Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

The Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Bread Exists

When it comes to baking, creating Paleo treats is not always the easiest thing in the world. For those wondering, “paleo” is a set of nutrition guidelines that emphasizes protein, vegetables, fruit, naturally occurring starches and sugars, and naturally occurring fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, and butter/ghee. This means the diet excludes grains (including wheat), refined sugar, alcohol, seed oils, beans/legumes, and some dairy. However, paleo is also a spectrum of guidelines because some folks posture that a true, strict paleo diet discludes dairy (so butter would be off-limits), but others state that some dairy use is natural, evolutionarily appropriate, and therefore allowable on a paleo diet. This means that paleo baked goods must be made with non-grain flours (like almond flour) and sweetened with fruit (such as mashed banana) or naturally occurring sugars like maple syrup or honey.

Before we address the nutritional outcomes of this, I want to focus on the enjoyment of this food. So, given the fact that paleo baking can’t include refined grains or sugars, can it be good?

Thankfully, the answer is yes!

To show you how, I present you with this amazing Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread!! It is made with almond flour, cassava and arrowroot flours (plant starch flours), pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup. For the chocolate, you can either use a paleo-friendly chocolate option, like a refined sugar-free chocolate bar or a paleo chocolate chip, or you if you don’t mind the flexibility, you can use a regular chocolate chip or a stevia-sweetened chocolate option.

Is Paleo Baking Healthier than Regular Baking?

The next consideration of our paleo pumpkin bread is the important question of: is paleo baking healthier than regular baking? Let’s break this down. As a dietitian, the most important thing I like to demonstrate in nutrition is that it is wise for us to assess food choices from a scientific perspective but also from a body-context perspective. So overall, paleo baking will typically be lower in sugar, sometimes slightly lower in carbohydrate, higher in fiber, and have similar amounts of fat to regular baked goods. This combination of lower sugar, higher fiber, and healthy fats (like ghee or avocado oil), is typically quite beneficial in the way that it can support balanced blood sugar and sometimes be lower in calorie.

However, a cookie is a cookie. Pumpkin bread is pumpkin bread. And calories are calories! The single most confusing point about diet-specific treats–whether its paleo bread, gluten-free ice cream, or keto cookies–is the assumption that because they are diet specific, they are automatically “healthy.” This is why it’s not incredibly accurate to classify something as “good” or “bad.”

It’s more so a question of “as opposed to what?” For many people, paleo baked treats will be a lower-glycemic, sometimes lower calorie option than, say, a Dunkin’ Donuts pumpkin muffin. This option therefore is one that helps them sustain their healthy lifestyle with energy balance and reduced cravings without sacrificing fun in the kitchen or taste. For that reason, I do love to incorporate lightened-up, paleo-friendly treats in my house and in many of my clients lifestyles.

We love this Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Bread not only because its a lightened-up but super flavorful version of a classic fall treat, but because its also super easy to make and flexible. I’ve made the bread with regular chips, shaved chocolate from a dark chocolate bar, or with mini chips. All options have been delicious! This pumpkin bread is naturally gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and can be made dairy-free.

I hope you love this healthy pumpkin bread as much as we do!