♪ It’s beginning to smell a lot like autumn ♪
Hmm, I may have gotten my holidays mixed up but you get the gist. Good thing it is perfectly acceptable to have pumpkin during Christmas too, so this recipe is applicable from Thanksgiving until the end of winter. Which in Vancouver’s case, is usually May.
Where does spring fit in? We’re not quite sure either…
But I’m getting ahead of myself, it’s THANKSGIVING! Which can pretty much be regarded as simply ‘pumpkin holiday’, because pumpkin pie is almost synonymous to Thanksgiving. I’ll skip the turkey and go straight for a large slice of pie please. And maybe a generous scoop of stuffing on the side…
My rainy months are spent dreaming about what pumpkin concoctions I can make for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and any other occasions in between. Pumpkin pie is always a good idea, but it requires pie crust, which can be time consuming. Quick breads are much more favourable for the impatient baker like myself.
In the beginning days of my baking phase, I had a pumpkin recipe I had adapted from this one that was my favourite loaf in the world. I would make it constantly throughout the week so that there would always be pumpkin bread around to snack on. If I’m ever in the mood of baking with regular flour, that would be my go-to recipe. Nowadays, I’m more interested in completely healthify-ing recipes now. No refined flour or sugar in sight! This Coconut Flour Pumpkin Bread is the gluten free answer to my quest.
Strangely enough, this loaf is like a hybrid of pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. We’re hitting two birds with one stone each bite. That, my friends, is called efficiency. And efficiency is warmly welcomed into the kitchen during Thanksgiving preparation; it’s a mad whirlwind in there!
We’ve previously shared a recipe of Pumpkin Spice Granola (#PSG) and that was heavenly good. This Coconut Flour Pumpkin Bread is equally delicious, and just as healthy too! Pumpkin is one vegetable that isn’t usually seen as being “weird” in sweet foods; there is no need to hide the fact that there is a ton of veggie goodness in here!
People go crazy for pumpkin, and there is a long list of good reasons for that. Pumpkin is a fabulous source of fibre that is low in calories and is packed with essential nutrients such as vitamin A and C, potassium, carotenoids (powerful antioxidents that keep skin looking young and fight cancer), iron, and many more nutritional benefits! A general guideline that enhances a healthy eating lifestyle is to consume at least one serving each of a dark green vegetable and an orange fruit or vegetable; pumpkin is an optimal way to fulfill the orange category.
The whopping one and a half cups of pure pumpkin puree also provide moisture in this loaf. There is no dry moment in this loaf. I mean that literally and figuratively. Every bite will be a mouthful of real pumpkin and warming spices, the perfect way to start a chilly autumn morning or to cozy up in the afternoon alongside a hot drink. Whether it be tea, latte, coffee, hot chocolate, or cider, a slice of this pumpkin bread will accompany your choice wonderfully. Be sure to enjoy it warm and toasted! I reheat my slices in a convectional oven at about 300⁰F for 10 minutes.
Completely gluten free, super high in fibre (3 grams per slice!), and made with wholesome ingredients, this is the pumpkin loaf of your dreams because you can engulf the entire loaf and still feel good about that in a turkey coma.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone!
P.S. Do you like to say ‘fall’ or ‘autumn’? I like autumn because it sounds and looks fancier, haha!
- 3 eggs
- 1½ cup pure pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- A pinch each of ginger, pink Himalayan salt, and freshly ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp allspice
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- A handful of pecan halves, roughly crushed (optional)
- ½ tbsp cacao nibs (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350⁰F and line an 8"×4" loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides.
- With a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer, whip the eggs until pale yellow and triple in volume, about 5 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, vanilla, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Add to the eggs and mix on low speed until homogenous.
- In another small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Gently fold into the wet mixture until fully incorporated.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Top with crushed pecans and cacao nibs if desired. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes in preheated oven; a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf should come out clean.
- Cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container. Will last about 1 week in the fridge.
Updated on October 11, 2015: I find that an extra five to ten minutes in the oven helps retain the structure of the loaf. Overcook the loaf just a wee bit, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (not with a few moist crumbs).
I just made this, it’s so moist and delicious. Thank you!
It makes us really happy to hear this. Thanks for coming back to comment, Alex!
