Healthy Low Sugar Pumpkin Bread

Sweetened only with maple syrup, this delicious healthy low sugar pumpkin bread is made with whole wheat flour and it’s vegan!

If there’s one thing I love making during the fall months it’s pumpkin bread! It’s loaded with pumpkin flavor, spices and tastes so good with a cup of hot coffee on a crisp fall morning.

That said, most pumpkin breads are far from being a health food. They’re loaded with sugar and lack fiber so I set out to create a pumpkin bread recipe that’s lower in sugar and made with a higher-fiber flour, but still tasty and satisfying. And I finally found it!

Ingredients and Substitutions

This recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour, which offers a lighter texture than regular whole wheat, only 1/4 cup of maple syrup for the whole batch and if you use a flaxseed egg, it’s totally vegan too.

• whole wheat pastry flour – whole wheat pastry flour works better than regular whole wheat flour if you’re looking for the light and fluffy bread that regular all-purpose flour provides. If you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour you can also use white whole wheat flour or 1 cup all-purpose and 2/3 cup regular whole wheat or 1 2/3 cup all-purpose.
• baking powder and baking soda
• cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice
• sea salt
• pumpkin puree – use canned pumpkin or make your own pumpkin puree
• maple syrup
• vanilla
• coconut oil
• unsweetened applesauce
• flaxseed egg
• coconut sugar

The coconut sugar and cinnamon topping does add a bit of sugar to the recipe so if you’re really look to keep sugar in check you can omit the topping, but it’s pretty darn tasty and makes for a pretty crust on top of the bread so I wouldn’t recommend skipping it.

I am honestly so excited with how great this bread turned out — it took several test batches to finally land on this recipe but it’s perfect.  The bread is  moist, fluffy, flavorful and not too sweet. Perfect for breakfast or mid-day snacking. I love putting a slice in our toaster oven (the actual oven part, not the bread slot) to reheat and topping it with a little nut butter. Such a good combo!

And if you’re gluten-free or grain-free I have a couple other pumpkin bread options for you — these flourless pumpkin muffins (they’re made with almond butter and SO amazing) along with this quinoa flour pumpkin bread with chocolate chips. It’s so hearty, plus pumpkin and chocolate is basically the best combo ever!

Use Your Leftover Pumpkin With These Recipes

• Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
• Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
• Pillowy Soft Pumpkin Cookies
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
• Pumpkin Bran Muffins

More Delicious Quick Bread Recipes

• Cranberry Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
• Chocolate Chip Coconut Flour Banana Bread (Grain-Free)
• Vegan Zucchini Bread with Almond Flour (Oil-free)
• Vegan Apple Bread

If you make this low sugar pumpkin bread be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback means the world to me and is so helpful for other EBF readers who are thinking about making the recipe. 

Low Sugar Pumpkin Bread

5 from 16 votes

Sweetened only with maple syrup, this delicious healthy low sugar pumpkin bread is made with whole wheat flour and it's vegan!

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Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 10

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup maple syrup*
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 flax egg, 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 Tablespoons water*

Topping

• 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare 1 regular sized loaf pan (8.5 X 2.5 X 2) by spraying it with cooking spray.
• Whisk together ground flaxseed with water in a small bowl with a fork and let it sit for a few minutes until an gel like consistency forms.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon pumpkin pie spice and salt). Combine the wet ingredients (pumpkin, maple syrup, vanilla, oil, apple sauce and flax egg) in a medium-sized mixing bowl and blend well. Add the liquid mixture to the dry and stir well.
• In a small bowl mix coconut sugar and cinnamon for the topping.
• Pour batter into the loaf pan and top with coconut sugar cinnamon topping and place on the center rack of oven. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Allow to cool before removing from pan.
• Storage: Bread should keep at room temperature for at least 3 days. For longer storage, keep in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 1-2 months.

Notes

• For a sweeter pumpkin bread, feel free to use 1/2 cup maple syrup.
• A regular egg can be used in place of the flax egg if you don't need the recipe to be vegan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice Calories: 165kcal Carbohydrates: 27g Protein: 2g Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 5g Sodium: 225mg Fiber: 5g Sugar: 11g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy pumpkin bread

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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