Incredibly moist and flavorful paleo and keto pumpkin bread is perfect for breakfast, or as a tasty snack. My kids love it in their lunchboxes!
This bread is incredible. It is light and fluffy, yet incredibly moist. It is very flavorful and when it bakes, it fills the kitchen with the most amazing aroma.
It’s one of my favorite breakfasts this time of year, so sometimes I bake two of them, slice and freeze – it freezes beautifully!
A keto version of an old favorite
In my previous incarnation as a high-carb eater, I used to make a truly wonderful whole-wheat pumpkin bread. We all loved it, and it quickly became a tradition to bake it every year throughout the fall.
Now I’ve transitioned into low carb and gluten-free eating. So I just had to find a way to recreate the high-carb recipe, but make it keto and gluten-free.
After lots of experiments, I am elated to say that I have arrived at perfection! This bread is wonderful. It’s quickly become my favorite breakfast to have in the fall.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty paleo and keto pumpkin bread. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Eggs: I use large eggs in almost all of my recipes, this one included.
Canned pumpkin: Make sure you use pure pumpkin puree and not sweetened pumpkin pie filling.
Sweetener: Either honey or a sugar-free sweetener. Both work.
Vanilla extract: Try to use the real thing – pure vanilla extract – and not the artificially flavored stuff.
Cinnamon: Make sure it’s fresh. A stale spice can easily ruin a dish (speaking from experience!)
Almond flour: This flour substitute bakes exceptionally well. I use blanched finely ground flour. I don’t recommend using a coarse almond meal in this recipe
Kosher salt: If using fine salt, use just a pinch.
Baking soda: If you’d like to try using baking powder (though I haven’t tested it in this recipe), remember that 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
This recipe uses the entire can of pumpkin!
When creating this recipe, it was important to me to use the entire can of pumpkin puree.
One of my pet peeves is all these recipes (and I fully admit that I have several of them on this blog!) that make you use just 1 cup of pumpkin, when the can contains 1 3/4 cups.
Sometimes I find a use for the remaining 3/4 cup. For example, this pumpkin cheesecake uses 3/4 cup pumpkin. But often I just end up throwing it away. I hate throwing food away!
So this recipe uses the entire 15 oz can of pumpkin, which is why it is so wonderfully moist.
How to make paleo/keto pumpkin bread
It’s truly easy! You simply mix everything in one bowl. Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Whisk all the ingredients together in one bowl, in the order listed.
Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined greased small loaf pan.
Bake the bread for about 50 minutes at 350°F. Cool completely before slicing. (This is the hardest part! Waiting for it to cool!)
Make sure it cools completely, and cool the slices too
Because it’s so moist, it’s important to allow it to cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours before slicing. After slicing, I place the slices on the rack as well. Except for the slices that I wolf down right then and there, of course.
After it’s completely cool and sliced, store the keto pumpkin bread slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For longer storage, wrap each completely cooled slice in plastic wrap, and place the wrapped slices in a freezer bag in the freezer. To thaw, warm gently in the microwave on half power.
You can also toast slices in the toaster oven and spread them with butter.
What pan to use?
I bake this paleo pumpkin bread in a small loaf pan, measuring 8.5 X 4.5 inches. I got mine on Amazon. You can use a standard 9 X 5 inches loaf pan, but then your bread won’t be as tall.
I don’t think baking time will be affected, but it’s best to check after 45 minutes, just in case.
What sweetener to use?
When I make the paleo version, I like to use honey. At 10 grams net carbs per slice, even this version is fairly low in carbs.
For a keto version, simply replace the honey with 1/2 cup granulated sweetener (such as Swerve). This keto version has just 4 grams of net carbs per slice.
You can also use stevia to equal 1/2 cup of granulated sweetener. A reader recently emailed me saying that she used 1 1/2 teaspoon of stevia glycerite, added about 2 extra tablespoons of almond flour, and loved the result.
By the way, if you’d like to try another keto bread recipe, I highly recommend this very flavorful keto zucchini bread.
Is this keto pumpkin bread sweet enough?
The entire loaf is sweetened with just 1/4 cup of honey, so I can see why you would wonder. But don’t forget that the pumpkin puree adds sweetness, and so does the almond flour.
While this bread is not super sweet, to me it tastes very sweet, but I hardly eat sweet things these days so I think my palate is a bit different.
If you like your baked goods very sweet, you can try increasing the honey to 1/3 cup, possibly adding a bit more almond flour (2-4 tablespoons). I haven’t tried it, though, so proceed at your own risk. 🙂
If using a sweetener other than honey (such as Swerve or coconut sugar), I do recommend increasing the sweetener to 1/2 cup. Honey is sweeter than granulated sweeteners.
Reviews of this recipe
On Instagram, coffee.keto.sunshine posted this AMAZING photo of the mini breads she made using this recipe. I love that she drizzled them with a glaze made of cream cheese and Swerve!
And Lyn, who posted this beautiful photo of her creation (dotted with nuts, it seems!), says that she likes to top it with pumpkin butter:
On Pinterest, readers seem to enjoy this paleo pumpkin bread recipe. Tiffany turned it into muffins; MommaDoc added ginger, nutmeg, and cloves; and Erica topped it with chocolate chips. Yum!
More tasty pumpkin recipes
Enjoyed this delicious breakfast bread? These keto pumpkin muffins are excellent too! And this pumpkin mug cake is quick, easy and delicious.
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Paleo and Keto Pumpkin Bread
INGREDIENTS
- Avocado oil spray for the pan
- 3 large eggs
- 1 (15oz can) pure pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup honey or 1/2 cup low-carb granulated sweetener (or the equivalent in stevia)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (not fine salt)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a small loaf pan (8.5 X 4.5 inches) with parchment. Here’s a good video that shows how. Lightly spray the lined pan with oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, honey, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Add the almond flour, kosher salt and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter top to evenly distribute the batter.
- Bake the bread until browned and set, and a toothpick inserted in its center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.
- Using the excess parchment paper strips as handles, carefully remove the bread from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack. Carefully remove the parchment, to allow air to circulate.
- Cool the bread completely on the cooling rack, about 2 hours. Slice into 10 slices, and spread the slices on the rack, allowing them to cool for an additional 10 minutes or so.
NOTES
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.