says
Those muffins sound so good! I can't imagine that applesauce and sour cream would be bad here - that's what I love to put on my blintzes! Please let me know if you try an egg-free version of these. I would start with a half-batch in case you need to experiment some more. Such a bummer about your soy and chickpea allergy too - that sounds really challenging!
Debbie Feely says
Alanna! I made this into muffins and they are delicious! I did sub applesauce and sour cream for the eggs. The flavor and crumb are exceptional. Thank you! You make my life more enjoyable.
Alanna says
Oh amazing! I'd love to see a photo of the cake crumb because I'm so curious, if you still have a slice left?
Debbie Feely says
I can’t figure out how to add a photo here.
Larraine says
Banana squash has the richest flavor if you want to substitute. Great recipe . Thx
Alanna says
I've never tried that one - thanks for the tip!
Theresa Balchus says
Hello,
I would like to thank you for this recipe as I have a horrible allergy to gluten. I also have the same horrible allergy to rice, so what would be a good replacement?
Just FYI - rice has a protein in it that reacts with the body like gluten.
https://www.glutenfreesociety.org/gluten-mimicking-foods/
In gratitude,
Theresa A Balchus
Alanna says
That's awful! I know some celiacs who are NOT sensitive to rice, but I know that it can effect people differently, with some preferring grain-free. Are you good with oats and oat flour? To sub for the sweet rice flour, you could try a blend of sorghum flour with a little more tapioca added in. That would be my best guess! Coconut or almond flours could also work, but they absorb moisture differently so you'd need to experiment. Coconut flour soaks up moisture like a sponge so you'd only want to use 1/4 or 1/3 cup in place of the sweet rice flour. Please let me know if you experiment.
Alison V says
I saw this post on instagram and COULD NOT WAIT to try it, and I am so glad I did! I used a mild and buttery-tasting extra-virgin olive oil for the oil, and it works well with the pumpkin and spices. Very light and lofty, but the crust does have a bit of an eggy taste. Next time I will try one less egg but add some vegan egg replacer for the extra lift and stick-um. I think the glaze is necessary for the extra hit of sweetness, but doesn't overpower. I wonder if it would work as a banana-bread, with a little less sugar......
Alanna says
Aw thanks for trying my recipe! I'm so glad you liked it despite the eggy taste of the crust. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it with some egg replacer. And I love the idea of turning it into banana bread! Such a good idea.
Alison V says
Update: the eggy taste dissipated after a day or so, and the glaze also helped with that!
I haven't yet tried it with egg replacer, but I did try it with banana: I used 350 g banana (it was frozen, so easiest to measure this way), and subbed 130g brown sugar for the granulated sugar to allow for the banana's sweetness. I also added a quarter cup of uncooked millet for texture. Turned out great! Beautiful crumb and not too sweet, so I don't feel like I'm eating cake for breakfast. :)
To be completely transparent, I started with just 300 g banana, but found this didn't taste "banana-y" enough for me, so I added a few more chunks. Yes, I tasted the raw batter--I live on the edge.
Alanna says
Ha! What a rebel you are. ;) These modifications sound delicious - I'm so glad you liked it!
Alison V says
Hey, thanks for always having such reliable recipes! I gave four copies of your book away last xmas--and made sure everyone knew it's worth it for the brownie recipe alone!
Alanna says
Awww that makes my day!! Thanks for sharing the Alternative Baker love!
Jay Doane says
I for one am not at all disappointed that you made 6 versions of this bread, and that I've been able to try each one. So tasty!
Alanna says
I'll make more if you do the dishes ;)
Vivian Drew says
And for those of us who still love regular unbleached white flour........what are the measurements?
Alanna says
You could try swapping in AP wheat flour for all of the other flours and tapioca. It's 332 grams or about 2 1/3 cups. Please let me know how it comes out if you try it!
Carole says
Made this yesterday and YUM!!! Came out just like the pictures and it made the house smell incredible. Next time, I will use this to make cupcakes! Thank you for another wonderful recipe. With your cookbook and this blog, life is good.
Alanna says
Awwww that makes me so happy! Very glad you're enjoying the book, the blog, and this pumpkin bread! :)
Meg says
Could I use just a normal self raising GF flour? Or would that not work? I live in the middle of nowhere in Scotland and all I have in my cupboard is the GF self raising flour and a bag of Coconut flour.