This looks so good. what brand of coconut flour do you use? and was the pumpkin puree made from cooked or raw pumpkins? thanks
Hi Miranda, I hope you got my email about the coconut flour brand; it is Sunblest. As for the pumpkin puree, I used a canned (cooked) puree in this recipe.
Do you know the carb, fat, and protein count for 1 slice Please
Hi Donna, Radiant Rachels currently focuses on the wholesomeness and natural aspect of food rather than counting macronutritients. If you are interested in knowing the nutritional breakdown of our recipes, there are websites where you can input the ingredients used to calculate the specifics for each serving. Thank you for stopping by; we hope you’ll enjoy all the healthy recipes on our blog!
My son has allergies to many foods. This recipe looks great , but my son can’t have the eggs. Any ideas for a substitute? Thank you so much!
Robynn
Hi Robynn, unfortunately we have not tested the recipe without the use of eggs. Since coconut flour cakes tend to be crumbly, the eggs play an important role in holding the loaf together. Although I cannot guarantee the same results, you could try a commercial egg replacer or ground chia seed with water. Let us know if you give it a shot!
I used potato starch. I do in all my baked cake recipes. Works very well I find. 3 table spoons of starch to 9 table spoons of water. Mix well right before adding the pumpkin.
Moist amazing cake.
A lot of people recommend flax or chia, but I think starch works better in cakes/loafs imo. Hope that helps!
Use gelatin eggs. Popular in all AIP recipes cause we can’t use eggs. Use grass fed gelatin and dissolve 2 tablespoons in a 1/4 cup of water. Cook on very low til thickened and foamy on top then add to the mix instead of eggs
Made this yesterday for Thanksgiving! It was a hit! Very moist
Tried using walnuts instead of pecans but the walnuts got a little burnt. For those wanting walnuts, I’d throw them on top half way through baking the pumpkin bread
Hello Mattia, it’s wonderful to hear that this was well enjoyed at your Thanksgiving dinner! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment, and also sharing the walnut tip with everyone too!
Really delicious recipe. I substituted the maple syrup (cause I didn’t have any) for organic stevia and it came out great. Thanks!
Hi Alex, thanks for stopping by and I’m glad the bread turned out for you!
Can you tell me the Nutrition Information? It looks delicious!
Hi Jackie! At this time we do not calculate the nutrition information for our recipes. If you would like to know the nutritional breakdown, you can try inputting the ingredients into an online tool. Cheers!
My first loaf of this is cooling right now, can’t wait to taste it. Do I leave it in the loaf pan until it’s completely cool or take it out to cool on a rack?
Definitely best to completely cool it in the pan since coconut flour baked goods tend to be delicate. Hope you’ll enjoy the loaf!
45 minutes wasn’t quite long enough for mine….so it’s still in the oven. I wish it didn’t have so much maple syrup in it 🙁 Maybe I will play around with 1/2 syrup and 1/2 stevia. Thanks for the recipe.
Ok, I had to come back and leave another comment. As of this morning, the entire loaf has been devoured! I love the texture and flavor! It is perfectly spiced and I added peacans and raisins to the top which made it even better. I am going to make another this week and see if I can reduce the maple syrup a little bit. Thank you so much!!!
Hi Kim, Thank you for getting back to us with your success! We are so glad you enjoyed your loaf, and hope you’ll have success reducing the maple syrup the next time you make it. I’m sure it will be just as delicious, especially if you spread some nut or seed butter on top… yum!
I came across your lovely site while searching for uses of pumpkin or sweet potato with coconut flour. Since i used a can of organic sweet potato that was very wet, I made a few changes: I added 1 tbsp of arrowroot as the coconut flour tends to crumble. I substituted the maple syrup with raw granulated coconut (palm) sugar.. I added just a taste of molassess and 1/4 tsp of instant coffee– as I didn’t have allspice. Substituted the choc chips for 3 tbsp of unsweetened cacao.
Baking non-gluten in AZ means goods don’t always rise, so I added a capful of apple cider vinegar to the moist mix and I waited a min or 2 until the coconut flour was absorbed by the sweet potato. It turned out wonderful!
Thank you ladies, for your lovely site.
PS: I love the look of the purple yam desert and beautiful photos all around!
Wow, Renee! Thank you so much for coming back to share your adjustments. Sounds like a very delicious version!
