This Keto Pumpkin Bread is a healthy twist on a fall classic. With a moist, tender texture and a warm spicy flavor, it will satisfy those pumpkin spice cravings!
There is nothing in the world that smells quite as good as a freshly baked loaf of pumpkin bread. It’s even better when it’s low carb and keto-friendly, so that you can enjoy it without spiking your blood sugar.
Of course, my keto pumpkin muffins smell pretty great when they’re baking too. As do my delectable pumpkin donuts. Let’s face it, anything with pumpkin, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg smells heavenly and evokes a sense of coziness and comfort.
But this Keto Pumpkin Bread recipe has become a family favorite. I started making it years ago as a fall treat for my kids, and I find myself making it at least once a year.
Why you will love this recipe
This recipe differs from some of my other pumpkin baked goods, as it is made with coconut flour. Which means that it can be made entirely nut free, if you so choose. It also helps offset the moisture in the pumpkin puree.
I have plenty of advice for baking with coconut flour. But perhaps the best tip I can offer is to adjust your liquids as needed. In this recipe, I don’t specify the amount of water at all, but simply say “water as needed”.
Always start with a very small amount, like 1 to 2 tablespoons and adjust from there. Depending on how thick the pumpkin puree is and what brand of coconut flour, you may not need any.
Other than that little trick, this keto pumpkin bread is incredibly easy to make. It takes one bowl, ten minutes of prep time, and about an hour to bake. And it has only 3.2g net carbs per slice. It really is a delightful fall treat!
Reader Reviews
“I love this loaf so much I made it 5 times this fall! I even portion and freeze slices, warm up on defrost in the microwave, and put a little plant butter on before enjoying – so good!” — Kate
“The recipe was easy to follow. I was so impressed that the pumpkin bread was fluffy and moist. I haven’t had much luck with Keto cake recipes, but let me be clear, they were not your recipes.” — Elizabeth
“I just made this for our snack for the day and my 3 and my 7 year old devoured it!! Great taste and the kids loved it. Will be making again soon…maybe with some mini chocolate chips 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe.” — Laura
Ingredients you need
- Pumpkin puree: Chose a thicker pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin is usually quite thick and needs to scooped, which is perfect.
- Sweetener: I really like a brown sugar substitute for this recipe, for more flavor.
- Eggs: You will need four large whole eggs, and two egg whites. And yes, you do need all these eggs when baking with coconut flour.
- Coconut flour: I prefer Bob’s Red Mill because it’s very consistent and produces good results.
- Protein powder: You can use egg white or whey protein powder. It helps give the bread a lighter, airier texture.
- Pumpkin pie spice: You can use a pre-made spice mix, or you can make your own with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Kitchen staples: Butter, vanilla, baking powder, salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Combine the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar subsitute, eggs, egg whites, butter, and vanilla extract.
2. Stir in the dry ingredients: Whisk in the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
3. Add water: Whisk in just enough water to make the batter scoopable but not pourable.
4. Spread in the pan: Spread the batter evenly in a 8×4 inch loaf pan pan and sprinkle the top with chopped pecans.
5. Bake: Bake at 350ºF for 55 to 65 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely in the pan.
Tips for Success
Grease the pan well and work the oil into the corners of the pan so the bread doesn’t stick. If your pan is not a good non-stick pan, consider lining it with parchment paper. I also highly recommend a metal pan for this bread, as glass and silicone simply don’t conduct heat very well.
Homemade pumpkin puree is often much thinner and more watery than the canned kind. So you may not even need to add any additional liquid at all.
Let it cool in the pan but not too long! You want the sides of the pan to be cool to the touch before removing the bread. Keep in mind, however, that leaving it too long may cause it to stick more to the pan. About 40 to 60 minutes of cooling time is sufficient.
Sweetener Options
A brown sugar substitute provides the best flavor, to help mimic conventional pumpkin bread. I like to use my own homemade version, which is mostly erythritol. You can cut back on that to some extend and add more sweetness with stevia or monk fruit extract.
Allulose based sweeteners tend to brown much more quickly and can cause the keto pumpkin bread to look and taste almost burnt on the outside. This is especially true of the parts that are against the metal pan. If you choose to use it, I recommend two things: turn the heat down to 325ºF and line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. You will need to keep your eye on it in the oven as I don’t know the bake time with these changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pumpkin is an acceptable ingredient for keto diets as long as you don’t eat too much in one sitting. In a keto muffin or bread recipe, it usually only adds about 1g of carbs per serving.
Keto pumpkin bread with coconut flour has 6.5g carbs and 3.3g fiber. Which means it has only 3.2g net carbs per slice.
Pumpkin bread is quite moist and should be kept in the refrigerator at all times. Wrap it tightly in foil or plastic wrap, and it will keep nicely for up to a week.
