Are you ready to impress friends and family with this super moist, healthy breakfast bread? It’s truly the best gluten-free pumpkin chocolate quick bread you’ll ever have!
Keep it sliced and ready to go in the fridge or freezer, to make your weekday breakfast routine that much easier… and delicious! To learn more about what makes this special breakfast bread so healthy and how to build a balanced breakfast with it, keep reading…
skip ahead with these links
- Balanced Breakfast Formula
- Nutrition Facts
- Meal Prep Tips
- Ingredient Substitutions & Tips For Optimal Results
This breakfast bread recipe is ideal for those who:
- Need something quick and easy to feed their family on busy school and work mornings.
- Crave something sweet for breakfast, but want a healthy balanced option.
- Want a gluten-free baking recipe that tastes amazing.
- Have a can of pumpkin sitting in their pantry waiting to be used.
- Love pumpkin bread and could eat it all year round.
Balanced Breakfast Formula
While this breakfast bread packs a nutrient punch all on its own, you’ll have longer-lasting energy if you make it into a complete and balanced meal.
And bonus, the following balanced breakfast formula can be used to build any meal, for any age!
WHAT’S A BALANCED MAIN?
A balanced main is the most substantial component of your meal, consisting of protein, healthy fat and fibre. If long-lasting energy is one of your wellness objectives, assembling a balanced meal that contains a healthy dose of fibre, healthy fats and protein is your mealtime goal.
This healthy breakfast bread is a balanced main in itself, making it a great base for a healthy balanced meal!
HEALTHY EATING TIP: Because this balanced main contains some sugar, try eating your veggies (if applicable) and protein first. This little mealtime hack will help steady the release of energy into your bloodstream, keeping you energized for longer.
why extra protein?
The body in all its glory, is made up of protein. It’s quite literally the building blocks of life! The body needs it to function, heal and grow. Protein is also highly satiating and helps keep you full between meals.
Unfortunately, most adults and kids don’t get enough protein throughout the day. More often than not, it’s because we’re unaware of how much the body needs. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends 1.2 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight if you’re a highly active individual or looking to build muscle (which has numerous health benefits of its own). Otherwise, a very achievable 0.8 grams per kg should cut it!
A BALANCED MEAL USING THIS BREAKFAST BREAD RECIPE
My family doesn’t limit our consumption of this healthy breakfast bread to breakfast alone. Often I’ll make this recipe into muffins for my kids, and use it as the base for their lunch. The following is a list of balancing sides that pair well with this healthy breakfast bread.
- Fruit and veggie smoothie with a hard-boiled egg
- Melon, cucumber and yogurt
- Apple slices and nut butter
- Carrots and hummus
- Berries and cottage cheese
- Pear slices and cheddar cheese
- Small salad topped with baked chicken breast, chickpeas or one tablespoon of hemp seeds
Healthy Breakfast Bread Nutrition Facts
What makes this healthy breakfast bread recipe so nutritious is the combination of fibre-rich veggies, protein-packed pumpkin seeds, and healthy flour and oil alternatives. Oh, and we can’t forget the dark chocolate!
Keep reading (or skip ahead using the links below) to find out what makes these nourishing ingredients so special.
Pumpkin puree
Pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin) is jam-packed with fibre and beta-carotene. Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant that gets converted to vitamin A in the body. It’s also what gives pumpkin its signature orange colour.
Vitamin A helps the body prevent (and fight against) diseases like cancer while protecting eyesight and maintaining healthy immune system function.
Getting 3000IU of vitamin A daily is essential for good health. Thankfully, one slice of this healthy breakfast bread comes in over 2000IU and a whopping 3175IU with the addition of shredded carrots. Adding shredded carrot to this breakfast bread recipe is optional, but highly recommended!
Pumpkin is also high in vitamins C and E, potassium, manganese and copper, and even contains some B vitamins.
Pumpkin seeds
Shelled pumpkin seeds (known as pepitas in North America) are a superfood in their own right! They have the ability to stabilize blood sugar levels, improve heart health, and even prevent the development (or reoccurrence) of different cancers, including breast cancer.