Also any good recipes for pumpkin thats fresh from the pumpkin ? I have a rather large pumpkin at home and would hate to throw out the innards when we carve it.
Thanks so much!
Alanna says
Hi Meg! I've never worked with GF self-rising flour before. But according to this article, it looks like you would just swap all of the flours here for an equal amount by weight (332 g) of GF self-rising flour, and also omit the baking powder and salt. Please let me know if it works, I'm very curious now!
Claire Legas says
Oh my goodness! I have friends staying with me and I needed comfort food for both GF and dairy free. Holy Moly, this hit the spot.
Everyone (even those who can eat gluten) agreed that this was delicious, just the perfect amount of spice (even though I didn't have any allspice.) and the pumpkin flavor was spot on.
I didn't have millet flour so I substituted a GF blend. And my organic pumpkin, while beautiful was a bit more watery.
Overall it turned out moist and delicious.
And that glaze! Yummy!!!
Alanna says
Awww thank you so much for trying my recipe Claire! I'm SO glad it was a hit. Thanks a bunch for the sweet note. :)
Claire Legas says
This was delicious Alanna! Even though I didn't have millet flour (and subbed a GF blend) and my pumpkin was much more liquid-y than the Libby's version, it turned out great. Both the GF and the gluten-ful around the house loved it.
And that glaze! Oh wow. How delicious.
Well done!
Ruthie says
I did find organic brown rice flour but not organic sweet rice. Since I only purchase organic flours, can I substitute brown rice flour for the sweet? Grazie
Alanna says
I feel you - I prefer organic flours myself. But I don't know that brown rice flour will work as well here, since it's the stickiness of the sweet rice flour that plays a large role in the crumb of the cake. You could try adding in more tapioca flour if you try it with the brown rice, but I'd recommend making it as written first if possible.
Trish says
I love your recipes! This is soooo good! Tender, gently spiced - just perfect, and a big hit at our house. I also took some to a meeting this morning and they loved it! It makes a very generously sized loaf which means there’s a lot to share. I love that because otherwise I’d eat way too much and sharing it makes me a popular person! ;-)
Alanna says
I feel that! Thanks a million for trying my recipe and for the sweet note!
TBG says
This is soo delicious! I have been looking for a DF GF pumpkin bread recipe that has the right texture. You would have no idea that this is GF. I did not make the maple glaze even though I am sure it is delicious- instead I used large chocolate chunks in the batter because I LOVE chocolate chip pumpkin bread. I will try the maple glaze soon. Making this again today- twice this week
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad you're loving this recipe! How much chocolate did you use in the batter? I'd love to add that as a variation for fellow chocophiles like myself! :)
Cindy love says
I’m doing keto so I replaced flours with 2 cups almond and 1/3 cup coconut flour. Then I replaced the sugars with swerve granulated and swerve powdered. Sugar free maple syrup. And olive oil for the veg oil. I only had the smaller pan so I used the leftover batter to make 6 donuts. Both turned out great !
Alanna says
Amazing! I'm so glad those modifications worked out. Thanks a bunch for the note!
Nora says
Stunning cake! My kids were absolutely bonkers for it. Worked just fine with Trader Joe’s canned pumpkin but I will use roasted honey nut squash next time. Thanks for the great recipe.
Alanna says
That sounds delicious! Thanks a bunch for the note and for trying my recipe. :)
Cindy Rice says
Beautifully moist and the glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness and maple flavor. I made it in advance and froze it for a few days before adding the glaze. After thawing and glazing, it kept really well tightly wrapped in the fridge for 3-4 days. Everyone loved it!
Carol says
Delicious and looked exactly like the pictures. I was impressed by how tall and voluminous it was; you'd never know it was gf!
Tamara says
Hi! I have a question! I am allergic to oats, and typically just use bobs red mill 1:1 gluten free flour, would that and the tapioca flour work? Or, what would you suggest as an alternative? I’m allergic to wheat, corn and coconut and oats. Thanks in advance!
Alanna says
That's my favorite GF blend too! I think it would probably work. Not sure if you'd need to add the tapioca or just swap out all the flours for the same amount of Bob's (preferably by weight). Will you let me know if you try it?
