There’s pumpkin bread and then there’s pumpkin gingerbread. This version of the pumpkin gingerbread recipe is full of warm spices and a little healthier than most recipes!
There’s pumpkin bread, and then there’s pumpkin gingerbread. There’s a BIG difference. And this pumpkin gingerbread is in my top three FAVORITE things to eat. Ever. (Right up there with toast and sweet potatoes!)
Not only is this pumpkin gingerbread recipe full of warm, flavorful spices, but it’s a little healthier than most recipes! It’s neither overly sweet nor excessively heavy and it gives off a heavenly aroma as it bakes!
The best part? Eating it won’t leave you feeling like you ate a brick. I mean, we all know that feeling after inhaling Starbucks Pumpkin Bread, right? It tastes so good in the moment, and then WHAM, we realize we made a bad decision. But this pumpkin gingerbread does not leave you with that feeling.
It’s amazing fresh out of the oven when it’s still a little bit crispy on the edges and warm throughout. I especially love to eat the end slices because they are the best. Every time I make this recipe, Tommy inevitably comes home to find both ends cut off and eaten. Totally normal.
This recipe is my go-to when I need to bring a dessert or a side dish to a party. And it also makes a great gift for neighbors during the holiday season! (Can you believe the holidays are just around the corner??)
My all-time favorite quick bread. My all-time favorite sweet bread. Maybe just my all-time favorite bread, period. So let’s go.
One of my all-time favorites: Pumpkin Gingerbread Recipe
Ingredients
Coconut sugar
Coconut oil
Eggs
Water
Can of pumpkin (about 2/3 cup)
Whole wheat flour
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Ground ginger
Allspice
Cinnamon
Cloves
Salt
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 f degrees.
Step 2
Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan or cake pan.
Step 3
In a large bowl combine the wet ingredients — sugar, oil and eggs. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Mix in pumpkin puree until combined.
Step 4
In a medium bowl, combine flours, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt using a wooden spoon.
Step 5
Add dry ingredients bowl to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Then pour into your prepared pan.
Step 6
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or mostly clean, which is about 35-45 minutes. Don’t overbake! The toothpick may have just a little bit of cake on it – that’s okay! Also, it just shouldn’t be liquid. The baking time may vary depending on your oven and if you also decide to double the recipe. Be sure to check the doneness sooner rather than later! If it starts to brown too much on top before it’s done, cover with foil until it passes the toothpick test.
Step 7
Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. See notes below on how to store leftovers!
Recipe Variations
Pumpkin Spice Option
I’ve never tried making this with pumpkin pie spice in place of the individual spices, but it would probably work.
Chocolate Chips
I’ve added chocolate chips in the past, but I actually prefer it without them. In addition, you get more of the pumpkin ginger flavor without the chocolate competing. These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are so fantastic if you’re craving chocolate with your pumpkin!
Oil Substitutions
You can substitute half the oil for applesauce for a slightly lower fat content. It won’t be quite as rich but it’s still delicious!
You can also use canola or vegetable oil in place of the coconut oil.
Flour Options
You can use whole wheat pastry flour instead of whole wheat flour and it’ll give you a slightly lighter loaf. You can also use all-purpose flour for the full amount of flour rather than using whole wheat flour.
For example, I use King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour or One Degree Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour.
Gluten-Free
I have also tried making their recipe with gluten-free flour and it was terrible. It came out super gummy and just not great. Every gluten-free flour mixture is a bit different so you can experiment but I had zero luck with two different options. But if you need or want a gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe, I highly recommend this one!
Coconut sugar
You can sub the coconut sugar for white cane sugar or a mixture of cane sugar and brown sugar. In fact, any dry sugar substitute will probably work for this recipe. However, do not try to replace the dry sweetener with a wet sweetener (e.g. maple syrup, honey, etc.). It will mess up the texture.
Toppings
This gingerbread is also delicious topped with some powdered sugar sifted on top. You could also make a simple glaze using powdered sugar, a small amount of milk, and a splash of vanilla to drizzle on top. YUM.
Doubling the recipe
The recipe can be doubled without any issues. If you double it, you’ll need two prepared pans.
