Crumbly Pumpkin Bread
With lightened-up options, this can be eaten guilt-free! And the crumb topping is out of this world amazing!
I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Halloween! I went home straight from work, spent an hour in the worst traffic of my life (and I only live 12 miles away from work), took a long nap, and spent the rest of the night at the gym watching Dexter. I sure know how to party it up, right? At least some sort of blood splatter was involved.
Now with all the candy and Halloween-related foods we’ve all devoured lately, I thought I would bring you a lightened-up pumpkin bread to balance it all out, made with whole wheat pastry flour, coconut oil and applesauce. And I just couldn’t help but add a very crumbly topping to go along with that super moist and light pumpkin-cakey-inside. It’s the perfect breakfast option to go along with that piping hot cup of coffee, and it’s also just sweet enough as a delightful midnight snack.
Crumbly Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the crumb topping
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat three 5 3/4-inch mini loaf pans with nonstick spray. To make the crumb topping, combine flour, sugars, pumpkin pie spice and butter; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together pumpkin, coconut oil, butter, apple sauce, egg and vanilla.
- Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the loaf pans. Sprinkle with reserved topping, using your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter.
- Place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack.
Did you make this recipe?
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This is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe so far! I added cinnamon to the Streusel and added nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves to the bread! I also used a 9×5 bread pan and increased the cooking time by about 15 minutes. It was delicious, I’ll definitely be making it again soon!
I doubled recipe for batter, making over 2 dozen muffins. I used the single recipe for the crumb topping and had more than enough. I thought the batter needed more flavor, so added a teaspoon of cinnamon. Next time I’ll add even more. Baked them for about 20 min. They made a very ample, satisfying muffin. Thinking about adding some golden raisins and walnuts next time!
This bread is so amazing!!! A keeper for sure. I followed as written and added a bit more cinnamon, ginger and cloves since my family loves the spice. We’ll make it often!
Awesome!
Made these this Thanksgiving morning and they were wonderful. I added a few broken up walnuts and about two handfuls of raisins. Not too sweet and everyone loved them. I always enjoy your recipes! I baked them in a super sized muffin pan and my husband said they looked like they came from one of those fancy coffee shops!!
What is the benefit of using wheat pastry flour?
You can enjoy the many health benefits of whole wheat. 🙂
What size can of pumpkin do you use? Thanks!
A 15-ounce can is typically the smallest can available so you will have some leftover.
Could you make this with bananas?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
When do you put the crumble on the pumpkin bread? It was not mentioned . Please advise !
Please refer to step #5:
5. Scoop the batter evenly into the loaf pans. Sprinkle with reserved topping, using your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter.
Can I make this in one large loaf pan instead of 3 small. what would the cook time adjust to? one hour?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, we cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This looks delish! Anyway to make this gluten free? Thank you!
You could certainly use gluten-free flour, but that may change the texture of the bread. Please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications.
I’m so excited to try this! Do you have nutrition information for this recipe?
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
Hi love your recipes, can you omit the whole wheat pastry flour? Use both amounts with white flour? Thanks so much
You certainly can, but that may change the texture of the bread. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Can you just use whole wheat flour? I can’t find whole wheat pastry flour.
whoops! OK I found it! Bobs Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour! Yay
This looks very tempting !
I just made the crumbly pumpkin bread and it said to put in a 8×4 loaf pan, which I did and it filled it to the top, leaving not much room for the topping but I put some on anyway. The recipe for the topping was way too much with a lot wasted because it wouldn’t fit on top. Next time I will use a 9×4 pan and cut the topping recipe in half.
I am thinking about using one loaf pan also. Did you have to adjust the temp. and the cook time?
I made this with GF all purpose flour and buckwheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour. I had cooked fresh pumpkin instead of canned. Even though I put it in 3 mini pans, it wasn’t done after 35 minutes. I think it’s because the crumb tipping seemed so thick on top maybe? It looks lovely and I’m sure will taste great, but I wish I’d known it would take longer.
When you make substitutions cooking times may vary. Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty what the issue was in your case. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Can I use whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour?
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you! I cannot wait to try this!
