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Of all pumpkin treats, pumpkin bread is my favorite. It’s what I always order at Starbucks if they happen to have it.

Well, Starbucks does not always have pumpkin bread. This recipe allows me to indulge my habit at home, whenever I want. After baking a batch I have to give the loaves away so I don’t go crazy sneaking off with slices throughout the day. It’s been my go-to recipe for years. A bit sweeter and cakier than other pumpkin breads, it delightfully conjures up the slices they sell at Starbucks—except moister. I love it with a cup of coffee. It’s one of those recipes you make to confirm to yourself that fall has arrived.

A Recipe With a Secret

This recipe started out as Piper Davis’ pumpkin bread from her excellent cookbook, The Grand Central Baking Book. I work with a few vegans and didn’t want them to get left out of the fun, so I veganized it by replacing the eggs with ground flaxseed, plus a few other tweaks. And you know what? No one can tell the difference! I’ve made it egg-free ever since.

The Best Pumpkin to Use in Pumpkin Bread

I use canned pumpkin purée. Yes, you can use homemade pumpkin purée, but to be frank, canned pumpkin is unfailingly better and it’s way less work. This recipe uses one whole small can of pumpkin so you don’t have to fret over how to use up a lingering few tablespoons.

Do not use canned pumpkin pie mix, which has spices and sugar already added to it.

Flaxseed or Aquafaba

Eggs play an important role in giving quick breads structure. To make this eggless quick bread, you have two simple plant-based options that help bind the batter and lend the same cakiness that eggs would.

Flaxseed: Ground flaxseed makes a gel when you mix them with water. This gel acts as an egg replacer to add structure to cookies, cakes, and quick breads. They’re a trusty ingredient in vegan baking. You can find flaxseed in the natural food aisle of most grocery stores. They have a short shelf life, so it’s best to keep them in the freezer.

• If you’re looking for tips on making flaxseed egg replacer read our post: How to Make a Flax Egg.

Aquafaba: You likely have a can of beans in your pantry, which means you have an existing alternative to a flax egg! Aquafaba is a fancy name for the liquid in a can of chickpeas. Yes, the stuff we usually tell you to drain and rinse off—turns out that goopy bean juice is a fantastic egg replacer.

• To use aquafaba as an egg replacer in this recipe, just add 1/2 cup of the liquid from a can of beans and omit both the water and the ground flaxseed. Liquid from chickpeas works best, but I’ve also used the liquid from canned kidney beans and white beans and had success. Aquafaba stores for up to a week in the fridge, but you can also freeze it in ice cube trays for easy portioning. Pop the frozen cubes out of the tray and store in a zip-top bag.

Spice Swaps and Mix-Ins

Out of an ingredient, or want to get creative? You can play with spices and mix-ins for different flavor directions.

• Add up to 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans.
• Add up to 1 cup vegan chocolate chips. (Many popular semisweet chocolate chips have milk and butterfat.)
• Add up to 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries.
• Add up to 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger.
• Replace the spices in the recipe with 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder. (I’m currently really taken with this version.)
• Use 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice instead of the spices in the recipe.

Pumpkin Bread Sugar Swaps

The amounts of white and brown sugar here are not set in stone. You can tailor it to your liking.

• Use all white sugar. The flavor of the pumpkin and spices will come through more.
• Use all brown sugar. Your pumpkin bread will have more of a gingerbread flavor.
• Replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with maple syrup. Using only maple syrup will overwhelm the other flavors.
• Reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup. The bread won’t be as moist and tender, but if you prefer less sweet desserts, it’s worth a go.

Flour Swaps for Pumpkin Bread

Feel free to swap the all-purpose flour with any of the following. I’ve made this bread all the following ways, and the texture and flavor remain essentially the same.

• White whole wheat flour for all the all-purpose flour.
• Whole wheat pastry flour for all the all-purpose flour.
• Spelt flour for all the all-purpose flour.
• Half all-purpose flour and half regular whole wheat flour.

Can I Make Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread?

I wouldn’t recommend making this pumpkin bread gluten-free. This particular recipe makes a dense batter, and for it to work as a gluten-free loaf, it would need eggs for added structure. If you use only gluten-free flour in this bread, it will be very dense and gluey.

