Today, I’m bringing you my FIRST recipe on the blog using pumpkin. Yes, finally, my Healthy Pumpkin Walnut Bread recipe is up on the blog. This recipe is great for a make-ahead breakfast idea or as a light dessert with a cup of hot tea or coffee. If you love pumpkin, I think you’re going to love this quick, easy and healthy recipe.
Gosh, I cannot believe Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner. This year just flew by. This time of year is always bitter sweet. I’m always excited for the new year, but a little sad when the current year is coming to a close. During this time of year, I like to reflect on the good times and those times that were a bit challenging and how I overcame those challenges. Whether those challenges were with my blog or a life lesson, I overcame those obstacles. 2016 has been a great year, and I know 2017 will also be a year full of blessings.
As I sit here writing this blog post, I can smell the Healthy Pumpkin Walnut Bread and it smells sooooooo good. I actually did something a little different this time around. Actually, I’ve tried this method the last two times that I made this bread. I layered the bottom of the bread pan with crushed walnut to create a crust ‘so to speak’
then I poured the batter over the layer of crushed walnuts.
This creates a beautiful toasted walnut layer that adds texture with a very slight crunch. Another bit of a secret, I used applesauce. Yep, unsweetened applesauce. I tend to use unsweetened applesauce to cut calories.
As a side note, I also wanted to mention that lately I’ve been using lighter tasting extra virgin olive oil, and I absolutely love it. It really does have a much lighter taste than regular extra virgin olive oil which I think is perfect for baking.
If you like this recipe, check out my Healthier Banana Bread. I use some of the same ingredients.
As a tip, I tend to measure out all of my ingredients first and place them in separate small bowls or measuring cups as this makes the prepping process go a lot faster. This way, I am not taking out and measuring ingredients as I go.
I typically drizzle the top with a simple glaze for a little extra sweetness. This step is optional but oh so good.
Thanks for stopping by.
- 1-3/4 cup flour all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or a combination of both
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
- dash ground ginger
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil light tasting
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups crushed walnuts
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray bread pan using cooking spray with flour or spray with regular cooking spray and dust inside of bread pan with flour which is the method I used.
- Layer the bottom of the bread pan with crushed walnuts making sure the crushed walnuts are added in a single layer over the entire surface.
- Place brown sugar and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, mix ingredients until just incorporated. Add in eggs one at a time and mix just to break egg yolk. Add applesauce and pumpkin puree and mix. Using a rubber spatula mix in vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl or measuring cup, prepare dry ingredients: add flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix using a spoon.
- Add half of dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix using a rubber spatula. Add remaining dry ingredients to wet ingredients and continue to mix. Pour batter into prepared bread pan and sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts.
- Cook for 45 - 47 minutes. After 40 minutes or so, test using a toothpick to gauge how much longer your bread needs to cook.
- Remove your bread from the pan and cool for a few minutes and ENJOY
- You can drizzle the top with a simple glaze for added sweetness if you'd like. This step is optional
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