I did a double recipe and it made a full loaf and a tin of 12 muffins. Didn’t have to double to the crumble portion – it was the perfect amount! This was so delicious! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Hey I just made this and it was amazing. Really delicious! Super moist!!! I’d add a bit more pumpkin spice next time and top it with a cream cheese frosting. Can’t wait to make it again. Thank you so much!!!
Thanks so much Chungah! I made this recipe exactly as published and the bread turned out exactly like the photo! And I agree with you, the crumb topping was great. This isn’t the first time I’ve tried a recipe of yours and it won’t be the last!
Love the look of that crumb topping. Makes for a great texture balance (:
1 can of pumpkin puree
If you use fresh pumpkin, what is the equivalent
It would be the same. 🙂
Hi Chungah, thanks for a yummy recipe! I have made this recipe twice, and the bread itself tastes lovely. It is much less sweet than the pumpkin bread I am accustomed to, and such a nice change! Yet I am having trouble with the crumb topping. Mine seems to melt together and coat the entire top of the loaves. How do you get yours to keep that crumbled look about it?
Oh no – what a bummer! I hate it when that happens. Are you making any substitutes to the crumb topping?
love this recipe but wanted to make an apple version and take the pumpkin out.What do i substitute in its place
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Delicious! Thanks for the recipe. I made muffins and they turned out perfectly. The recipe made 12 normal sized muffins. I baked them at 350 for a little over 25 minutes. I added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the batter and also 1 tsp cinnamon to the crumble topping. I tried to use up all the crumbles and had a little bit left over. I normally love the topping but it ended up being a bit too much for me. Next time if I make muffins again I’ll probably make half the amount of topping– I think that would be sufficient. All in all, wonderful recipe and perfect for a crisp fall day.
Can I substitute applesauce and coconut oil?
It really depends on the substitutes. What were you thinking of using instead?
Can I use all white flour?
Yes.
I made this once before when I didn’t have coconut oil (I think I did as you suggested in a comment and substituted more applesauce). This time I did. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, and since the recipe specified that the butter should be melted but not the coconut oil, I assumed I should leave it solid (I probably should have kept checking comments!). But it might be helpful to future users of this recipe to specific that the coconut oil should be melted/liquid form. (Otherwise, this is a fabulous recipe…I just have to figure out how to salvage my batter with its solid coconut oil pieces… 🙂 )
*specify not specific 😛
This may help the people inquiring about gluten free possibilities. I made this for a GF friend of mine, and simply subbed in my GF flour. The streusel was maybe a bit firmer than it might have been otherwise, but the loaf turned out great. I also made some high-altitude adjustments, but not quite enough, since I got a bit of a hollow in the center, where the butter melted out of the streusel pooled. Still delicious.
Easy GF flour ( 80 g. finely ground nonfat dry milk, 180 g. superfine white rice flour, 105 g. cornstarch, 100 g. superfine brown rice flour, 85 g. tapioca starch/flour, 20 g. potato starch, 10 g. xanthan gum).
So bottom line, YES it adapts nicely to gluten free. Thanks for the recipe!
Made this today. Turned out wonderful. I did have to use AP flour and canola oil still turned out great.
I have the best luck with your recipes even when I have to substitute. We enjoy your recipes and ease of ingredients.
Thank you for sharing and bringing fabulous food to our table
For these recipe with the coconut oil i have coconut oil that is liquid form and solid which would be best??
I recommend using coconut oil in liquid form.
I’ve never baked with coconut oil. Do I need to melt it first or should I use it in solid form?
The coconut oil should not be in solid form.
The crumble topping recipe must be a mistake?? The amount of butter doesn’t make sense; way too much. It came out looking as wet as the bread batter. I added twice as much flour and then it turned out alright…
The measurements are correct. A little bit of wetness is completely normal.
You are very patient with these people. 😉
A mom in our preschool made these for us this week and I have to say that this is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted!!! Bravo!!
Hi! I just made this and it’s fantastic! I did do one big loaf baked for 55 minutes and added some cinnamon to the batter. This is going into my regular holiday season rotation. 🙂 I love your site and your recipes – thank you! 🙂
Just a thought…would it work to substitute additional pumpkin for the applesauce? I used canola oil and the loaves are baking right now but since I had extra pumpkin left, I wondered if that would work as well? Smells delicious and I’m super excited to try out that topping!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer this with certainty. Substitutions may also lead to a mediocre outcome but as always, please use your best judgment.
