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A while back I shared a pumpkin bread recipe that till now had been my favorite to bake when the crisp autumn air rolled in. I recently discovered a new favorite. Here is the recipe. If you are looking for pumpkin carving ideas, we got dozens.
This pumpkin seed bread stays moist because of the applesauce that I use instead of oil. The pumpkin seeds also give it a surprising crunch. The best part about this recipe is that it calls for fresh pumpkin. All you have to do is shred the pumpkin using a cheese grater or food processor. The bread is great with coffee in the morning. Can’t get enough pumpkin? Keep warm with this pumpkin soup recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup turbinado sugar (or regular if that’s what you have)
- 3/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin flesh (not the hard skin)
- 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Directions
Start by toasting the pumpkin seeds in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven. (I bought my seeds without a shell at Trader Joe’s.) Make sure not to burn them. Set aside when done. Then sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. (I switched in one cup of whole wheat flour the second time I made this and it was just as delicious.)
In a different bowl, mix the sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. (You can always use oil, but I feel extra guilty using it when I bake.) Then add the shredded pumpkin and seeds to the wet ingredients. Unlike other recipes, fold the dry ingredients into the wet using a spatula. (The wet ingredients are dense and won’t mix well if you do it the other way around.) Don’t use a mixer or you’ll break the seeds. Afterwards, pour in a loaf pan. If you are not using a nonstick pan, first butter and flour the pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes or till a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let it cool on a baking rack.
- The original recipe is by Alton Brown. I adapted it to suit my taste and you can do the same.
- Yields 1 loaf
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
@Yazmin ~ This sounds yummy. I recently attended a cooking demo at Williams-Sonoma (roasted butternut squash soup garnished with toasted squash seeds), and the cook didn’t toast the seeds long enough to crisp them, which made for rather chewy little pellets. Did you find that the pumpkin seeds maintained their crispness in the final product? I do know that it’s important to keep an eye on the seeds while they’re toasting, as it’s easy to let them go too long and they’ll burn.
@EllieD I love those cooking demos especially f they’re free! I though the seeds would turn chewy, but they didn’t. I did make sure to toast them well and I added them at the very end because I didn’t want them to sit in the wet ingredients for a long time.
Regular pumpkins do not taste very good. Without having to buy the little pie pumpkins, can you substitute the plain canned pumpkin, same amount?
@Yazmin ~ The Saturday demos at the Williams-Sonoma store in Fashion Square are free. You can sign up for them by going to the W-S site for info. The demos are at noon, and take place at various store sites, so you can choose one nearest your home. I go to the one in Sherman Oaks, as that’s closest to me. The squash soup came from Michael Symon’s chef at Lola, Symon’s restaurant in Cleveland. I love watching Symon, as he has a great sense of humor, and is so encouraging of young, up-and-coming chefs. He’s an Iron Chef on the Food Network, as well as having a show on the Cooking Channel.
@Jenna Don’t use a pumpkin intended for carving. They don’t have any flavor. The small pumpkins for pie are the best. I haven’t tried using canned pumpkin for this recipe, but you can try my other pumpkin bread recipe. You can use caned pumpkin for that bread. (You can find the link above in the post)
@EllieD Just received your email. Thanks for sharing more info about the demos!
@Yazmin ~ You’re welcome!
@Jenna ~ Since Yazmin has already posted a recipe for pumpkin bread using canned pumpkin, and she bought the seeds separately from TJ’s, you could probably use the seeds in the originally posted recipe. Just be sure to watch them as they toast, because they can go suddenly from pale brown to black burnt! Stir them into the batter at the last minute before baking.
Does this recipe call for pumpkin seeds or pumpkin kernels?
@Evie maurer Shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or whatever nut you like as long as you toast it before adding.