Muffins
You can make this recipe into muffins rather than a loaf. The cook time will be shorter, so start checking them around 16 minutes and remove from the oven when the toothpick barely has any batter holding on, and is mostly dry.
Leftovers & Storing
This bread is amazing over the next few days and the flavors deepen. Store cooled bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. At that point, I recommend storing it in the fridge.
You can also freeze leftovers. Just be sure the slice it first and then place in a freezer safe container, like a freezer zip lock bag. Thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes or microwave for 10-15 seconds. I actually made two loaves in my third trimester specifically to freeze since I knew I would want it as a snack once our baby arrived!
Serving Suggestions
I LOVE this topped with butter and nothing else. But if you want to dress it up, it’s really delicious served with a little yogurt for breakfast. (I highly recommend the Noosa Pumpkin yogurt when that comes back in season!)
It also makes a MEAN french toast! If you make this into french toast, let it sit in the french toast mixture overnight. It’s a slightly dense bread, so it just makes it better to have more time to let the egg, milk, and spice mixture soak in!
My pumpkin bread recipe is my favorite fall treat ever!
Ingredients
Scale
1.5 cups coconut sugar
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1/2 of a 15oz can of pumpkin (about 2/3 cup)
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the coconut sugar, coconut oil and eggs using a hand mixer or stand mixer; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Mix in pumpkin puree until combined.
In medium bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt using a wooden spoon. Add dry ingredients to egg/sugar/pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Pour into your prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Don’t over bake!
Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
Notes
The baking time may vary depending on your oven and if you double the recipe. Be sure to check the doneness at the shorter baking time!
I used One Degree Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour.
Don’t use canned pumpkin pie mix in this recipe. You need plain pumpkin!
You can sub half the oil for applesauce.
All purpose flour will work in place of the whole wheat flour.
It is definitely stuffing!!! Who dresses the bird?!?! So weird…omg and check out this site…it’s perfect for this post. http://www.thegreatstuffingdebate.com
i was already planning on making pumpkin bread tomorrow! I am switching to this recipe. It looks so so yummy. I’m gonna have to use all all-purpose flour though. You won’t catch me heading out in the snow with 3 kids just for different flour! Wish me luck!
#1. I am making that bread this instant… It looks amazing!
#2. I think it’s stuffing. However, I was talking to my mom yesterday and she called it dressing, which perplexed me as I don’t remember ever hearing that growing up… either way, hers is the best I have ever had.
We always call it stuffing, but I found this tidbit of info…
“The term stuffing first appears in English print in 1538. After 1880, it seems the term stuffing did not appeal to the propriety of the Victorian upper crust, who began referring to it as dressing. Nowadays, the terms stuffing and dressing are used interchangeably, with stuffing being the term of preference in the South and East portions of the United States. “
We always called it stuffing even when it wasn’t baked in a bird. But it’s really not disgusting when it is – it’s pretty delicious. But now I’m a vegetarian so I don’t roll that way anymore.
We definitely say stuffing at my house and it’s never been stuffed into anything but my stomach. That loaf pan is too cute and the bread looks to die for!
STUFFING!!! That bread looks awesome. Have you tried the baking spray with the flour in it? It works really well!! Although it looks like you had no problem with the release this time. 🙂 Hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving!! xo
I just made a chocolate chip banana gingerbread that was to-die-for! I know what you mean about too many flavors competing that it can take away from the overall taste but this was perfect! I bet I’d love your recipe too. Ginger is one of my favorite flavors!
I am allll into pumpkin gingerbread lately…. check out Angela’s recipe at ohsheglows.com …. her Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream frosting is to DIE for. This recipe looks delish, but the blackstrap molasses and maple syrup in hers really makes that particular version SHINE! P.s. I’m not vegan so I included a regular egg instead of her chia egg.
What lovely recipe! I would love to make it but have a few questions…..living in Africa means I can not get some items. Could I use coconut oil work instead of applesauce? Apples are very $$$ out here. Also I can not get canned pumpkin but there are many pumpkins! Would homemade mashed pumpkin work just as well? Last question… would whole wheat flour work instead of whole wheat pastry flour? Thanks for your help. I would love to make this while living in Uganda.
