The BEST EVER Cream Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Bread (Gluten Free)

Hands down the best pumpkin bread recipe you will ever taste! Perfectly spiced moist and delicious pumpkin bread filled with a maple cream cheese center. Loaded with good-for-you ingredients, low in sugar, and gluten-free. Yeah, you need to make this stat!

If you like this recipe you should try this AMAZING chocolate chip banana bread and my favorite pumpkin muffins!

There is one thing I want to eat on Thanksgiving morning, a fall-inspired, yummy, happy making baked good. My mom has made a cranberry spice cake for years as our Thanksgiving morning fuel, and this year I am playing swapsies and bringing this cream cheese swirl pumpkin bread (I usually insist on a protein smoothie in addition to the baked good, ya know for blood sugar stability and all!)

To be clear this is not exclusively a Thanksgiving recipe, heck no, you could eat this yummy pumpkin bread all year round. It is a riff on my super popular sweet potato bread recipe. Made with wholesome almond butter, pumpkin, oats, maple syrup, and spices, and then the center of the cake is basically maple cheesecake and you are going to love me for it. You will get to the center and think, “Wow, Abra gets me”. And you will be right.

So here we are, ready to dive into your new favorite quickbread recipe, and did I mention it's quick? I mean it bakes in the oven for a bit, but the coming together of all the ingredients is silly easy.

Let's Get Cooking!

INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Detailed measurements and ingredients can be found within the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Pumpkin Puree – Unsweetened simple pureed pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. I am happy to report this recipe uses an entire can of pumpkin. Hurrah! No leftover random bits.
• Oat Flour – You can easily make oat flour by blending rolled oats in the blender, or simply purchase a bag of oat flour at the store.
• Almond butter – Almond butter not only adds healthy monounsaturated fat and extra protein to this bread but is also a great trick to improve the texture of gluten-free baked goods.
• Eggs – Large organic eggs.
• Maple Syrup – This pumpkin bread is naturally sweetened with my favorite fall friend, maple syrup! I used a local AMAZING maple syrup – Catskill Mountain Sugar House Organic Maple Syrup, you can grab a holiday-sized jug (ahem… the largest size possible!) on ShopTasteNy
• Vanilla Extract, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice
• Cream Cheese – If you are vegan or dairy free you can easily swap in dairy free cream cheese.

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED

• 9x5x3 loaf pan –
• Mixing bowls
• High-speed blender, or food processor
• Mixing spoon
• Spatula

How to Make Cream Cheese Swirled Pumpkin Bread

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine
2. Combine wet ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until well combined. The mixture will be fairly thick.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine
4. In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese, maple syrup, and egg yolk. Using a hand mixer beat until well combined and creamy.

5. Pour half of the batter into a greased loaf pan, add the cream cheese mixture on top.
6. Using a spatula spread out the cream cheese mixture over the pumpkin batter.
7. Pour the remaining batter on top of the cream cheese layer.
8. Bake in a 350° oven for 50-60 minutes.

Tips For Making Moist Gluten-Free Baked Goods

1. Do not overbake. This is the golden rule. The bread will dry out and lose its moisture if you leave it in the oven for too long. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out “mostly” clean. The toothpick test is a little harder to judge with a cream cheese filling, but you should have raw batter on the toothpick.
2. Follow the recipe and include all liquid ingredients. This should ensure that you have moist and tender pumpkin bread.
3. Do not overwork batter. Once you combine the ingredients pour the batter into the pan and bake. Overworked batter, made from oat flour can produce a gummy texture.

What makes this pumpkin bread “healthier”?

AKA… NUTRITION NERD CORNER 🤓

I love creating baked good recipes that use wholesome ingredients and are lower in refined sugar. This bread is no exception. Here are some of the nutrient highlights.

• Gluten-Free – not all gluten-free baked goods are inherently “better for you” (as a matter of fact, for many it is exactly the opposite) but this bread has a simple list of ingredients and uses nutrient-dense, gluten-free, oat flour.
• Naturally sweetened – This pumpkin bread is naturally sweetened with my favorite fall friend, maple syrup! I used a local AMAZING maple syrup – Catskill Mountain Sugar House Organic Maple Syrup, you can grab a holiday-sized jug (ahem… the largest size possible!) on ShopTasteNy
• Balanced fat and protein – This bread has 10g protein/4g fiber – which creates a beautifully balanced macronutrient profile to not spike blood sugar (and at only 12 g/ sugar per slice!)
• Nutrient-dense – Adding whole food ingredients to bake goods assures that you are adding vitamins and minerals! Woohoo! Pumpkin alone adds antioxidants, and vitamins A, and C.

How To Serve Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

Preferably a big thick slice with an incredible cup of tea or coffee.

STORAGE/FREEZING

• STORAGE: Baked goods using oat flour spoil quickly. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days and on the counter top (wrapped well) for 2 days.
• FREEZING: This bread freezes quite well, wrap tightly and freeze for up to 6 months.

DIETARY MODIFICATIONS FOR THIS RECIPE

This recipe is Gluten-Free and vegetarian.

• Dairy-Free – Substitute dairy-free cream cheese
• Almond-free – If you are allergic to nuts you can substitute sunflower seed butter, however, the bread may turn green! Baking powder and baking soda react with the chlorophyll in the seeds creating a reaction known as chlorogenic quinone-amino acid greening

I can’t wait for you to try this Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl! When you make it, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @abrapappa or use the hashtag #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo! 

If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

MORE FALL-INSPIRED BAKED GOOD RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE

Tahini Swirl Espresso Brownies

Pumpkin Spice Scones

Apple Pear Crisp

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies