Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread

This delicious peanut butter pumpkin bread is full of amazing fall flavors and is made with oodles of healthy ingredients. Make it with or without chocolate chips to fit your personal taste! Gluten free + dairy-free

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Now, I truly am not complaining (okay, maybe I am a little). Fall in Southern California is not like fall most other places in the Northern Hemisphere. Don’t get me wrong, I love San Diego. We get perfect sunny days 95% of the time and the beaches are literally what postcards are made of. I love the vibe of the west coast and see why so many flock here for vacations. Heck, my husband and I decided to intentionally plant our roots after we both grew up in New England. However, the Maine girl in me deeply misses the cool fall vibe of the east coast once the calendar rolls over to September.

Plus, fall in San Diego is hot. Hella hot. It basically feels like summer until about Thanksgiving.

So, I (along with pretty much everyone else in San Diego) get my fall feels on by getting silly excited about everything pumpkin related (well, that and the Halloween section at Target). And this peanut butter pumpkin bread is 100% making me feel like the seasons are changing…even though I am still running my AC around the clock just to be able to stand wearing clothing (just saying).

This peanut butter pumpkin bread is so easy to make in ONE bowl and is made from just a handful of real food ingredients you might already have kicking around. It is naturally gluten free, though no one will be able to tell since this bread is so soft and spongy. And, it serves up some serious pumpkin spice flavor!

Where to find pumpkin puree

Pumpkin puree is one of my favorite things to have on hand to make veggie-loading all the foods super easy. I find it quite easily in the fall and winter in my local grocery store. It is usually stored with the other canned vegetables.

Just a quick heads up! When you grab a can of pumpkin puree, make sure it is JUST pumpkin on the ingredients and not “pumpkin pie filling”. The filling has added spices and sugar. Which are nice, but will throw this recipe a bit.

If you can’t find canned pumpkin or you are just someone who likes to keep things as homemade as possible, you can absolutely make it yourself. And it is pretty easy! Just follow this simple recipe and store leftover puree in your freezer for when you want to make something else pumpkin-loaded!

How to make peanut butter pumpkin bread nut-free

If you follow me, you know nut butter based baked goods is a favorite of mine. But with nut allergies on the rise, I often get asked how to make these kinds of recipes nut-free.

I love using sunflower seed butter as a nut butter replacement. However, there is a trick to it.

You see, when sunflower seed butter and baking soda are combined in a recipe and then baked….the baked good will turn green. It will be totally edible, just a little funky to look at. So this is what I suggest you do when subbing the nut butter in this recipe with sunflower seed butter.

Add 1/3 cup cocoa powder to the batter. This will add to the chocolatey goodness of the bake AND hide the funky green color!

Suggested adaptions for making peanut butter pumpkin bread

• Sub the pumpkin puree with butternut squash puree or sweet potato puree. I find these are pretty interchangeable in most recipes! Plus, sometimes butternut squash or sweet potato puree is easier to find if you are baking this bread “off season”
• Make it Paleo. Just switch the peanut butter for almond butter!
• Make them as muffins. Portion them out in a lined muffin tin and bake at the same temperature about 20 minutes. Let them cool for another 15 before digging in!
• Skip the chocolate chips. I love chocolate and pumpkin together. But if its not your jam or you want to reduce the sugar in this bread, you can leave them out!

Other awesome pumpkin recipes you are going to adore

• Pumpkin Almond Butter Cookies 
• Breakfast Pumpkin Soufflé
• One-Bowl Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

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