This healthy pumpkin bread recipe is the best pumpkin bread recipe for those looking to cut calories without sacrificing flavor.
In this article you’ll learn how to make an easy recipe for pumpkin bread for 100’s of calories less than the average recipes for pumpkin bread.

I make this recipe pumpkin bread healthy with the help of unsweetened apple sauce. Apple sauce acts as both oil and sugar in a baking recipe… allowing us to cut the amount of oil and sugar needs by half!
Serve this healthy pumpkin bread recipe at holiday dinners, for breakfast in the fall, as a treat or dessert.
You’ll find the best pumpkin bread recipes below… including Gluten-free, Vegan, and even chocolate chip pumpkin bread modifications.
The Best Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
This article will show you how to make pumpkin bread easy with helpful cooking tricks and tips.
You’ll learn how to make healthy pumpkin bread chocolate chips, vegan, gluten-free, even a pumpkin loaf recipe with nuts! You’ll find pumpkin bread calories and nutrition and tips to help you make this spiced pumpkin bread recipe perfect for your dietary needs.
Here’s What You’ll Find in this Article:
- Ingredients for Pumpkin Bread Recipes (shopping list!)
- How to Make Pumpkin Bread
- The Best Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe (recipe card!)
- Pumpkin Bread Calories and Nutrition
This easy pumpkin bread recipe can be made year around thanks to the help of canned pumpkin puree! I’ll discuss the difference between pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling in the next section…
Up next, you’ll find the Shopping List for this simple pumpkin bread recipe…
Ingredients for Pumpkin Bread Recipes
Spiced pumpkin recipes are a great way to get in the Autumn mood… but thanks to canned pumpkin puree, you can make this healthy pumpkin bread recipe any time of the year!
What’s the difference between Pumpkin Puree vs Pumpkin Pie Filling? Pumpkin pie puree is simply cooked and pureed (blended) pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling has spices, milk, eggs, and even other pureed squashes. It is NOT the same… so be sure to get pumpkin puree for this recipe.
Shopping List for The Best Pumpkin Bread Recipes:
- Coconut oil
- Honey (or maple syrup for vegan pumpkin bread)
- Unsweetened apple sauce
- Eggs (or egg replacement for vegan pumpkin bread)
- Pumpkin purée
- Almond milk
- Pumpkin spice blend
- Baking soda
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Flour (or Gluten-Free flour)
- OPTIONAL: Chocolate Chips, Walnuts, or Pecans
The ingredients for pumpkin bread with chocolate chips is the same as the ingredients for pumpkin bread recipes… you just add in semi-sweet chocolate chips. Same with a nutty pumpkin loaf recipe, you just need to fold in the nuts at the end.
The best pumpkin bread spices are perfectly balanced in a Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend... sure you can combine your own, but this one pantry staple will yield the perfect recipes for pumpkin bread!
Now that you have the ingredients for pumpkin bread recipes… we will move onto how to make pumpkin bread healthy.
Note: All of the measurements, baking times, and nutrition can be found in the printable recipe card below!
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
This section will show you how to make pumpkin bread gluten-free, vegan, even with chocolate chips or nuts!
The main question I get is for directions on how to make pumpkin bread moist… and the answer is the apple sauce! Not only can I cut 1/2 of the oil and sugar from the recipe with this one low calorie ingredient swap, but it also yields a perfectly mops pumpkin loaf recipe!

I’ve combined the directions, measurements, cooking times, and even nutrition in the sharable recipe card below… But here I have added in the gluten-free and vegan points to make this easy recipe for pumpkin bread even easier.
How to Make The Best Pumpkin Bread Recipes:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, use a whisk to beat the oil and honey (or maple syrup) together together.
- Whisk in the eggs (or egg replacement). Add the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice, baking soda, vanilla and salt, and mix together.
- Stir in the flour (or Gluten-free flour), just until combined. If you’re adding in chocolate chips or nuts, mix them in now.
- Pour the pumpkin bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and place in the oven.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then lift up on the parchment paper to carefully transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Let cool for an additional 15-20 minutes before slicing.
In the next section you’ll find all of the measurements, directions, baking times and even pumpkin bread calories and nutrition all in one place…
The Best Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
This low calorie pumpkin recipe can be made year round! All you need is to order (or stock up when it’s in the store) pumpkin puree and you’ll be all set to make this delicious, healthy pumpkin load recipe!
In the recipe card below you’ll find directions to make 5 different versions of this Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe. You’ll be able to make it gluten-free, vegan, with or without chocolate chips and or nuts.

The Best Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup Almond milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice blend
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups flour
Make it a Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- 1 3/4 cup Gluten-Free flour in place of 1 3/4 cups flour
Make it a Vegan Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- 1/4 cup Maple Syrup in place of 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons egg replacer prepared (in place of 2 eggs)
Make it a Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips fold in after flour is mixed in
Make it a Nutty Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans fold in after flour is mixed in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, use a whisk to beat the oil and honey together together.
- Whisk in the eggs. Add the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice, baking soda, vanilla and salt, and mix together.
- Stir in the flour, just until combined. If you’re adding in chocolate chips or nuts, mix them in now.
- Pour the pumpkin bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and place in the oven.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then lift up on the parchment paper to carefully transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Let cool for an additional 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
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