Honey sweetened and studded with pecans and dried cranberries, this Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread is tender, moist and warmly spiced. Made entirely with almond flour, it's also gluten free.
Most quick breads, even my Oatmeal Banana Bread and Sweet Potato Bread, are best toasted and finished with a dab of butter or some kind of fruit or nut butter spread. But this bread needs nothing at all. Warm from the oven or cold from the refrigerator, it's delicious as is and makes a wonderful autumn breakfast or snack - perfect for Thanksgiving morning!
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Ingredients You Need to Make Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread
- Blanched Almond Flour: Or unblanched super fine ground almond flour. Don't use almond meal which is more coarsely ground.
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt: or ½ the amount of fine sea salt.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Or ground cinnamon with a pinch of nutmeg if you have it on hand.
- Butter: Or coconut oil.
- Honey: Or maple syrup.
- Eggs: Large or extra large.
- Pumpkin Puree: Plain canned pumpkin puree for a pure pumpkin flavor, not pumpkin pie filling which includes sweetener and spices.
- Pecans: Or walnuts.
- Dried Cranberries: Dried cherries or raisins are also options.
Recipe Tips
I've spent the past few weeks experimenting with almond flour recipes. It's been both a challenge and a thrill to get the recipes just right. These tips aren't difficult, but they're important and I want you to have a perfect loaf the first time.
- Use a 1 pound loaf pan, 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches. With a larger pan, the center of your loaf is likely to droop.
- Be sure to use finely ground blanched almond flour not almond meal for the best texture.
- Don't skip the parchment strip with handles, it's key to removing the loaf in one piece. Baking with almond flour yields an extra tender texture that makes baked goods delicate and more prone to fall apart.
Recipe Options
- To make this a paleo pumpkin bread recipe, swap in coconut oil for the butter.
- For a vegan version, sweeten with an equal amount of maple syrup and substitute eggs with a vegan egg substitute like flax eggs or chia eggs (directions for making them in this Almond Flour Blueberry Muffin post), or applesauce.
- Try different add-ins: chocolate chips, walnuts or pumpkin seeds, and/ or dried cherries are all good options. You can also add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract with the other wet ingredients for added flavor depth.
- Spread slices with soft cream cheese or almond butter for a heartier snack or breakfast.
More Almond Flour Recipes to Try
- Almond Flour Muffins
- Almond Flour Banana Pancakes
- Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins
- Almond Flour Brownies (So thick and fudgy!)
- Almond Flour Crackers (A versatile cracker that's cheesy, flaky, and crisp.)
- Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies
- Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
How to Make Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350˚F and prepare loaf pan, buttering the ends and lining the middle and long sides with a strip of parchment paper long enough to overlap the edges on each side by a couple of inches. Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl (almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and pumpkin pie spice).
Step 2: Whip butter and honey until fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add eggs and mix until incorporated. Pour in dry ingredients and add pumpkin puree and mix to incorporate. Add pecans and dried cranberries; mix until just combined.
Step 3: Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a knife or toothpick comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes (tent with foil at 45-50 minutes). Let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before removing loaf from the pan.
Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour 224g, or unblanched super fine almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 4 tablespoons butter or coconut oil at room temperature
- ⅓ cup honey 113g
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree 183g, not pumpkin pie filling
- ¼ cup chopped pecans about 1 ounce
- ¼ cup dried cranberries or raisins, about 1 ounce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat honey and butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs; mix just until combined, scraping down bowl as necessary. Add dry ingredients and pumpkin puree; mix just until combined. Add pecans and dried cranberries; mix just until combined, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed.
- With a rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake 55-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out moist but clean (no wet crumbs). Tent with foil at 45-50 minutes to keep edges from getting too brown.
- Remove bread from oven and let cool in the pan on cooling rack for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and place back on cooling rack to cool completely. Slice and serve or for best results, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight before slicing.
Notes
- Feel free to swap in your favorite nuts and / or dried fruits for those I've suggested.
- Store wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Could you tell me how much Stevia I would replace the honey with? I am Diabetic and would need to replace the honey. I love your recipes!!!
aww, thank you, Cathy! Honestly, I haven't baked with stevia. I did a bit of research online and kept coming across this substitution ratio: 1/3 teaspoon Stevia Liquid per 1/4 cup of honey. So perhaps 1/2 teaspoon for this recipe?
Love naturally GF recipes. Always looking for new baked good like this for my GF son. And all of these seasonal flavors are diving! 🙂 ~Valentina
We love pumpkin bread around here....and adding cranberries and pecans is a delicious idea!!!
Thank you, Liz! I love the extra pop of sweetness and crunch.
This is beautiful. I used to make pumpkin quick breads when my kids were little, but I just don’t any longer. Well, until the grand kids show up, and then my grand daughter and I cook together. This would be a perfect recipe for us to make!
I just happen to have all the ingredients for this loaf in my pantry Marissa. I'm in full blown pumpkin mode! I love the added cranberries and pecans. I can't wait to add it to my weekend baking list!
I've definitely got to try your almond flour pumpkin bread! It looks delicious. I love that you added pecans and cranberries. So very fall!
Marissa, this pumpkin bread looks seriously splendid! I find myself quite challenging to bake with almond flour without adding any gluten - the texture often tends to be quite underbaked and soggy. However, your version looks perfectly baked with a right amount of moisture. And with honey, spices, dried fruit, and nuts, that must be absolutely delicious!
You nailed it, Ben. It took me 8(!) tries to get this recipe right because of a perpetual soggy middle. It felt wonderful to finally get it right and I'm so happy with how this turned out. When baking with almond flour, it's really important to measure everything (ideally by weight)! Thanks for your sweet comment!
What an awesome recipe! Hats off to you for playing around with almond flour. I've dabbled with it, but you are now the almond flour master! This bread looks fantastic, and I'd love a slice of it right about now with my coffee. Yum!
Thanks so much, David!
Looks great! I was wondering if I could make this without any pecans or cranberries. Would this effect the texture? Thanks!
Hi there, Delaney! Yes, absolutely. I'd start checking for doneness at 45-50 minutes, but the texture should be fine.
I love this naturally gluten free pumpkin bread. Great crumb and wonderful combo of flavours!
Thanks so much, Angie!
Oh my, Marissa! This is so comforting! And I can imagine its fragrant aroma as it bakes! Sign me up!!
Gladly! Thank you, Annie!
Looks like such a deliciously loaded loaf! I can only imagine how yummy this is straight out of the oven with a smear of butter! Now I'm hungry 😉
So good! I hope you'll give it a try, Dawn!
I'm drooling over this bread, Marissa!!! It's loaded with so much goodness!! While I love a healthy smear of butter, I can totally imagine this is delicious all on its own!! Can't wait to try this!
Thank you. I hope you love it, Cheyanne!