If you have been disappointed by almond flour bread recipes, than this version made with pumpkin will be a game changer! I’ve perfected the tricks of baking gluten-free recipes with almond flour, including how to avoid a dense, heavy crumb in pumpkin bread, boosting a light, fluffy texture, and making a cinnamon streusel topping that will make your taste buds sing!
Gluten-free pumpkin bread made with almond flour
When creating a homemade pumpkin bread almond flour recipe there were goals. Richly spiced taste? Yes, please. Easy recipe without hard to find ingredients? Absolutely. A fluffy crumb that isn’t compressed and dense? Bring it on.
After creating a slew of almond flour baked goods, I knew they could either be magic or, well, let’s just say…edible. Almond flour is a little trickier to work with because of it weighs baked goods down and contains a lot of oil from ground nuts.
When you add pumpkin into that mix, which also contains a lot of moisture, you really need to pay attention to ingredient ratios and use little baking tricks to offset a heavy texture. For instance, when creating this homemade apple cake made with almond flour adding a little cornstarch, tapioca starch, or coconut flour helps lighten the crumb.
When making chewy gluten-free pumpkin cookies removing some extra liquid from the canned pumpkin achieves a spot-on bakery texture. So I also used this hack for almond flour pumpkin bread. Just spread the pumpkin on a plate and press paper towels on top. Easy peasy stuff!
Then, because my number one goal is always next-level deliciousness (hence, the bold recipe title claim), I finish off the pumpkin loaf with a nutty, clumpy, sweet almond flour streusel topping. To create big, crumble topping clumps, adding an egg yolk binds the ingredients.
Ingredient Tips
- Canned pumpkin – The brand you choose really makes a difference here! I’ve found brands really vary with moisture. Therefore, when making a pumpkin bread use Libby’s canned pumpkin puree (make sure it’s not canned filling!), which has a great thick consistency.
- Almond Flour – Use blanched almond flour, not almond meal, which is ground with the skins on. If you want to make homemade almond flour, follow the linked 1-minute recipe!
- Cornstarch – When making an almond flour bread recipe, this is my go-to trick! Adding an additional starch soaks up excess oil and liquid. Cornstarch works great and it’s probably already in your pantry. You can also swap it out with an equal amount of coconut flour or tapioca starch.
- Oil – I cut back on the amount of oil since the ground almonds naturally contain a lot of it. Use any preferred oil, such as coconut oil, canola, olive oil – whatever floats your boat.
Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Make the Streusel crumb topping
I use melted butter for the almond flour streusel, but for a dairy-free recipe, melted coconut oil also works. Melt that in a smallish, microwave-safe bowl and then stir in the other ingredients. The egg yolk may throw you off, but it binds the crumb mixture to avoid a dry, sandy texture.
Fave canned pumpkin trick
Using canned pumpkin is great because it’s an easy way to add moisture to baked goods. But that is also equally its drawback, especially when you couple it with high-moisture almond flour. Therefore, spread it out on a plate and use paper towels on top to blot up extra liquid. Usually I use about 4-5 paper towels to get it looking like this.
Stir together bread batter
Now just stir everything together! First whisk together the canned pumpkin, oil, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Next, stir in the almond flour, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt.
Spread, Crumble, Bake
Line a 8X4-inch loaf pan with a folded piece of parchment to fit snuggly on the bottom and hang over the sides. This helps you lift the bread out of the pan so you don’t lose any streusel topping by having to flip it out. Also, crumbling the parchment, then smoothing it out, helps it stay in place while the batter is spread in. Sounds weird, but try it!
Crumble the pecan streusel on top and bake for 50-55 minutes. It’s a little harder to tell when it’s done baking because of the crumb topping, so I have some extra notes on that below!
Measuring almond flour
When I measure almond flour I scoop the measuring cup in and level off. Some bakers go strictly by weight, some gently spoon in. Unfortunately all of those methods yield a different amount of almond flour.
Therefore, for my almond flour recipes I consistently use my method of scoop and level and know the corresponding weight to go with it for those who prefer to bake by weight. The weights are listed in the recipe card below.
How to Tell when it’s done baking
When checking to see if the bread is done, poking a toothpick in the middle will not be a great indicator. The crumb topping is pretty thick and it may seem done on top, but not set in the middle.
Therefore, I suggest using a butter knife to really get down to the pumpkin bread layer and see if the bread is set. The knife will have some loose, moist crumbs, but shouldn’t have wet batter on it. If the crumb topping is becoming overly browned while it finishes baking, loosely tent a piece of foil over the top.
Recommended loaf pan size
For this recipe, I really recommend a 8X4-inch bread pan for a good ratio of pumpkin bread to crumb topping. You could use a 9×5-inch pan, but the pumpkin bread layer will not be as tall and you will have a wider, thinner bread.
If you don’t have the suggested loaf pan on hand, don’t let it stop you from making it! I would start checking the bread about 5-10 minutes before because it will bake faster.
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Next-Level Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread (Not Dense)
Ingredients
Almond Flour Streusel
- ⅔ cup (62g) blanched almond flour
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) melted butter may sub ghee or coconut oil
- ¼ cup (59 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (31 g) chopped pecans or sliced almonds
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg yolk
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (117 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) oil any preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (184 g) blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup (34 g) cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice see recipe notes for substitues
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8X4 loaf pan. For easy removal, fold a long piece of parchment paper to fit into the bottom with the overhang coming up off the sides. This will allow you to lift the bread out of the pan without the streusel coming off. (See image in post.)
- Spread the canned pumpkin in a thin layer on a plate. Lay a paper towel over the top and press gently to soak up moisture. Discard the paper towel and repeat with a new paper towels, about 4 more times, or until the paper towels soaks up less moisture. (The paper towel won't ever be completely dry, but you will notice it getting less wet.) This reduces extra moisture, making a fluffier bread. Leave the paper towel on and set it aside while you make the streusel topping.1 cup canned pumpkin
- For the streusel, in a small bowl combine all the ingredients. Set aside.⅔ cup (62g) blanched almond flour, 4 tablespoons (57 g) melted butter, ¼ cup (59 g) packed light brown sugar , ¼ cup (31 g) chopped pecans, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 egg yolk
- For the bread, in a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla until well combined.3 large eggs, ½ cup (117 g) packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup (55 g) oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stir in the almond flour, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.2 cups (184 g) blanched almond flour, ¼ cup (34 g) cornstarch, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Scatter the streusel topping over the batter.
- Bake on the middle rack for 50-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle, past the streusel comes out without wet batter. I loosely tented foil over the top for the last 15-20 minutes so the crumb topping does not become too browned before the bread is done. Tip: It's better to error on the side of slightly over baking with almond flour to make sure all the moisture has evaporated.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes and lift out with parchment handles to cool on wire rack before slicing.
Notes
Pumpkin Pie Spice
If you would like to make your own, add 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp ginger, and ⅛ tsp ground cloves for this recipe.Nutrition
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