They’re also what help to boost the protein content of this healthy breakfast bread, which clocks in 14g of protein per slice! Pumpkin seeds are also an excellent source of antioxidants, zinc, iron, magnesium and healthy fats.
Opt for raw, shelled pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas) over the roasted variety, and store them in the fridge or freezer to keep them fresh. The best price by far is on Amazon. You can find them in small packages or larger bags at an even better price.
Almonds
This breakfast bread recipe uses almonds in two different ways; as a flour and an oil replacement.
Almond flour is an easy-to-find gluten-free and grain-free flour option, that is also Paleo diet approved. While almond butter acts as the ‘healthy moist maker’ in this recipe, replacing the traditional inflammatory vegetable oils you find in most quick-bread recipes.
Almonds are an excellent course of calcium and promote healthy skin and stable blood sugars while supporting heart and brain health.
As with all nut products, store all your almond products in the fridge to maintain freshness and maximum nutrition. Costco’s Kirkland brand is my go-to for both almond flour and almond butter.
Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate’s health benefits are impressive, to say the least! It’s jam-packed with antioxidants, fibre and essential minerals like magnesium.
This superfood has the power to lower blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol, sharpen your thinking (by increasing blood flow to the brain) and prevent most major diseases!
It’s important to note that not all chocolate is created equal. Look for dark chocolate consisting of 70% or more cacao. The higher the cacao content, the greater the health benefits (when consumed in moderation). And with the latest news and studies around chocolate’s heavy metal levels (more specifically lead and cadmium), it’s best to source good quality (ideally organic) chocolate whenever possible.
FUN FACT: Strong chocolate cravings are the body’s way of asking you to increase your magnesium intake!
Meal Prep Tips
HEALTHY EATING + MEAL PREP HACK
In the time it takes you to make this healthy breakfast bread, you could make two or three. I talk about this easy-to-implement meal prep hack in my Healthy Eating Guide for Beginners.
In fact, I highly recommend doubling or tripling this recipe and making both quick bread AND muffins. And what’s best, you can freeze your leftovers for future breakfasts, snacks and healthy desserts.
Making every minute count in the kitchen is the ultimate hack for slowly integrating meal prep into your already busy routine. Click here for more healthy eating and meal prep hacks!
CHANGE UP YOUR ADD-INS
Speaking of doubling or tripling this recipe, here’s another meal-prep hack for you!
If you’re afraid of tastebud-boredom setting in, try changing up the add-ins and/or toppings in this healthy breakfast bread. You can make seemingly different recipes, with a lot less effort!
Keep scrolling (or click here) for different add-ins and toppings ideas!
STORING YOUR HEALTHY BREAKFAST BREAD
Because of all the healthy, whole-food ingredients used in this healthy breakfast bread, you’ll want to keep it refrigerated. That is, assuming you plan on having leftovers!
This tasty breakfast bread will last for up to 24 hours at room temperature. Otherwise, keep it fresh in the fridge for up to five days.
With that being said, it will last for at least three months in the freezer! I suggest slicing your bread and separating the pieces prior to freezing it.
Ingredient Substitutions & Tips For Optimal Results
SUBSTITUTIONS
You can substitute the canned/pureed pumpkin with mashed sweet potato or other pureed winter squash (like butternut or acorn squash) and still maintain those high levels of fibre and vitamin A!
In the late fall and early winter, most winter squash varieties are very inexpensive, especially the not-so-popular acorn squash. I like to stock up at that time and spend an afternoon roasting them off to puree and store in jars in the freezer.
You can also swap out the almond butter for another nut or seed butter. Note that if you use sunflower seed butter, the inside will turn a dark green shortly after baking. This is because the chlorophyll in sunflower seeds reacts with the baking soda and powder. There is absolutely no difference in its taste which makes it a spooktacular Halloween recipe; ‘mouldy’ breakfast bread!