Joelle says
I made this with my girls and it was amazing. Perfectly moist and delicious and of course, the glaze was a big hit with the kids. We accidentally skipped the sifting step and beyond the tiny bite of baking soda I got, it was perfectly fine.
Patty says
Outstandingly moist, flavourful and pretty. I adorned with just a few raw pumpkin seeds :-).
Alanna says
Aw that must look beautiful! Thanks a bunch for the note and for trying the recipe. :)
Eliza says
First I made this as a loaf, and loved it. I didn't make the glaze, because the bread was so delicious. Then I followed your suggestions to make pumpkin muffins, which were equally fluffy and divine. Thank you for the great and versatile recipe!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you liked the recipe - as bread and muffins! Thanks a bunch for the sweet note. :)
Nicole Becker says
Hello! I would like to make this without baking powder. Do you think I could sub in sour cream or yogurt or buttermilk from one of the eggs/some of the oil and increase the baking soda? I live in a really isolated area and can't easily get aluminum free baking powder or cream of tartar and want to make this ASAP :).
Alanna says
That's a great question! I'd say it's worth a try. You might want to experiment with a half batch in case you're not happy with the way it turns out. Please let me know how it goes. I'm sorry it's so hard to get your hands on baking powder, that's tough!
Christina says
Can I just use 2 1/2 cups Bob's Gluten Free flour instead of blending the oat,rice,millet, tapioca flours? And I was curious about using avacado oil instead of sunflower, thoughts?
Alanna says
I think that should work! I prefer Bob's 1 to 1 GF flour as their regular GF flour has chickpea flour in it and I dislike the beany flavor it adds. Avocado oil can have a stronger flavor than sunflower, so taste yours and decide whether you think the taste will go in the bread. Please let me know what you try!
Christina says
Alanna, thank you so much for responding so quickly. And I use the Bob's 1 to 1 GF flour too!! I use the Avacado oil for my GF & dairy free banana bread, so I'll try and post here! Can't wait to make....
Alanna says
Ahh perfect! Did you try it yet??
Rich says
This is the best GF pumpkin bread I've tried - it's a keeper. I can't believe how well it rises.
My wife is sensitive to both millet and oats, so I subbed sorghum and brown rice flour, respectively, and it works great. I also use a ten inch bread pan as I was having trouble cooking it all the way through.
Overall fantastic!
Alanna says
Hi Rich! I'm SO glad you and your wife enjoyed this recipe and that the brown rice and sorghum flour work well here! I can see why that version would need a larger pan as those flours tend to be a bit more coarse and less absorbent than both oat and millet flour. So smart to use a bigger pan. Thank you for sharing your variations here - I know it will be a big help to other readers too. :)
Katrine Paradis says
Hello,
What would you suggest for a vegan cake option?
Thank you!@
Katrine
Alanna says
Hi Katrine, One reader tried this with applesauce and sour cream in place of the eggs. You could try 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup vegan yogurt? I'd recommend testing a half batch to start (you can either bake a short loaf or muffins). If you have access to Just Egg (linked to in the ingredients above) that can be a good vegan egg substitute too. Please let me know what you try!
Alene says
I made this yesterday, finally. It's delicious! I added 1/2 cup total of chopped walnuts and chopped crystallized ginger but probably should have made it a half cup of each. I was being cautious about the ginger and dicing it small as my husband doesn't love ginger. I really should have diced them bigger so he wouldn't eat the bread! Once he likes something, uh oh for me. The crumb is perfect and the glaze is so good. It's hard to resist. Thank you for another delicious gf recipe!
Alanna says
This comment made me lol! I'm glad this was a hit with you (and your husband despite your attempts at ginger deterrence haha!) Walnuts and candied ginger sound absolutely divine - I'll have to try that next time!
Alanna says
Tried this out with bob's 1-1 gf AP flour and it is incredible! Not too sweet on its own and paired beautifully with the maple glaze. Big thanks for this one!
Alanna says
I'm so glad that flour blend worked well! Thanks a bunch for the note!
Heidi says
Do you think this recipe would work to make banana bread? By substituting mashed banana for pumpkin puree (about 3 bananas), and leaving out the spices? I am looking for a fairly simple, not overly sweet, but very moist banana bread recipe that doesn't use GF all-purpose flour (which I don't care for) or have chocolate, but nuts are okay. Maybe add in sour cream or yogurt, which I used to do with my old recipe with gluten flours.
