I have tried dozens of gluten-free pumpkin breads over the years, but after making this recipe I’ll never make another! It has THE PERFECT texture!
This recipe is the best of the best. My top 2 tips for perfect gluten-free pumpkin bread are to use ALL white sugar and oil instead of butter. I hope it becomes your go-to recipe as well!
I have tried dozens of pumpkin bread recipes over the years, but this is my new favorite!
I’ve had this recipe for gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip bread on my site for years. I still love it too, but this new version is in it’s own class.
This gluten-free pumpkin bread is SO moist, has a tender crumb, and is bursting with pumpkin flavor and fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It makes a sky-high domed loaf that will make you feel like a professional baker!
If you’re a fan of classic pumpkin bread, this is a recipe you absolutely must try this fall season.
I love making several loaves of this recipe at once, then giving the bread away to friends and neighbors or storing it in the freezer. One loaf doesn’t last long at our house! You can also bake this bread as mini loaves for a cute seasonal gift.
This easy pumpkin bread is just as delicious as the kind made with regular flour. It’s so good, I’m willing to bet no one will know it’s gluten-free!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Moist and rich
- Amazing texture – not crumbly!
- Full of fall flavors
- Perfect for gifting
- Great for dessert or a snack
For more favorite gluten-free pumpkin recipes, try these gluten-free pumpkin muffins, gluten-free pumpkin pancakes, gluten-free pumpkin cake and gluten-free pumpkin cookies.
You also might like these recipes for gluten-free pumpkin roll, gluten-free pumpkin bars, gluten-free pumpkin pie, gluten-free thanksgiving dessert and gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Dry Ingredients
- Gluten-free flour: Be sure to use a high-quality gluten-free flour blend for this recipe. I recommend a flour that contains xanthan gum, such as King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour.
- Sugar: I prefer to use all granulated white sugar (as opposed to a combination of brown/white sugar) for this pumpkin bread for a bakery-style texture. I like to use Domino granulated sugar for my gluten-free baking.
- Baking soda and baking powder: Baking soda and baking powder and both important for helping this gluten-free quick bread rise and create a tender, light crumb.
- Salt: I like to use fine sea salt for this gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe.
- Spices: Spices like nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves create the classic pumpkin spice flavor that’s perfect for fall.
- Cinnamon: No pumpkin spice dessert is complete without a generous dose of cinnamon!
For more favorite quick-bread recipes, try this gluten-free banana bread, gluten-free zucchini bread, gluten-free pound cake and oat flour banana bread.
Wet Ingredients
- Pumpkin: Pumpkin creates a moist, delicious base for this bread. Make sure you use plain canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and spiced, so it will not work with this recipe. (You could also use homemade pumpkin puree by baking and blending a pumpkin.)
- Eggs: For best results use two large, room-temperature eggs for this recipe.
- Lemon juice: I like to add a splash of fresh lemon juice to help tenderize the crumb of this gf pumpkin bread.
- Milk: I use unsweetened almond milk for this recipe, but any type of milk will work.
- Oil: Like these gluten-free muffins, I prefer to use oil instead of butter in many gluten-free baked goods. Oil coats the crumb of the gluten-free flour more evenly as it bakes and results in an even, tender crumb. I typically use grapeseed oil, but you can use any neutral-tasting oil, such as vegetable oil.
- Vanilla: Real vanilla extract is always the best option for this gluten free pumpkin bread!
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula or a hand mixer until fully incorporated.
- Smooth pumpkin bread batter into the prepared standard loaf pan. (Optional but nice: Run a knife about 1-inch deep lengthwise through the center of the loaf. This will encourage the bread to make an evenly domed loaf as it bakes!)
- Bake for 40 minutes, then cover the pan loosely with tin foil. This will allow the loaf to continue cooking without the topping becoming overly brown. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Storage Instructions
TO STORE: Store leftover pumpkin bread in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to five days.
TO FREEZE: You can also store pumpkin bread in the freezer for up to three months. To freeze, cool the pumpkin bread completely. Then wrap tightly in plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil.
You also might like this gluten-free cranberry orange bread.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Be sure to use a high-quality gluten-free flour blend for this recipe. I recommend a flour that contains xanthan gum, such as King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour.
- Make sure you use plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and spiced, so it will not work with this recipe.
- I like to use all granulated white sugar (as opposed to a combination of brown/white sugar) for this pumpkin bread for a bakery-style texture.
- I prefer to use oil instead of butter in many gluten-free baked goods. Oil coats the crumb of the gluten-free flour more evenly as it bakes and results in an even, tender crumb.
- Run a knife about 1-inch deep lengthwise through the center of the loaf to encourage the bread to make an evenly domed loaf as it bakes!
- Feel free to add up to 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter before baking, if you’d like!
More gluten-free pumpkin recipes
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you try these gluten-free pumpkin bread, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread (BEST EVER!)
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 ⅓ cups (200g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup (230g) pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (82g) milk I use almond milk
- 1/2 cup (98g) neutral oil of choice I use grapeseed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated.
- Smooth batter into the prepared pan. (Optional but nice: Run a knife about 1-inch deep lengthwise through the center of the loaf. This will encourage the bread to make an evenly domed loaf as it bakes!)