Can I Make Muffins, Mini Loaves, or a Single Loaf?

Sure! This recipe will yield at least two dozen muffins, or six 5 1/2 x 3-inch mini loaf pans. (I particularly like the way this batter rises in mini loaves, plus they are convenient for giving to friends.) You can also bake this in a standard-size Bundt pan or halve the recipe and make a single loaf.

Freezing Pumpkin Bread

I actually prefer this bread after it’s been frozen and thawed. After freezing and thawing, the texture and flavor of this bread improves; it becomes moister and cakier, and it slices more neatly.

To freeze: Wrap cooled loaves in plastic wrap, then in foil. Freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or on the counter for three to four hours (no need to unwrap).

More Pumpkin Spice Goodness

• Pumpkin Tiramisu
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Pumpkin Cookies
• Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream
• Pumpkin Cheesecake

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• 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

• 1 (15-ounce can) pumpkin puree

• 1 1/3 cups (304g) packed light brown sugar

• 1/3 cup canola or avocado oil

• 1/4 cup (32g) ground flaxseed meal

• 2/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (or conventional milk, if you aren’t making it vegan)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 3 1/4 cups (446g) all purpose flour

• 1 2/3 cups (324g) granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Heat the oven and prepare the pans:

   Preheat the oven to 350° F and position a rack in the center. Grease and flour two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans.

2. Toast the pumpkin seeds:

   Place the pumpkin seeds in a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Cook, shaking the pan often, until the seeds brown lightly and make little popping sounds, about 3 minutes. Immediately pour them into a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Mix the liquid ingredients:

   In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, brown sugar, oil, and ground flaxseed until the brown sugar is mostly dissolved. Whisk in the milk, water, and vinegar. Set aside.

4. Combine the dry ingredients:

   In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg.

5. Mix the batter:

   Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you have a cohesive batter with no dry streaks. The batter may have some small lumps, but that’s okay.

6. Bake the loaves:

   Divide the batter between the prepared pans and sprinkle the toasted pumpkin seeds on top. Bake the loaves until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out free of crumbs and the loaves spring back when you lightly press their center with your fingertip, about 55 to 65 minutes.

7. Cool the bread:

   Cool the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool on the racks completely before slicing.

   Leftovers! Bread will keep, tightly wrapped, for about 4 days at room temperature, and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
5150	Calories
96g	Fat
1,027g	Carbs
65g	Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories	5150
% Daily Value*
96g	123%
Saturated Fat 65g	323%
13mg	4%
4705mg	205%
1027g	373%
Dietary Fiber 38g	136%
Total Sugars 642g
65g
Vitamin C 19mg	94%
Calcium 1042mg	80%
Iron 33mg	181%
Potassium 2421mg	52%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

I’ve been getting more and more relaxed about my original hard-line no-faux-meats! approach to vegan recipe development. And while I’ve already tackled vegan cheese sauce, a vegan replacement for Parmesan, and even a bowl of vegan ramen as rich and creamy as any meat-based version, I’ve yet to go full-faux and attempt to make anything that is meant to fully emulate meat.

Today all that changes.

Mexican chorizo is an outlier in the sausage world in many ways. It’s nothing like its raw, dry-cured counterpart in Spain or its coarse, lightly fermented brothers in South America. It’s unique in that it’s eaten pretty much invariably without a casing. It’s a sausage that is meant to be crumbled and broken up. A sausage that’s so moist and has such a high proportion of flavorings to meat that it wouldn’t hold its shape in a casing even if you wanted it to.

This makes it a pretty much ideal candidate for vegan-ification. Without the need for a meat or other protein-based binder, you don’t have to deal with the common pitfall of vegan sausages or burgers being too mushy or wet. A very large amount of seasoning and spices dominate the flavor profile—even in pork chorizo, the pork itself is hard to taste through the chiles—which means that it shouldn’t be too hard to get a good taste-alike going on.