Your recipe good. I will try in coming weekend. Can’t say now what will be happen. 🙂 But undoubtedly it will be a challenge for me. If i get perfectly, I’ll share….
Your recipe sounds amazing I want to do it tonight but I have a couple of questions:
Can I substitute sugar with coconut sugar? And how much can I use?
For the brown sugar and butter what can I use that makes it helthier (for the topping)?
And can I substitute the butter with more applesauce? And how much?
Thank you!!
Zio, these are all great questions but without further recipe testing, I cannot advise appropriate substitutes that will not alter the overall taste/texture of the bread. Using a substitution(s) may also result in a mediocre outcome but if substitutions must be made, please use your best judgment.
The combination of substituting regular flour for pastry, and using a regular sized bread pan instead of mini loaf pans must have been the reason for my failure. It has been cooking for over an hour and is still pretty soupy inside, with burnt outsides. In the future, I would probably attempt muffins instead. I hope no one else makes my mistake, it was very disappointing. 🙁 My only other solace is to blame my crappy apartment oven lol.
Julie, I’m so sorry that this didn’t turn out! But it is really best to use all of the ingredients listed in the recipe without any substitutions to obtain the best results possible. But if substitutions because of what you have on hand or due to dietary restrictions, please do so at your discretion.
Hello there,
I just made this recipe yesterday, but I made it as muffins. My boyfriend is obsessed, and they are already almost gone. I posted a link onto my blog because we are so smitten.
-Autumn
This recipe may be amazing, but there is too much topping for the bread. Reduce to 2/3 and the recipe may be alright Too much waste..
Mjski, please feel free to reduce the crumb topping as needed (everyone has different preferences). I have personally made this a dozen times and used every single crumb each time!
I was so excited to take this into work for a Halloween treat… its been baking for an hour and still raw in the middle.. I don’t know what went wrong.. 🙁
Jenna, are you making mini loaves or are you making 1 full loaf with this? Mini loaves should not take longer than 30-35 minutes.
Can’t wait to try this tonight! If I don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, can I just use all-purpose flour for all of it? Thanks again for a delicious recipe 🙂
Yes, absolutely!
can you please tell me how to make this gluten free
Debbie, without further recipe testing, I cannot advise on the appropriate substitutions to make this gluten-free. Please use your best judgment to convert this recipe to fit your dietary restrictions.
This bread is so delicious! It was my first time baking with whole wheat flour and was pleasantly surprised that the bread still tasted amazing and not “healthy”. I doubled the recipe and made 2 mini loaves and one regular-sized loaf. The only issue I had was with the crumb topping. The recipe calls for melted butter, however, when I added the melted butter it turned into a soupy mess! So I had to throw it away and start from scratch, this time just cutting in cold butter. The crumb topping ended up turning out delicious nonetheless! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hi!! I would love to try your recipe but all I have is fresh Pumpkin. How should I cook it in order to make the puree??
Patricia, as I have never tried it myself, I recommend using online resources to create homemade pumpkin puree.
Yes, cooking the pumpkin will make soft and really that’s all that is in canned pumpkin. Fresh pumpkin tastes way better than the metallic canned stuff.
Your crumb topping was fantastic. Plus I like how it uses melted butter– so much easier than cutting in cold butter. I used my own (unhealthy) pumpkin bread recipe but that topping is what it was always missing. It turned out exactly like your gorgeous pictures. Thanks!
Fantastic! I just made these in muffin form. 20 minutes at 350 degrees was perfect. Thanks for this recipe. It’s a keeper!
Love this! Made it last week, and my toddler gobbled up every last crumb. I ended up making it without the crumb topping, for a a little less sugar (and less mess), but still wonderful.
This looks wonderful, can I substitute veg. oil for coconut oil?
Thanks,
You can certainly give that a try but it is best to use the ingredients listed here to obtain the best results possible.
What beautiful picture of your bread. They look so life-like. I can also smell and taste the delicious bread. Great recipe and damndelicious Bread.!!!!!