Alanna says
That's a really good question - I think that might work since banana and pumpkin are both sort of sweet and starchy. You could certainly try it (or maybe try a half batch in case you don't like how it turns out.) You could also make these banana muffins in a loaf pan and omit the chocolate. This banana cake is also a favorite.
Alex says
I’m a total baking beginner, so I’m still learning :) Could I leave the sugar out or substitute it?
Alanna says
That's a great question! It's always a good practice to make the recipe once as written so you know how it works and how you'd like to change it. Omitting the sugar altogether will throw the recipe off. Sugar works like a liquid, dissolving into the batter as it bakes, and it adds moisture and tenderness along with sweetness. If you can't eat the sugar for health reasons, you could try swapping in a more natural granulated sugar, such as coconut, date, or maple sugar. There are calorie-free sweeteners out there that are designed to sub granulated sugar one to one. I've never tried them so I don't know how they taste or feel in recipes. I would not recommend subbing in a liquid sweetener (such as maple syrup) as this will also throw off the recipe.
Let me know what you try or if you have more questions!
Nancy Gandy says
Good afternoon,
I look forward to baking g-f pumpkin bread muffins for my son. Have you tried adding chopped pecans to the batter?
Alanna says
I haven't, but I bet it would be delicious! I would toast them first. :)
Jamie says
Looks awesome! Can you recommend a substitute for the oat flour?
Alanna says
You could try sorghum, teff, chestnut, or a GF AP flour - those would probably be the closest!
Julie Forster says
This bread was delicious, but mine came out very dry and crumbly. I would love to get this right. The texture in the pictures looks so lovely! Are there any suggestions as to where I went wrong?
Alanna says
Hi Julie, I'm so sorry to hear that! Are you sure you got all the measurements correct? Is it possible you overbaked it or that your oven runs hot? Did you measure by weight or by volume? Happy to help troubleshoot! :)
Katy+Ionis says
Turned out wonderfully moist and flavorful and I love that it is an easy one bowl recipe!! I reduced the sugar in the bread to 150g and used grapeseed oil as the neutral oil and it was just the right sweetness for me - but note that I tend to like desserts very lightly sweetened. I made the glaze but left it on the side and each person can spread the glaze on their slice as thin or thick as they would like - works perfectly right now as it's gotten colder and leaving the glaze in a jar at room temp makes it a great spreadable consistency. For me the glaze is too sweet and I'm not a big fan of the flavor of powdered sugar which I think overpowers the maple in this case. I have enjoyed the bread plain or slathered with nut butter. A nut butter maple coconut oil style of "caramel sauce" would make a delicious glaze actually, idea for next time!
Alanna says
I really like that idea for a healthy glaze - yum! Please let me know if you try it. I'm glad this recipe was a hit and that reducing the sugar and leaving the glaze on the side worked well. Thanks a bunch for trying the recipe and for the sweet note!
Tanya says
This is “the bomb” per my ten year old! I made it following the recipe exactly (except used avocado oil) the first time & the fluffy texture is the best! I’ve made a few more times & used coconut sugar & added ground pumpkin seeds, just trying to add a bit more healthful goodness because my kid gobbles this up. If I’m making this for something special, I’ll follow your recipe exactly. It’s perfect!
Also, just so I use the whole can of pumpkin, I’ve been multiplying the recipe x 1.42 and making two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2” loaves.
I have the pumpkin cranberry adventure bread from your book in the oven right now!
Alanna says
Hi Tanya! I'm so glad you're loving this recipe. The version with coconut sugar and ground pumpkin seeds sounds DELICIOUS and right up my alley, and multiplying the recipe to use up the whole can of pumpkin is BRILLIANT. Thanks so much for the kind note and for sharing your alterations with all of us here!
Emily says
Is it really a tablespoon of baking powder?
Alanna says
It really is :)
Michelle Noe says
This looks heavenly , Alanna!
had a thought... next? maybe persimmons? they have a great texture baked into cake. Might be time to bake!
Alanna says
Hi Michelle! YES I love that idea. Huge persimmon fan here! I have an older recipe for persimmon bread that uses wheat flour, and I've been meaning to adapt it to be GF.
