This community favorite gluten-free pumpkin bread gets an unbelievably tender, springy crumb from a blend of gluten-free flours: sweet rice, millet, and oat flours. Made with 1 bowl and 20 minutes of active time. It's kissed with golden pumpkin pie spice and can be made with canned or homemade pumpkin puree.
Make it next-level delicious with a drizzle of buttery maple glaze on top. Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring this post!
This gluten-free pumpkin bread has been a reader-favorite since I shared it back in 2019. Here are some things that make this recipe easy to love. It's:
- moist & floofy
- springy & tender
- tall & handsome
- bright orange
- not too sweet
- gently spiced
- easy to make with just a bowl and a whisk
- takes just 20 minutes of active time
If you're a fan of pumpkin desserts and quick breads, you're going to love this moist and tender gluten-free pumpkin bread.
Why This Recipe Works
I adapted this gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe from my gluten-free & dairy-free carrot cake, which has the most lofty, pillowy texture kissed with gentle spices. To convert it to a pumpkin bread recipe, I tested many different variations to get it just right.
Here's why this recipe turns out the most lofty, springy, tall and handsome pumpkin bread:
- Extra egg: This recipe is naturally dairy-free because it uses an extra egg where there would usually be some dairy (buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream). The protein in the eggs makes the batter bake up extra fluffy, helping the cake form a lofty crumb.
- Gluten-free flours: A blend of gluten-free flours (sweet rice, millet, oat, and tapioca) creates a dreamy texture without the need to add any xanthan gum.
- Minimal sugar: I use less sugar than most recipes call for, which makes the bread just sweet enough. Using oil instead of butter keeps the bread soft and tender, even when chilled. It's laced with golden pumpkin spice blend which makes the color bright, and finished with a pour of maple glaze for an addictive finish.
Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions
This gluten-free pumpkin bread comes together with a handful of ingredients.
Dry Ingredients & Flours
- A trio of gluten-free flours – millet flour, oat flour, and sweet rice flour – work together to create a fine, sturdy crumb like you might get from a blend of white and whole wheat flours. I use Bob's Red Mill flours which are milled in a certified gluten-free facility. Each flour plays a specific roll. For my celiac readers who can't tolerate oats, try trading the oat flour out for sorghum flour by weight.
- Tapioca flour makes the crumb extra plush and pillowy.
- Baking soda and baking powder add lift.
- A good dose of fine sea or kosher salt pops the flavors of sugar and spice. If iodized table salt is all you've got, dial it down by half. Table salt has finer crystals meaning you get more in a teaspoon than irregularly-shaped fine sea or kosher salt crystals.
Wet Ingredients
- Close to a whole can of pumpkin puree goes into this gluten-free pumpkin bread. I use an organic brand from my co-op that is always thick and bright orange. You could definitely use homemade squash puree if you prefer.
- Four large eggs help this gluten-free pumpkin loaf bake up extra fluffy. The protein in the egg whites creates a cakey crumb while the egg yolks add tenderness.
- For an egg-free and/or vegan pumpkin bread, try my recipe for GF pumpkin muffins, which has egg-free and vegan versions.
- Granulated sugar works better than brown sugar here as it keeps the color bright. I use organic granulated sugar, which is blond in color with a hint of molasses still in the crystals. Just seven-eighths of a cup makes this gf pumpkin bread perfectly sweet to my taste.
- For a refined sugar-free option, try using coconut sugar or maple sugar instead. Or try my GF pumpkin muffin recipe which uses maple syrup and coconut sugar.
- A neutral oil such as sunflower oil, grapeseed, or mild olive oil, makes this bread divinely moist. Unlike butter-based cakes, this one stays soft even when refrigerated.
- Homemade pumpkin pie spice adds color and vibrant flavor.
- A touch of vanilla extract adds floral notes.
How to Make Moist Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
This easy gluten-free pumpkin bread comes together with just one bowl and a whisk. Simply whisk together the wet ingredients, whisk in the dry ingredients, pour into a loaf pan, and bake!
This recipe makes a tall loaf, serving 10.
How to Enjoy GF Pumpkin Bread
Cut this gluten-free pumpkin bread into thick slices and enjoy it on its own, or serve it with any or all of the following:
- Accompany slices with steamy mugs of apple cider hot toddies
- Dollop slices with whipped crème fraîche or mascarpone cream
- Toast slices and serve warm topped with horchata ice cream or crème fraîche ice cream
- Skip the glaze and schmear slices with less-sweet cream cheese frosting, vegan cream cheese frosting, or paleo cream cheese frosting.
Allergy-Friendly Variations
This gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe is naturally free of gluten, dairy, and nuts. It's also low-FODMAP.
For refined sugar-free, trade the cane sugar for the same weight of maple sugar or coconut sugar.
For vegan pumpkin bread, make the vegan version of this gluten-free pumpkin muffin recipe and bake it in a loaf pan.
