Joy the Baker

Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Pecan Everything Bread

by 174 Comments

IMG_0549

I decided to make apple muffins…. then I thought cranberry bread would be a better idea.

I wanted pumpkin pecan pancakes…. then I thought that plain old cinnamon toast would be the best idea ever.

Instead… I just combined every possible holiday flavor into this vegan quick bread.

I did that, and I’m glad I did.

IMG_0428

IMG_0411

This bread has everything:

warm and comforting pumpkin and spice, tangy fresh cranberries, baked apples, toasted pecans and cinnamon sugar.

I mean… if we’re going to go with something holiday-y… why not go all the way?

IMG_0419

I’m going to make this about fourteen more times before the year is done.

IMG_0526

Now… because this recipe is vegan and doesn’t have any eggs to help bind the gluten… it’s a little crumbly.  It’s important to let the loaf cool completely before slicing. And!  Slice into thick generous slices.  Pro tips.

Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Pecan Bread

makes two 9x4x3-inch loaves (and it freezes well!)

Print this Recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, or just under two cups

1 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup water

1 cup chopped pecans plus 8 pecan halves

1 heaping cup fresh cranberries

1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored and cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place a rack in the center of the oven.  Grease and flour two loaf pans (mine are 9x4x3) and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

In a medium bowl, carefully whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup and water.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold all of the ingredients together.  Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl well, finding any stray flour bits to mix in.  Fold in most of the chopped pecans, cranberries and apple chunks.

Divide the dough between the two greased pans and arrange pecan halves on top of each loaf.  Sprinkle loaf with cinnamon and granulated sugar if you’d like.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Let rest in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.

Cool completely before slicing.  Slice into thick pieces and serve.  Maybe even wrap one loaf up in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for future munching.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. April

    This looks like an awesome recipe, and the ingredients have just been added to my shopping list! Just curious though, it says “Fold in most of the chopped pecans, cranberries and apple chunks.”
    What do you do with the rest? Or is it only “most” because you have been snacking on the pieces as you cook? ;-)

    Reply

  3. Mona

    I just discovered this recipe and it’s insanely addictive, in a good way ???? I have already made it twice in the last two weeks. I did make a couple changes: one, I cut way down on the sugar. I made half the recipe and used 1/3 cup Truvia plus 1/4 cup maple syrup. This was plenty sweet for our palates, even the kids didn’t complain!
    Second, I didn’t have whole we at flour, so I used unbleached organic white and 1/4 cup of flax meal. I counted the flax meal towards the required flour quantity. Also, skipped the pecans in batter and replaced with hemp seeds, shelled. Plus, no fresh cranberries, so I soaked some dried.
    Well, I guess that’s more than a couple changes, but boy was it good!! The flax made it all moist, so no crumbly texture. Making it again tomorrow to take to a potluck!

    Reply

  5. Marta J

    Amazing recipe, and amazingly flexible! Couldn’t find cranberries so I added chopped dry mango and dry papaya instead… and swapped the canned pumpkin with baked pieces of butternut squash- I believe it helps in binding the ingredients more (it takes on the role of the missing egg). Now I have the best breakfast for a week :)!

    Reply

  7. Shannon M

    I just made this bread this morning and I followed everything; except I replaced the (1) cup of oil with (1) cup of unsweetened applesauce. It came out beautifully moist and scrumptious. Not crumbly at all. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!

    Reply

  8. Denise

    A little change up…used whole wheat pastry flour for the all purpose, brown rice flour for the whole wheat, agave for the maple syrup and applesauce for the oil (it’s what we had available!) and cooked them in muffin tins at 350 for 25 mins. Delicious!! May add more cinnamon next time :)

    Reply

  9. bunny mama

    Oh, totally yum. Made this yesterday, and the whole house smelled fantastic all evening. I kept one loaf for my family, gave the other to my in-laws. Everybody raved about it – even my 3 year old! This one tipped the scale for me. I’ve gone from major baker’s crush to full on madcrazylove for you, Joy. Hope you’re okay with that.

