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!
Looking to make this. Can you explain what kind of oil using. Crisco or olive oil ! I don’t have grape seed!
Hi Tina, you can use any neutral oil you like. I use grapeseed, but other neutral options like vegetable and avocado will work well. Olive oil may work okay, it just isn’t a neutral oil since it has a distinct flavor. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Thank you so much! This is my first Meaningful Eats recipe and it was perfect. I’m a gluten eater and it’s indistinguishable from the gluten version my mom made for decades. I had to check that I’d actually used GF King Arthur 1:1.
Aww, this makes us so happy, Petra! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us!
This is the only gluten-free pumpkin recipe I use!! It turns out perfect every time and it is very moist and delicious!! Thanks so much for the recipe
Thank you for taking the time to share this positive feedback with us, Lori! We’re so pleased you love this recipe so much and that it has become a go-to! Happy baking!
I only have bobs red mill 1to1 flour will this work?
Thank you for sharing this recipe it looks delicious
Hi Missy, yes that should work! Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour is another one of our favorites. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Fantastic! The perfect classic pumpkin loaf. This will be on repeat! Thank you so much!!
Yay! We’re so pleased you enjoyed the pumpkin bread this much! Thank you, Jennifer!
This is my first time baking anything gluten-free. I was so pleasantly surprised with the results it is now my only pumpkin bread recipe. Light, moist and tasty. My alterations: I added 1/2 c grated carrots and 1 c dark chocolate chips. To offset the increased moisture (from carrots) I increased the measure 4 measure flour to 245 grams total. I also only used 200 grams of white sugar, plenty sweet for us. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
Hi Maggie, thank you for sharing with us! We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed the bread with those substitutions. Happy baking!
Do you have different measuring cups for wet and dry ingredients? Is a cup of flour the same as a cup of milk?
Hi Adeline, yes there are separate kinds of measuring cups for dry and wet ingredients. They’re designed differently to get the most accurate measurements so it’s important to use the right kind per ingredient. We hope you enjoy the pumpkin bread!
This is an outstanding recipe, so moist and flavorful! Thanks for the perfect pumpkin bread.
Thank you for sharing this positive feedback with us, Barb! We’re so pleased you loved the recipe!
All I have on hand if buttermilk.,,,, what’s your thoughts on using that?
Thank you!
Hi Kathy, that should work! We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Just made this with my kiddos and it is delicious!! It was a simple recipe too which made it easy for the kids to help make it.
We’re so happy to hear the recipe was fun to make and eat! Thank you for your kind feedback, Erin!
I never like when a recipe says it’s the “best ever” but I’m this case, it really is. The texture was perfect…so light and fluffy.
LOL, we’re so glad the recipe lived up to the description! Thank you for your kind feedback, Julie!
This was a hit with the family! They loved it. It was so easy to make and also delicious!!
Hi Mandy, thank you for sharing your positive experience with us! We’re so pleased to hear the recipe was a hit with the whole family!
Amazing! And so easy. I used fresh baked pumpkin which was a bit more watery, so just added a bit of coconut flour to absorb excess moisture, but still turned out fab!
We’re so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the pumpkin bread, Mic! Thank you for your positive feedback!
I’m looking forward to trying this. Your recipes never disappoint! I have a daughter that does not eat refined sugar, have you ever tried this with an unrefined sugar?
Hi Heather, unfortunately we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes. Readers sometimes share their successes using other types of sugars/sweeteners in the comments section which may give you an idea of what to try. Just keep in mind that changes to the recipe may impact the texture of the pumpkin bread since it was designed using granulated sugar which helps with the structure. We’d love to hear how it goes!
YES-this is the best pumpkin bread! Made a couple times and then I made it adding some chopped pecans and that was also delicious!
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear this recipe has become such a go-to for you, Donna! Thank you for the positive feedback!
Our family loved those better than my old recipe Ive made for years.. the texture and moistness is exceptional..
The only thing i changed which actually put it over the top, was a topping of butter , brown sugar and chopped pecans. It was sooooooo good!
Hi Diane, thank you for this kind feedback! We’re so pleased to hear your family enjoyed the pumpkin bread so much. That topping sounds delicious!
Hello Diane,
I love your idea for the topping. Can you share the butter, brown sugar, and pecan ratio? It sounds delicious! Thanks.
My son’s girlfriend has celiac so we tried this recipe for her with King Arthur’s 1:1 all purpose GF flour when she came over and it is far better than any regular flour pumpkin bread recipe we’ve ever tried!!! It’s our new favorite! Tempted to try with regular flour to save the GF flour for her (it’s pricier!) but unsure it’ll come out as good!
Hi Elayna, we’re so happy to hear the recipe was such a hit! Thank you! Regular flour should work as a 1:1 swap if you want to save the gf flour for her. We’d love to hear how it goes!
Has anyone tried replacing some or all of the oil with applesauce?
Hi Tiana, we haven’t tested it out, but we’d recommend only replacing half if you want to try it. Replacing all of the oil will create a dense texture. Even replacing half, you may find it is less moist and fluffy since the fat-rich oil creates the tender crumb. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!