Vegetarian Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

https://www.loveandlemons.com/pumpkin-bread/

If you love pumpkin, you HAVE to try this easy pumpkin bread recipe! Super moist, warmly spiced & filled with pumpkin flavor, it’s the perfect fall treat.

Happy pumpkin season! To be honest, I didn’t get the fall pumpkin frenzy for a long time. Why go crazy for pumpkin when apples, sweet potatoes, and hundreds of amazing squash varieties (spaghetti, delicata, acorn, and butternut, to name a few) are in peak season too? Enter: this pumpkin bread recipe. Super moist, warmly spiced, and filled with delicious pumpkin flavor, it might just have won me over to team pumpkin.

I typically crave pumpkin bread at two times of day: in the morning for breakfast or in the afternoon with a coffee or tea. Because I wanted this recipe to be one I could feel good about enjoying for breakfast, I made it on the healthy side. Honestly, it’s the best pumpkin bread I’ve had! It’s lightly sweet, so the bold, spiced flavors really shine through. And though it’s wonderfully moist, it’s not too rich, so I don’t feel weighed down after eating a slice (or two). If pumpkin season means having this recipe on repeat for a while, I’m 100% on board.

Healthy Pumpkin Bread Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy pumpkin bread recipe:

Whole wheat pastry flour – My favorite flour for healthy baking! Whole wheat pastry flour has more nutrients than all-purpose flour, but it’s more finely ground than regular whole wheat flour. As a result, baked goods made with it (like my blueberry muffins or carrot cake) come out light, puffy, and not at all dense.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice – In the past, I’ve just used cinnamon and nutmeg in my pumpkin bread. But, funnily enough, I was out of nutmeg when I was testing this recipe one day. I swapped in allspice, and I didn’t look back. Together, all three spices give this loaf an amazing autumn-spiced flavor.
Extra-virgin olive oil – Not only is extra-virgin olive oil healthy, but it also gives this bread the perfect moist texture. And because the pumpkin is moist on its own, you only need to use a small amount of oil here.
Almond milk – Almond milk is what I keep on hand, and it makes this recipe dairy-free. However, any type of milk (or even water!) will work in its place.
Pumpkin puree – It wouldn’t be pumpkin bread without pumpkin! My loaf uses a full cup, which adds irresistible pumpkin flavor and plenty of moisture.

Along with these key ingredients, grab some baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, cane sugar, and vanilla. Then, you’re ready to bake!

How to Make Pumpkin Bread

First, whisk together the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Don’t skip this step by mixing everything together at once! It’s essential to avoid over-mixing the batter, which makes any quick bread gummy and dense.

Then, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, until the top springs back to the touch or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing and serving. Then, enjoy!

Easy Pumpkin Bread Tips

Wait before you eat. It may be tempting to devour this loaf straight out of the oven, but if you can wait for it to cool, your patience will be rewarded. After cooling, the bread has a deeper pumpkin pie spice flavor and an even softer, moister texture.
Make extra, and freeze it! Like most baked goods, this pumpkin bread freezes well! I currently have a stash of slices in my freezer for quick breakfasts and snacks throughout the fall.
Waste not, want not. If you use canned puree, you’ll end up with about 3/4 cup leftover. Don’t let it go to waste! Make pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, French toast, waffles, cake, or cookies next!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe Variations

Do you like nuts, fruit, or chocolate in your pumpkin bread? Feel free to get creative with this recipe. Here are a few suggestions:

Make it vegan! Substitute 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 6 tablespoons warm water for the eggs. This version isn’t quite as puffy, but it’s still delicious.
Add some crunch. Stir in 1/2 cup of your favorite chopped nuts, and sprinkle some on top. Pecans or walnuts would be especially good!
Make it fruity. Fold 1/2 cup dried cranberries, dried tart cherries, raisins, or chopped dates into the batter.
Go the chocolate route. Sometimes, you just need a slice of pumpkin bread that’s studded with melty chocolate chips. If that’s what you’re craving, fold 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips into the batter, and scatter more on top for good measure.
Make your own pumpkin puree for the best pumpkin flavor. If you’ve never made homemade pumpkin puree, I heartily recommend trying it this fall. The stuff from the can is good, but the homemade kind is extra-sweet and bursting with flavor. Depending on the variety of pumpkin you use, your homemade puree may be more watery than the canned kind. If it seems thin, reduce the almond milk in this recipe by two tablespoons.

