Savoury & spicy pumpkin loaf (vegan)

July 27 2014
by emma

I often make sweet baked loaves, in fact, they’re a staple in our freezer for morning teas and things.

But the other day I thought about making a savoury loaf, a type of quick bread, something spicy and warm to have on cold mornings with butter or with a bowl of steamy hot soup.  So because I’ve been cooking with pumpkin a lot lately (2 more recipes coming up), I whipped up a roast pumpkin loaf with chilli, a few spices and a decent hit of rosemary.  Soft yet fairly dense and a beautifully warm colour, I loved the spicy, savoury flavour with a hint of sweetness and the texture is substantial enough to have for a quick lunch with butter on it’s own.

spicy pumpkin loaf

spicy pumpkin loaf

Recipe for savoury pumpkin loaf:

450g peeled, diced butternut pumpkin
Grapeseed oil
1 cup oat or almond milk
1 tspn white wine vinegar
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn bicarbonate of soda
1/4 cup ground chia or flax seeds
Freshly ground black pepper & sea salt
1 tblspn fresh rosemary leaves, finely diced
Pinch chilli flakes (to taste)
1 tspn ground cumin
1/4 tspn ground coriander
2 x 15ml tblspns grapeseed oil
1 x 15ml tblspn tahini (at room temp)
1 x 20ml tblspn maple syrup

Preheat oven to 200C.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.  Place pumpkin pieces on in one layer and drizzle with a light coating of oil and season.  Roast pumpkin for around 40 minutes or until caramelised and softened.  Mash well and set aside to cool (I cooked and mashed mine the day before and stored it in the fridge, then kept it out at room temperature for half an hour before using).

Reduce oven to 180C.  Grease a large loaf tin and line base and sides with baking paper, making sure to leave some hanging over the sides for easier removal of loaf after baking.

Add vinegar to a measuring up then fill to the top with milk.  Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes until curdled.

Meanwhile, sift flour and raising agents into a large bowl.  Add chia seeds, seasoning, rosemary leaves and spices and whisk to combine.

Add milk mixture, oil, tahini, maple syrup and mashed pumpkin to another large mixing bowl.  Use a whisk to beat mixture until the pumpkin has dispersed evenly and everything’s combined well.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a wooden spoon to fold through gently, until combined (don’t over-beat).

Spoon mixture into prepared tin, level the top and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

This is lovely warm out of the oven as a savoury snack with unsalted butter or vegan margarine and is also a great accompaniment to soups and casseroles.

Serves: 10-12

Note: this loaf freezes well; once cooled, slice loaf then wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month.  Defrost slices wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge or at room temperature and serve with butter.

12 Responses leave one →
  1. Looks awesome Emma! I’ve been cooking a lot with pumpkin at the moment as well (pumpkin and chilli soup last night in fact). Best time of year for it. I love the versatility of butternut pumpkin particularly in both sweet and savoury cooking. I often make pumpkin muffins with it. This loaf looks earthy and delicious…

    1. I’ve really been getting into pumpkin lately! I tend to obsess over certain vegies and fruit for a while, but so true, pumpkin is great for so many things.

  2. Wow. This looks amazing and so healthy. I’m rather tempted to try a sweet version with cinnamon and nutmeg for morning tea deliciousness too 🙂

    1. I was thinking today that it would make a great dessert loaf with some sweet spices and more sugar! Let me know how it goes if you end up giving it a try 🙂

  3. This loaf looks and sounds so tasty, I love the colour of it from the pumpkin as well 🙂 I think the last bread I made waaaas chai banana bread 🙂 It’s great when you can add fruit and vegetables in baked goods like that ^ ^

  4. You probably know how much I love loaves! But I don’t know why I’ve never thought to bake extras and freeze them! Duh! This one looks particularly lovely with that rich colour!

  5. This looks remarkably like my recipe for pumpkin soup … just without the flour!! Now I wonder if all my soups can be made into breads so easily.
    I already have some mashed pumpkin, but I’m not sure how much I started out with when it was whole. Do you know approximately how much mashed pumpkin you added?
    Thanks!

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