The ideal meat-based chorizo must:

1. have a boldly flavored but balanced blend of chiles and spices.
2. have the ability to be cooked either very moist and rich or crumbled and deeply browned.
3. have textural contrast ranging from tender and meaty to crisp.
4. taste great on its own, but also be a good flavoring agent for other ingredients like potatoes, eggs, or queso dip.
5. have a distinct vinegary tang.

On the other hand, the ideal vegan chorizo must:

1. be made solely of non-animal-derived products.
2. See 1 through 5 above.

See what I’m getting at? I wanted to make a vegan chorizo recipe that doesn’t just come close to regular chorizo in the flavor department, but outright nails it. I wanted a meat-free chorizo with textural contrast up the wazoo, and a chorizo that changes texture as you cook it just like its meat-based counterpart. I wanted a chorizo that is tangy, rich, and complex. In short, I wanted nothing less than the best darned meat-free chorizo imaginable.

Chiles and Spices

I started my quest by heading to three different supermarkets and picking up every variety of vegan chorizo on the shelves. Though most had a few redeeming qualities here and there, they were all, without exception, not even close to the ideal I was looking for. Flavors that didn’t pop and textures that were too mushy or pasty. In fact, the closest thing I could find to a good vegan chorizo substitute is the Sofritas mixture they serve at Chipotle, though even that mixture I find to be a little bit too wet rather than simply moist and succulent.

Still, I could glean a few things from scanning the ingredients lists: Those that made use of tofu were texturally superior to those that used actual faux meats like TVP or wheat derivatives. I made a mental note to return to this when it was time to work on texture. For now, I focused on flavor.

I’ve already worked on a traditional pork chorizo recipe, so I had a good place to start. In that recipe, I used garlic, oregano, cumin, black pepper, ground cloves, coriander seeds, cinnamon, a splash of red wine vinegar, and dried ancho chile powder. I made a very quick batch of vegan chorizo using some shredded tofu and some vegetable oil in place of the pork in my original recipe—this is the approach most existing vegan chorizo recipes take. As expected, it was pretty abysmal. A pale imitation of the real thing.

To make a satisfying vegan chorizo, I was going to need to pull out the big guns. Chile powder is an OK place to start for a quick recipe like that one, but for this vegan version, I was prepared to go all-out, which meant ditching the ancho powder in place of actual whole dried chiles.

Using my basic chili paste to replace chili powder as a guide, I started by microwaving three chiles—a guajillo (for its sweet, fresh flavor), an ancho (for its deeper, raisin-y notes), and a couple of arbols (for their heat)—on a plate in order to toast them (you can also use a skillet or the toaster oven). I then placed them in a microwave-safe measuring cup, added some water and a handful of raisins (to boost that richer ancho flavor), and microwaved them until the water was simmering. Once adequately softened, I could blend them along with a canned chipotle chile into a flavorful paste that would form the backbone of the flavor in my chorizo.

On to the fresh aromatics. Onions and garlic were a given. To add more chile flavor, some moisture, and a smoky background to complement the chipotle chiles, I also decided to add a roasted poblano pepper to the mix. The easiest way to deal with a single pepper is to either hold it directly over the flame of a gas burner until it’s charred on all sides, or to place it under the broiler, turning it every few minutes until completely blackened. Once you let it rest in foil, the blackened skin peels right off and the tender flesh underneath gets infused with smoky flavor.

Oregano is one of those herbs that does quite well in dried form, taking on a distinct aroma and flavor from its fresh counterpart, but to really get the best of both worlds, I decided to use fresh oregano in addition to the dried. The remaining spices: cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and cloves (has anyone else noticed how many spices start with the letter C?) were invited to the party as well.

Chorizo’s distinctly bright, acidic flavor comes from the addition of vinegar—more than in any other sausage that I know of. I used a full 1/4 cup in my 1 1/2 pound batch to get the requisite flavor. While I was at it, I wondered if there were more ways I could punch up the umami factor. With meat, that savoriness is built in. Tofu or other vegetable-based products can use a bit of a boost. Soy sauce was an easy win (and is not at all uncommon in Mexican cuisine anyway), but I also added a big dab of miso paste.