    Reply

  10. Julia

    Um, wow. I just discovered your site and was looking for a wholesome easy bread recipe, and I came across this one. I just finished backing, it’s SO GOOD! And looks so pretty fresh out of the oven. I subbed honey for the syrup and cashews/almonds for the pecans. I also used Truvia in place of the sugar since I’m REALLY trying to lessen my intake. Can’t wait to share this at work today!

    Reply

  11. lauren

    ‘i must make this cake, i must make this cake!’

    that’s what my eyes are telling me… yep my eyes. (or.. brain ? idk) all i DO know is, i need to make this cake-bread-delicious explosion asap! thanks always for your delicious and scrumptious recipes! my mouth is officially watering now. great. ~lauren :)

    Reply

  13. Becca

    Scrum-dittly-uptous! The only word to describe this deliciously delicious bread. Instead of making 1 big loaf I made mini loaves! I’m obsessed with mini loaves! They are the most adorable bundles of yumminess. Thanks for the recipe Joy – massive fan of your blog!

    Reply

  14. Melissa

    My sister and I are in the middle of making this loaf. We put most of the batter in a big bread pan and made some tiny muffins with the extra batter. OMG they are so good! There is just the perfect amount of spice. Not crumbly. Can’t wait to try the loaf! Joy, everything we make of yours is delicious!!

    Reply

  15. Yaya

    I am not a vegan but I wanted to make this because it looked wonderful and it was. I LOVED IT! The only things I did different were that I didn’t use the whole wheat flour (just because I didn’t have any) so I used all purpose flour for all of it and I didn’t do the sugar on top because I forgot to. I had no problem with it being crumbly. It came out perfect and I will be making this again.

    Reply

  16. PeaSoup

    Joy, I just had to tell you I made this bread for our breakfast on Christmas Day and it was simply wonderful. It was so moist and kept well for days – Taryn, you needn’t have worried about it crumbling, it held together beautifully. I made some muffins from the batter too and they were awesome. This is my new favourite recipe. Please do keep the vegan recipes coming, they are fab!

    Reply

  17. Taryn

    I made this bread last weekend, but added 2 eggs to help keep the bread from crumbling too much — it was FANTASTIC!! The apples were my favorite part, but all of the ingredients complimented one another so nicely — seriously wonderful.

    Reply

  19. Suphatra L.

    I baked this and it came out wonderful. I subbed dried for fresh cranberries and used 1 cup of roasted pumpkin puree and 2 cup of canned puree. The apples were the best in this, and the pecans baked perfectly into the bread!

    Reply

  20. Louise

    Made this for New Years Eve for my vegan friends. Embodiment of PERFECTION! They took the remainder of the cut loaf with them, and I’m left with a whole loaf to horde. Nothing better for the first breakfast of a brand new year.

    Resolutions? What resolutions???

    Reply

  21. Maggie

    This was the second Joy recipe I’ve tried and once again I am extremely satisfied. A few minutes ago I tasted a bit to see if it was done…or was that just an excuse to justify putting burning hot deliciousness in my mouth?…and it’s very very good. I made them in a muffin tin (and cut down on the sugar a bit) and was afraid they’d bake too fast and that the cranberries would be left hard, but no, they are perfect. I am not vegan, have never made anything vegan, etc and there is NOTHING a non-vegan would dislike about this recipe. I hear my dad and big brother trying it now and am hearing lots of this: “hmmmm”

    Reply

  24. Brigett'

    OMG, this was my first trip to your blog. This bread is amazing. My mom who is way toooo picky for my liking LOVED this. Congrats to you and keep the ideas acomin’!

    Reply

  27. Morgan

    JOY! This bread is a-ma-zing!!! I accidentally broke a warm loaf in half today so had a good excuse to try a slice…which led to 2…which led to 3…OMG it’s divine. Thank you for sharing!!!

    Reply

  30. Jamie

    I only had whole wheat flour in the house, so I used all whole wheat (no white) and added 4 oz of applesauce. It turned out really well! Not crumbly at all! Moist and dense. Yumm-o!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!