I made this the other day and it is AMAZING! You are right that it is both like bread and pumpkin pie :). I find that coconut flour recipes don’t hold well together – this definitely is super moist and not strong toast material, but a delicious, moist and HEALTHY sweet bread option for dessert… or breakfast. I subbed half the maple syrup for stevia in the raw.
Hi Taylor, we’re so glad you enjoyed the bread!
Hi! Do you think this would work if I used flax and water as an egg substitute? I haven’t had the best of luck with egg substitution.
Thanks!!
Since coconut flour yields a rather brittle and delicate loaf, I don’t think a flax ‘egg’ will be strong enough to hold it together. If you are able to eat eggs, I suggest sticking with that.
Ok, thank you!
Wonderful recipe, substituted maple syrup with raw honey…. Yum yum
Thanks
This recipe looks awesome and I have all the ingredients (for a change) …. I’m about to make it now but in my bread machine.
Delicious! My kids loved it! Thank you! I was wondering if this freezes well?!
So glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe! I have not tried freezing the bread before so I cannot report on the outcome. However, if you try freezing it, do come back and let us know!
The flavor was good but the texture was more like a custard than a bread. I guess this is just how baking with coconut flour and a lot of eggs comes out. It takes a bit of readjusting your expectations.
I baked mine for an hour and you still have to eat it with a spoon. I’m going back to regular ole pumpkin bread that you can eat like a slice of bread. This recipe wasn’t for me.
Just made this and I’m very impressed with it! Thank you for sharing!
Delicious. Making it again today. Was somewhat of a custard like consistency, but firm enough to keep in a bread form.
Can I omit the maple syrup as the pumpkin puree is already sweet
We have not tried that before… If you try an unsweetened version, you may need a bit of milk to help balance the ratio of liquid to dry ingredients. Let us know how it goes!
Is the quantity of coconut flour in the Ingredients list accurate – only ½ cup? It’s much less than other recipes and seems like little flour given the quanity of wet ingredients, so I want to make sure it’s only one half cup before I make this bread. Thanks.
Yes, coconut flour is much more absorbent than regular wheat and grain flours. That being said, different brands of coconut flour may differ slightly so let the batter sit for a minute or two to allow the moisture to be absorbed before adding any more coconut flour. If you decide to add more, add it a spoonful at a time. Hope this helps!
This looks yumm-o! I’d like to make pumpkin bread cupcakes for my son’s class using your recipe and I’m curious if you’ve done this? Alter bake time at all? Thanks in advance!
I don’t think this recipe would work so well in a cupcake pan. I suggest baking it in a 8-inch square pan and cutting them into squares. It will hold it’s structure much better this way. Hope your son and his classmates will love this recipe!
Could you substitute anything for the maple syrup?
Hi Joanne, sorry for the late reply! You can try honey, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or coconut nectar.
Im finding it too moist. Should I bake it longer and will that help? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, yes baking it until no crumbs come out during the toothpick test will help it dry out a bit more. Different brands of coconut flour seem to have different absorption capacities so you might need an extra tablespoon or two of coconut flour to give the loaf more structure.
Hello! I am looking forward to making this but I don’t have allspice. I am wondering if I could substitute other spices such as pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cloves.
Would it work in this recipe and how much of each do you recommend?
Also, I noticed a lot of people are saying it’s more of a “custard” or “pumpkin pie” texture. What would you recommend I do if I wanted to get a more “bread like” texture..
Thanks!
Hello!! I’m super excited to make this but have a couple questions!
First, I don’t have allspice but thought I could substitute with pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and cloves. Either 1 or all 3. What would you recommend and how much of each?
Also, what should I do if I’m trying to achieve a more “bread” texture rather than a “custard/pie” texture?
Thanks!:)
Hi Kyler, try 2 to 3 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. For a drier (bread-ier) loaf, you can add 1 to 2 extra tbsp of coconut flour and baking it for a few minutes more. That being said, coconut flour ‘breads’ do have a texture of their own so keep that in mind 😉
Thank you for the recipe! Just made it today and I love it. I subbed honey for maple syrup and I topped with pumpkin seeds instead of nuts. Baked for about 50 minutes (let cool in the pan for 10, and on a cooling rack for 30) and did not come out “custardy” at all! Great recipe and perfect for the fall season. thank you!
Awesome! Thanks for coming back to leave a lovely review, Samantha!