I’ve been using miso paste a lot in vegan (and non-vegan) foods recently, like in this kale and polenta soup or in this vegan Parmesan substitute. It has a much rounder, more savory flavor profile than straight-up soy sauce and has the added benefit of providing a bit of binding texture, keeping sauces tighter. Combined with the chile purée I was using, I could kiss goodbye to the watery, tortilla-destroying liquid that many vegan chorizos give off.

I had the flavor of the seasonings nailed where I wanted them, but the plain old shredded tofu wasn’t going to cut it in terms of texture. I refocused my attention on that arena.

Frozen Assets

I was looking for three distinct textural elements in my mixture: chewy and bouncy, meaty and tender, and crisp. It’s what I’d look for in a good meat-based chorizo, and I wasn’t about to lower my standards here.

Having recently moved from New York where winter days rarely rise above 40°F to San Francisco where I occasionally think about reaching for a light jacket before heading outdoors in my t-shirt, I know how much of an effect temperature can have on a person’s mood. Tofu is pretty similar in that way. If you’ve ever put a block of tofu in the freezer to save for later, you’ll know that after defrosting, it has a completely different texture than when it went in, with a porous, almost spongy structure.

It’s a pretty common trick: Freezing tofu causes ice crystals to form. As the tofu thaws, the ice melts, draining out and creating large pits and crevices within the tofu block. The result is tofu that is lower in water with a chewier, meatier texture. I knew that in this recipe I’d be finely chopping my tofu, but I wondered if a bit of freezing would help anyway.

I tested three batches side by side. The first was tofu I simply ground in a food processor. The second was tofu that I froze first, then ground. The third was tofu that I froze then allowed to defrost while sitting in a plate full of my chile mixture, the idea being that the chile flavor would get absorbed as the water left it.

The third method was the least successful: marinating tofu as it thaws does indeed draw in a bit of flavoring, but it also dilutes the rest of the puree with the water that comes draining out from inside. Much better is to defrost plain on a bed of paper towels, then add the flavorings separately once the excess water has been removed.

Freezing was a definite improvement in terms of texture—the chewy and bouncy texture was there even after a mere 15 minutes in the freezer—but it was still lacking in tender, meaty and crisp elements.

For the meatiness, I turned to a second soy-based product: tempeh.

Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian product made from whole soybeans that are fermented and pressed into a block. Because the beans are left whole, it has a much meatier, nuttier texture than tofu does, though its flavor can be a bit off-putting to some people. Combining the two products together gave me a good mixture of two out of three of my textural elements. Now to address the last one: crunchiness.

My wife and I have been eating a lot of lentils recently in the form of a big batch of lentil soup I made a few weeks back. My favorite preparation so far? I took the lentil soup and cooked it down in a skillet until the lentils were almost dry then stuffed them into tacos. Treated this way, they take an intense flavor and a nearly crisp texture. What if I could maximize this effect by really dehydrating them?

I drained and rinsed a can of lentils then spread it out over a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet which I then transferred to a 325°F (160°C) oven, letting the lentils cook until they were dense, crisp, and cracked. Not quite so dry that they’d hurt your teeth, but dry enough that even after re-absorbing some moisture from the rest of the ingredients they’d retain their crispness.

I folded the lentils in along with the tofu and tempeh, letting everything cook down until browned and reduced, seasoning it with salt and pepper along the way. This has got to be it, I said to myself as I dipped a spoon into the mixture which looked and smelled almost exactly like Mexican chorizo.

Close, I thought, but not quite there. It had the flavor and texture I was looking for, but the mouthfeel, the way it spreads across the palate, was not quite right. It’s got to be the fat.

See, animal fat like pork, beef, or chicken, is highly saturated. On a molecular level, this means that its fatty acid chains are less kinked and can stack together in a more stable formation. This is why highly saturated fats are solid at room temperature and fats low in saturated fat (like vegetable oil) are liquid. Think of them as a bucket of legos. With saturated fats, those legos are all stacked and stuck together, forming a solid. With unsaturated fats, a few of the bricks may be stuck together here and there, but they mostly flow past each other when you tip the bucket out.

