Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: This healthy pumpkin bread is so moist and perfect, you’d never guess that it wasn’t 100% indulgent. The recipe makes 2 loaves, one for now and one for later. It’s great for cozy fall breakfasts, snacks, or lunchboxes.

How long it takes: 15 minutes to stir up, 50 minutes bake time
Equipment you’ll need: large mixing bowl, two loaf pans
Servings: makes 2 loaves, about 10 servings each

Loaf of healthy pumpkin bread, partially sliced.
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I’ll admit, I’m the first to indulge in my favorite pumpkin recipes once fall is here. I love cozy desserts like pumpkin poke cake and freshly baked pumpkin bread. Of course, everything in moderation, right? As a result, I’m always looking for ways to make my favorite baked goods a little healthier.

This easy and healthy pumpkin bread is made with less oil and sugar, and whole wheat flour. One bite, and you’d never know that this moist tasty quick bread wasn’t completely indulgent. And that’s the best part (besides the fact that it’s pumpkin!).

Sliced pumpkin bread on a white surface.

The Best Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Made with whole wheat. A mix of nutritious whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour gives the bread a nutty, rich whole wheat flavor and light, fluffy texture.

Less oil. I often make my bread recipes with applesauce, which can replace at least some of the oil (like in our healthy banana bread). In the case of this healthy pumpkin bread, canned pumpkin replaces the oil completely.

Ultra-moist. Bread made with yogurt, in this case, Greek yogurt, is always moist and flavorful. Because the yogurt is acidic, it works with the baking soda to kickstart the leavening of the bread.

Ingredients needed for recipe including pumpkin.

Ingredient Notes

I’ll run through the basics of the recipe here to get you started and I’ll include some helpful tips.

  • Canned 100% Pure Pumpkin: This recipe takes a whole can of pumpkin purée. Make sure you buy 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Although the two cans may be side by side at the grocery store and look really similar, there is a big difference. Pumpkin purée is 100% pumpkin with nothing else added. Pumpkin pie filling is a shortcut if you’re making pumpkin pie. It has added sugar and spices. Always use what your recipe calls for; the two products are NOT interchangeable.
  • Sugar: This healthy pumpkin bread gets its sweet flavor from the pumpkin pie spice that very little sugar is needed to sweeten it, just one cup (a half cup per loaf). The sugar also helps achieve the soft texture of the bread.
  • Greek Yogurt: Look for unflavored (unsweetened) plain Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt adds protein to the bread and gives it a good texture, taking the place of added oil.
  • Milk and Eggs: Any type of milk can be used, and three eggs help bind the bread together and give it a rich texture.
  • Flour: I use a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour when making quick bread. Whole wheat flour adds nutrition and fiber.
  • Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt: This trio leavens the bread (makes it rise) and seasons it. Without salt, the bread would taste flat.
  • Pumpkin Pie Spice: This spice blend makes your bread taste like pumpkin pie. I use my homemade pumpkin pie spice, a blend that contains cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves. You can also buy pre-made pumpkin pie spice blends, or make your own blend.
  • Pure Vanilla Extract: A baker’s best friend, vanilla is added to many baked goods.

How To Make This Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Turn your oven on to preheat, and grease two large loaf pans. A light misting of nonstick cooking spray is fine.

Combine the wet ingredients. Since we’re making enough batter for two bread loaves, you’ll need a big mixing bowl. Begin by lightly whisking the eggs, then add the pumpkin, sugar, yogurt, milk, and vanilla; whisk until the mixture is smooth.

Add the dry ingredients. Next, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture. Stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Unbaked ungarnished healthy pumpkin bread.

Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, smoothing the tops out a bit. If desired, sprinkle with pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) for a fun garnish. Bake the bread until the tops are lightly golden brown and firm.

Pumpkin quick bread being sprinkled with pepitas.

Cool. Leave your healthy pumpkin bread to rest in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes before carefully flipping the pans over and removing the bread. Put the bread on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing or storing it. We love this bread with a smear of orange honey butter!

How To Test If It's Done

Poke a toothpick near the center of the bread. Remove the toothpick and take a look at it. If there’s batter sticking to the toothpick, the bread needs more time in the oven. If the toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached, the bread is fully baked.

Baked bread in loaf pans.

Tips for Success

I love quick bread recipes like this healthy pumpkin bread. They’re just so easy! Here are bonus pro tips for the best bread loaf:

Measure the dry ingredients correctly. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, measure out both flours by spooning them into a measuring cup, and leveling the tops with a flat edge, like a table knife. Don’t scoop the flour directly from the bag, as this is a surefire way to overmeasure. Too much flour leads to dry, crumbly pumpkin bread.

Don’t overmix the batter. Once you’ve added the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, use a fork to gently whisk together the dry ingredients first, before stirring them fully into the batter. Be careful that you don’t over-mix the pumpkin bread batter, as this yields a dense, tough loaf.

If your pumpkin bread cracks on top while baking, don’t worry. This is a good sign! Quick bread will puff up and crack a little when it’s baked all the way through.

If the pumpkin bread sinks in the middle, this could be because your baking soda or baking powder was expired (check those dates). Bake the bread as soon as you get the batter mixed and be sure to always preheat your oven.

Overhead view of sliced pumpkin bread.

Possible Recipe Variations

Looking for fun ways to change up this healthy and wholesome pumpkin bread recipe?