TASTY HEALTHY ADDINS AND TOPPINGS
When you repeat a recipe over and over, you eventually commit it to muscle memory, making it much quicker to meal prep. To keep it interesting for the people enjoying it, try changing up the add-ins and toppings. Here are some ideas to inspire you:
OPTIONAL ADD-INS
- Raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries
- A mixture of dried fruit and chocolate chips
- Shredded coconut
- Chopped walnuts, almonds or Brazil nuts
- Hemp seeds, sunflower seeds or more pumpkin seeds
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
- Frozen or fresh raspberries
- Sliced banana
- Thinly sliced apple
- Chopped nuts
- More dark chocolate…because why not?!
If you try this healthy breakfast bread recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Comment below or tag me @nourashnutrition in your Instagram stories!
HEALTHY BREAKFAST BREAD WITH PUMPKIN & DARK CHOCOLATE
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cup almond flour, firmly packed (see notes about measuring)
- 1/2 cup flax meal
- 1 tbsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds chopped
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree or sweet potato or winter squash puree (canned or homemade)
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp almond butter or any nut or seed butter of choice
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup very finely shredded or chopped carrots (optional but recommended if handy)
OPTIONAL ADD-INS AND TOPPINGS
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or raisins (see notes for more ideas)
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (as an add-in or topping)
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries (as a topping)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Combine all your wet ingredients and mix until smooth, ensuring the egg has been well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients.
- Add your dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. The batter should be thick and moist but not runny.
- Gently stir in your chocolate chips, dried fruit and/or chopped nuts but try not to overmix.
- Allow your batter to sit while you line a bread/loaf pan with parchment paper. Lining your pan will make it much easier to remove and slice. Alternatively, you can make this recipe into muffins or a cake. If that's the case, line your muffin pan, mini muffin pan or baking dish. See notes for one of my favourite meal prep hacks!
- Transfer your batter to the pan of your choice and bake in the oven for 40 to 55 minutes, depending on the shape and material of your pan. You'll know it's done when the edges begin to brown, the top is firm, and an inserted toothpick/cake tester comes out mostly clean. If making muffins, bake for 25 to 28 minutes for regular muffins and 18 minutes for mini muffins. This recipe will yield 12 muffins. If making a 11×7 or 9×9 cake, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the shape and material of your pan.
- Allow your bread to cool completely, about 30 to 40 minutes, before slicing to ensure a cleaner cut.
Notes
- When measuring your almond flour, you’ll need to firmly pack the flour into the measuring cups. There are two ways you can do this:
- Using your measuring cups, you can scoop the flour directly from the bag and press it in.
- Using a spoon, you can spoon your flour into the measuring cups and press it down until it’s packed in.
- Raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries
- A mixture of dried fruit and chocolate chips
- Shredded coconut
- Chopped walnuts, almonds or Brazil nuts
- Hemp seeds, sunflower seeds or more pumpkin seeds
- Frozen or fresh raspberries
- Sliced banana
- Thinly sliced apple
- More dark chocolate…because why not?!
Nutrition
Questions About This Healthy Breakfast Bread?
If you have any questions about this healthy breakfast bread recipe or the information you’ve learned today, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me an Instagram direct message! ✨
I can’t wait to hear all about your healthy eating journey and what you’ve been cooking! Please comment below or share your successes with me on Instagram @nourashnutrition so that I can celebrate you and your healthy eating milestones!
Sending you strength and confidence today to fuel your healthiest tomorrow!
O.M.G! This breakfast bread is SO good! I’m gluten free so this is such a good breakfast. A very good school breakfast!🍞
Thank you, Sia! I’m so happy you like the recipe. I’m gluten-free too, and I can’t wait to share more gluten-free recipes with you! If you have any requests, please feel free to let me know!👩🍳✨
Hi ash! I do have a request. Can you do a post on chocolate pudding? 🍫
You got it! I have a recipe in mind that I think you’ll love!👩🍳🍫
Great!🍫🧑🍳