Healthy Pumpkin Banana Bread

Healthy pumpkin and banana bread is the best of both worlds. It is moist, beautifully spiced, and so delicious. The healthy version of the bread is made with whole wheat pastry flour, with no refined sugar, artificial flavors, or preservatives.

Last night I had a craving for something different, but it turned out that what was most familiar of all is exactly what my taste buds were looking forward to.

Yes, healthy pumpkin banana bread! With Banana Bread and pumpkin pie flavors, this tasty loaf will have you feeling satisfied for hours.

The best part about it - besides how yummy this is - is that it is healthy too, so there is no need to guilt-trip yourself when eating an entire loaf in one sitting. Smile!

It would be interesting to categorize this pumpkin banana bread as a fall-themed recipe or a year-round favorite.

Pumpkin Bread is considered autumnal, and banana bread feels something like a "make it once you have bananas nobody wants to eat."

Another debate I have in my family: is it banana pumpkin bread or banana bread with pumpkin puree? Do you see where my guys go?!

Still, I hope you will love this healthy version of banana and pumpkin bread as much as I do!

Jump to:

• Why you should try this recipe
• Ingredients
• How to make healthy pumpkin banana bread
• Recipe variations
• Storage instructions
• Expert tips
• Frequently asked questions
• Love quick breads? Try these next!
• Need to adjust your baking pan size?
• Recipe card
• Comments

Why you should try this recipe

This healthy pumpkin banana bread makes a cozy breakfast treat and a perfect afternoon snack.

Baking this type of quick bread is very relaxing: from making the bread batter to tossing ingredients for streusel.

Moreover, the pumpkin banana bread recipe is easy to make. And kids love to help!

They like to mash bananas, butter a baking pan, whisk bread ingredients, and make the streusel.

This quick bread is made with healthy ingredients. Butter is replaced with oil, white sugar - with coconut sugar.

Regular flour is swapped with Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour - hello, whole wheat pumpkin bread!

The best part is that with this handy recipe, you will never worry about what to give your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

Double batch and bake four mini loaves and one regular bread loaf. They make a great gift wrapped and tagged with DIY gift tags (I created a few for you).

Now, click the links and download FREE printable bread wrappers and gift tags:

• Bread wrappers are perfect for mini loaves and regular-sized bread.
• Sweet Bread Gift Tags and
• Baked With Love Gift Tags are beautiful to tie with a baker's twine.

Most importantly, all the tags are created with readers in mind: they are ink-friendly!

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Find the recipe card below for exact amounts and detailed instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Oil: use flavorless grapeseed oil or replace it with vegetable oil, avocado oil, or canola oil.

The olive oil has a powerful flavor, so try to avoid it: otherwise, it will overwhelm the taste of the bread.

Melted coconut oil sounds like an oil alternative, but I haven't tried this bread version.

Sugar: the recipe calls for organic coconut sugar. Feel free to swap it for golden brown sugar or white granulated sugar.

Large eggs: make sure the whole eggs are at room temperature. I have not tried this recipe with flax eggs like an egg alternative to make vegan pumpkin bread.

Flour: the recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour; you can replace it with different flour: white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour.

Baking powder: use fresh baking powder (stored no longer than six months). Please, don't confuse it with baking soda.

Pumpkin pie spice: since the pumpkin puree is pretty bland on its own; so adding a pumpkin pie spice flavors the bread beautifully. Replace it with ground cinnamon if desired.

Bananas: the best way to make this healthy pumpkin banana bread is to use overripe bananas (brown or yellow bananas with brown spots on them).

It is the same rule for most banana bread recipes such as Banana Bread and Banana Bread Mini Muffins.

Pumpkin puree: the recipe calls for store-bought 100% pure pumpkin puree, not a pumpkin pie filling. They are not the same!

A whole can of pumpkin puree is a lot, so you may decide to go for a homemade pumpkin puree.

If you want to make a fall favorite - Pumpkin Bread - replace mashed bananas with pumpkin purée.

Maple syrup: it brings a nice note to your bake. Replace it with apple juice or even orange juice if desired.

Use dark rum, cognac, or brandy instead of maple syrup to make a boozy sweet bread.

Oats: use quick oats to make the streusel topping. They bring additional crunchiness to the crumble.

Butter: a small amount of salted butter is used to make the crumble topping. You can use unsalted butter with a pinch of salt.

