Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
Delicious pumpkin bread made in your blender! Try this healthy gluten-free pumpkin bread with oat flour, maple syrup, and greek yogurt. You’ll also love my blender banana muffins, blender cottage cheese pancakes, and cottage cheese banana bread.
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If you want a decadently sweet pumpkin bread that won’t leave you feeling sluggish, you’re going to want to save this gluten free pumpkin bread recipe.
In fact, this pumpkin bread recipe with oat flour, greek yogurt, and olive oil isn’t just healthy. It also tastes better than 99% of store bought versions. It’s perfectly sweet, super tender and moist, and it’s got all the warming spices you’re craving for fall.
And it’s made in the blender for minimal clean-up and mixing. If you want a quick and easy recipe for healthy pumpkin bread you can make with minimal effort, this one’s for you!
Why you’ll love my gluten free pumpkin bread recipe
Dietitian-made: This recipe is created and tested by a Registered Dietitian (me!) for maximum nutrition.
Quick and easy: Make this recipe for gluten free pumpkin bread in your blender in minutes.
Healthy ingredients: We subbed less nutritious ingredients for more nourishing ones like rolled oats, maple syrup, olive oil, and greek yogurt.
Moist and delicious: This healthy recipe is just as sweet and tasty as the real deal.
Why make pumpkin bread gluten-free?
As a Registered Dietitian, I want to stress that gluten isn’t bad for everyone.
It’s a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other grains. If you have Celiac disease or a gluten intolerance, you’ll want to avoid it. If you don’t, gluten is perfectly fine to include in a balanced and healthy diet.
I wanted to create this recipe for gluten-free pumpkin bread for two reasons. First, the gluten-free girlies deserve a delicious pumpkin bread recipe in their back pocket. Also, I simply love baking with oats because they’re high in fiber and super healthy.
Ingredients and swaps
Gluten-free rolled oats: We blend whole oats in the blender here to make DIY oat flour. Choose certified gluten-free oats if you have Celiac disease or are concerned about trace amounts of gluten. Regular oats can be contaminated with wheat, so this is important! Rolled oats are also called large flake oats or old fashioned oats. Quick oats will work here too, but instant and steel cut oats will not.
Canned pumpkin puree: Look for plain pumpkin puree without added sugars or spices. Make sure you don’t use pumpkin pie filling!
Large eggs: I haven’t tested this recipe with flax eggs, but they might work to keep this egg-free.
Maple syrup: I think maple syrup has the best flavor for this gluten free pumpkin bread recipe. You could substitute honey if desired.
Olive oil: I love baking with olive oil for its healthy fats. And don’t worry — we’re not using too much, so you don’t taste the savory flavor. Substitute melted unsalted butter if you’d prefer.
Plain greek yogurt: I’ve tested this recipe with greek yogurt and milk, and greek yogurt is waaaaay better. The pumpkin bread has a better rise and more moist texture with the yogurt. I used non-fat greek yogurt, but you could use low fat too. I wouldn’t recommend any substitutions.
Baking powder and baking soda: To help the pumpkin bread rise.
Vanilla extract: You can use vanilla extract or paste.
Salt: To balance flavors (don’t skip it!).
Spices: The spices are truly the star of the show for this gluten free pumpkin bread. We use cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves. Alternatively, you could use premade pumpkin pie spice.
Use certified gluten-free ingredients
If you have Celiac disease, make sure you use certified gluten-free ingredients. Especially oats! Many ingredients can be contaminated with wheat or gluten, so make sure you’re using products without.
How to make gluten free pumpkin bread
Position your oven rack to the middle and pre-heat oven to 350 F.
Lightly grease your loaf pan and line with parchment parchment paper. Set aside.
Add all ingredients to a large blender. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. This will take about 30-45 seconds.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a spatula so it’s flat in the pan.
Transfer to the oven. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until the top is set and golden. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean, with just a few moist crumbs.
Allow pumpkin bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature before slicing or your pumpkin bread will fall apart.
Nutrition in gluten free pumpkin bread
Calorie-friendly: If you’re working on weight loss and staying mindful of calories, this is a great sweet snack or dessert with only 200 calories per slice.
Lower sugar: The Starbucks Pumpkin & Pepita Loaf has 35 grams of sugar, and this recipe has 14 grams. This recipe could work well if you have PCOS, insulin resistance, diabetes, or other blood sugar concerns.
Fiber: Each slice of this gluten free pumpkin bread has 3 grams of dietary fiber for blood sugar balance, digestion, and overall health.
How to serve oat flour pumpkin bread
Enjoy this nourishing pumpkin bread on its own as a snack or dessert!