This bread can also be frozen for 2 months.
More delicious keto quick bread recipes
Keto Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (183.75 g) pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup (121.33 g) Swerve Brown
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 2 egg whites room temp
- 1/3 cup (75.67 g) butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (90 g) coconut flour
- 1/3 cup (36 g) egg white protein powder, (or whey protein powder)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- Water as needed, (depends on brand of coconut flour and pumpkin puree)
- 1/3 cup (36.33 g) chopped pecans, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan well. You can use a 9×5 inch pan but the bread will be less high and will cook through faster.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar subsitute, eggs, egg whites, butter, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Whisk in just enough water to make the batter scoopable but not pourable.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan and sprinkle the top with chopped pecans.
- Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely in the pan.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I really liked this pumpkin bread. I only had 4 eggs, so I added a pinch of Xanthan gum to make up for it. The flavor of the coconut flour and pumpkin worked really well, better than I thought it would. It reminded me slightly of pancakes, so I have been heating up slices with butter and adding some sugar-free syrup, and it is delicious.
I am going to try this with almond flour and carbquick. This is a really sloid recipe
I can’t wait to try this. I do have a question about the bread pan though. I am having issues trying to find a 8×4 pan. Do you have any recommendations?
This is the one I have: https://amzn.to/48cquGP
Unfortunately, my attempt at making this yummy delicious bread didn’t work out as I hoped, it was very dry. I’m wondering if I would’ve added some heavy cream to it. It would’ve made it a little bit more moist. Anyway, love all of your recipes. I am a fan and I’m gonna try it again. If anyone has any suggestions to make it more moist please let me know.
What kind of coconut flour are you using?
I followed the recipe exactly (using whey protein). I baked the loaf for 50 minutes. Unlike your description of how moist it is, my loaf is dry. Not exceedingly dry but too dry to serve to my group. I don’t taste the pumpkin flavor that I was expecting. I’m disappointed because I had high hopes for a nice pumpkin bread to serve. My backup baked item will be your cappuccino cookies. They never disappoint.
I used the weight measurements for all ingredients as opposed to imperial measurements. I find that they can differ significantly and I appreciate having the weights. Thanks for that.
Sounds like you may have over-baked it. I don’t know what brand of coconut flour you used, or protein powder, but they could both be the culprits.
Is the egg white powder or whey powder necessary in this recipe? I can’t see purchasing something so expensive if I won’t use it often enough. Are there any substitutions?
No subs… gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein powder helps give the bread a lighter, fluffier texture. You will see this in the blog post if you read it through. If you plan to do ANY amount of keto baking, I highly recommend getting some protein powder.
My loaf was too dense and I’m wondering if I added too little water.
Were your eggs on the small side too, perhaps? Coconut flour needs eggs to rise nicely.
okay everyone my bad! I posted earlier that I’d made Carolyn’s other pumping bread, but it was another keto baker’s bread recipe. This one is on today’s menu! I think the absence of nut butter will suit me more.
I made your other pumpkin bread that includes almond flour and nut butter. I liked it very much and I’m wondering what people think about this loaf in comparison.
Great taste & texture, will definitely prepare again!
Hi, Carolyn. Thank you for the recipe. I have a request though, protein powder are expensive where I live. Is there something I can substitute it with ? Hey, I forgot to mention that egg white powder is also not available here. I would be grateful if you could help me out with this. Would love to try your recipe.
You can skip it but the bread won’t rise as nicely.
First off, thank your Carolyn for sharing your magnificent recipes.
I was looking for a keto-ish banana bread recipe and decided to use your pumpkin bread recipe subbing banana for pumpkin. This really turned into an experiment.
I had more overripe bananas than I wanted, so I doubled the recipe. I used less sweetener because bananas are pretty darn sweet, (I know that doesn’t do anything to make it Keto). I realized way to late that I didn’t have enough coconut flour, so… I added enough almond flour to make up the difference, then added double that amount of almond flour. I also wanted to use some of my abundance of duck eggs, so I subbed them for chicken eggs, one for one. Because I was doubling, that was a lot of moisture so I added only 2 egg whites, chicken egg whites.
Amazingly enough, this all worked to make a tasty, lower carb, banana bread.
Carolyn, I added 1/2 tsp xanthan gum to hopefully make the batter a little thicker, added Lily’s chocolate chips, and put dollops of the batter on a cookie sheet to make cookies. They turned out very good and I will absolutely make them again! My favorite cookie as a child (before diabetes) was basically thick pumpkin bread batter dolloped and baked like this, which is why I did that instead of baking it as a loaf.
Sound delicious!
This is delicious! I have been searching for a keto pumpkin bread recipe, and this is it. Of note, I used Sucralose sweetened vanilla whey protein powder because it’s all I had, and it worked great. Thanks so much.