Vegan Pumpkin Bread

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This Vegan Pumpkin Bread is fluffy, moist, and perfectly spiced. It’s made with simple pantry-friendly ingredients and then topped with a rich vegan cream cheese icing. Indulge in a slice of this classic fall treat the whole family will love.

sliced vegan pumpkin bread with cream cheese icing and pumpkin seeds on white board

This time of year, we absolutely love using pumpkin in both sweet and savory recipes. If you’re looking for new vegan pumpkin recipes to make this fall, check out our extensive pumpkin recipe archives. Some of our personal favorites include Vegan Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Gnocchi, and Pumpkin Cream Horns.

When we realized we didn’t have a classic pumpkin bread recipe on the blog, we knew we needed to add one asap! This bread was adapted from our Easy Vegan Banana Bread and didn’t disappoint.

ingredients for vegan pumpkin bread on white board

Ingredients You’ll Need

Pumpkin puree: Make sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The only ingredient should be pumpkin. We opted for store-bought, but if preferred or necessary, make your own homemade pumpkin puree.
Oil: In order to not overpower the pumpkin, we recommend using a neutral oil. We’ve had success using sunflower oil and refined coconut oil, but other neutral oils like vegetable oil or canola oil will work well too.
Apple cider vinegar & lemon juice: As an acid, the vinegar reacts with the baking soda and helps it rise as it bakes. Lemon juice is also used to balance the sweetness in the vegan cream cheese icing.
Vegan milk: We used our homemade almond milk, but any unsweetened plant-based milk will do.
Vanilla: Optional, but a splash of vanilla extract enhances the flavor and adds depth of flavor.
Ground flax: In order to make eggless pumpkin bread, using a vegan egg replacer helps to bind the loaf together and give it structure. Adding two tablespoons of ground flax or chia seeds to the batter does the trick!
Flour: All-purpose flour makes for the lightest, fluffiest loaf bread. If you’d like a boost of nutrition, opt for using 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour.
Sugar: Brown sugar is our go-to sweetener in this loaf because it is deep in flavor and the perfect pair for rich fall flavors like pumpkin. Readers have had success substituting some of the brown sugar with white sugar.
Baking powder & baking soda: Essential to making the vegan pumpkin bread rise, it’s important to use leavening agents. Please use a combination of both baking powder and baking soda.
Pumpkin spice: We used a store-bought pumpkin pie spice mix, but feel free to make your own using cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. You can also substitute the pumpkin spice with just cinnamon.

Icing Ingredients

In addition to the above ingredients, you’ll need vegan butter and vegan cream cheese to make the homemade cream cheese icing. We also highly recommend sprinkling it with pumpkin seeds or pepitas.

Use the leftover pumpkin seeds to make White Bean Pumpkin Seed Pesto or No Bake Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars.

Equipment Needed

Loaf pan
Mixing bowls
Whisk
Spatula
Parchment paper

vegan pumpkin bread with cream cheese icing and pumpkin seeds

How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Whisk together wet ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, oil, apple cider vinegar, almond milk, and vanilla extract.
Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, gently mix everything until combined into a uniform batter.
Transfer to a loaf pan. Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan and spread it out evenly.
Bake. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick runs clean. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Make the cream cheese icing. While the bread cools, make the icing. Mix together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, vegan butter, vanilla, and lemon juice. Add a tablespoon or two of almond milk to thin the icing as needed.
Drizzle and serve. Drizzle the cooled vegan pumpkin bread with icing, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, and slice. Enjoy!

wet ingredients for pumpkin bread in mixing bowl

dry ingredients for pumpkin bread in mixing bowl

Storage Instructions

This vegan pumpkin bread will store best at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The bread can be refrigerated to extend its shelf life, but doing so will make the bread dense.

If you’d like to freeze your pumpkin bread, wait to prepare the icing until after the bread has been defrosted and is ready to eat. To freeze, completely cool the loaf on a wire rack until room temperature. Tightly wrap the bread in plastic wrap, then store it in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost the bread on the counter at room temperature for about 4 hours, then top with the icing as usual.

Recipe FAQs

Is this pumpkin bread gluten-free?

No, this vegan pumpkin bread is made with wheat flour. We have not tested this recipe using a gluten-free flour blend, but it may work with a 1 to 1 GF all-purpose flour blend. Let us know in the comments if you have good results!

Why is my pumpkin bread so dense?

If your pumpkin bread turned out dense, chances are the bread is undercooked or the batter was too wet. Measure carefully and insert a toothpick into the center of the bread in a couple of places before removing it from the oven.

Does Starbucks’ pumpkin bread have dairy?

Surprisingly, Starbucks’ Pumpkin and Pepita Loaf does not contain dairy. Unfortunately, it does contain eggs and is, therefore not vegan.

Top Tips

Don’t bake in a glass bread pan. Glass is an insulator, not a conductor of heat, making it slow to heat up and slow to cool down. This can cause the bread to bake unevenly by overbaking on the outer edges and underbaking in the center.
Gently fold the dry and wet ingredients together. Vigorously mixing the ingredients together can whip excessive air into the batter, causing the gluten to become overactivated. This will result in the batter being tough and stretchy and make the bread chewy and gummy.
Use the right loaf pan. This bread is baked in an 8×4 pan. A lot of baked recipes call for a 9×5 pan, but the most popular pan sold in stores is an 8×4 pan. If you do have a 9×5 pan, your loaf will require a shorter bake time so please adjust accordingly!
Make sure your baking powder is fresh. Baking powder should be used within 6 months of opening for optimal results. If your baking powder is older, it won’t have the same leavening power and your bread may sink.

More Vegan Pumpkin Recipes You May Enjoy:

overhead photo of stacked slices of vegan pumpkin bread on white board

This post is sponsored by Samsung.

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This recipe was brought to life in our new Samsung Range! We recently upgraded our range in our kitchen as we were seeking a sleek and more modern design, and we are so happy with how it turned out.

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Flexible Cooktop: It has a 5-burner cooktop with edge-to-edge grates to easily slide our pots and pans across!

photo of Jasmine Briones siting next to Samsung range with pumpkin bread

vegan pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting in front of Samsung smart range

We are big fans of Samsung Home Appliances and we definitely recommend you check them out if you’re looking to upgrade your kitchen!

Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!