Pumpkin Banana Bread (Vegan)

This easy to make Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread makes perfect autumnal loaf. Definitely not your ordinary banana bread recipe full of pumpkin, nuts & chocolate too! Great addition to your lunch box or to enjoy with a nice cup of tea or coffee!

This pumpkin banana bread recipe is my autumnal and much more exciting version of humble banana bread. My vegan take on it is super simple to make, without faddy ingredients and so beautifully moist and delicious too!

Packed with nuts of your choice (walnuts and pecans being my favourites) and good quality vegan chocolate, this pumpkin bread will have everyone asking for seconds.

Homemade or tinned pumpkin puree?

As long as pumpkin puree you're using in this recipe is nice and dry and not watery, feel free to use either.

Take a look at my post on making your own homemade pumpkin puree where I share lots of helpful tips on the subject including the type of pumpkin which I find the best for puree.

If you use tinned puree make sure it is 100% pumpkin puree* and not pie filling. You can usually stock up on reduced tinned pumpkin puree from November onwards (at least in the supermarkets in the UK). Look in American section of World Foods aisle.

Pro tips when baking pumpkin banana bread!

1. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature! It seems like a little thing but it helps with nice and light texture of your bread. Try and get whatever ingredients you've got in the fridge out onto the kitchen counter couple of hours before baking.
   
2. As already mentioned above, use dry and not watery pumpkin puree not only to help with texture but also flavour of your pumpkin bread.
   
3. I repeat this one a lot in my baking recipes so am sure you already know not to overmix the batter! Mixing dry and wet ingredients really well separately first helps as you then don't need to do that when combining two together. Once there are no visible signs of flour, your mixture is ready!
   
4. Make sure to put your pumpkin bread in the oven as soon as the cake batter is ready (hence it's important to preheat the oven ahead of time). If you hang around for too long, the raising agents that started their work the minute you mixed all the ingredients together will lose their oomph and your loaf will not raise as well or it will collapse.

Can I adapt this vegan pumpkin banana bread?

Yes of course, there is always some wiggle room when it comes to my recipes!

1. FLOUR - Feel free to use mixture of different flours. I like using mix of plain and wholemeal or lovely and nutty wholemeal spelt* with white spelt flour*. If you're gluten-free try your favourite gluten-free flour blend.
2. OIL - Rapeseed oil can be replaced by any flavourless oil you like, light olive oil (not extra virgin) or melted coconut oil. With the latter, if you don't want your pumpkin bread to taste of coconut make sure to use refined coconut oil* which is completely neutral in flavour.
3. YOGURT - I use Alpro Plain Soya Yogurt (not sponsored) in all my bakes but if you consume dairy, feel free to use your favourite plain dairy yogurt instead.
4. SPICES - Instead of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg I use here you could use mixed spice* or pumpkin spice* instead.
5. EXTRAS - Feel free to use any nuts you like in your loaf although personally my favourite ones are walnuts and pecans. You might want to jazz things up a bit and add handful of dried cranberries or some other dried fruits. Sprinkle of pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds on top of the loaf before you pop it in the oven would make a nice touch too.

Freezing and storing pumpkin banana bread

This pumpkin banana bread freezes really well. Freeze the entire loaf or slices for up to 3 months. Defrost on the kitchen counter.

Make sure you wrap it really well before you pop it in the freezer to prevent freezer burn. I like to freeze couple of slices at a time in these handy paper bags* which I then put in one large freezer friendly plastic zip bag and take out as and when needed. Perfect when you like to have a batch of homemade goodies in the freezer for snacks and lunch boxes.

If you don't want to freeze your pumpkin bread, it will keep in the airtight container on the kitchen counter for up to 4 days.

How to make Pumpkin Banana Bread - Step-By-Step Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
• Put all your dry ingredients (flour(s), baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ginger and grating of nutmeg) in a large bowl and give them a gentle whisk. Alternatively, feel free to sieve them into the bowl instead.
• In a separate bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, mashed banana, yogurt, oil and brown sugar until nice and smooth.

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• Pour wet ingredients mixture into the dry one and mix gently with a spatula until there are no visible specs of flour. Don't worry about the lumps and try not to overmix the batter.
• Once you're almost done mixing, add your chopped nuts and chocolate and stir them in gently.

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• Prepare your loaf tin* (approx 24x10cm) by oiling it lightly and lining with baking paper so that it overlaps on both sides.
• Put your cake batter into the tin and smooth it out. The batter is quite thick so using spatula will make it easier.
• Bake in preheated oven for approx. 50-55min or until skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
• Let it cool in a tin for a few minutes and then take it out onto the cooling rack to cool completely.
• Enjoy!

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Have you tried my Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below.

Some more delicious pumpkin recipes you might enjoy!

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin & Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Spiced Pumpkin Soup Recipe 

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Update Notes: This post was originally published in November 2017 and republished in October 2020 with updated recipe card, new photos, tips, substitutions and better layout improving user experience. Recipe itself has been updated to include plant based ingredients only.

Linkies:

Cook Blog Share with Everyday Healthy Recipes and Easy Peasy Foodie, Brilliant Blog Posts, Cook Once Eat Twice