To make it even more delicious, top with butter, honey butter, peanut butter, or almond butter.
For extra protein, serve your gluten-free pumpkin bread with a big scoop of low sugar Greek yogurt, or enjoy it with a latte made with dairy or soy milk.
Storage instructions
Counter: If you’re enjoying this recipe in the next few days, store your gluten free pumpkin bread in a cake stand or covered container on the counter. Minimize any air exposure to keep it fresh. It will last on the counter for up to three days.
Fridge: Slice your gluten free pumpkin bread and store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to five days. Microwave for about 10-seconds before eating, or until just warmed through.
Freezer: Slice your pumpkin bread and store in a freezer-safe bag or container. To prevent slices from sticking, separate with parchment paper squares. Defrost overnight in the fridge, or on the counter for a few hours. Your gluten free pumpkin bread will stay good in the freezer for up to three months.
Top tips
- Let your gluten free pumpkin bread completely cool before slicing. This is so essential! If you don’t, it will fall apart when you try to cut it. This will take at least an hour.
- Don’t over-pack your oats when measuring, and don’t use premade oat flour. Using too many oats might lead to a dry pumpkin bread.
- Use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has added sweeteners and spices, and will throw off the flavor of the bread. It also might contain gluten!
- Test your gluten free pumpkin bread to make sure it’s done baking. Insert a wooden skewer or knife into the center of your bread — it should come out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs. Mine usually takes 50 minutes to bake, but every oven is different.
More sweet healthy snacks
Did you try this recipe?
Leave your rating and review below! And don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, and tag me @real.life.nutritionist.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- Position oven rack to the middle and pre-heat oven to 350 F.
- Lightly grease your loaf pan and line with parchment parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add all ingredients to a large blender. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. This will take about 30-45 seconds.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a spatula so it's flat in the pan.
- Transfer to the oven. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until the top is set and golden. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean, with just a few moist crumbs.
- Allow pumpkin bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature before slicing or your pumpkin bread will fall apart and be slightly gummy.
Hi looks so tasty!! Going to make them for a beach trip this weekend – have you tried it as muffins? It’s for a crowd and may be easier to grab in muffin form.
I haven’t personally tested this as muffins yet, but another reader has and she said it took about 20 minutes in the oven for 12 muffins! I’d recommend starting with a little less time and testing before cooking longer, since every oven is a little different. Please report back if you make them! 🙂
I really loved this recipe! I made these and made a couple mods for things I didn’t have. I swapped yogurt for cottage cheese and eggs for flax “egg”. It worked great but needed extra time in the oven due to the density.
If I make this again I will probably reduce the baking soda and increase the baking powder since it had a little bit of a soapy baking soda flavor to it. I noticed that with the other loaf bread recipe too.
Thank you for your review and feedback!
I made this for breakfast earlier this week. It was well received by my whole family. I swapped the maple syrup for monkfruit syrup and added 1/4 cup of brewers yeast (for some added fiber, protein and to help boost my milk supply as I’m nurSing an 8 month old). It turned out fantastic and my older two kids have already requested I make it again.
I’m so glad it turned out! And so great to know about the swaps/additions, thanks for sharing.
Very good! Made this today. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfect. My first bite felt a little lite on sweetness but once you get all the spice flavors it’s just perfect. Definitely will make again
Thank you so much for your review, Cynthia! I’m so glad you enjoyed 🙂
Hi. This is amazing! I love how it is a lower sugar alternative to the Starbucks pumpkin loaf! I brought some to my mom and she agreed that it tasted super similar to the Starbucks loaf. She didn’t believe me at first that it was gluten free. I even tried it with some very ripe bananas I had and made banana bread (which was also amazing with some chocolate chips added on top!)
Amazing!! Thank you so much for your review! So glad you liked it.
Just made this and it’s so tasty!
I noted that someone used slightly less baking soda, so I did the same, and I used 1 tsp of pumpkin spice instead of the smaller portions of the three other spices it encompasses. I also blended in 2 tbsps of hemp seeds to boost the protein and nutrition just a touch more. My 10-year-old loves it and is happy to have it added to her lunch every day for school. So this will definitely become a regular recipe!
This wasn’t my prettiest loaf of pumpkin bread so I didn’t have super high hopes but it came out so good! The texture and flavor are great. Thank you for a tasty gluten free pumpkin bread that is made with healthier ingredients. Also loved that it’s all mixed in the blender!
Made this pumpkin bread when we had friends over for the weekend and it didn’t even last 24 hours! So so good! Will definitely be making this one on repeat this fall!
Amazing! This bread is unbelievably delicious, very dense & moist!