In my vegan nacho cheese sauce, the real key to good mouthfeel was replacing vegetable oil with highly saturated vegetable shortening. Shortening is essentially vegetable oil to which extra hydrogen atoms have been added in a process called hydrogenation. It results in a vegetable-based fat that is saturated enough to behave more like an animal fat, giving you richer texture and more creaminess. It’s what makes vegan pie crusts rich and the center of Oreos creamy.

It was also the missing piece of the puzzle in my vegan chorizo. With the shortening in place, I finally had everything on lock.

How did I celebrate? With an inaugural taco, of course.

The best part is that you can treat the mixture exactly like regular chorizo. Want it soft, tender and moist with a few crisp bits here and there like in the taco above? Throw it in the pan, heat it up, and you’re good to go.

Want it dry, fatty, and crumbled? No problem: cook it down until the fat separates and it crisps up in the skillet, giving you plenty of flavorful fat to coat whatever you toss it with, whether it’s eggs or fried potatoes.

Now how’s that for flavor?

The recipe isn’t the easiest—there are a few steps to take beyond your standard vegan chorizo recipe—but I guarantee you the end results will be better than any store-bought chorizo on the market, vegan or not. Don’t believe me? I dare you to make this recipe and deny it. I double dog dare you.

February 2015

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• 1 (10–ounce) block of extra-firm cottony (non-silken) tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch slices

• 1 fresh poblano pepper

• 1 (15-ounce) can black or Puy lentils, drained and rinsed

• 1 whole sweet dried chiles like Costeño, Guajillo, or Choricero, stems and seeds removed

• 1 to 2 small hot dried chiles like Arbol or Cascabel, stems and seeds removed (optional)

• 1 whole rich fruity dried chile like Ancho, Mulatto, Negro, or Pasilla, stems and seeds removed

• 2 tablespoons raisins

• 1 whole chipotle chile in adobo sauce with 2 tablespoons sauce from can

• 2 cups water

• 6 ounces plain tempeh

• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening or coconut oil

• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano leaves

• 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon freshly toasted and ground cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon freshly toasted and ground coriander seeds

• 3 whole cloves, toasted and ground

• 1 tablespoon yellow or red miso paste

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1. Line a large plate with a double layer of paper towels. Place tofu on top in a single layer and transfer to freezer. Freeze for 15 minutes, then remove and let thaw while you prepare the other ingredients.

2. Adjust rack to 4 inches below broiler element and preheat broiler to high. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the poblano on top. Broil, turning occasionally, until blackended on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove from oven, lift foil and wrap it around the poblano to form a tight seal, transfer to a plate and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F (160°C) and leave the door open to allow oven to cool slightly.

3. Line rimmed baking sheet with a fresh piece of foil and spread lentils on top in a single layer. Transfer to oven and cook until mostly dry and crunchy, 20 to 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, place dried chiles on a microwave-safe plate and microwave until toasted, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a glass liquid measuring cup. Add raisins, chipotle chiles and their juice, and water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until simmering, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave and let stand 2 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Set mixture aside.

5. Cut tempeh into 1-inch pieces. Working in batches, transfer to a food processor and pulse until chopped to the texture of ground meat, about 10 to 12 short pulses. Set aside.

6. When cool enough to handle, carefully unwrap and peel poblano pepper, discarding skins and seeds. Finely dice cooked flesh. Melt shortening in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and poblanos, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, fresh and dried oregano, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cloves, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add miso paste, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and chile mixture. Add crumbled tofu, tempeh, and dehydrated lentils. Stir to incorporate and season to taste with salt and pepper. For a moister, saucy texture, add a few tablespoons of water. For a dryer, crumblier, well-browned texture, add 2 tablespoons more oil and continue cooking until most of the excess liquid has evaporated and mixture is dark brown with crisp bits, about 15 minutes. Serve in tacos, burritos, mixed with eggs, on nachos, or in any recipe that calls for fresh Mexican chorizo.

Special Equipment

Food processor, blender

Make-Ahead and Storage

The chorizo can be made in advance and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for up to two months.

Read More

• Fully Loaded Vegan Queso Dip
• Easy Fresh Mexican Chorizo
• The Best Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
• Dried Olive and Miso Shake (The Best Vegan Parmesan Substitute)
• Ultimate Vegan Ramen With Miso Broth