    Reply

  32. Emma D

    Oh wow. I saw your recipe for pumpkin bread…then saw this one …and I just had to make them both! I had one tin of pumpkin left from a trip about 2 years ago to the US and had no idea what to do with it as we Brits don’t really use it. Squigy pumpkin in a tin just sounds really weird. But now I get it! So moist! So yummy! Gives you a little vegetable hit to convince yourself it’s not really that bad for you! I had to substitute cranberries for raisins and maple syrup for golden syrup but it still tasted amazing. Great recipe, Joy- can’t wait to make some more of your little gems.

    Reply

    • Catherine

      You mean you substituted raisins for cranberries and golden syrup for maple syrup, not the other way around? Cranberries are now in season in the UK……in case you want to make it again. I think real cranberries would give more moisture and better flavour to the cake.

      Reply

  33. Sarah Meg.

    OH MY. This is perfect. Sweet but not too much so, toasty from the spices and pumpkin, texture from the nuts, tartness from the cranberries. It tastes wholesome, and it’s VEGAN!! You can eat it for Thanksgiving dessert AND breakfast the next morning and retain your integrity, ahahah. THANK YOU!!

    Reply

  34. ada

    I’m thankful for this recipe! I’m in charge of desserts for thanksgiving & this was a hit. My Mom is a vegan & she needs a dessert as well. All the non-vegans were equally excited to try. Good stuff & please keep them coming.

    Reply

  35. Michelle Henderson

    I made this today to make myself feel better, while recovering from a head cold. It was amazingly easy and delicious. Even my stepdad who is wary of things vegan ate it up and didn’t care when I told him it was vegan. This recipe has found a home in my official, frilly, Family Cookbook too. Written in ink! It’s that good :)

    Reply

  36. AH

    Joy – this bread is delish! I saw the recipe Thurs night, made some Friday for friends. Went a little skimpy in the pans so I could have a taste, and I had to make it again because it was SO good! I had butternut squash that had been frozen – hadn’t come up w/ how to use it yet, and this was perfect.
    Thanks for sharing your yummies!

    Reply

  38. Karyne W

    Hey Joy! I made this and gave it to a vegan friend as a gift — she said it was awesome :) I added a streusel topping as a little extra sugar kick as well! Thanks for all your stories/recipes!

    Reply

  41. Jefta

    Just wondering how many eggs you would recommend to include in the recipe for people who aren’t vegans; plus any other changes that need to be made. Thanks!

    Reply

    • sully

      Jefta,
      Did you ever get an answer to this question? If you have any pointers, would you please share them?
      I was thinking the same thing because I don’t want it to be crumbly…and, like you, have many family/friends who aren’t vegans. Thanks–

      Reply

      • reinata

        I made them as muffins – baked about 20-25 minutes at the given temperature. They were wonderful and the ‘pre-portioned’ approach took care of the crumblyness. half a recipe made about 15 small muffins (cupcake size).

        Reply

          • Amber

            We made changes as following:
            Cut 1 cup oil down to 2/3 cup, used one egg, and then increased the water to 2/3 cup and let the water sit with 2 Tab. ground flaxseed-water + flax thickens a little and can be used instead of eggs in recipes. (I’m guessing you could use 2/3 cup oil, 2 eggs, and regular 1/3 cup of water, and that would probably work well.)

            Our version worked wonderfully, tasted awesome, and didn’t seem super crumbly.

  45. jULIE

    If you add some ground flax seeds, it will bind your bread better, and help with the crumbling part. People who cant eat eggs, but still bake recomend using banana’s or ground flax seed in its place. Just a little tip….

    Reply

  46. Hannah the Monkey

    This bread looks amazing. I nearly drooled. That stinks because I just cleaned my keyboard from all the drooling which happens when I’m on your site. Kidding x)

    I think I’m gonna try this. Because I only made bread twice. I was 12 and I failed. Perhaps its time to make a third try.

