This Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf is the perfect holiday treat. It is deliciously soft and moist. Fabulous for holiday baking with the kids!
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If you are craving a spicy treat but don't have time to make Crispy gingerbread cut out cookies (paleo, AIP, vegan) this gingerbread loaf is your answer. Another good option for a seasonal treat are my extremely popular Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins (paleo, AIP, vegan) or my Pumpkin pie without evaporated milk or my Tigernut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies. All of these are great gluten free holiday recipes.
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- This gluten free gingerbread loaf is super easy to make.
- Just a few very simple steps.
- An allergy friendly holiday treat.
- Perfect for family baking time.
- This gluten free gingerbread loaf is also paleo, vegan, AIP compliant, coconut free and cassava free. But I can assure you that nobody will even notice.
📖 Ingredient notes
- Pumpkin purée. You can either use canned pumpkin purée or homemade pumpkin purée. I just take unseasoned cooked pumpkin or butternut squash and put it in the blender with the other liquid ingredients from the recipe. If you are not familiar with butternut squash, you can read my complete guide to butternut squash to find out everything about it.
- Arrowroot. It is a starch. See below for substitutions.
- Spices. This gluten free gingerbread loaf recipe uses a combination of cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Feel free to adjust the spice quantities to your own taste and omit if you are intolerant.
- Tigernut flour (or almond flour for those who are not on AIP nor nut free). If you don't know what tigernut flour is and want to learn all about it, you can read my post What is tigernut flour.
If you are on AIP and still in the elimination phase, you have to use tigernut flour (because almond flour is not AIP compliant). Those who are not on AIP nor allergic to nuts can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour.
Icing (optional)
If you want, you can ice your gingerbread loaf. Here are 2 different options to do so :
- you can use coconut butter
- or, if you are coconut free, you can use a vanilla frosting
💭 Substitutions
- Blackstrap molasses. If you can't or won't use blackstrap molasses, I suggest replacing it with the same quantity of maple syrup.
- Extra virgin olive oil. If you can't have extra virgin olive oil, you can use any other oil of your choice to replace it.
- Maple syrup. If you want to reduce the maple syrup quantity in this recipe, I suggest replacing it by same quantity of oil or coconut milk. On the contrary, if you want to add some sweetness to your gingerbread, you can add more maple syrup. To do that, reduce the quantity of extra virgin olive oil of the same amount. For example, you want to add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. In that case you will have to reduce the olive oil quantity by 1 tablespoon. In other words, you need to keep the same amount of liquid.
- Arrowroot. If you are not cassava intolerant, you can substitute it with tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour). Both arrowroot and tapioca starch are paleo and AIP compliant. Other possible substitutions, only if you are not on AIP nor Paleo diets: you can use potato starch or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
🥣Step by step instructions
- Preheat oven to 360° F (180° C)
- In a blender (I'm using my favorite Vitamix) combine the pumpkin purée, maple syrup, blackstrap mollases, olive oil, lemon juice (or ACV) and vanilla. Blend until well combined.
- In a large bowl, combine the tigernut flour, arrow root, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and sea salt. Stir.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined.
- Line or lightly oil a rectangular 4 x 8 inches (10 x 20 cm) baking tin and transfer the batter into the tin. Or choose a muffin pan if you want to make muffins instead of a loaf.
- Bake for about 35 minutes for the loaf (or for about 25 minutes for the muffins). To make sure that it is cooked, insert a thin bladed knife into the centre of the gingerbread loaf, the knife should come out clean. Wait for it to cool down completely before removing from the tin.
Optional :
- If you want, you can ice your gingerbread loaf. For that, spread the icing on, using a knife. Chill until frosting is set. Voilà!
👩🏻🍳Top tip
Never open the oven door before the end of the baking time (unless, of course, in case of a danger or problem with your oven). If you open the oven door during the baking time, just to "check how it looks", your gingerbread loaf will fall down or won't rise.
💬 Recipe FAQs
If you want to make this recipe oil free, I suggest replacing the oil with same quantity of coconut milk.
Yes! If you prefer muffins, you can make this as muffins instead of a loaf. Cook them a little less longer (about 20-25 minutes).
Yes you can. Although I recommend freezing it without icing. Personally, I like to slice it before freezing it. That way, I can just take whatever quantity I want. Then pop the slices in the toaster and done!
To thaw this gingerbread loaf, you can also just take it out of the freezer a few hours ahead of time of pop it in the oven for a few minutes.
Good news if you have a nut allergy and need a nut-free version, you can make these muffins with tigernut flour. Because tigernut is not a nut!