How to Keep Pumpkin Bread Fresh
Store leftover GF pumpkin bread covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. I like to slice the bread and layer the slices with parchment paper in a large container. Since it's humid where I live in San Francisco, I refrigerate my pumpkin bread after a day. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Let the slices come to room temperature before serving to bring out the flavors.
Can I Freeze Pumpkin Bread?
You can! I found that the glazed loaf is tricky to defrost because the icing melts if you try to defrost a slice in the toaster oven (my preferred method). But here are two options for freezing pumpkin bread that work well:
- Bake an extra loaf, but don't glaze it yet. Tuck the whole loaf into a large freezer bag and freeze until needed, up to a month or two. When you're ready to enjoy, defrost the loaf (either in the refrigerator or at room temperature) then glaze the loaf, slice, and enjoy.
- Bake the loaf, but don't glaze it yet. Cut the loaf into slices, lay the slices on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy clean up. Layer any overlapping slices with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze the slices. Tuck the frozen slices into a freezer bag and freeze until needed, up to a month or two. When you're ready for a slice, pop one into a toaster oven and toast until defrosted and warmed through. Enjoy a warm slice with a scoop of ice cream. Or make a batch of glaze to drizzle over the slice as you toast them.
- If you're freezing slices of pumpkin bread that have already been glazed, let the slices defrost slowly at room temperature so that the glaze stays firm.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake or Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
This pumpkin "bread" is really just pumpkin cake in a loaf pan. You could absolutely bake the batter in cake pans and slather the layers with my less-sweet cream cheese frosting, vegan cream cheese frosting, or paleo cream cheese frosting. I think you could use two or three 8-inch pans or two 9-inch pans, decreasing the bake time as needed. If you try this, please let me know!
This pumpkin loaf can easily be baked into gluten-free pumpkin muffins. Divide the batter among 16 muffin cups lined with paper liners, filling them two-thirds full. Decrease the bake time to 20-30 minutes.
Or try my new gluten-free pumpkin muffin recipe! It makes 12 muffins, is refined sugar-free, and includes vegan and dairy-free options.
What to do with extra pumpkin puree?
This recipe uses a hefty 1 1/3 cups of pumpkin puree. If you use canned pumpkin, you'll have a scant 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree leftover after making this recipe. (For the record, I tried putting the whole can in the loaf. Trust me, this version is much better!)
Here are some ideas on how to use it up in more pumpkin recipes:
- whip up a batch of crispy, clumpy, easy pumpkin granola
- cook it into an easy stovetop pumpkin pudding
- make a maple pumpkin latte from Heartbeet Kitchen
- stir it into your favorite oatmeal recipe
- make GF pumpkin pancakes from Snixy Kitchen
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin bread, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Moist & Lofty Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon softened vegan butter or coconut oil, for the pan
- 1 ⅓ cup (300 g) pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (190 g) organic granulated sugar*
- ⅔ cup (125 g by weight) sunflower oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup (110 g) Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oat flour*
- ⅔ cup (105 g) Bob's Red Mill sweet rice flour*
- ⅔ cup (95 g) Bob's Red Mill millet flour*
- 3 tablespoons (22 g) Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea or kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon golden pumpkin pie spice*
To Finish
- 1 recipe maple glaze (optional)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Rub a 9x5 loaf pan with the butter or coconut oil and line the bottom and sides of the pan with two criss-crossed pieces of parchment paper cut to fit.
Make the Batter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Place a mesh strainer over the bowl (or over a different medium-sized bowl) and sift in the oat, sweet rice, millet, and tapioca flours along with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric (if using), nutmeg, and allspice.
- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth.
Bake the Pumpkin Bread
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the pumpkin bread until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs, 55 to 65 minutes. Check the loaf after 45 minutes and rotate if it’s browning unevenly or move it to the lower rack if it’s browning too quickly.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.
Finish the Pumpkin Bread
- Meanwhile, make the maple glaze and let stand 20 minutes to thicken.
- Place the pumpkin bread still on the wire rack on a large plate. Pour the glaze over the pumpkin cake letting it drip down the sides. We like to scoop up extra glaze that collects on the plate and slather it on slices of pumpkin bread.
- Let the glaze set until firm (you can pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to speed this up). Slice and enjoy.
Storage
- Store this pumpkin bread covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Notes
- In place of sugar, sub by weight coconut sugar or maple sugar
- In place of oat flour, sub by weight sorghum flour or teff flour
- In place of sweet rice flour, sub by weight gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Bob's 1 to 1
- In place of millet flour, sub by weight sorghum flour or teff flour
- In place of tapioca flour, sub arrowroot flour
- In place of the golden pumpkin pie spice, you can use the following: 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger, 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon turmeric (optional, mostly for color), ½ teaspoon packed freshly ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice