Healthy Pumpkin Bread

This amazing pumpkin bread is naturally sweetened with honey and made with whole wheat flour. It’s so moist and fluffy, no one will ever guess! You can easily make this pumpkin bread vegan and/or gluten free—check the recipe notes for details.

Recipe yields 1 loaf.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*

• 1/2 cup Mikolich Honey - Avocado Blossom or Wild Buckwheat preferred

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup pumpkin purée

• 1/4 cup milk of choice or water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda (NOT baking powder; they aren’t the same!)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

• Optional: 1/2 cup mix-ins like chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dried fruit

• Pinch of ground cinnamon, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together together with a whisk. Add the eggs and whisk until blended. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave.)

3. Add the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice, baking soda, vanilla and salt, and whisk to blend. Lastly, switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. Some lumps are ok! If you’re adding any additional mix-ins, gently fold them in now.

4. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. If you’d like a pretty swirled effect, run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern.

5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (typically, if I haven’t added any mix-ins, my bread is done at 55 minutes; if I have added mix-ins, it needs closer to 60 minutes). Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes before slicing.

Notes

This bread is moist, so it will keep for just two or three days at room temperature. Store it in the refrigerator for five to seven days, or in the freezer for up to three months or so. I like to slice the bread before freezing and defrost individual slices, either by letting them rest at room temperature or lightly toasting them.*Oil options: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.Make muffins:

Make it vegan: Replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk or water.

Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.

Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.

Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free flour blend works well. Or, substitute 2 1/2 cups certified gluten-free oat flour instead. Do NOT substitute coconut flour.

Flour alternatives: An equal amount of all-purpose flour can be used in place of the whole wheat flour.

Recipe courtesy of Cookie + Kate : https://cookieandkate.com/healthy-pumpkin-bread-recipe/