🍪Other recipes you might like
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 on the recipe card and leave a nice review below! Tag @gohealthywithbea on Instagram and hashtag #gohealthywithbea! Also, let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
📋 Recipe / Recette
Gluten free Gingerbread Loaf (vegan, paleo, AIP)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 grams (1 cup) pumpkin purée
- 150 grams (1 cup +⅓ cup) tigernut flour if you are not on AIP nor nut intolerant, you can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour
- 50 grams (¼ cup + 1Tbsp) arrowroot see notes for substitutions
- 60 milliliters (¼ cup) maple syrup see notes if you want to reduce quantity
- 60 milliliters (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil or other oil of your choice (see notes to make this oil free)
- 2 Tablespoons blackstrap molasses see notes for substitutions
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch of sea salt
For the optional icing :
- coconut butter barely warm
For an optional coconut free icing :
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360° F (180° C)
- In a blender combine the pumpkin purée, maple syrup, blackstrap mollases, olive oil, lemon juice (or ACV) and vanilla. Blend until combined.
- In a large bowl, combine the tigernut flour, arrow root, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and sea salt. Stir.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined.
- Line or lightly oil a rectangular 4 x 8 inches (10 x 20 cm) baking tin and transfer the batter into the tin. Or choose a muffin pan if you want to make muffins instead of a loaf.
- Bake for about 35 minutes for the loaf (or for about 25 minutes for the muffins). To make sure that it is cooked, insert a thin bladed knife into the centre of the gingerbread loaf, the knife should come out clean. Wait for it to cool down completely before removing from the tin.
Optional :
- If you want, you can ice your gingerbread loaf. For that, spread the icing on, using a knife. Chill until frosting is set. Voilà! Bon appétit!
Pamela
Every time I have a slice of this loaf, I'm wowed by it. It seems to taste better with each passing day! Such a delicious and warming blend of spices (I added 1/4 tsp ground all spice). I replaced all the maple syrup with oil, using only the blackstrap molasses for sweetener, and I didn't add the icing. I enjoy each slice with salted butter. Yum! I'll be trying your gingerbread cookies next.
Thank you so much, Bea. Every recipe I've tried of yours has been fantastic (and I'm not even on AIP!).
Mike
I've made this recipe a few times and really like it!
Ended up cutting the maple syrup in half since it's already plenty sweet for me. Also really struggled with the frosting. It tasted so chalky the first time I made it. What worked for me was adding about 2 tsp of coconut sugar to the coconut butter, mixing it really well, frosting with a thin layer, and then chilling overnight. It firmed up nicely and tasted like icing!
This is a surprisingly healthy recipe and I may just make it all year long...
Bea C.
Bonjour Mike. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a nice comment! ❤️ I'm glad to hear that you love this recipe. And great subs, by the way!
Brittany
I made these as muffins and they are DELICIOUS! I have been struggling on the AIP diet and craving something sweet, but every recipe I've tried so far has been gross. These are going to be a staple for me year round! Thank you, so much!!
Rooh
Hi,
What flour can I use instead of tigernut and almond.
Am on AIP but I don't have tigernut flour.
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour. I answer this question in the recipe introduction: unfortunately there are no AIP compliant substitutions.
Jan
Delicious! And Bea, I truly appreciate that you have AIP recipes that are coconut-free. Merci!
Lisa
Hi, can I use Bobs Red Mills 1:1 gluten free flour. I don’t like almond flour or tiger nut flour? Thanks
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Lisa. I have never used Bob's Red Mills 1:1 gluten flour because we don't have it in France. But I just went online to see the ingredients in this flour mix. By the look of it, it should work. Though I would use it to replace both the almond/tigernut flour and the arrowroot (you won't need it). You might (it's hard to say when you haven't tried a flour mix) have to adjust the liquid quantity a little bit. Just look at the picture of the batter (in the process pictures in the introduction) so you have an idea of the consistency it should have. Let me know how it turns out!
Lisa I Badillo
Hi, the flavor of this cake is delicious. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I’ll be making again ❤️
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Lisa. Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you love this recipe! ❤️ Thank you for taking the time to tell me!!
Tara
Hello!!! Could I use regular molasses instead of blackstrap?
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Tara. Technically yes, you can use regular molasses instead of blackstrap. But if you are on AIP, from what I understand, regular molasses is not recommended. Here is an article on molasses by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne if you want to check it out for yourself: https://www.thepaleomom.com/blackstrap-molasses-the-sugar-you-can-love/
Graciela
¡Hola querida Bea! ¿Podré usar néctar de coco lugar de la melaza negra? por aquí no se consigue para consumo humano,gracias.