Jenny says
The GF pumpkin bread of my dreams! I baked sans icing and omitted the 2 T of sugar as I like my cake breads less sweet. It was tall, fluffy, moist throughout with a delicately crispy top and warmly spicy, nutty flavor. Thank you!! It’s a keeper.
Alanna says
I'm so glad you loved it and that you sweetened it to your taste! Thanks very much for the note and rating. :)
Ann says
Absolutely loved the texture of this bread! It was moist, soft, and I didn't miss the previous gluten version. I am finding gluten-free is what my body prefers so I am grateful for all the time and energy you have put into recipe development so I don't have to guess. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Alanna says
Thanks so much for the sweet note Ann! I'm so glad you're loving this pumpkin bread and that GF is feeling good.
Gigi says
I truly appreciate the beauty of everything on your blog. Your recipes are simply exquisite. I have a horrible reaction to anything with too much sugar and am wondering how much I could reduce it in the recipe or if there is a good substitute that wouldn’t compromise the texture. Your creations are stand-outs and I can’t wait to try every gorgeous thing you design.
Alanna says
Thank you so much for the sweet words Gigi, I really appreciate that!
I'm also limiting refined sugar these days and I just developed a similar recipe for GF pumpkin muffins that uses small amounts of coconut sugar and maple sugar! You could make that recipe in a loaf pan if you like. Someone just tried the recipe and shared on IG that they omitted the maple syrup, making it even less sweet.
Alternatively, you could make this recipe using coconut sugar, maple sugar, or date sugar, all of which have lower glycemic indexes. You could also try swapping out some of the sugar in the recipe and adding in some yogurt or sour cream to add back the moisture that the sugar would create when it dissolves. For example, you could make this with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream or greek yogurt (or DF yogurt).
I know some folks have made my recipes using keto-friendly sweeteners such as monk fruit, but personally I dislike that flavor.
Please let me know what you try!
Janine says
I wish I could give this more than five stars! I made it for a party and people took seconds and thirds. The texture was perfect—I didn’t have tapioca so used corn starch and it was still perfect. I added black pepper to give the spices an extra boost. Oh, and that glaze….!! People were spooning it off of the plate! Pure heaven! Thank you!
Alanna says
I'm so glad this pumpkin bread was a hit and that the cornstarch worked well in place of the tapioca - brilliant! Black pepper must be delicious here. Thank you for trying the recipe and taking the time to write a review!
Reba Galva says
I loved this recipe! I didn't have vegan butter so I decided to use coconut oil for both the butter and vegetable oil and it made it absolutely amazing. I do think next time I need to make the glaze better because, although it tasted amazing with the bread, I don't think I set it properly since I was using coconut oil.
I also used almond flour and some unbleached flour because I didn't have any Red Mill. Oooh my goodness, it melts in your mouth and it's so soft!
I was wondering, can this recipe be used for banana bread (-pumpkin, +banana)? And how can I adjust the preheating and time for a pan making a pound (maybe like 2x2x8) and a pan making two pounds (maybe like 4x1 1/2 x1 1/2)?
Would love the help, thanks for this recipe that even I can enjoy without all the dairy and gluten!
Alanna says
Hi Reba,
I'm so glad you liked this pumpkin bread recipe and that those subs worked well despite the gooey glaze! I've seen glazes made with coconut *butter* and I'm curious if that would set any more firmly?
A few other people have asked about turning this into banana bread. One reader wrote: "I did try it with banana: I used 350 g banana (it was frozen, so easiest to measure this way), and subbed 130g brown sugar for the granulated sugar to allow for the banana's sweetness. I also added a quarter cup of uncooked millet for texture. Turned out great! Beautiful crumb and not too sweet, so I don't feel like I'm eating cake for breakfast." Please let me know if you try this version! I'm inspired to play around with a banana version of this recipe now too. Or if you type "banana" into the search box, you'll find some banana breads, banana cakes, and banana muffins that might be what you're looking for.
As for the pan sizes, I'm not totally clear about those sizes and how they compare to the pan I used here. Please let me know if you experiment!
Maggie says
This bread (dessert!) was delicious! I made a few subs, and it was still yummy.
1) I forgot the ginger
2) In place of millet flour, I used buckwheat
3) I didn't have oat flour either, so just used an extra cup of white rice flour
3) I didn't have powdered sugar, so I used brown sugar for the topping (it was not white, but so yummy!)