    Reply

  47. Rebecca

    I made this today and it made my house smell heavenly. I am in love with it. My coworkers are going to be grateful for a snack tomorrow. I should tell them to thank you, because without you, where would I be with my quick bread recipes ;)

    Reply

  48. annabel

    Made this today during a session of homework procrastibaking. Except I used butternut squash puree instead of pumpkin since I didn’t have any and I also sunstituted dried cherries for the cranberries for the same reason. Baked it in a bundt pan. It was amazing! So moist! Gobbled it right out of the oven. Thanks Joy!

    Reply

  50. julie

    A friend told me about you this week. I love your blog and am overwhelmed with what to look at and which recipe to try first! Thanks for the fun!!!

    Reply

  51. Katie @ The Well-Fed Newlyweds

    After having spent the weekend out of town being stuffed full of food by friends and family, I was ready to eat lettuce for the next week… until I saw this recipe and all my self-control flew out the window! You combined pretty much every single one of my favorite fall flavors into one recipe. I’m in love. And there’s even whole wheat flour to make me feel less guilty about eating it. Thanks Joy!

    Reply

  59. Quin Browne

    I made these as muffins… used 1T cider vinegar to bind everything together (as I do with my vegan Pumpkin Muffins)… Topped them with some cranberry sugar, and they were a hit.

    Thanks!

    Reply

  63. Cam

    This looks AMAZING. I totally want to make this with the leftover pumpkin puree my fridge right now…er, when the sun is up. Totally going off topic now: is butter imitation extract the same thing as that buttery emulsion thingamabob you used to make that lovely wedding cake in the summer? If not, what could I possibly use butter imitation extract for? I just won a fat bottle of it at an auction (along with other lovely baking items) and now I don’t know what to do with it.

    Reply

  69. Mo'Betta

    YAY! I’m super excited about this recipe! One, it sounds delicious and two, my little boy is allergic to eggs (and nuts, I’ll have to leave those out), but this sounds like something the whole family can enjoy. Thanks!

    Reply

  72. Tanya

    this sure looks delicious! but i’m not a vegan and would like to add an egg or two to this recipe to make sure it doesn’t turn out too dry or crumbly. do i just add them in addition to all the other ingredients or do i get rid of water or something?
    thanks.

    Reply

  74. Jennifer

    This looks so yummy! I was just thinking about what to make tomorrow and my thought process was pretty much what you described. So I’m going to make this!! (Just need to get the fresh cranberries.) Thanks Joy!

    Reply

  75. lindsey

    Oh, this looks so tasty. I have applesauce in the crockpot right now, and I think I will use that tomorrow to make this!

    Reply

  78. alicia

    hey joy, do you think there’s anything i could put in place of the vegetable oil? i’m not vegan, and i really hate vegetable oil with a passion….but this recipe looks amazing otherwise!!

    Reply

    • Margaret

      Alicia~

      I almost always use applesauce instead of vegetable oil. You can use the same amount of applesauce if you want but I usually do just a bit less and top that off with vegetable oil to help give the final product the same texture it would normally have. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of vegetable oil, I normally fill up the one cup measure almost completely with applesauce and then top it off with vegetable oil before I mix it in. No idea what this will do in a vegan recipe but it works on most other baking recipes. I hope this helps!

      Reply

  80. Abby

    This sounds soo yummy!! I just came home from the grocery and wish I would have read your post earlier! Now I need to go back out for cranberries! I don’t have experience with vegan cooking- is it really crumbly? If I was not steadfast on it being vegan do you think adding and egg or two would help?
    Thanks!
    Abby

    Reply

  82. Terri

    I just love getting your blogs & great recipes, look forward to it every day.
    I would just like to double check one thing. In list of ingredients, I see brown sugar but instructions say to “whisk together flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices”
    SUGAR(s). I would like to make this but don’t want to leave out an ingredient (white sugar). I’m thinking that the s in the instructions was just a typo.
    Thanks again for all the great recipes & fun reads.