Yes, I think coconut oil would work. Any oil really. And definitely homemade mashed pumpkin would work. I’m just too lazy to do that! 🙂
Whole wheat flour will work but it will be a little denser than with pastry flour. You could sub in some white flour in place of it to keep the texture more consistent.
Thanks Teri! I have some people staying with me next month(from South Sudan) and I will be making this for them. I will let you know how it turn out! My mouth is watering just thinking about it
I could not wait until June! Made it yesterday….and it is very YUMMY! A little dens but still very good. I’ll play with the flour rations again next time. Made enough homemade mashed pumpkin for two more batches… 🙂
I made two loaves today, cut the sugar by 1/2 cup (will do even less sugar next time) subbed the oil for more applesauce, and cut the water in half. I didn’t even pretend to measure my spices, I put in a good deal more than called for. Not very “ginger-y” but very, very good! I used pumpkin pie spice, ginger and cloves. Unfortunately, I sent the second loaf with my parents before I tasted my loaf. They wouldn’t have heard about it until they were back home after the holiday weekend… 3 hours away! I will be making this many times in the future! Only problem was it was kind of stick on the outside.
Question: if I continue to cut the sugar, would I need to do anything else to get the quantities to balance?
3 Cups of sugar seems like a lot. Have you tried replacing it or some of it with any other products? I know it makes 2 loaves, but all the other ingredients make it seem like it could be so much healthier.
Your marathon times are fantastic!! Keep it up. I want to try this bread for a Fall celebration where I work. Sounds more healthy than most. I love a lot of spices and I think our clientele will go for it. Physical therapy clients, variety of age and socio economic people. Keep up with the recipes. I love these loaves too.
You need to adjust the recipe, you only have ingredients for one loaf but in the instructions you say to grease two loaf pans and divide the batter. Luckily I caught it before I baked it when both pans looked super skimpy. It was delicious so I wish I had doubled it, next time!
Thank you! I just updated it. I always double it which is why I had the double instructions first and then realized most people prefer to make just one loaf so I changed it. Thanks for catching that and letting me know!
Of course! I took a loaf to my Mom this morning and it was so good (she let me have an end piece bc Moms are the best, haha!) that I made another one tonight to take to my neighbors!
I’m not a baker but like to try different recipes. Could I use almond flour in this recipe in place of the wheat flour? I read an article that mentioned substituting 25 percent of flour in recipe with almond flour.
I haven’t tested it with almond flour but a 1:1 substitute likely wouldn’t work given the different moisture content of almond flour vs. whole wheat flour. You’d likely need to combine the almond flour with tapioca starch to get a decent texture rather than all almond flour. If you experiment with any substitutions, let me know how it goes!
Leave a Comment
65 responses to “One of my all-time favorite recipes: Pumpkin Gingerbread”
Wow that pan leaves the bread looking gorgeous — LOVE!
It is definitely stuffing!!! Who dresses the bird?!?! So weird…omg and check out this site…it’s perfect for this post.
http://www.thegreatstuffingdebate.com
it’s definitely stuffing:)
bread looks amazing
I’m sooooo making this. YUM! Love your cute Williams Sonoma pan! Your bread turned out great!
Looks awesome! I would like some of that right now 😉
What a great loaf pan! W&S always has the cutest stuff!
i was already planning on making pumpkin bread tomorrow! I am switching to this recipe. It looks so so yummy. I’m gonna have to use all all-purpose flour though. You won’t catch me heading out in the snow with 3 kids just for different flour! Wish me luck!
I don’t blame you. Snow + kids + driving is a bad idea. I hope you like it! Miss your face!
Oooh, that looks incredible. You can just see the moisture in the bread.
I use dressing and stuffing interchangeably, regardless, they are never stuffed in my birds 🙂
yuummmm. warm with butter for breakfast…i can almost taste it!
um bookmarked…beautiful and I am sure delicious!
oh, and definitely stuffing…
My high school bio teacher once told me that a majority of food poisoning cases around the holidays come from poorly cooked-in-bird stuffing. Yuck.
eeewwww! well, that’s good to know!
