Healthy Pumpkin Cranberry Banana Bread
This healthy pumpkin cranberry banana bread is the perfect cozy treat for fall. This bread it moist, naturally sweet and made with oats instead of flour.
As much as I love my homemade banana blueberry bread, I wanted something moist and tasty but healthier. This recipe is like banana bread and pumpkin bread had a baby. This bread is the perfect blend of both breads but without all the sugar and white flour. The great thing about quick breads is that you can make them your own with different add ins.
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Every fall I begin to crave pumpkin and spice and everything nice and this bread is moist, pumpkiny and warm with the spices.
This bread is easy to make and has no refined sugars or white flour. With pumpkin puree, warm spices, tart cranberries, and ripe bananas in every bite, it’s a wholesome loaf you’ll want to make on repeat. I made two loaves and my husband devoured them.
Healthy Pumpkin Cranberry Banana Bread
I am always looking for ways to enjoy foods I love but as a healthier version. As much as I love a good quick bread, I love them more when they have more wholesome ingredients . The lack of sugar and flour in this bread makes a difference. Packed with flavor and oh so moist, you will not miss the flour and sugar.
Why You Will Love this Pumpkin Bread
- quick to make – toss the ingredients together in no time
- super moist – the blend of the banana and pumpkin keeps it moist
- made without refined sugar – sweetened with maple syrup
- made with fresh oat flour – no white flour here; quickly blended at flour
- freezes well – wrap it up and enjoy another time
- full of flavor – banana, pumpkin, cranberries…what’s not to love
Check out these other recipes!
Easy Berry Banana Bread Recipe
Healthy Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
Oatmeal Chia Seed Cookies
Pumpkin Cranberry Banana Bread Ingredients
- Ripe Bananas – using up those over-ripe bananas is perfect for this bread
- Pumpkin Puree – use either fresh or canned but not pumpkin pie filling
- Rolled Oats – no need to buy oat flour, just process your own in the blender
- Salt – a little bit of salt brings out flavor of other ingredients
- Eggs – eggs help bind the bread
- Maple Syrup – Sweetens the bread without being overbearing, but don’t use pancake syrup
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – adds the warmth, fragrance and flavor to this bread
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder – the rising and leveling agents
- Butter – melted butter adds more moisture
- Vanilla – Use pure vanilla
- Apple Cider Vinegar – Oats and pumpkin can make the loaf feel heavy, but adding the ACV reacts with the baking soda giving the bread that lighter lift.
- Reduced Sugar Dried Cranberries – you could use dried or even fresh cranberries or other fruit
Substitutions
- Eggs – use an egg substitute such as flax eggs by combining two tablespoons of flaxseed meal and size tablespoons of water. Sit for 10 minutes until thick gel forms. Flax is rich in fiber and omega-3’s.
- Butter – use melted coconut oil or avocado oil
- Oats – use all-purpose flour or a white whole wheat flour
- Dried Cranberries – you could use fresh cranberries or other fruit, but I love how the pumpkin goes with the cranberries
How to Make Oat Flour
Measure out 1 3/4 cup of rolled oats (not quick oats) and ad to a food processor or good blender. I use a Vitamix blender and it works perfectly. Blend the oats until they are finely ground like a flour.
Variations for this Pumpkin Banana Bread
Once you have a good base for this bread – bananas, pumpkin and oats; you can chose to vary your stir ins up a bit. You can also just make this a pumpkin banana bread if you want a basic version. I used reduced sugar dried cranberries for this recipe but you could use fresh.
- Use fresh blueberries instead of cranberries
- Add in pumpkin seeds or pecans or any nut you like for a nice crunch
- Stir in chocolate chips
- Shredded unsweetened coconut
- Create a glaze for the top
Recipe Notes:
- Use overripe bananas – the more ripe, the sweeter the bread will be
- Use the apple cider vinegar – you won’t taste it in the bread, but it helps create a light and fluffy texture
- Use room temperature eggs – the bread will rise higher instead of using cold eggs
- Careful of over mixing – over mixing can make a dense loaf
- Allow to fully cool – once cool to touch remove to wire rack and allow to cool for a couple hours before slicing
Storing the Bread
In our home this bread does not last long enough usually to worry about storing it and keeping it fresh. After it has cooled completely I store it on a glass domed cake plate in the pantry so it’s easy to grab.
- Store at Room Temperature – keep in a covered or air tight container for 3 days
- Store in the Refrigerator – keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days
- Store in the Freezer – wrap the entire loaf and keep in freezer for up to 3 months or store individual slices for grab and go
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Healthy Pumpkin Cranberry Banana Bread
This healthy pumpkin cranberry banana bread is the perfect cozy treat for fall. This bread it moist, naturally sweet and made with oats instead of flour.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup rolled oats to create a flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup (240g) canned pumpkin puree
- 2-3 medium over ripe banana
- 2 room temperature eggs
- 1/4 cup melted butter (or coconut oil or avocado oil)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup (or less to taste)
- 1/2 cup reduced sugar dried cranberries
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a bread loaf pan with parchment paper
- Add the oats to a blender or food processor and blend until fine like a flour
- In a large mixing bowl Mix together all the dry ingredients, set aside
- Mash the bananas and then add the remaining wet ingredients
- Blend all the wet ingredients
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend being careful not to over mix.
- Gently blend in the cranberries
- Add the mixture to your loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
- Allow to cool for 15mins and then transfer to a wire rack. Allow to completely cool for a few hours before slicing