    Reply

  86. Peggy Anderson

    Every single ingredient in this bread is my favorite. I don’t think I can wait until it cools off to dig in. Love it.
    I may make some for Dan & Judy (I know she loves anything pumpkin). Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  91. teresa

    Joy!
    Joy!
    Joy!
    I just LOVE your name!
    I wish my name was JOY!
    This bread looks YUM!
    I am totalllllllly making this!
    Thank you!
    Thank you for this recipe!
    I will let you know when I make it…cause you know I’ll be featuring it on
    BLooming on Bainbridge!
    You are a doll~baby…and I ADORE your blog…and YOU!
    xo

    Reply

  96. Kathryn

    I just made apple sauce spice muffins but I wish I made this.
    This bread has everything. I’ll be making it later. I looks so good.

    Reply

  98. Joan

    Joy,
    My family is definitely not vegan. Is it possible to add eggs to this recipe, and if so, how many? Also can dried cranberries be used instead of fresh ones? Thanks

    Reply

  102. Lauren

    I make your vegan pumpkin bread at least once every other week! I make my son’s baby food and this recipe is a great way to use the extra puree. I’ve made it with sweet potato, pumpkin and butternut squash purees and they’ve all turned out great! I bet this new recipe would taste good with some apple puree too. I can’t wait to make it!

    Reply

  104. Jenna

    Yummy Yummy Yummy, I want this is my tummy. (this is sang to some commercial theme song that I can’t think of right now, but it works)

    Reply

  106. Jen-

    Since our family isn’t vegan, and my husband and 2 sons are quite the bread eaters and I try to ration out….would it be possible to add an egg? That way I could cut the slices a little thinner? Or would this change the entire ratio and unbalance the recipe??? (btw, thanks for all you do…you’re such a precious person!)

    Reply

  108. Ami @ beyondpeasandcarrots

    oh yay, I needed a recipe for apples this weekend, as I have a ton to use up. I also have tons of canned pumpkin cause I stocked up when it went on sale a few weeks ago. This recipe will be perfect to use them up :) Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  113. Aimee Shugarman

    Wow, that looks delish! For those of us who love are eggs and don’t need vegan, can we toss in an egg to the batter to help it bind?

    Reply

  118. pameala

    Joy~ is there way to link this blog or to send via email without having to navigate from this page? I was wanting to send this to my daughter and guess I will have to do it another way…thanks….maybe I’m just missing something!

    Reply

  121. Sarah

    The picture of the bowl with all the ingrediants looks like thanksgiving/fall/christmas in a bowl!!!

    Yum- must try this- just need some cranberries (I bought a gigantic can of pumpkin from work at the bakery about two weeks ago so I’m trying to find ways to use this up besides pumpkin pie….) Thank you!

    Reply

  122. Paulette

    Now this is really funny that I should wake up and find a vegan recipe from you Joy. Just yesterday I told my husband after pigging out on ribs (no pun inteneded) and feeling oh so bad later, “Honey I think maybe I should consider becoming a vegan”. Well he just laughed. Maybe I should make this recipe and just take it one step at a time. LOL LOL Paulette

    Reply

  129. Silvia

    This is soo great, but can I use dried cranberries instead? I know it’s not really the same but I can find only the dried ones…

    Reply

  136. Carly Brannon

    Joy! I was clicking around looking up recipes tonight and clicked on your blog. As I read “Joy the baker” I realized, It’s Joy, Joy Wilson who shopped at Carly Jean :) Too fun to find you and see your beautiful and yummy work! Your blog is lovely, great writing and wonderful photos. Looking forward to exploring your blog and trying all these recipes. All the best to you, Carly

    Reply

  139. Ashlae

    Oh. My. God. I am, kid you not, walking out the door to the grocery to get cranberries so I can bake this tonight. As soon as I finish submitting this comment, of course. And putting on clothes that are slightly more acceptable to wear in public.

    Anyways, I wonder if Ener-G egg replacer powder would help to bind the bread? Hmm..

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll Up