  • Add chocolate! Stir in a cup (or more!) of chocolate chips to make healthy pumpkin chocolate chip bread. White chocolate chips are really good, too.
  • Add a garnish to the top. Embellish the loaves with rolled oats, as I do in my pumpkin streusel bread, or pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds). Sprinkle them on top of the batter before baking the loaves.
  • Not a fan of whole wheat? Make the bread with 3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour and omit the whole wheat flour. You might also want to try white whole wheat flour.
  • Make muffins instead of bread. Divide the batter into greased muffin tins. Bake at 400°F for approx. 15 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins. Keep in mind that since this recipe makes two loaves of bread, it will yield a lot of muffins. The exact yield depends on the size of your muffin tins.

Make Ahead Idea

This recipe makes two loaves of pumpkin bread. I love doubled-up recipes. After all, it’s just as easy to make two loaves as it is to make one, plus you use the whole can of pumpkin so there’s no waste. Toss the second loaf in the freezer for a treat later in the month. If you’d rather make only one loaf of pumpkin bread, feel free to halve the recipe.

Storage Tips

To prevent your pumpkin bread from getting soggy, always cool the bread completely before wrapping it up. If you place warm bread in an airtight container or bag, condensation will form and the bread will get sticky and spoil more quickly.

To store: Healthy pumpkin bread will keep airtight on the counter for a few days. For longer storage, you can refrigerate it.

To freeze: This pumpkin bread can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap (either whole or in slices) and stored frozen for up to 2 to 3 months.

More Pumpkin Recipes

Recipe

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

4.73 from 18 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 20
This healthy pumpkin bread recipe is so moist and full of flavor, you'd never guess that it wasn't 100% indulgent. Enjoy a slice as a cozy fall breakfast or as a snack!
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Ingredients 

  • 1 can (15 oz.) 100% pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (I use nonfat)
  • ¾ cup milk (I use 2%)
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two large loaf pans with nonstick baking spray.
  • In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, beaten eggs, sugar, yogurt, milk and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
    1 can (15 oz.) 100% pure pumpkin, 3 large eggs, lightly beaten, 1 cup sugar, ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, ¾ cup milk, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • Add whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice to top of wet ingredients. Lightly stir dry ingredients with spoon or fingertips until combined. (If you prefer, you can mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.) Fold dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture. Stir until combined but do not overmix.
    2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans and smooth tops (see note). Bake for 50 minutes or until bread tests done (a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean, or with a few crumbs clinging).
  • Let cool 10 minutes in pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Notes

  • Optional topping: Before baking, sprinkle the loaves with pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) or rolled oats, if desired.
  • Freezing: Pumpkin bread freezes well. Wrap it securely and place in freezer safe bag or container for up to 2 months. If you prefer, wrap individual slices to freeze. They thaw very quickly.
  • All purpose flour can be substituted for the whole wheat flour. 

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 141kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 265mg, Potassium: 132mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 3354IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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42 Comments

  1. Kim says:

    I would love to know if anyone cut the sugar in half. And if so, what do you put in place of that? I’m trying to cut back on sugar but I love my pumpkin bread!

  2. Hayley says:

    Thanks for this recipe! I cut about half a cup on the sugar, but everything was great. The bread was moist and you’re so, so right. It freezes really well! I’m eating a slice of bread even as I’m writing this :)

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      I’ve been wanting to try it with less sugar! Glad to hear it turned out well. Thanks for the comment! Happy Holidays!

  3. Shelby says:

    Oh my goodness so yummy! Just had a slice. I made it a touch healthier (risky I know) and instead of 3 whole eggs, I used 2 egg whites + 1 whole egg. And I only had vanilla greek yogurt on hand so added just a touch less vanilla extract. It is amazing! You would never tell this was a healthy version. Great recipe! I’ll be back here for sure :)

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So glad you liked it! Love the changes you made. I want to try it with less sugar too.

  4. Madi F says:

    This pumpkin bread was delicious!! I highly recommend! It’s hard to find a good recipe for healthy pumpkin bread and everyone loved this one- I think next time I am going to add a few more spices into it like nutmeg and cinnamon. Maybe even sneak some chocolate chips in :) I recommend this yummy recipe and it will be featured in this year’s Eat Smart Move More Maintain don’t gain Holiday Challenge!

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So glad you liked it! The homemade pumpkin pie spice that I use has both nutmeg and cinnamon in it so that’s why I didn’t add those individually.

  5. pumpkingirl says:

    I loved the recipe. I took it one healthy step further and replaced the eggs with 3/4 cup homemade applesauce. since the applesauce is naturally sweet I cut the sugar in half. I also added an extra 1/3 tsp baking powder to ensure it would still rise properly. Turned out great. Thanks for the delicious recipe.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Great tips! Thanks!

  6. Janet says:

    The cooking temperature must be in Celsius, not Fahrenheit?

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Nope, 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

  7. Mom says:

    I’m going to try this one soon–I’ll add pumpkin to my grocery list!

  8. Amanda says:

    You are SO right! I totally love to eat the bread for breakfast too… love that you are making it easy with these beautiful recipes! :)

  9. Clay Reid says:

    We’ve made this bread every single year around Thanksgiving and Christmas time for years. It’s one of my most favorite fall treats. It’s very easy to make, uses mostly ingredients you probably already have on hand, and it makes the entire house smell fabulously autumnal while baking. You can’t get any better than that!

  10. Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out says:

    I am totally with you on this. I love quick breads for breakfast, but making a few healthy tweaks means that I can not feel weird about eating them right before I go to the gym! Haha. And normally? I find that swapping out some of the fat for a healthier alternative or some of the ap flour for whole wheat is barely noticeable at all!