This weekend we were all sitting around the table when my young daughter asked “Mommy, can you make me some pumpkin bread?” I could not believe my ears! My daughter has so far rejected all of my pumpkin recipes, whether it was butternut squash, kabocha, pumpkin soup, or even pumpkin pie. I had a Japanese kabocha pumpkin just waiting to be used into something special. So, I set out to make a pumpkin bread that would be sweet (but not too sweet), a bit savory, and mildly spiced (she finds just about everything from cracked pepper to too much ginger to be too spicy).

Lightly spiced, this kabocha pumpkin bread is perfectly savory and sweet

This kabocha pumpkin bread is mildly sweet, and full of flavor but not overpowered by spice. I use miso paste to add a savory and salty note and use fresh ground ginger instead of powdered ginger. For my sensitive little girl, I also did not include allspice or nutmeg that is so common in American pumpkin bread recipes.

Miso paste is the secret ingredients in this kabocha pumpkin bread

If you’ve checked out any of my other recipes, like my Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup, you already know that I use miso for a lot of things as a quick and easy way to boost savory flavor. It’s probably my number one vegan ingredient hack to create the richness found in dairy products. This recipe calls for a small amount of miso paste instead of salt. It blends easily with the kabocha and I think makes this kabocha pumpkin bread so special.

Fresh kabocha pumpkin makes a delicious and easy substitute to canned pumpkin

Using fresh kabocha pumpkin is easier than you might think and the rich flavor of kabocha is worth the extra few steps. To make the kabocha pumpkin puree I simply cut the rind off of the kabocha, cut it into cubes and then boiled in water for about 8 minutes. Once the pumpkin is soft enough to pierce wit h a fork, I removed it and blended it along with a little water, ginger and miso paste. This added maybe 15 minutes to the whole process and was worth the ultimate result.

Easy Ingredient swap to make this kabocha pumpkin bread vegan

For my dear vegan friends, I want you to know that this bread is also easy to make vegan. Instead of adding 2 eggs, use chia seeds. To make the chia egg replacer add 2 tbsps of chia seeds to 5 tbsp of water and allow to sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then puree the chia mixture in the blender until smooth. This chia mixture will act the same as eggs otherwise would if you want to avoid eggs in this recipe.

My daughter loved this kabocha pumpkin bread recipe and has now had it for desert and breakfast. I enjoyed my slice with a nice cup of green tea. I think I’ll have my next slice with some vegan whipped cream!

What do you think? Let us know if you made it and how it turned out.

Kabocha Pumpkin Bread

Recipe by Becki

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups kabocha pumpkin, rind removed

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup packed white sugar

• 2 eggs (or chia egg substitute)

• 1 tbsp fresh ground ginger

• 2-4 tbsp water

• 1 tbsp miso paste

• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 5 x 9 bread pan.
• You will need about 1/4 to 1/2 of a kabocha squash for the kabocha pure. Cut the green rind off with a sharp knife then cut into small cubes. Add kabocha to a pot of boiling water and boil until soft (about 8-10 minutes). Remove pumpkin and drain water.
• Add cooked kabocha, miso paste, fresh ground ginger, water and oil to blender and blend until smooth.
• Whisk egg (or chia egg substitute) in a separate bowl, add brown and white sugar. (If making this recipe vegan, make chia egg substitute according to my instructions in my article above).
• Fold kabocha mixture into the sugar and egg mixture. Add oil, and mix until smooth.
• In a separate bowl whisk flour, cinnamon and baking soda together. Then slowly add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix gently to create the kabocha pumpkin bread batter.
• Pour kabocha pumpkin bread batter into bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes until lightly browned on the top and cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-20 minutes before serving.
• Enjoy!