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This moist and cinnamon-y Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread with the perfect amount of pumpkin spiceis even better when you cover it with a sweet maple glaze. This delicious loaf is an easy recipe to sink your teeth into as a tasty fall breakfast, brunch, or snack with a hot mug of tea or coffee.
Easy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Loaf
When fall rolls around and it’s back-to-school season, I’m always looking for comforting baking projects that can warm up the house and body like my crowd-pleasing Gluten Free Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake. While that’s an old favorite, sometimes I need something new.
This moist, dense gluten-free pumpkin bread is my latest favorite. It’s the perfect sweet treat with classic fall flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin that hits the spot for breakfast on a chilly morning. This recipe also makes a handy packable back-to-school snack.
Recipe Ingredients
The simple ingredients should be part of your gluten free baking pantry in the autumn. I’ve included the full ingredient amounts in the recipe card further down. Here’s what you need to make gluten-free pumpkin bread:
- Gluten-free flour. Make sure you use a 1-to-1 blend has xanthan gum (an important thickener in this recipe). If not, add 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum.
- Tapioca flour. This is a great gluten-free flour option for a thick, dense texture.
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Pumpkin puree. You can make your own or use canned store-bought puree.
- Vegetable or coconut oil
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Pumpkin pie spice. You can buy it or make your own by blending cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg.
- Cinnamon
- Salt
And for the maple glaze, you’ll need:
- Vanilla extract. Make sure you’re using the pure stuff for the best flavor.
- Butter. Melt the butter in the microwave before starting the glaze.
- Powdered sugar. This is better than granulated sugar for the smoothest texture in your icing.
- Maple syrup. This adds a ton of flavor on its own, but you could substitute honey or agave.
- Cinnamon
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Follow these steps to make the pumpkin loaf and glaze:
Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and parchment paper.
Make the batter: In a mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, and oil. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the batter is evenly incorporated.
Bake the bread: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake the bread for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out with just a few wet crumbs.
Cool: Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool fully on a wire rack.
Make the glaze: In a bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter, and maple syrup. Add the powdered sugar, one spoonful at a time. Mix until the icing is smooth and pourable.
Decorate the pumpkin bread: When the loaf is fully cool, pour the glaze over the bread. Slice and enjoy!
Can I add frosting?
While I love the buttery-sweet flavor this maple glaze adds, you can certainly change things up and add frosting on top.
- Basic Vanilla Buttercream is always a classic.
- Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe coming soon) adds a tangy flavor that is perfect with pumpkin.
- Chocolate Frosting is an unexpectedly delicious flavor pairing.
Tips for Success
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when baking:
- The baking time will depend on your oven. Check the bread after 45 mintues to make sure it doesn’t dry out. If it’s browning too quickly, cover the loaf with tin foil.
- If you’d like to add an extra touch of pumpkin color, add a dash of turmeric powder to the dry ingredients.
- Lining the loaf pan with parchment paper makes it easy to cleanly remove the bread from the pan when it’s cooked.
- Try frosting. If you aren’t into the maple glaze, then some cream cheese frosting spread on top would be amazing.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve your gluten-free pumpkin bread as soon as you’ve added the glaze. It’s delicious at room temperature or slightly warm. I love enjoying it with a cup of hot coffee or tea in the morning!
You can also serve it with some other fall favorites as part of an autumn brunch gathering. Try adding these to the menu:
- Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts have the flavor of pure apple cider, just like from the orchard.
- Gluten Free Ham and Cheese Strata adds satisfying protein to the meal.
- New York-Style Gluten Free Crumb Cake has big, buttery crumbs.
- Cranberry Orange Butter gives everything an extra burst of bright seasonal flavors.
How to Store Homemade Pumpkin Bread
You can store leftover pumpkin bread for up to three days in an airtight container. Make sure it’s completely cooled before storage. A few layers of tight plastic wrap or a zip-top bag will also work. You can enjoy slices of pumpkin bread at room temperature or toast them under the broiler or in a toaster oven for a bit of extra crispiness.
Can I Freeze This?
Certainly! Wrap the fully cooled bread in several layers of plastic wrap and keep it in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost the loaf on the counter overnight before slicing and serving at room temperature.
Shop the Recipe
LOAF PAN: Make sure you have a 9×5-inch pan so that this loaf baked properly and doesn’t overflow.
PARCHMENT PAPER: Letting a sheet hang over the edges of the pan a bit will make it easy to lift out.
TAPIOCA STARCH: While I try to keep my gluten free baking recipes as simple as possible by using pre-made blends, adding some extra tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour) in this recipe helps the texture.
MAPLE SYRUP: If you are making that glaze, make sure you use the real stuff. I recommend Vermont maple syrup.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (use a 1-to-1 blend or add 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum if you use all-purpose)
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (homemade or store-bought)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
For the maple glaze:
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 4 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
Pumpkin bread:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spary and line it with parchment paper.
- Combine the all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk everyting together and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, and oil. Mix until combined and smooth.
- Stir in dry ingredients and mix until everything is well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake the pumpkin bread for 50-60 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center, it should come out with very few wet crumbs.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. While it is cooling, prepare the maple glaze.
- When the loaf is fully cool, pour the glaze over the bread. Slice and enjoy!
Maple glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth.
- While whisking, add the powdered sugar about a tablespoon at a time.
- Mix until the glaze is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and set aside until the pumpkin bread is cool enough to pour the glaze over.
Did you make this?
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Can one use coconut sugar instead of plain sugar
This is not something I have tested. My guess is that it would work, but I can’t confirm that. I would check it a little earlier.
This looks SO good…I love the smell of a spiced pumpkin bread baking away in the oven.
Any suggestions for a replacement for tapioca flour? Would arrowroot starch work? Can’t wait to try this recipe out! Thanks!
I have not tested it with another starch, but if you use a gluten free flour blend that has the starches in it, arrowroot is typically a goos substitute as long as there are other starches in the mix. It might affect the texture a bit.