This Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread without dairy is sweetly spiced, moist and easy to make at home. Enjoy it on its own as a healthy snack, or serve it with the maple glaze for a pumpkin spice dessert. Your kitchen will smell amazing while it’s baking in the oven.
I find that the pumpkin bread on its own is just sweet enough to be satisfying, but still healthy enough to eat as a snack. To elevate the bread to something more dessert-like, add the maple glaze and a sprinkling of crushed pecan nuts. It makes the pumpkin bread more of a special occasion treat.
Pumpkin bread with buckwheat flour
This gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe uses buckwheat flour instead of wheat flour. Buckwheat flour naturally does not contain gluten. It’s also a more wholesome alternative to gluten-free flour blends, which are typically made with a range of starches.
Since baking with buckwheat flour alone can give a slightly drier result, the recipe also includes some almond flour. This helps to stop the bread from drying out. I also highly recommend that you weigh your buckwheat flour in grams on a food scale to avoid adding too much. This is because cup measures are notoriously unreliable for measuring flour.
Ingredients for gluten free pumpkin bread without dairy
- Pumpkin puree: I find that pureed butternut squash, also known as butternut pumpkin, gives the best flavor. But any pumpkin puree will work.
- Coconut oil: Used instead of butter to keep the pumpkin bread dairy free. The coconut oil also adds some natural sweetness. Since only a small amount is used, the bread won’t taste like coconut.
- Maple syrup: To sweeten the bread. I have made this recipe using maple syrup and also brown rice syrup. I used brown rice syrup when I filmed the video for this recipe. However, maple syrup is my favorite option because it’s sweeter than brown rice syrup. You could also use honey if you prefer.
- Eggs: We use three eggs to hold the mixture together. I haven’t tested the recipe with an egg substitute, but would be interested to know if you try it out.
- Buckwheat flour: To keep the pumpkin bread gluten free. You can buy buckwheat flour at most supermarkets in the baking or health food section. If you don’t need the pumpkin bread to be gluten free, I imagine all purpose flour would work as a substitute.
- Almond flour: To supplement the buckwheat flour and help to keep the bread moist. Almond flour is made from blanched almonds, which means their skins have been removed. It’s also sometimes labelled as almond meal. Just check that it’s white in colour. Almond flour usually gives a slightly lighter result in baking recipes than if you use ground whole almonds with the skins on.
- Baking powder: To give the bread some lift. Make sure your baking powder is within its best before date to ensure that it works properly.
- Fine salt: Always a good idea in baking recipes to bring out the flavor of the ingredients.
- Cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg: Essential for pumpkin bread. These sweet spices blend so well with the pumpkin. If you have pumpkin pie spice mix at home, you can use that instead.
Maple glaze with maple syrup
This pumpkin bread comes with an easy maple glaze. It starts out runny so you can drizzle it over the bread, but eventually sets firm. The glaze adds extra sweetness and also provides a sticky foundation to hold toppings, like crushed nuts.
Some maple glaze recipes also include butter and milk. However, this maple glaze is dairy free. It’s made simply with powdered sugar and maple syrup. Powdered sugar, also known as icing sugar or confectioners’ sugar, is clearly not a healthy ingredient. However, I personally don’t mind enjoying it in moderation. If you prefer not to eat refined sugar, I go through some alternatives below.
Maple glaze without sugar
To make maple glaze without sugar, you can use a sugar-free powdered sugar substitute and sugar-free maple-flavored syrup. There are quite a few sugar-free icing powders and maple-flavored syrups on the market these days. They are usually made with a combination of stevia or monk fruit and erythritol.
Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that is commonly used as a sugar substitute. When you see sugar-free products that are marketed as being stevia or monk fruit sweetened, erythritol is also usually added. I personally don’t mind having erythritol in small quantities, but it can upset digestion for some people. If that’s the case for you, read on for some tasty alternatives to the maple glaze.
