Delicious fall inspired Plantbased Pumpkin Bread! This delicious recipe is perfect to bake on rainy fall days where you only want to stay at home and snuggle on the couch with hot cocoa and this delicious pumpkin bread. The special pumpkin spice mix will make your house smell like fall, so good! This recipe uses only healthy wholefood ingredients and can therefore be eaten without feeling guilty, what more could you want? Go bake this delicious pumpkin bread now, you know you want to!
As you all know I am a HUGE bananabread fan! You can find all my favorite bananabread recipes here and more here. Here in the Netherlands pumpkin spice and pumpkin pies are not as common and well known as in the US however it is slowly getting more attention, especially thanks to the famous Starbucks pumpkin spiced latte. Which – to be quite honest – I’ve never had before, shocker! But I will definitely try one this fall. Or better yet, I will make one myself with my new nespresso machine with milk steamer. Check my instagram for more pictures about my new found love for pumpkin spicemix.
Pumpkin spice mix or koekkruiden
However the spices used in the famous pumpkin spice mix are also well known here in the Netherlands and we use them to make our fall and winter inspired cookies and treats called ‘kruidnoten” (gingerbread buttons) or pepernoten. Therefore if you do not want to make your own spice mix you can just buy koekkruiden at any supermarket.
The recipe I use to make my own pumpkin spice mix is:
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger (powder)
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ ground cloves (powder)
Or in Dutch:
- 2 tlp kaneel
- ½ tlp gember poeder
- ¼ tlp nootmuskaat poeder
- ¼ tsp kruidnagel poeder
This spice mix is enough for 1 bread but I would definitely recommend you to make more. This mix is delicious in your latte, hot milk, pancakes, waffles and many more.
Roasting Pumpkins
This recipe includes pumpkin puree and if you are like me living in the Netherlands it is hard to find canned pumpkin puree. Besides canned puree often includes additives or even sugar, so it is always best to make your own. If you use a large pumpkin you will probably have enough to make 2 breads and pumpkin soup, so it is definitely worth your time!
The recipe is simple, you will only need 1 (large) pumpkin and some sea salt. Pre heat the oven to 200C/400F. Cut open the pumpkin, take out the seeds in the middle (use these to make roasted pumpkin seeds, see below). Sprinkle the pumpkin with some salt and place face down on baking paper. Place this in the oven for 30/45/60 minutes depending on the size of your pumpkin. You can test to see if it is ready by sticking a fork into the pumpkin, if its soft enough for the fork to easily go in your pumpkin is ready.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let is sit to cool for 15 minutes. Now you can very easily remove the pumpkin peel without any hassle, just by peeling with your fingers or a knife. After peeling let the pumpkin cool down completely. Add to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
The pumpkin puree can be stored in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for 3 months.
My tip: get a large pumpkin and make small 250gr batches to go into the freezer. This way you can make this delicious pumpkinbread without any hassle all through fall and winter.
Pumpkin seeds
My favorite topping for healthy cakes, salads, on toast has been of late pumpkin seeds! They are delicious, crunchy and provide a very good source of plantbased protein. Pumpkin seeds contain 24,5 grams of protein per 100 grams and is therefore one of the highest proteins containing seed you will find. Added bonus: pumpkin seeds are fairly cheap, especially compared to pine nuts or other superfood seeds like hempseeds. So, stock up your pantry now!
Or, when you are making your own pumpkin puree from scratch, you can always use the seeds that are in your pumpkin. This also means less food waste! It is best to roast the pumpkin seeds.
First you need to clean them and then place on paper towels over night until they are completely dry. Then place them on a baking tray with baking paper, make sure they do not overlap. Sprinkle some salt on top of the seeds and a little (!) bit of olive oil, I always use a spray. Place in the pre-heated oven 170C/340F for about 8 minutes.
Let them cool before placing them in an airtight glass jars.
Ready to start baking!
So now you have your pumpkin puree from scratch, your roasted pumpkin seeds and your home-made pumpkin spice mix which means it is time to bake! I wanted this bread to be as healthy as possible but also very tasty of course. That is why I used good wholefood healthy and nutritious ingredients like whole wheat flour, rolled oats, flax seeds, etc. I also substituted part of the maple syrup for syrup made from stevia and xylitol which have zero calories.
This way this pumpkin bread is a very healthy option even for a quick on the go breakfast or snack!
Plantbased Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Equipment
- (Handheld) mixer
- Two mixing bowls
- Cakepan lined with baking paper
- Kitchen scales
- Spatula and wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 120 gr whole wheat flour or plain flour
- 120 gr rolled oats
- 50 gr almonds chopped
- 50 gr pumpkin seeds
- 1,5 tbsp 15 gr ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp hot water (1,5 flaxegg)
- 1,5 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 3 tsp pumpkin spice mix of koekkruiden voor Nederland*
- 250 gr pumpkin puree
- 120 ml plantbased yogurt
- 100 ml maple syrup I use stevia maple syrup
- 1 tbsp 15gr coconut oil melted
- 120 ml plantbased milk preferably unsweetened, I use almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Homemade pumpkin spice mix:
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C/360F (hot air oven 170C/340F degrees Celsius)
- Add 6 tbsp (hot) water to the ground flaxseeds and let sit for 10min
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice mix and mix well.
- Measure the plantbased milk and add the vanilla.
- In a separate mixing bowl add the pumpkin puree, plantbased yogurt & maple syrup. Mix with a (handheld) mixer until all ingredients are well combined and you have a smooth texture, add the flaxegg and melted coconut oil and mix for 1 more minute.
- Turn the mixer to slow speed and add 1 tbsp flour mixture and splash of the milk. When this is all combined, repeat until all the flour and milk has been added.
- Add the pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds to the mixture and use a wooden spoon to combine.
- Spoon the mixture into a creased cakepan lined with baking paper.
- Add extra almond flakes and more pumpkin seeds on top.
- Bake the pumpkinbread for 45 minutes – rotate the cakepan halfway through the baking process.
- Take the cakepan out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before taking it out and letting it cool down completely.
- Enjoy! Love xoxo Jen