So yummy, thanks for sharing! I made it for the second time today, and it turned out just as delicious as the first time around. I made one large loaf (instead of three mini loaves), and just baked it for approx. 55 minutes instead. Also substituted veg. oil for coconut oil and AP flour for wheat pastry flour. All in all, turned out fabulous 🙂
I loved this recipe so much! The cake was so moist and flavorful! I love the contrast of crunchy topping and the soft, moist cake! And my husband loves a streusel topping on just about anything, which makes me happy to serve it to him! Thanks for sharing recipe! Can’t wait to try more from your site!
Hi! I bought whole wheat pastry flour in the summer and haven’t used it yet. Its unopen but is it still good? I thought I saw somewhere that it should be refrigerated immediately even unopened. Thanks!
You should check the expiration date before using. I also leave my opened whole wheat pastry flour in my pantry.
I love this recipe it came out great. Its great because I am using it for a church activity which only lasts an hour and it uses the same size pans I wanted to use. This recipe was meant to be. Thank you
This recipe is absolutely delicious. I made one large loaf with this recipe and baked it for about an hour. Thank you for the great recipe!
I made this 2 days ago and oh.my.goodness. It is SO good. I won’t tell you how much I ate the day I made it because it is embarrassing. 🙂 I love that it not super sweet and yet very moist. And the crumb topping? It’s awesome and the perfect compliment. I’m getting ready to make another batch and plan to freeze half of it so that I don’t eat too much! Thanks for the recipe!
Ps. I did add about a tsp. cinnamon because of the recommendation from some other commenters.
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I made this tonight and it turned out fantastic! I’m a sucker for anything pumpkin so this recipe is a keeper! The only thing I did differently was that I added 1/4 cup rolled oats to the topping!
Sounds amazing! I’ll have to try that next time!
delicious! though, i think it needs a bit of cinnamon. I only had a regular loaf pan so i cooked it for 40-45 mins and it came out great. definitely going to try a make this as muffins next time. thanks!
How would you tweak it for high altitude? Thanks!
Unfortunately, I’ve never baked in a high altitude setting. I would suggest researching how to bake in this kind of environment.
Just add an extra tablespoon or 2 to the batter. That’s really all you have to do. I have great results with cutting back on the fats about 1/4 cup.
Add about 10 min to baking time.
This looks absolutely amazing. I definitely need to try this asap!
I doubled the recipe and made 4 small loaves, and 1 big one. It ended up being almost an hour with all 5 in there and the big one cooked in an hour as well. I did only make one serving of the crumbled topping and I found that to be PLENTY!!! I used Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, as well as Organic Butter. Worked beautifully. I wouldn’t mind having a bit more spice, next time I’ll double up. GREAT RECIPE!!! This one’s going in the AWESOMENESS-HOUSEWIFE APPROVED- GOOD FOR GIFT GIVING file 😉 Thanks for the recipe
Hi, this recipe looks amazing! I would love to make it in a standard size loaf pan. Would you be able to help me adjust the ingredients measurements to do so? I’m not particularly talented in the kitchen, so I could use all the help I can get! :o) Thanks!
Just be sure to fill the standard size loaf pan 3/4 full.e As for baking time, I would start at 30 minutes and test as I go. Hope that helps!
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Hmm I used two bread pans instead of three, must have greatly affected the cooking time, after 35 minutes they are quite mushy still. Baking another 10mins…but thank you for the awesome recipe nontheless!
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Can I use coconut oil for the applesauce? Or is it better to use olive oil?
It’s best to use applesauce but to substitute, I would recommend vegetable oil. As for the muffins, I’m not sure how long they need to be in the oven as this recipe is for mini loaves. I would start at 12-15 minutes and test with a toothpick to see if it is fully baked through.
Hi, what would sub for apple sauce? oil? same measure? Thank you!
You can substitute vegetable oil for the same amount.
Can I use vegetable oil or applesauce in replace in coconut oil and regular pastry flour vs. whole wheat pastry? thank you!
Applesauce should work great. For the whole wheat pastry flour, I would just use all-purpose flour. Hope that helps!
It is damn delicious!! Everyone loved it! I added raisins in it. I think it need some nutmeg and little of cinnamon. I made them into muffins, I liked it that way…easy to grab and go if in hurry.
I love that you made this in muffin form – definitely want to try that next!
How long did have the muffins in for?
I also tried this in muffin form, and it turned out really well. I baked them at the recommended temperature for 25 minutes, checking them with a toothpick after 15.
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this looks amazing … love the crumb topping!!!!