Alternatives to maple glaze for this pumpkin bread
- Chocolate frosting: For a chocolate twist, you could frost the pumpkin bread with this Vegan Avocado Chocolate Frosting. It’s rich, creamy and made without powdered sugar.
- Whipped cream: This gluten-free pumpkin bread is also amazing warmed up with some whipped cream. If you serve it that way, you can sprinkle the crushed pecan nuts over the cream. The extra crunch of the nuts against the cream is so good.
- Whipped coconut cream: For a dairy-free option, you can make whipped coconut cream. Refrigerate a can of coconut cream overnight so the thick portion of the cream rises to the top and the watery part stays at the bottom of the can. Then, scoop out the thick portion on top and beat it with a fork or whisk to smooth out any lumps.
- Vanilla yogurt: As an alternative to cream, a dollop of vanilla yogurt would work well. It would also provide some added protein. You can buy coconut yogurt if you want to keep things dairy free.
- Honey and cinnamon: Serve a slice of pumpkin bread drizzled with some honey and a dusting of cinnamon powder. Adding some crushed pecan nuts to this combination would also be delicious.
More gluten free baking recipes
- Flourless Zucchini Brownies with Chocolate Frosting
- Almond Flour Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies with Almond Flour
For more healthy baking ideas, check out the Baking Recipes page.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread without Dairy Recipe
Serves
10 slices
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
1 hour
Ingredients
For the pumpkin bread:
- 1 3/4 cups / 390 g pumpkin puree (see Note 1)
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml / 54 g coconut oil, softened
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 106 g maple syrup
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup / 120 g buckwheat flour (see Note 2)
- 1 cup / 96 g almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp fine salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp allspice powder
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder
For the maple glaze:
- 3/4 cup / 90 g powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp / 45 ml / 60 g maple syrup
- 1/4 cup / 27 g pecan nuts, crushed
Method
- Preheat your oven to 160°C fan-forced / 180°C / 350°F and line a 4 x 8 inch / 10 x 20 cm loaf tin with baking paper.
- Beat the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, maple syrup and eggs together in a large bowl until smooth (see Note 3).
- Add the buckwheat flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and stir everything together until just combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool completely, then make the maple glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and maple syrup together in a small bowl until smooth. If your powdered sugar is lumpy, you can either sift it first, or use your spoon to press out the lumps while mixing with the maple syrup.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bread, then sprinkle with crushed pecan nuts. Allow the glaze to set. You can speed this up by placing the bread in the fridge. Once set, slice with a serrated knife to serve.
Notes
- Pumpkin puree – I use pureed butternut squash, or butternut pumpkin, for the best flavor. You can make your own with this recipe for Homemade Pumpkin Puree. I suggest weighing the puree in grams since cup measures aren’t always accurate.
- Buckwheat flour – I always recommend weighing flour in grams for best results, since adding too much flour can result in dry bread.
- Lumpy coconut oil – If your eggs or pumpkin puree are cold from the fridge, it can make the coconut oil form lumps when mixing. Ideally, bring your eggs and puree to room temperature before mixing. Or, if your coconut oil does form lumps, just warm the mixture by placing your bowl in a sink filled with an inch or so of hot water and continue stirring until the lumps melt.
- Storage – The bread is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It should last in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the bread in slices. If freezing, it’s best to freeze the bread without the glaze, then add the glaze when serving.
Nutrition Facts
Without maple glaze:
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Energy: 215 Calories / 900 Kilojoules
- Total Fat: 12.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
- Total Carbohydrate: 21 g
- Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
- Sugars: 8 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 246 mg
- Potassium: 175 mg
With maple glaze:
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Energy: 284 Calories / 1190 Kilojoules
- Total Fat: 14.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.6 g
- Total Carbohydrate: 34.3 g
- Dietary Fiber: 2.9 g
- Sugars: 20.8 g
- Protein: 6.2 g
- Sodium: 247 mg
- Potassium: 198 mg