Let me know what variations you try!

pumpkin-bread-recipe

Pumpkin Bread

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Recipe type: Breakfast, snack

1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour*
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
½ cup almond milk (or any milk)
½ cup cane sugar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 eggs**
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin purée, eggs, sugar, milk, olive oil, and vanilla until smooth.
Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake 45 to 50 minutes or the top springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes clean.

*I like Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour**Make this recipe vegan: In a small bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 6 tablespoons warm water. Let it sit for 5 minutes, until thickened, and use in place of the eggs.

Vegetarian Recipes

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones

I recently posted my recipe for sourdough starter here on the blog, so I couldn’t leave y’all hanging! Once you get the hang of maintaining your starter, you can start getting into super easy sourdough discard recipes—like this one! I find it hard to let any of my discard go to waste, considering how much time and effort I put into caring for it and feeding it. It’s a needy ingredient, but it’s worth the extra effort, as you’ll see when you taste these fluffy, subtly sweet Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones! Don’t have any discard? I’ve also shared how to make these delicious scones without it.

Overhead view of homemade chocolate chip sourdough scones on a parchment lined wire rack.

Easy Recipe for Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Scones

Even if you don’t really think of yourself as a baker, I promise you might surprise yourself with these sourdough chocolate chunk scones. They’re honestly so simple and so, so good. The discard from your sourdough starter gives them a super tender texture and just a little tang that plays really well with those melty chocolate chunks. My trick for tall, bakery-style fluffy scones is using cold butter (don’t let it soften!) and giving the dough time to rise before baking. This recipe is seriously an easy win and such a satisfying way to use up that discard you’ve been saving.

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Chocolate Chip Sourdough Scones

These tender Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones are the perfect way to use up your leftover sourdough discard. Includes a no-discard option, too!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine $0.04, American

Total Cost $5.91 recipe / $0.98 serving

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Proof Time 1

Total Time 1 30

Servings scones

Calories 537kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

Mixing Bowls
Parchment Paper
Baking Sheet

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour + extra if needed $0.23
2 tsp baking powder $0.08
3 Tbsp granulated sugar $0.06
½ tsp salt $0.01
6 Tbsp cold butter* $0.66
1 cup chocolate chunks** $2.97
¼ cup sourdough discard*** $0.00
¼ cup milk + 1 Tbsp, divided (1 Tbsp reserved for icing) $0.06
2 eggs $0.82
1 tsp vanilla extract $0.47
1 cup powdered sugar $0.55

Instructions

Gather ingredients and preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, in a large bowl. Stir until they are very well combined.
Grate the butter into the flour mixture and stir until the butter is well incorporated and no large lumps remain.
Add the chocolate chunks to the flour mixture and stir to combine.
Whisk together the sourdough discard, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.
Pour the wet discard mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and chocolate chunks. Stir everything together until it forms a cohesive ball of dough, with no dry flour remaining on the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too dry to come together into a single ball of dough, add a splash more milk (1 Tbsp or so) until it comes together.
Form a dough ball at the bottom of your mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow your scone dough to proof for 1-3 hours, until your dough ball noticeably grows in size, at least by a quarter the volume, ideally the volume will double. (Yes, this step takes a little extra patience, but the fluffy texture from the sourdough makes these scones a little extra special! You could also bake this right away, they just won’t be as fluffy and will be more like a classic scone.)
Press the dough out into an 8-inch diameter circle on a piece of parchment paper. Cut the circle into 6 wedges. (To stretch this recipe further, you could cut into 8 wedges.) Place the cut scones on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake the scones in the preheated 425ºF oven for 15-17 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Transfer the baked scones to a wire rack to cool.
While the scones are cooling, combine powdered sugar with 1 Tbsp milk until it forms a thick glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones, then enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*I put a stick of butter into the freezer 5-10 minutes before I start baking to make it easier to grate. You want it to be cold and stiff, not frozen solid; otherwise, it’ll be too hard to grate.