4) I actually used brown sugar for all of the sugar
Still wonderful, just a light pumpkin flavour (which I prefer) and rich and decadent :-)
Alanna says
I'm so glad those subs worked well! I love buckwheat with pumpkin, so I can imagine how delicious it must taste with the brown sugar. Yum! Thanks a bunch for the note!
Dale Almond says
Can I swap out the flours for about 3/4 almond flour and 1/4 tapioca flour, and have the recipe work? I'm severely celiac, so can't eat any grain. I'm trying to replicate the texture of a wonderful banana bread recipe that uses 4 eggs. This recipe looks like it might come very close. Thank you!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Dale!
Gosh I'm sorry, celiac is SO tough. If it's helpful, I have a handful of paleo recipes here, including two grain-free banana bread recipes (though they're vegan, so different texture than one with lots of eggs!)
I'd love to see the recipe you're trying to replicate if you could share it with me! Feel free to email it to [email protected].
It's possible that swapping those ratios of tapioca and almond flour could work here! I haven't tried this formula with bananas in place of pumpkin yet, so I'm not sure how that would work for starters. And then almond flour doesn't absorb moisture the same way as grain flours, so there would be several different factors that might take some testing. If you do play with this recipe, I'd recommend cutting it in half to start in case you end up wanting to test it several times.
When I do bake grain-free, I like using a combination of cassava, tapioca, and almond flour (or cassava, tapioca, and coconut flour). Cassava is fairly similar to sweet rice flour in baking recipes and it makes cakes and breads light and pillowy. So if it were me, I'd try swapping the rice flour for cassava, and using almond in place of the oat and millet flours.
Please keep me posted on what you try!
Ann says
Hi Alyanna,
Can I use Teff Flour in place of Millet Flour ( I don't have any)? Will it make the bread too dense or gritty? I make pancakes with Teff Flour but I haven't tried it in bread.
Thank you for letting me know your thoughts.
Love your book!
Ann
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Ann,
Yes teff flour would be a great sub for millet here! I bet it will add lovely depth of flavor and bake up extra floofy. Please let me know if you try it!
Galen says
It’s tall and lovely indeed! My glaze cooled a little faster than expected so it’s a tad thick on top but I can’t wait for dessert. It smells heavenly.
Edit: turns out I really couldn’t wait! The texture is a marvel and the flavor is so good! It’s light and tender as can be and the spice is just right. The glaze is decadent and highly recommended.
Bake this. You won’t be sorry.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw I'm so glad you loved the bread. Thank you so much for the sweet note!
Ms Homebaker says
Foolproof recipe, delicious soft pumpkin bread, and I love it rises so high for a gluten free loaf. Swapped out the millet for teff due to what was in my pantry, and sprinkled with sugar before baking which added a delicious crunchy crust - will try your cream cheese or maple glazes on the remaining bread. Thank you !
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad it was a hit! I love teff flour and I can imagine what a lovely rich flavor it would add here. Let me know if you try the glaze or cream cheese frosting!
Martina Lauer says
It was delicious. Easy to make, wonderful results.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks so much for note and rating, I really appreciate it :)
RPM says
Love this pumpkin bread!! It bakes up so tall, like the glutinous quick breads of yore, and I appreciate that it's dairy free in a way that doesn't require non-dairy products. I did use Miyoko's vegan butter in the maple glaze and it did come out delicious, but the bread's good enough on its own that it doesn't need it.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw I'm so glad you liked the pumpkin bread on its own and with the maple glaze. Thanks so much for the note!
Sherry Shoemaker says
I’ve base the gingerbread loaf and the texture is out of this world. I’d really like to use almond flour in place of the tiff flour? I’m guessing this would work out well?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yes, I bet that would work! It's ideal to sub by weight if you have a scale. If not, just add an extra couple tablespoons of almond flour since it's lighter than teff. Please come back and let us all know how it works!
Sherry says
Ended up buying the millet flour, I definitely will try almond flour next time. I enjoyed the bread but would like to try almond flour next. The texture of your gingerbread is the absolute best and I’d like to recreate it.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw I'm so glad you love the texture of the gingerbread cake! I think the molasses adds some stickiness that might make the texture more springy too. But I'll be curious to know how the pumpkin bread works with almond flour, so please keep me posted if you try it!