Bake up a loaf of lightly sweet honey pumpkin bread, made gluten free, paleo, and dairy free thanks to almond flour and arrowroot flour.
I don't know about you, but I think one of the simple pleasures of life is a good quick bread recipe paired with a fresh cup of strong black coffee. This gluten free honey pumpkin bread makes a perfect accompaniment to that first morning cup on a crisp autumn morning.

Why you'll love this quick bread recipe
GLUTEN FREE: You've never guess this quick bread recipe is gluten free!
PERFECT TEXTURE: Moist and tender, this gluten free pumpkin bread has an awesome texture thanks to the combination of almond flour and arrowroot flour!
Jump to:
- Why you'll love this quick bread recipe
- Ingredients of note
- How to make gluten free pumpkin bread from scratch
- How to make your own pumpkin puree
- Why is my pumpkin bread gummy?
- Can you freeze gluten free pumpkin bread?
- Optional mix-ins and toppings
- Craving more gluten free quick breads? Try these favorites!
- 📖 Recipe

Ingredients of note
PUMPKIN PUREE: If you're using canned, make sure to grab pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix. Feel free to use your own pumpkin puree if you'd like, too!
ALMOND FLOUR: I love using almond flour for gluten free quick bread recipes - it keeps the texture tender and prevents dryness, which lots of gluten free recipes suffer from!
ARROWROOT FLOUR: Arrowroot flour provides just a little lightness, to prevent the almond flour-focused dry ingredients from being TOO moist. You can use tapioca flour in a pinch, but arrowroot flour should be your first option.
HONEY: Of course we need honey for a honey-flavored recipe! Grab the best honey you can find. Note that if you use clover honey, it'll have a different flavor overall.
PUMPKIN PIE SPICE: A little pumpkin pie spice brings out that warm pumpkin flavor! You can use a store-bought blend or make your own with my go-to blend included in the recipe.
COCONUT OIL: To keep this pumpkin bread recipe dairy free as well as gluten free, I used coconut oil. Feel free to use butter if you'd prefer!
How to make gluten free pumpkin bread from scratch
Gluten free baking can be a challenge, but it seems that quick bread recipes are one of the easiest categories to tackle. A blend of almond flour and arrowroot flour create the perfect texture for moist, dense quick breads - no need for wheat flour here!
How to make your own pumpkin puree
If you're truly working from scratch - meaning, starting with a pumpkin and hoping to make your own pumpkin puree, I have a couple tips:
- Use a pie pumpkin. Carving pumpkins are for carving, and their flesh is stringy and not as flavorful.
- Homemade puree can get pretty watery depending on the method you use. You're going for canned consistency here - or the quick bread could be too wet to stay together.
My favorite method for making pumpkin puree is to cut the pumpkin into quarters, scoop out the seeds, and roast at 425 degrees F until soft. Cool slightly, peel off the skin, add the flesh to a blender, and puree until smooth.
Why is my pumpkin bread gummy?
Gumminess is a comming problem with quick breads! A couple factors could be the culprit.
The recipe itself - A recipe that has too many wet ingredients, creating a really wet batter, could be a problem. If the batter's too wet, it'll pool at the bottom of the bread, with not enough flour or baking soda/powder to give it lift.
Old baking soda/baking powder - What makes quick breads possible without any yeast is the "lift" the baking bread gets from baking soda and baking powder. But too many of us (me included!) let containers of these crucial ingredients sit on the shelf FOREVER. If your baking soda or baking powder is old, it may no longer be active.
Over-stirring - There's a reason most recipes specify to stir "just until incorporated" or "just until mixed" in many quick bread recipes! Stirring the batter too much could be the cause of your gummy quick bread problems.
Can you freeze gluten free pumpkin bread?
Yes! Almond flour, arrowroot flour, honey, and pumpkin all freeze well.
My suggestion for storage is to wrap a completely cooled loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then put the whole thing in a large freezer-safe storage bag, squeeze the air out, and seal.
It should keep for 2-3 months in the freezer this way. To thaw, just remove it from the bag, but not the plastic wrap, and thaw on the counter.
There you go - a touch of summer even in the dead of winter. Hooray for freezer technology!

Optional mix-ins and toppings
The ability to add to and customize the recipe makes quick breads so much more fun!
If you're looking for a bit of a flair to this already-amazing honey pumpkin bread, here's a few ideas.
Mix-ins
- Chocolate chips
- Chopped pecans or walnuts
- Dried cranberries
Toppings
- Cream cheese frosting - use dairy free cream cheese to keep it paleo
- Honey pumpkin drizzle - as shown in the photos for this recipe (I combined 1 teaspoon honey with 1 tablespoon pumpkin, then added 1 teaspoon at a time of almond milk until I reached a "drizzle" consistency!)
Craving more gluten free quick breads? Try these favorites!
- Gluten Free Zucchini Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Plantain Pumpkin Bread
- Paleo Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Banana Bread
📖 Recipe
Honey Pumpkin Bread (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Bake up a loaf of lightly sweet honey pumpkin bread, made gluten free, grain free, and dairy free thanks to almond flour and arrowroot flour.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup coconut oil or butter, melted
- ⅓ cup raw honey
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups almond flour
- ½ cup arrowroot flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or lightly coat with oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the almond flour, arrowroot flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool completely before slicing.





Jeff says
Step 2 says add vanilla extract but it's not listed in ingredients.
Chelsea says
Thanks for catching that, Jeff! The recipe's been updated. 🙂