The BEST Pumpkin Bread {egg and nut free}

One recipe that I really wanted to share with you last month during my 31 Days to Savoring Fall series was this recipe… it is literally the BEST Pumpkin Bread ever!

I love me some good pumpkin bread 😉 especially this time of year! Although thanks to canned pumpkin puree, I’ve been know to make this a few times throughout the course of the year when it’s not fall. This recipe is so easy to whip up, makes the entire house smell AMAZING (who needs fall scented air fresheners when you are baking pumpkin goodness?) and tastes SOOO GOOD!

My entire family loves this recipe and I make it a lot between October and December, I even make several batches for Christmas too. It freezes really well so if you wanted to make a bunch of loaves at once for the upcoming holidays, you can save time. It’s also a great gift to give to hospitality to a neighbor or to the hostess of a festive dinner you will be attending throughout the season.

Since my family is primarily egg and nut free I don’t use either but you could easily throw in some pecans, walnuts or other favorite nuts if you love nuts in you bread.

Instead of eggs I used 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons of water per egg but you can easily use eggs if allergies aren’t an issue in your family of if you just don’t have ground flax in your pantry (but you should because it is a great add in to smoothies, oatmeal and a whole host of other baked goods!) Make sure you let the flax and water sit for about 10 minutes to solidify and form an “egg-like” consistency. Don’t be impatient and just through the flax and water into the batter, the consistency won’t be the same. 

Today I’m sharing with our family favorite recipe and I hope that you and your family enjoy it this season just as much as my family does. And now on to the recipe…

The Best Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients Needed

For the Bread

No Stick Spray

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 TBSP ground flax mixed with 6 TBSP water OR 2 large eggs

1 cup solid packed Canned Pumpkin (I actually just use about the whole can, who doesn’t love the health benefits of extra pumpkin?)

1/3 cup plus 1 TBSP milk (the extra 1 TBSP is optional if the pumpkin batter is too thick to mix and needs to be watered down slightly)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

Topping

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

Step One

Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a loaf pan with non-stick spray or you could just butter the pan with a stick of butter.

Step Two

In a large mixing bowl stir the olive oil and sugar together to form a thick paste. Stir in the flax mixture or the eggs until blended.

Step Three

Add the pumpkin puree and the milk to to the mixture and stir well.

Step Four

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger to the pumpkin mixture. Stir really well to make sure all the dry ingredients are mixed into the wet mixture. Use a plastic spatula spoon to scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl. If the mixture is too thick, you can add the extra tablespoon of milk to the batter to help wet and loosen.

Step Five

Pour and spread the batter into loaf pan.

Step Six

In a smaller bowl, combine brown sugar and olive oil together until mixed and crumbly. This makes the best topping! I always add a little bit of extra brown sugar to give it more of a crunchy sweet bit! Sprinkle over batter.

Step Seven

Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes before you remove it from the pan. I always wrap it up in plastic wrap to keep and it always lasts for about a week, if it hasn’t been eaten up yet! To freeze wrap it in plastic wrap and place in a gallon size ziplock baggie.

This pumpkin bread tastes great with butter, jam, pumpkin butter, or (my personal favorite) plain with a nice warm cup of coffee. It’s perfect for breakfast or as a special treat throughout the day. And of course it makes the Thanksgiving dinner table more complete!

 Enjoy!