**You could use chocolate chips, but I find scones to be too bready without the larger pockets of chocolate created by using chunks.

***I use the discard from my 100% hydration starter. If you do not have any sourdough discard, you can make this scone recipe with 2 cups of flour instead, skipping the discard ingredient, and there’s no need to proof the dough for 1-3 hours.

Nutrition

how to make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones step-by-step photos

The ingredients for making homemade sourdough chocolate chip scones.

Gather all of your ingredients together and preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Flour, baking powder, sugar. and salt in a white mixing bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients: Add 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 3 Tbsp sugar, and ½ tsp salt to a large bowl. Mix until well combined.

Butter being grated into a mixing bowl of flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Cut in the butter: Remove your butter from the freezer and grate 6 Tbsp of butter into the flour mixture. Stir until the butter is fully incorporated into the flour. There shouldn’t be any large lumps.

Chocolate chunks added to a four and butter mixture in a white mixing bowl.

Add the chocolate: Stir 1 cup chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips) into the butter and flour mix.

Sourdough discard, eggs, and milk in a mixing bowl.

Combine the remaining wet ingredients: In a different bowl, mix together ¼ cup sourdough discard, ¼ cup milk, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

The wet and dry ingredients for sourdough chocolate chip scones being combined in a bowl.

Make the dough: Pour the wet sourdough mixture into the bowl with the flour and chocolate chunks. Stir everything together until it forms a cohesive ball of dough. There should be no dry flour remaining on the bottom of the bowl. If the dough seems too dry to come together into a single ball of dough, add a splash more milk (1 Tbsp or so) until it forms into a ball.

Chocolate chip sourdough scone dough in a mixing bowl, being covered with plastic wrap.

Proof the dough: Place the dough ball into your mixing bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap. Leave your bowl in a warm location and let it proof for 1-3 hours until the dough ball has grown in size (by at least a quarter of the volume, but ideally, it will have doubled). You could bake the scones right away without proofing…but I highly recommend letting it proof so the texture of your sourdough chocolate chip scones will be extra special and fluffy.

Sourdough scone dough on a piece of parchment paper.

Form the dough: Lay a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Lay the proofed dough ball onto the parchment and press it out into an 8-inch diameter circle.

Sourdough chocolate chunk scone dough divided into 6 pieces.

Slice the dough into 6 equal wedges (or 8 wedges if you want to make smaller scones).

Six shaped sourdough chocolate chip scones on a parchment lined baking sheet ready to be baked.

Place the cutout dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you have any leftover chocolate chunks, feel free to press some into the top of the dough before baking (as I did here).

Freshly baked sourdough chocolate chip scones on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake: Place the baking tray into your preheated oven and bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely.

Powdered sugar and milk in a mixing bowl, being mixed with a spoon to make a glaze.

Make the glaze: As you wait for your delicious sourdough scones to cool, you can make the simple glaze. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp milk to a bowl and combine until a thick glaze forms. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones, then enjoy!

Hands breaking a sourdough chocolate chip scone in half.

Just look how fluffy that crumb is…and don’t even get me started on the pockets of ooey gooey chocolate!

Use cold butter. I pop a stick of butter in the freezer for 5–10 minutes before baking. It should be cold and firm but not rock-hard. Cold butter creates steam pockets as the scones bake, which makes them rise beautifully and gives you that tender, flaky texture.
Grate the butter. Grating makes it super easy to mix the butter into the flour so it’s evenly distributed throughout the dough. No pastry cutter needed!
Don’t skip the rise (unless you really want to!). Letting the dough rest and rise for 1–3 hours gives the sourdough discard time to work its magic. It helps the scones puff up and turn out extra fluffy. You can bake them without letting the dough rise, but they’ll turn out much flatter.
Don’t overmix the dough. I combine the wet and dry ingredients just until the dough comes together. Overmixing can make the scones tough instead of tender.

Storage Instructions

Keep your homemade chocolate chip sourdough scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature and reheat (if desired) in the microwave or in a low oven.

You can also try freezing the unbaked, shaped dough by placing the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freezing until solid. Transfer the frozen dough to a freezer-safe bag and then bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time.