I have a pumpkin gingerbread recipe that I made last year, but yours looks way better.
Stuffing, dressing? Who cares. It’s awesome.
Oh my yum. That looks so amazing! I must make this before the end of pumpkin season.
Stuffing is my vote. Dressing is just kind of weird.
Okay, read my post and then tell me what you think of this:
Pumpkin Gingerbread Bread Pudding.
I’m rethinking Thanksgiving dessert.
hahaha! So funny! I need to try yours now too.
I think I might have to rethink my dessert too. Pumpkin Gingerbread Bread Pudding sounds amazing. Will you have a recipe created before Thursday? 😉
I think this is my favorite recipe too and I’ve never even made it. 😉
I’ve never really been a fan of gingerbread, but I think that I would love this. Sounds delish girl!
Yum! I need to try this. I love pumpkin bread! I’ve always called it stuffing, I’ve actually never heard it called dressing.
#1. I am making that bread this instant… It looks amazing!
#2. I think it’s stuffing. However, I was talking to my mom yesterday and she called it dressing, which perplexed me as I don’t remember ever hearing that growing up… either way, hers is the best I have ever had.
I was just looking for gingerbread recipes! 🙂 Thanks!
Stuffing… of course… even if it’s not from a bird- WHY would it be called “dressing?” I never got that!
We always call it stuffing, but I found this tidbit of info…
“The term stuffing first appears in English print in 1538. After 1880, it seems the term stuffing did not appeal to the propriety of the Victorian upper crust, who began referring to it as dressing. Nowadays, the terms stuffing and dressing are used interchangeably, with stuffing being the term of preference in the South and East portions of the United States. “
ooooh, interesting! that’s funny that “stuffing” wasn’t quite uppity enough and that’s why they changed the name.
Pumpkin and gingerbread are my 2 favorite holiday flavors. This totally went in my to-make recipe folder. 😀
That pan is so pretty!! Perfect holiday gift for someone who likes to bake 🙂
gingerbread is the bomb.
that pan is AWESOME! such a beautiful creation 🙂
Pumpkin plus ginger bread together rhymes with genius. I love your pretty pan.
We always called it stuffing even when it wasn’t baked in a bird. But it’s really not disgusting when it is – it’s pretty delicious. But now I’m a vegetarian so I don’t roll that way anymore.
That bread does look fabulous! I love the bread pan design!
We have always had dressin'(no g required). =)
We definitely say stuffing at my house and it’s never been stuffed into anything but my stomach. That loaf pan is too cute and the bread looks to die for!
STUFFING!!! That bread looks awesome. Have you tried the baking spray with the flour in it? It works really well!! Although it looks like you had no problem with the release this time. 🙂 Hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving!! xo
It’s totally dressing! Don’t ask me whay…it’s just what we alwasys called it at home growing up.
Also, I’m with hubby…chocolate chips would be awesome in the mix!
Can this screen be scratch and sniff?! Turned out perfect. Move over Martha.
Definitely stuffing 🙂 That loaf pattern is so darn cute!
Recipe bookmarked – yum, girl, yummm!
Woah, this looks SO good. And since I have no patience for bread that isn’t quick bread… this looks perfect 😉
Looks so good! I’ve always heard stuffing and never dressing.
Wow, pumpkin gingerbread looks amazing!! I love both those flavors!!! This is really making me crave some pumpkin bread now 😉
~Lori
Nothing is better than pumpkin gingerbread…especially for breakfast…all toasted up with butter on it. Sigh. How delicious.
My whole family says “dressing” – but I’m with you and say “stuffing” – even though it’s not stuffed into a bird. 🙂
Recipe looks fabulous! Love the healthy modifications:)
And totally STUFFING. Dressing sounds too proper. This stuff is not proper.
I just made a chocolate chip banana gingerbread that was to-die-for! I know what you mean about too many flavors competing that it can take away from the overall taste but this was perfect! I bet I’d love your recipe too. Ginger is one of my favorite flavors!
Yummers! The bread looks amazing! I have been trying to find a good pumpkin bread recipe to make for my husband and this just may be it.
