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
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ⅔ cup Swerve Brown
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 2 egg whites room temp
- ⅓ cup butter melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- ⅓ cup egg white protein powder (or whey protein powder)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Water as needed (depends on brand of coconut flour and pumpkin puree)
- ⅓ cup 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.
Maria says
Would this recipe work if I put 12 servings in muffin pan instead of loaf pan? Absolutely love all your recipes, thank you
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Nelda Holley says
How long did you bake this recipe as muffins? Can’t wait to try it
Andreja says
Hey, what can I use instead egg protein powder? Thanks for all your delicious recipes. I love them 🙂
Carolyn says
Whey protein powder works too.
Mayra says
Hubby and kids said this is the best keto dessert they’ve tried (they are extremely reluctant In trying ANY keto desserts). I didn’t have walnuts so I topped it with some white chocolate chips and took a risk and used 6 eggs versus what’s in the recipe. I can’t imagine how much better it would be if I followed it how you did it. Thank you for sharing all of your delicious recipes, your recipes make sticking to keto and low carb so easy.
Melissa McFrederick says
Can I use Genpro protein powder
Carolyn says
I would assume so. I don’t know since I’ve never used it.
Kate says
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!
Caroline, I did want to ask a question if I could have a moment of your time- I know you’re busy! I would love to know if there’s a way I could possibly modify this to be a base recipe for other flavored loafs. I love all the great loaf recipes you put out, but I can’t have nut flours anymore. This one seems versatile besides the pumpkin. But feels unwise to just leave it out without some kind of adjustment. Is there something I can substitute for it, or maybe otherwise adjust the ratios of other ingredients? Or would you suggest just using your Keto Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins batter instead as a base? It seems very similar to this one. I tried doing a blend of the 2 recipes as a base for some maple apple cinnamon muffins, but they came out super dry when usually this is so moist, so clearly I can’t be trusted to be messing with this stuff! Haha.
Thank you so much for your time, and for all the delicious recipes that enrich my life and the lives of others 🙂
Carolyn says
Hi Kate. Sorry I never responded to this question, I am just seeing it now. My Blueberry Bread is a great coconut flour based bread that can be adapted for other recipes.
Stella Carrasquillo says
Can I use almond flour (ran out of coconut flour)?
Carolyn says
This whole recipe is based on coconut flour and everything would have to be adjusted to accommodate. Try using this as a base instead and replace the zucchini with pumpkin and spices. I’d do about 3/4 cup pumpkin https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-low-carb-chocolate-chip-zucchini-bread/
Elizabeth Borras says
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.
Sue K says
I live over 6,000 feet. Will your recipes work at high altitude, or do you have any recommendations?
Carolyn says
You need to make the same adjustments that you do for any kind of high altitude baking.
Jan Lewis says
I haven’t tried this yet, but have a question. The Julian Bakery egg white protein powder you listed is prohibitively expensive for me. Would any white protein powder work okay? I have Jay Robb vanilla whey protein, but since it’s not plain I’m not sure it would work.
Carolyn says
Ugh, yes, theirs is expensive. There’s another brand called “it’s just…”which is good too. But yes you can use the vanilla, just don’t add any extra vanilla.
GEORGENE HARKNESS says
Julian bakery has repeatedly gotten in trouble for selling products that were mis-labeled (please Google it – I don’t want to use Carolyn’s site for a diatribe). I use Jay Robb, because it’s high quality and is what it says it is. If you use the vanilla flavor, you will likely need to adjust your other sweeteners downward, as it is already sweetened.
Robin says
I actually had to add a little more flour and it baked quickly. Outside almost burned after 1 hour and still a little gooey inside. I did have it on Convection, so would that make a difference? I will absolutely make this again! I’m just going to watch it more carefully.
Carolyn says
Convection always makes a difference! Did you lower the temp at all? You need to lower it 25 to 50 degrees with convection.
Adrianna says
Hi can i make this bread without sware I just don’t want sweet bread
Adrianna
Carolyn says
Sure!
Ceci Abbate says
Delicious ! Only one question. I made the classic pumpkin bread a few weeks ago and it came out beautifully yummy. Todays cake came out dense (still good flavor). Why would this happen? I followed the instructions the d same both times. Used glass baking dish.. not sure if I used the same amount of water thoug.
Thank you
Ceci
Carolyn says
Okay, I am confused a bit… you made this recipe twice? This is my only pumpkin bread recipe so that was a bit unclear. For which one did you use glass? Because glass bakes VERY differently than metal. It doesn’t conduct heat efficiently and things take a lot longer to cook through.. I am guessing that’s the issue here.
Fabienne says
Merci !
Ce pain est délicieux !
Laura says
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.
Donna Voets says
Made this week and its a Hit…..is delicious !!
Diane says
I made this today using high altitude adjustments since I live about 6,000 feet.. The Pumpkin Bread turned out dry. I added extra pumpkin for more moisture. I baked it at 365 for 50 minutes. What do you think I should do to make it more moist?
Carolyn says
You probably need to bake it less.
Deanna says
Hi! I’m no longer following a ketogenic diet but I still make your recipes because they are healthy and I love them. Made this last night and had it for breakfast this morning. Couldn’t be happier with this pumpkin bread! It tastes wonderful and really was simple to make. No need for extra carbs and sugar in a pumpkin bread when you’ve got a recipe like this. Thanks so much 🙂
Carolyn says
I am so thrilled! You don’t have to be keto to enjoy keto food! 🙂
Tanya says
Fantastic. Very moist and delicious. Entire family loved it. Topped mine with pumpkin seeds as my kids are allergic to tree nuts.
KathyJND says
Delicious! Once I tasted the final product, I made another one. I followed the recipe exactly, as always, and it was terrific. Delicate crumb, moist but not chewy, with the right amount of vanilla and spices. Stood up to a little cream cheese spread, too. Second time around I got a little bold and added some Lily’s White Chocolate Chips and pecans right into the batter– also yummy! Thanks for another inspiring recipe. This will be a fall favorite.
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
Lisalia says
YAY! Another awesome pumpkin recipe. And bonus because it’s keto – perfect for me. Although my kiddos ate it too. A great fall and family friendly recipe!