Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegan pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting is going to be your new favourite fall treat! It’s sweet, full of cozy spices, and the fluffy frosting takes it over the top.
Pumpkin bread is an iconic fall treat, but you know what? I think it’s about time we start making it year-round! One bite of this pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting and I think you’ll agree. This is a moist and flavourful quick bread made with pumpkin puree, warm fall spices, and tangy vegan cream cheese frosting for the perfect finishing touch. It’s truly irresistible!
Why You’ll Love Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting
- Bread worthy of a dessert. Some quick bread recipes straddle the line between breakfast or snack and dessert, but the cream cheese frosting makes this pumpkin bread a decadent treat!
- Moist and tender. The pumpkin puree keeps this bread ultra moist. No dry quick bread here! (My pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are also perfectly moist.)
- Easy to make. Quick bread recipes get their name from the fact that they don’t require yeast to rise, but they’re also quick to make—just mix up the batter and bake! The frosting also comes together in minutes.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- All-purpose flour – Or gluten-free flour. Use a 1:1 variety you like for baking.
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Fine sea salt
- Spices – Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice bring all the cozy flavour.
- Pumpkin puree – You can use canned or homemade pumpkin puree.
- Brown sugar – Or coconut sugar, cane sugar, or other granulated sugar.
- Oil
- Vegan milk – Any kind you have on hand as long as it’s unflavoured and unsweetened.
- Vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Vegan cream cheese – Store-bought or homemade vegan cream cheese.
- Vegan butter sticks – Or an equivalent amount of my vegan butter recipe.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- Sea salt
- Powdered sugar
- Cornstarch – This helps thicken the frosting.
How to Make Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Mix the pumpkin puree, sugar, and oil in a stand mixer for about 1 minute. Beat in the milk and vanilla extract.
- Combine wet and dry. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Bake. Transfer the batter to a greased, parchment-lined loaf pan and bake at 350ºF for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Beat the vegan cream cheese and butter until combined, then beat in the vanilla and salt, followed by a cup of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Continue to add powdered sugar 1/3 cup at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
- Frost the bread. Spread the frosting over the top of the cool pumpkin bread, then slice and serve.
Tips for Success
- Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing can lead to a dense and tough bread. Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until they are combined.
- Make sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree is made of only cooked pumpkin, while pumpkin pie filling contains additional spices and sweeteners.
- Grease and line your loaf pan for easy removal. Greasing the pan will prevent sticking, while lining it with parchment paper makes it easier to lift the bread out of the pan once it’s done baking.
- Let the bread cool completely before frosting. This prevents the frosting from melting. Even if the pumpkin bread is a little bit warm, the cream cheese frosting can deflate or melt!
Variations
- Make it nutty. You can fold chopped pecans or walnuts into the bread batter, sprinkle them on top of the cream cheese frosting, or both!
- Add chocolate chips. Vegan chocolate chips make a delicious addition to this pumpkin bread. Fold them into the batter before transferring to the loaf pan, or make this vegan chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe, and add the cream cheese frosting over the top!
How to Store
- Refrigerator: Keep your pumpkin bread covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting on a parchment-lined baking sheet until the frosting is solid. Then, wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe bag or container. It can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
More Vegan Pumpkin Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make this pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, or gluten free flour, 284g/10oz
- 2 teaspoons baking powder, 9.6g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda, 3g
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 2.8g
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2.3g
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 5g
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, 244g
- 1 cup brown sugar, (200g) or coconut sugar, cane sugar or other granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup oil, (80g) melted
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons vegan milk, 150mL
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2.7 ounces vegan cream cheese, bring to room temperature, 75.67g
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons vegan butter sticks, bring to room temperature, 38g (1.3 ounces)
- ⅓ teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla paste
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1-1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar, sifted (120g for 1 cup, 160g for 1 ⅓ cups)
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch, sifted (10.67g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice ingredients and whisk together to remove any lumps.
- In a standing mixer or with a whisk, mix the pumpkin puree, sugar, and oil until partially combined for about 1 minute. Add in the milk and vanilla extract and combine for another minute until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix one cup at a time into the wet ingredients on a medium to low speed until it’s all combined. Don’t over mix – up to 2 minutes while using your spatula to scrape down is enough. The batter will be thick.
- “Pour” batter into the loaf pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes. The loaf is finished when a knife or tester comes out clean.
- Allow to cool fully. Spread cream cheese frosting on top.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat the vegan cream cheese and butter together for about 2 minutes until fully incorporated.
- Add in the vanilla extract or paste and the pinch of salt.
- Add in a cup of sifted powdered sugar and all of the sifted cornstarch. Mix for about 1 minute or until incorporated. Add in the powdered sugar 1⁄3 cup at a time until the frosting has reached the desired thickness.
- Place the frosting wrapped or covered into the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight, until being used. You can enjoy it right away, but it will thicken up beautifully in the fridge.
- Spread it over the pumpkin bread on the top. Slice, and enjoy!
Notes
- Refrigerator: Keep your pumpkin bread covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting on a parchment-lined baking sheet until the frosting is solid. Then, wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe bag or container. It can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Jessica. This was simply the best! Easy to make and an instant favorite in my household. We didn’t discriminate, we had it for breakfast, lunch and desert!!!
Thanks for sharing Judy! SO happy it was such a fave in your household it is in ours too!!
Hi Jessica! This looks so good, esp with vegan cream cheese frosting! Do you think this would work in a square baking pan instead of a loaf, if I reduce the baking time?
Hi Erin,
Thank you so much!! I hope you enjoy it SO so much!
Oh great question – what size is the square baking pan? It should work it just needs some shifting around on the time like you said, depending on the size of the pan!
OK – I baked it in a 9 x 9 square metal pan for 30 minutes and it turned out perfect! I made the cream cheese frosting exactly per your recipe and it was just enough to cover the entire top of the 9 x 9 cake. I added 1/2 tsp of maple extract to the frosting and it is so good. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing Erin and so happy you enjoyed yay!! Maple extract sounds AMAZING!!
You’re so welcome and thanks for sharing – I know your comment will be very helpful for anyone trying to convert this too!
This recipe turned out perfect! I’ve had bad luck lately with loaves being gooey in the center, sometimes gluten free baking recipes can be hit or miss. I followed the advice to weigh my ingredients, doubled the recipe to make 2 loaves, and they turned out great. Perfect texture all the way through, and delicious. The frosting is great too. This will definitely be a new go-to fall recipe for me. Thanks!
SO so happy to hear this Erin! Thanks so much for sharing with me and for your comment! You’re so welcome!
Hey Jessica,
I would like to do this recipe but sugarless (no brown and powdered sugar) I have sensitivity to sugar and sweeteners. Im for flavor of spices over sugar. Does omitting sugar change the texture of the batter and final product? Do I need a powder replacement for the brown sugar?
Hi Ebony,
Are you able to have sweetener alternatives like monk fruit? The sugar does contribute greatly to the moisture in this pumpkin bread, so I couldn’t suggest omitting it completely. You could swap half of it from a sweetener alternative like monk fruit, however! I hope this helps – enjoy!
Hey Jessica,
Thanks for your response!!! Honey is the only natural sweetener that does not cause sensitivity to my teeth and gums. Monk fruit I have not tried but is that similar to date sugar? I have that in my pantry but I get kinda apprehensive to try it again. As far as other sweeteners I have not had good experiences with them. Using half the amount of sugar sounds like a good safe cautionary idea to try!