- Bake for 40 minutes, then cover the pan loosely with tin foil. This will allow the loaf to continue cooking without the topping becoming overly brown. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Be sure to use a high-quality gluten-free flour blend for this recipe. I recommend a flour that contains xanthan gum, such as King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour.
- Make sure you use plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and spiced, so it will not work with this recipe.
- I like to use all granulated white sugar (as opposed to a combination of brown/white sugar) for this pumpkin bread for a bakery-style texture.
- I prefer to use oil instead of butter in many gluten-free baked goods. Oil coats the crumb of the gluten-free flour more evenly as it bakes and results in an even, tender crumb.
- Run a knife about 1-inch deep lengthwise through the center of the loaf to encourage the bread to make an evenly domed loaf as it bakes!
- Feel free to add up to 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter before baking, if you’d like!
Hello, I haven’t tried it yet but wonder if you can pour it into a mini-muffin pan to make muffins? I did notice your muffin recipe, but I want to use fresh pumpkin, not canned.
Thanks!
Hi Kathy, we haven’t made this bread into mini muffins, but it’s worth a try! We’d recommend following the recipe, including the oven temperature, and just adjusting the baking time. They’ll bake much faster than a loaf so keep a close eye on them in the oven. We’d love to hear how it goes!
I’ve made this recipe twice now–once as a loaf and once in muffin tins (15 muffins, baking time reduced to 20 mins). Worked great both times using gf flour without xanthan gum. Turned out delicate and fluffly but not crumbly. Absolutely delicious, highly recommend.
I love the texture and the combo of spices. It’s perfect!!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved it, Trisha! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us!
I made this tonight and it is the best pumpkin bread recipe I have ever made. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for the kind feedback, Katie! We’re so glad you loved it!
Thank you! I love that I can trust your recipes given your background! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and recipes with us. I have a couple friends or friend’s children that have intolerances, and my goal is that they don’t have to eat something different than everyone else – they can eat the same … pumpkin bread . . . or pie or mint bars (recipes of your I’ve tried) as everyone else because the recipes taste great for everyone, and the recipes are safe for those with intolerances.
Delicious! I made without refined sugar – 1 cup monk fruit sugar and 1/4 cup maple sugar. Based on one of the other comments I also sprinkled some coconut sugar on top prior to baking. It did not taste dairy and gluten free in the slightest. I will definitely be making again!
Hi Rachel, we’re so glad you enjoyed the pumpkin bread! It’s good to know those substitutions worked well. Thank you for taking the time to share your positive feedback with us. Happy baking!
What would be the measurements for pumpkin pie spice for this recipe? If I use pumpkin pie spice, do I need to add cinnamon?
Hi Karen, we’d recommend starting with 2 – 2.5 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. You can always add more based on your preference. The pumpkin pie spice should include cinnamon in it, but you can always add more, if you like. We hope this helps and you enjoy the pumpkin bread!
Not sure what I did. Followed instructions, let bake till toothpick was clean (about 5 min more than directions). Took out of oven and it looked great, but then it sunk as it cooled.
If we don’t have all these individual spices can we substitute pumpkin pie spice?
Hi Lisa, yes you can use pumpkin pie spice in place of the individual spices. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made this it is delicious however mine turned out very crumbly. Not sure if that is because I cooked it for the full time recommended or if I needed to do something different.
Hi Nicole, we’re so glad you enjoyed the flavor! Did you use the King Arthur flour or a different blend? That can make a difference with the moisture. Otherwise, yes you could try checking the bread a few minutes ahead of time in case your oven bakes a little hotter. We hope this helps!
Oh my Goodness!! This pumpkin bread is PHENOMENAL!! I would never guess that it is gluten free! I literally can’t stop eating it Thank you Erin!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for taking the time to share your kind feedback with us!
Would it be possible to use maple sugar or maple syrup? We try to stay away from refined white sugar. Thank you!
Hi Stacy, we haven’t tried maple sugar or syrup in this recipe. Using a sugar substitute may impact the texture of the pumpkin bread since this recipe was designed using granulated sugar and it helps with the structure of the bread. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I definitely will make this again. Yummy, moist my family loves it
Yay! We’re so glad it was a hit with your family, Elaine! Thank you for taking the time to share with us. Happy baking!
Great texture and taste but used only 3/4 cup of sugar and that was just right for us.
We’re so glad you like the recipe Jane! Thank you for sharing with us.
Can you use pumpkin pie spice in place of all the separate spices? (except the cinnamon) If so, would you use the same amount? Thanks!
Hi there, we prefer to add the spices individually to get the best blend for this recipe. If you decide to give the pumpkin pie spice a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I used pumpkin pie spice in place individual spices and it was wonderful. This recipe was a total hit with all members of the family even the gluten eaters. Felt just like I was eating normal pumpkin bread
We’re so glad it was a hit with the whole family, Danielle! And it’s good to know the pumpkin pie spice worked well for you! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us.
This is an odd question, but would this recipe work with regular flour, or are there adjustments I’d need to make?
I have one brother who can’t eat gluten and another that finds gluten free foods hurt his stomach (even the homemade ones without xantham powder). I don’t want to make two entirely different recipes, but rather two bowls of the same with just the difference in flour.
Is it possible to add chopped frozen cranberries to this recipe
This was delicious but I did cut down the sugar to 1/2 cup. My family devoured it so we will definitely have to make this again.