Healthy Flourless Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
This healthy flourless pumpkin breakfast cake is bursting with pumpkin flavor with a touch of cinnamon spice! Slightly dense and fluffy on the inside and tender on the outside, this delicious cake has no butter, oil, flour (or grains!) or sugar! It’s also suitable for those following a vegan, gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, paleo and grain free lifestyle!
Ever have a recipe you had to put off because it was seasonally inappropriate?
Ever since posting this recipe, there has been a consistent request from many of you guys- A pumpkin version!
While I remember seeing pumpkin in stores (I think many brands have cottoned on that pumpkin is almost year round), it was too soon. We hadn’t even entered Spring yet, and here I was with pumpkin on my mind! Then came the summer months, and that was completely off the books- I mean, it involved an oven!
Now that we are settling nicely into Fall, canned pumpkin has been unearthed from the lower parts of the supermarket shelves to front row center, with a glimpse of peppermint candy in the background.
I WISH I WERE KIDDING.
I still remember growing up when Christmas trees coming out around late October was frowned upon. Now? It’s like a race between retailers as to who will whip up the trees first. Maybe I’ll just spite them all and put my wreath on my apartment door now.
Just kidding, I only have a (VERY expired) candy based one.
Expired as in the chocolate has turned white.
DARK CHOCOLATE WHICH TURNED WHITE.
Gross.
ANYWAY.
To get your mind away from expired chocolate, we’ll be embracing a seasonal breakfast cake you’ve been requesting- This pumpkin breakfast cake! I know many of you enjoy the taste of pumpkin, but not in huge doses. This recipe calls for one cup of pumpkin TOTAL (in both the oat based and the grain free options) which saves you the rest of a small can for another recipe…like this fudge or these pancakes.
Okay, enough rambling. Let’s get your breakfast sorted!
This healthy flourless pumpkin breakfast cake is dense, slightly fluffy and deceptively filling! It’s the perfect breakfast choice to keep you fueled all morning, with one key benefit- It seriously is the epitome of dessert for breakfast! Unlike your stock standard cakes which are based heavily around white flour, sugar, butter and dairy, these contain NONE of those. Instead, you’ll be using gluten free rolled oats, drippy almond butter, and my favorite canned pumpkin. If you own a solid blender, all you do is throw all the ingredients in there and BAM- Transfer to a greased baking dish and set and forget.
And by forget, I mean prep some coffee to pair with it once it’s done.
My paleo/grain free friends, you will NOT be missing out on this goodness! Like my other breakfast cakes, I’ve included the tried, tested and polished off version. It’s a little bit different in terms of ingredients but the overall gist of it is the same. Depending on which option you choose, this recipe is completely gluten free, vegan, paleo, refined sugar free and dairy free.
And well…cake for breakfast!
HACK! While this breakfast cake tastes delicious on its own, I highly recommend adding one of the frosting options. If you are a long term reader (or recipe maker on here!), you’ll know I’m a huge fan of opting for the protein frosting- Not only does it give it a punch of protein, it also adds extra sweetness, without being overpowering. As always, I use these protein powders- This vegan protein powder, this paleo protein powder, and this casein protein powder. If protein powder isn’t your thing, you can use either the cream cheese frosting, the coconut butter frosting (using my favorite coconut butter!) or any store bought frosting you enjoy!
Make this healthy flourless pumpkin breakfast cake and sincere apologies for keeping this in the backlog for a few months now.
The wait is worth it. Unlike the expired chocolate.
- 2 1/4 cups gluten free oats
- 1/2 cup granulated sweetener of choice
- 1 T baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
- 1 cup mashed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 cup dairy free milk
- 1 flax egg (can sub for 1 large egg if not vegan)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 T nut butter of choice, melted (I used drippy almond butter)
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup mashed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (can sub for honey or agave)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (Can sub for any nut butter of choice)
- vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, whisked lightly
- 3 scoops vanilla protein powder (see recommendations above)
- 1-2 T granulated sweetener of choice (optional)
- 1-2 T nut butter of choice (optional)
- Dairy free milk to form batter
- 4-6 T coconut butter, melted
- 2 T granulated sweetener of choice
- Dairy free milk to thin out
- 225 grams (8 oz) Dairy free cream cheese (can sub for any cream cheese)
- 2 T granulated sweetener of choice
- 1 T Saigon cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a small loaf pan or small baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until fully immersed.
- Transfer the batter to the loaf pan or baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes (for the oat based option) or up to 55 minutes (paleo option), or until a toothpick/skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan completely. Once cool, top with optional frosting and slice into pieces.
- Combine all the ingredients and using a tablespoon, add dairy free milk until a thick, firm batter is formed. For the cream cheese one, allow to sit at room temperature until it softens. Mix with granulated sweetener and cinnamon.
- Breakfast cake is freezer friendly- Otherwise, cake needs to be refrigerated.
- Please be wary of the cooking time- Depending on the brand of coconut flour you use/how drippy your nut butter is, cooking times can differ.
More delicious pumpkin spiked recipes? Gotcha covered!
You’ll love this pumpkin spiked fudge.
Brownies using just THREE ingredients and NO boxed mix!
Hands down, the thickest and fluffiest pancakes ever.
Has Christmas decorations popped up yet in your neck of the woods? Please say no.
Have you ever eaten expired chocolate?
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I just cooked and mashed a pumpkin yesterday. And I have about 1 cup left. Your timing is spot on 🙂
I feel like the sooner people start to get crazy about Christmas the less I want to engange in it. Random fact: Most Germans put their trees up on the 24th December. So when I see people/ bloggers decorating Christmas trees in November I find it sooooo odd!
