This recipe creates a scrumptious Carrot Pumpkin Bread with a delightful cream cheese surprise inside. It's perfect for a cozy autumn treat or a delicious addition to your breakfast or afternoon tea.
This recipe is also eggless and dairy free 🙂 I used a vegan cream "cheese" filling and frosting which is made with dairy-free milk such as coconut and almond milk. But you're welcome to use regular cream cheese if you want!
Ingredients Used to Make This Carrot Pumpkin Bread
**I've linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link 🙂
Carrot Pumpkin Bread Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour - You can use any brand of All-Purpose Flour. I haven't tried this recipe with whole wheat flour, oat flour or other gluten-free flour blends, so substitute at your own risk!
- Almond Flour - Almond flour contributes to a softer, more tender texture in this pumpkin bread recipe. Because it's naturally gluten-free, the almond flour helps reduce overmixing and minimizes gluten-formation in the bread.
- Cornstarch - the addition of cornstarch is NOT REQUIRED, but it acts as a binding agent (it's sometimes used as a vegan alternative to eggs) and makes a softer, more tender textured bread that retains more moisture. Fun fact: cornstarch is the main ingredient in pudding mixes 🙂
- Salt - any kind. I used Pink Himalayan Salt
- Baking Powder - if you need to substitute, 3 tsp of baking powder is equivalent to about 1 tsp baking soda
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - if you don't have pumpkin pie spice on hand, replace 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice with ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves, and ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg. You can also just use 1 tsp of cinnamon without the other spices.
- Brown Sugar, or other sugar of choice – Darker sugars like brown sugar, coconut sugar, date, and maple sugars will give you the most flavor, but you can use any sugar you have at home. If you want a low-sugar and low carb option, I recommend this brown monk fruit sweetener.
- Pumpkin puree - I used canned pumpkin puree, which you can find in the baking aisle. I have not tried this recipe using fresh pumpkin, so substitute at your own risk!
- Carrots - you'll need finely shredded (or grated) carrots in this recipe.
- Olive Oil - I like using light olive oil since it has a neutral flavor, but you can also any cooking oil of your choice like coconut oil, or avocado oil instead
- Milk of Choice – I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk (dairy or dairy free) works in this recipe.
Add ins (optional)
- Chopped walnuts
- Raisins
Cream Cheese Filling & Frosting
For the cream cheese filling & frosting, you'll need to mix 8 oz vegan cream cheese and 2 Tbsp powdered sugar until smooth. Half of it will go inside the bread, and half will be used for frosting.
Pumpkin Bread Add In Variations:
- Pumpkin bread can be wonderfully versatile, and I've gathered some add in and filling ideas here in this post to take your pumpkin bread to the next level.
Step by Step Guide
How to Make Carrot Pumpkin Bread
STEP 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a standard loaf pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
STEP 2
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients
STEP 3
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients
STEP 4
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir gently until the batter comes together.
STEP 5
The batter will be thick, but if there are still dry ingredients remaining, you can add 1-2 Tbsp more almond milk.
Note: Keep in mind that if you're working with cold ingredients and using coconut oil, there's a chance that the coconut oil might solidify, making the mixing process a bit more challenging.
STEP 6
Fold in the chopped walnuts and raisins into the batter.
STEP 7
For the cream cheese filling, in a small bowl, mix together 8 oz cream cheese and 2 Tbsp powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside half for the cream cheese frosting
STEP 8
Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
STEP 9
Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the batter. Add the remaining batter on top, making sure the filling is fully covered.
STEP 10
Bake the Pumpkin Bread in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
STEP 11
Once baked, remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
STEP 12
Pipe the prepared vegan cream cheese frosting on top of the carrot pumpkin bread.
What are some ways you can eat Pumpkin Bread?
- Plain and warm, served with jam or butter
- Frosted with my 2-Ingredient Almond Butter Frosting , or this Healthy Powdered Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting
- Toasted in the Air Fryer, an drizzled with honey, maple syrup, caramel or chocolate syrup
- Dusted with powdered sugar or sugar-free powdered sugar. Just make sure you use a sieve to sift the sugar on top!
How to Store Pumpkin Bread
- You can store this pumpkin bread covered at room temperature for up to 24 hours. For longer storage, you can place them in a plastic freezer bag or airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze up to 4 months.
What to Do with Leftover Pumpkin Puree - See Ideas HERE
Dealing with leftover pumpkin puree can be quite frustrating! Especially since the leftover is often not enough to make a full recipe, and it seems like a waste to throw it away. Below are some pumpkin puree recipes that require only about ½ cup of pumpkin puree:
Final Tips
- Use batter right away after prep. They will deflate over time, so I've found that you don’t want the batter sitting out on the counter for too long.
- Prevent Over-browning - Depending on your oven or where your bread is placed inside the oven, the top of your bread may start to brown. Check 40 minutes into baking to see if this is the case, and gently cover the top of the bread with aluminum foil. This helps prevent excessive browning while the bread continues to bake.
- Turn them into muffins! You can also bake this in a muffin pan instead of a cake pan. To adjust, reduce the cooking time from 50-60 minutes to 30-40 minutes.
Carrot Pumpkin Bread with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (Eggless, Dairy Free Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
- ½ cup almond flour (60g)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch (8g)*
- ½ tsp salt (3g)
- 3 tsp baking powder (12g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (110g), or any sugar of choice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (2g)
Wet Ingredients:
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree (183g)
- ¾ cup shredded carrots (90g)
- ½ cup light olive oil (108g) or other flavor-neutral oil**
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (114g)
Filling & Frosting
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese (113g), can also use regular cream cheese
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar (8g)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a standard loaf pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, cornstarch, almond flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon. Mix well to ensure even distribution of the ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, shredded carrots, olive oil, and almond milk. Mix until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir gently until the batter comes together. The batter will be very thick.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts and raisins into the batter.
- For the cream cheese filling, in a small bowl, mix together 8 oz cream cheese and 2 Tbsp powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside half for the cream cheese frosting
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the batter. Add the remaining batter on top, making sure the filling is fully covered.
- Bake the Pumpkin Bread in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once baked, remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frost with the prepared cream cheese frosting
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
See All of My Pumpkin Bread Recipes Here
More Frosting & Glaze Ideas for Pumpkin Bread
Get creative with these scrumptious glaze and frosting ideas to complement the warm flavors of your pumpkin bread
Leave a Reply