This pumpkin spice banana bread merges two classic quick bread flavors into one. But unlike most other recipes, this version is dairy-free, lightly sweetened, and downright nutritious. Perhaps because it was created by a dietitian! It’s low in added sugar (and can even be made added sugar free), high in whole grains, and relatively lean. But it’s still full of delicious seasonal flavors.
Healthy Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread Baked Up by a Dietitian
This Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread recipe was created by dietitian Shanna Stewart of Wellness For The Win. It was shared with us by Culinary.net. several years ago. Her recipe is great as is, but today we’re giving this post a big update, and have some ideas and tips should you want to make it your own.
- Optional Add-Ins: If you like textural interest in quick bread, you can fold in about 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, raisins, or chopped nuts after you have mixed in the flour blend.
- Fluffier Loaf: Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl, and beat with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the batter after the flour.
- Whole Eggs Only: If you don’t want to end up with extra yolks, you can use 2 large or extra large eggs in place of the egg and egg whites.
- Sweeter Loaf: You can increase the sweetener to 1/2 cup or even 3/4 cup if you’re craving a sweeter whole grain quick bread. It will still be lower in sugar than most recipes. Each tablespoon of sugar added adds about 1 gram of sugar per slice.
Special Diet Notes: Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.
For egg-free and vegan pumpkin spice banana bread, see our Egg Substitute Guide. I recommend options with more lift, like aquafaba (about 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons) or powdered egg substitute, since this bread is already quite moist with banana and pumpkin.
- 2 mashed, very ripe bananas (about ¾ cup)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 2 cups white-wheat flour (this is 100% whole wheat)
- ½ cup rolled or old fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar of choice*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add the banana, pumpkin puree, oil, egg, and egg whites to a mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer on low speed.
- In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat until just moist. Do not over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 to 7 days. Leftover slices can also be frozen.
More Whole Grain Dairy-Free Quick Bread Recipes
The Best Brown Soda Bread
Spiced Pear Breakfast Bread
Perfectly Unsweetened Banana Bread
6 Comments
Can this recipe be made gluten-free? Thank you.
I’m sure it can Dee, but I haven’t tested it.
The pumpkin and the banana both act like eggs in quick bread recipes, so I wonder if this recipe would work without eggs or even egg replacer. I’ll try it and let you know. (I made my mom’s banana bread for years without realizing it actually called for an egg!)
It might Bethany. Sometimes you can completely omit the eggs, but you may find more liquid is needed. Vegan quick breads tend to work better with a batter that is a bit thicker than average.
THANK YOU for making this recipe low-sugar. So often, I’ll see a dairy-free recipe I want to try and then see it has an insane amount of sugar in it…or it’s completely sugar-free…and just isn’t the same. I am literally going to try this recipe today!
I hope you enjoyed it Michael!