P.S. I like the spoon! So unique 🙂
Perfect! Oh that’s right, I remember Sophie telling me that and then doing it in Hamburg!
SO explain this to me: I was in WFM yesterday and the pumpkin was with the dog food. I was looking for treats for the new puppy, and I found pumpkin….
Wait, are you serious? Geebuz that’s intriguing!
I feel like all of your recipes are specifically made for me! Just the other day I was thinking about how I could have pumpkin in a different form other than oatmeal and pancakes for breakfast. Thanks for coming in clutch at the perfect time 🙂
🙂 Hope you try it out!
Oh this one is right up my alley (again), mate! Pumpkin everything is starting to take over here. I saw pumpkin yogurt pretzels the other day at the store, and I thought they sounds good. Laura pointed out that they probably are good…for 3 pretzels. After that, they’d be too much. And then I saw pumpkin Cheerios, too. I think companies are learning that pumpkin sells! You know what I need? I need a company that sells this pumpkin cake…and I need them to open up a location in my basement. Is that too much to ask? 🙂
Wait, pumpkin cheerios? I need to try it out for myself!
Great recipe! Thank you Arman. But I have a question: do I need to cook first the pumpkin and then smash? In general, if I want to use pumpkin for baking – does it need to be cooked first? )) Or not always?
Hi Elena! If you have canned pumpkin, you can use that. If not, steam/boil the pumpkin first before mashing and measuring from there 🙂
So Oats make a really amazing fluffy cake; and I love that you shared a pumpkin cake that everybody could pretty much eat! And I think it’s almost crazy how retailers are so quick to get to racing through all the holidays; it kind of makes me happy that I don’t work in retail? I don’t know, maybe I’ll work in retail some day.
🙂 What’s your favorite brand of pumpkin?
Absolutely! It’s worth me making recipes multiple times so everyone can enjoy it 🙂
I was going to pin this on like 4 Pinterest boards but Tailwind is down…woof. The nut butter in this recipes *thumbs up*
Hahahaha hope it works soon!
Hi Arman, this is the most interesting recipe I’ve seen while poking around today for something new and cool to make. I was not in on the protein frosting ‘secret’ and a healthy frosting is something I’ve wanted to find for a while! Thanks! Pinned this one for later.
Hope you enjoy it, Mary! 🙂
Ok. Silly question: should I grind the oats to a powder first before using them? Or just use as is…
Hi Shireen! You can add the whole oats in the blender. If you mix by bowl, you’ll need 2 cups worth of ground oats 🙂
Thank you!
I’m slowly getting into the pumpkin spirit. It’s taking a while since it’s still beastly hot around these parts, but I won’t last much longer!
As far as expired chocolate goes, I’m almost positive I’ve eaten it. My version of dessert is to keep a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a high cabinet and grab a handful a couple times a month. Lord only knows how long I’ve dragged one bag on!
Dude, it’s pretty much summer 2017 already! 😀 You will return from travel season and it will be blueberry time again!
Idk what’s wrong w me. On first glance I thought it said “breast cake.” That’s after your last recipe was pornographic. I promise I’m not crazy!
omg. You kill me, and I love it.
Sooooo I was messing around with pumpkin in February for the book, and that definitely felt weird. Possibly as weird as the snowmen I saw in Costco in August. Now they’re hanging out with the skeletons.
Also… skunk.
Costco is ridiculous. You could probably get Easter candy now.
This would be yummy to eat for breakfast! What size pan did you use?
Hi Joanne! I use two- When I want a thick frosting, I use an 8 x 8 pan. For thicker cakes, I use a 4 x 6 pan 🙂
Always happy to see a cake for breakfast recipe! I don’t know what my problem used to be, but I always, always let my chocolate expire and turn white. I wasn’t the biggest fan of sweets when I was younger so all my chocolate gifts used to go off. Crazy considering chocolate doesn’t last 24 hours in my house now!
Right? Tables turned for me too, I used to give my Easter candy away!
I went insane with the kabocha recipes during the spring, hahaha! I wouldn’t worry too much 😉
Haha, I miss our adventures!
I made these last night and am not sure what I did wrong. I followed the non-paleo version and mine are good, but they are not “fluffy” as yours appear to be. Mine are more of a condensed moist cake that didn’t rise. They’re good!! I was also pleased to see that it worked well with my blood sugars. I used the small baking dish and cut into 12 equal pieces. Then I divided one piece in half. PERFECT! This will be added to my holiday dessert list even though it’s really “breakfast.” I just wish mine had risen like the picture shown.
Hi Robyn! It really depends on what nut butter, flour etc you use to achieve that consistency- Also whether you use homemade pumpkin/canned pumpkin etc 🙂
OH OK that makes more sense. Thanks 🙂
No worries, Robyn 🙂
Awesome recipe, and love all the options since people can be so touchy with certain ingredients and allergies, etc. (For me because I was finding the option I had all the ingredients to make : ) ) I love cake for breakfast, with fruit and yogurt of course. It’s necessary once in a while, especially with five kids. It makes me the cool mom and keeps me sane lol can’t wait to make this!
You are my kinda mom, Liz! 🙂
Was debating making either gluten free or paleo version but was surprised by how different the flour measurements were: 21/4 oats vs. 1/2 cup coconut. Also one is baking powder other is soda. Wondering if the paleo version has the right quantity of flour?? Thank you. Looks delicious.
Hi Karen, that is correct- coconut flour has a completely different texture.
I am such a bad reader! so I found the paleo version right underneath…. It’s still early.. right? Thanks dear!!