Thanks for sharing and Happy Thanksgiving!
my plan is to make this [in muffin form] as a fun and delicious break b/w studying for finals 🙂
Pumpkin Gingerbread — oh la la!!!! I love the one with the designs! SO PRETTY!
I can’t wait to make this now that fall is approaching 🙂
I am allll into pumpkin gingerbread lately…. check out Angela’s recipe at ohsheglows.com …. her Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream frosting is to DIE for. This recipe looks delish, but the blackstrap molasses and maple syrup in hers really makes that particular version SHINE! P.s. I’m not vegan so I included a regular egg instead of her chia egg.
What lovely recipe! I would love to make it but have a few questions…..living in Africa means I can not get some items. Could I use coconut oil work instead of applesauce? Apples are very $$$ out here. Also I can not get canned pumpkin but there are many pumpkins! Would homemade mashed pumpkin work just as well? Last question… would whole wheat flour work instead of whole wheat pastry flour? Thanks for your help. I would love to make this while living in Uganda.
Yes, I think coconut oil would work. Any oil really. And definitely homemade mashed pumpkin would work. I’m just too lazy to do that! 🙂
Whole wheat flour will work but it will be a little denser than with pastry flour. You could sub in some white flour in place of it to keep the texture more consistent.
Good luck! let me know how it turns out!
Thanks Teri! I have some people staying with me next month(from South Sudan) and I will be making this for them. I will let you know how it turn out! My mouth is watering just thinking about it
I could not wait until June! Made it yesterday….and it is very YUMMY! A little dens but still very good. I’ll play with the flour rations again next time. Made enough homemade mashed pumpkin for two more batches… 🙂
I made two loaves today, cut the sugar by 1/2 cup (will do even less sugar next time) subbed the oil for more applesauce, and cut the water in half. I didn’t even pretend to measure my spices, I put in a good deal more than called for. Not very “ginger-y” but very, very good! I used pumpkin pie spice, ginger and cloves. Unfortunately, I sent the second loaf with my parents before I tasted my loaf. They wouldn’t have heard about it until they were back home after the holiday weekend… 3 hours away! I will be making this many times in the future! Only problem was it was kind of stick on the outside.
Question: if I continue to cut the sugar, would I need to do anything else to get the quantities to balance?
I continue to make it a few dozen times per year ever since you first posted it. LOVE this recipe – thank you!
i’m so glad you enjoy it! 🙂
3 Cups of sugar seems like a lot. Have you tried replacing it or some of it with any other products? I know it makes 2 loaves, but all the other ingredients make it seem like it could be so much healthier.
Your marathon times are fantastic!! Keep it up. I want to try this bread for a Fall celebration where I work. Sounds more healthy than most. I love a lot of spices and I think our clientele will go for it. Physical therapy clients, variety of age and socio economic people. Keep up with the recipes. I love these loaves too.
Thank you!
You need to adjust the recipe, you only have ingredients for one loaf but in the instructions you say to grease two loaf pans and divide the batter. Luckily I caught it before I baked it when both pans looked super skimpy. It was delicious so I wish I had doubled it, next time!
Thank you! I just updated it. I always double it which is why I had the double instructions first and then realized most people prefer to make just one loaf so I changed it. Thanks for catching that and letting me know!
Of course! I took a loaf to my Mom this morning and it was so good (she let me have an end piece bc Moms are the best, haha!) that I made another one tonight to take to my neighbors!
I have made 2 loaves of this bread in 3 days! My family LOVES IT! I highly recommend this recipe!
Yay!!! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing!!
I love everything with ginger (i think ginger is sooo underrated :)) and I can’t wait to try this!
I’m not a baker but like to try different recipes. Could I use almond flour in this recipe in place of the wheat flour? I read an article that mentioned substituting 25 percent of flour in recipe with almond flour.
I haven’t tested it with almond flour but a 1:1 substitute likely wouldn’t work given the different moisture content of almond flour vs. whole wheat flour. You’d likely need to combine the almond flour with tapioca starch to get a decent texture rather than all almond flour. If you experiment with any substitutions, let me know how it goes!