How to make healthy pumpkin banana bread

To make the crumble topping, in a medium bowl, place flour, quick oats, coconut sugar, and cold butter cut into cubes.

Work with your fingertips quickly to make the crumbly sand-looking dough. Refrigerate.

Heat oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C. Mix flour with baking powder and pumpkin pie spice in a medium mixing bowl, sift and set aside. Butter and flour four porcelain mini loaf pans (9 oz. each).

To make the batter, pour grapeseed oil, add coconut sugar to a large mixing bowl, and mix with a rubber spatula.

Add eggs, one by one, to the wet ingredients mixing between each addition. Next, add dry ingredients and delicately mix with the spatula.

Mash bananas with a fork or a spoon and fold mashed banana and pumpkin puree into the principal preparation.

Add maple syrup and mix with a spatula just to combine (don't over mix). 

Divide batter evenly into the prepared mini loaf pans. Sprinkle the chilled streusel topping over the batter.

Bake the bread on the center rack of the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

Use a toothpick (a wooden pick) for doneness: if it is inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, it is ready.

Or use a cooking thermometer to check the bread's doneness. The internal temperature of the bread should be between 200 and 205 degrees F (93 and 96 degrees C).

Take the baking pans from the oven, place them on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. 

Then remove the bread loaves from the tins by running a butter knife around the sides of the pans.

Transfer the baked bread to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely before slicing or wrapping them.

Recipe variations

The recipe states that this healthy pumpkin banana bread is made with whole wheat pastry flour, which is more finely ground than regular whole wheat flour.

But nothing stops you from making this sweet bread with 100% whole wheat flour.

Use it as a 1 to 1 replacement with whole wheat pastry flour. It will taste delicious!

If you want to make this bread gluten-free, replace the flour in the recipe with an equal amount of GF flour.

To make sugar-free pumpkin banana bread, follow the recipe for No-sugar added Banana Bread (aka healthy banana bread).

Swap half of the mashed banana with pumpkin puree to create a beautiful pumpkin and banana combo.

If you want to add new flavors and flavor your bread more than just with pumpkin pie spice, add one teaspoon of vanilla extract, pumpkin, or banana extract, or use a warm spices combination.

Finally, how to play with mix-ins in a delicious way?

To give the bread a pleasant crunch, you can add a little bit of toasted chopped walnuts, pecans, or pumpkin seeds.

It will be lovely to add a few dark chocolate chips alone or with nuts.

If you love dried fruit, add dried cranberries, golden raisins, or chopped dried apricots.

BUT please, use mix-ins in moderation (⅓ to ½ cup) to avoid the overflowing of the batter in the oven.

And please don't forget to play with streusel ingredients. This is the most fun part!

If you don't know yet, I even created a Streusel Recipe Template to make hundreds (yes, about one thousand) crumble toppings variations. Nothing is easier to sprinkle streusel on top of the loaf.

In the end, you can bake a regular 9 x 5-inch bread loaf or pumpkin banana bread muffins or mini muffins (like these Banana Bread Mini Muffins) using the same batter.

If you want to transform this recipe, see expert tips below.

Storage instructions

Store the bread leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for five days.

Or freeze well covered in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Then, defrost it overnight on the countertop.

Do you want to freeze the sliced bread? No problem. Slice your bread, wrap individual slices, place in a plastic bag, and freeze.

Then, once you crave a slice of pumpkin bread, take a piece, toast it and enjoy!

Expert tips

1. Line mini loaf pans with parchment paper or grease them with coconut oil or cooking spray instead of butter and flour to prep the tins.
2. For the best results, don't over mix the bread butter. It is essential in making quick bread.
3. To bake the bread in a standard 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, pour the batter in a buttered and floured pan, sprinkle with crumble, and bake at 300 degrees F/150 degrees C for 80 to 90 minutes.
4. To bake as pumpkin banana muffins (you will make about 15 regular-sized muffins), scoop the batter into muffin cups inserted into a muffin pan. Fill the cups up to ¾, sprinkle with streusel. Bake at 300 degrees F/150 degrees C for about 40 to 45 minutes.
5. To make mini muffins (48 counts), proceed the same as for muffins. Bake at the same oven temperature for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Frequently asked questions

Love quick breads? Try these next!

Print

Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.