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Enjoy a slice of chocolate Butternut Squash Cake and sneak in some vegetables with your dessert. This decadent bread is packed with fiber and protein, while also being low in calories and sugar.
Quick Summary: Butternut Squash Bread
- Why Make This Recipe: This moist chocolate butternut squash bread tastes like your favorite dessert, but it only has 8 grams of sugar and is packed with veggies.
- Nutrition: 160 calories, 4 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber
- Diet: Low-calorie, Gluten-free
- Time: 10 minutes prep time, 50 minutes cook time, 1 hour cooling time
- Method: Baking
- Best for: Holiday Dessert, Make Ahead, Fall Dessert Table or Bake Sale
- Tip: Cool your bread for a full hour before slicing it so the slices don’t fall apart.
This healthy butternut squash bread is going to be your new favorite treat! It’s moist, rich, but not overly sugary. Many vegetable dessert breads have over 300 calories and 30+ grams of sugar, but this recipe is only 160 calories and 8 grams of sugar.
Each slice is also full of protein and fiber, so you can satisfy your chocolate cravings while also satiating your hunger. Take this bread to your next holiday gathering, or slice it up and store it in the freezer for an easy-to-grab sweet treat.
If you like baked butternut squash recipes, you will love my butternut squash muffins and butternut squash egg bake!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Half the Sugar of Typical Squash Breads: Most butternut squash bread recipes contain 25+ grams of sugar per slice. This bread only has 8 grams of sugar in each slice because it uses applesauce and coconut sugar as sweeteners instead of refined sugar.
- Tastes Like Chocolate Cake, Not Vegetables: Since this chocolate butternut squash bread uses cacao powder, it completely masks the flavor of the vegetables. It just tastes like a rich slice of chocolate cake.
- Mixes in One Bowl: The batter comes together in just one bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer. That means fewer dishes to clean up while you wait for dessert to be ready.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Butternut Squash: You can use fresh butternut squash puree or use canned puree for this recipe.
- Egg Whites: The egg whites act as a binder for the bread. They contain more protein and less fat than a whole egg, but can be subbed for a whole egg if needed.
- Greek Yogurt: Add a boost of protein and moisture to your bread with low-fat Greek yogurt.
- Coconut Sugar: This sugar substitute is darker and less sweet than regular sugar, so be prepared for this squash bread to taste less sweet than other recipes.
- Oat Flour: Keep this recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free oat flour. If you don’t need it to be gluten-free, you can use regular oat flour instead.
- Cacao Powder: This powder has a more bitter and intense flavor, as well as more iron and fiber, than cocoa powder. You can use cocoa powder if you don’t have cacao.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
How to Make Butternut Squash Puree
If you’re starting with a fresh butternut squash, you can easily make your own puree.
To start making homemade butternut squash puree, wash the squash and then cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and roast the squash, cut side down, in an oven preheated to 400°F for 45-60 minutes.
It’s ready when you can easily slide a fork into the squash without any resistance. Remove and let the squash cool. Then scoop the roasted insides out of the rind and blend them into a puree.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Try with Different Purees: Substitute the butternut squash puree with canned pumpkin puree to make chocolate pumpkin bread, or try my recipe for no sugar pumpkin bread. You could also use sweet potato puree, like in these sweet potato cookies, but you may need to add a little more milk to make up for the moisture difference.
- Make It Dairy-Free: Make your gluten-free butternut squash bread dairy-free by using plant-based milk, dairy-free yogurt, and dairy-free chocolate chips in your batter.
- Mix In Nuts: Give your chocolate squash bread a little crunch by mixing chopped walnuts into the batter or topping the bread with walnuts or chopped pecans.
How to Make Butternut Squash Bread
This chocolate squash bread is the perfect veggie-packed dessert or breakfast treat. Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your bread pan by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.
- Step 1: Combine Applesauce and Yogurt. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to combine the applesauce, Greek yogurt, and olive oil until the mixture is smooth.
- Step 2: Add Sugar and Egg Whites. Mix in the sugar, egg whites, and almond milk. Continue to combine until the mixture is fluffy.
- Step 3: Mix in Butternut Squash. Add the butternut squash, almond extract, sea salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cacao powder, and stir until combined.
- Step 4: Slowly Stir In Flour. Slowly add the oat flour to the batter while mixing until all the flour is fully incorporated. Don’t overmix the batter.
- Step 5: Add Chocolate Chips. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter by hand. Set aside some chocolate chips to sprinkle over the top after it bakes.
- Step 6: Bake and Cool. Transfer the batter to the prepared bread pan and bake the loaf at 350°F for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly from the center. Remove from the oven, add the extra chocolate chips to the top, and let it cool for an hour before slicing. Pair your yummy chocolate bread with a low-cal pumpkin spice latte.
Expert Tips
- Properly Measure the Flour: It’s important to properly measure your flour. Use the method of spooning flour into the measuring cup instead of scooping it directly from the bag. Scooping usually results in too much flour and dry bread.
- Cool Before Slicing: Allow the bread plenty of time to cool completely before slicing it for clean slices.
- Use the Toothpick Method: The cocoa hides whether the top of the bread has begun to brown or not, so it’s important to use the toothpick method to ensure your bread is fully cooked.
- Storage Directions: Store bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for a full week. You can also individually wrap the slices of bread and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen bread overnight in the refrigerator before eating it!
Serving Suggestions
This gluten-free butternut squash bread is an absolute delight all year round, but especially in the fall. Move over pumpkin bread, this year it’s all about the squash! Enjoy a slice with your morning coffee or as part of a balanced breakfast. It also makes the perfect treat for a cozy night in after dinner.
- Enjoy with a cup of coffee flavored with gingerbread coffee creamer for a fun fall or holiday morning treat.
- Have chocolate for breakfast, along with some protein-packed egg white bites no cheese for breakfast on the go.
- This butternut squash dessert is ideal for after a decadent fall meal, like my stuffed acorn squash.
Butternut Squash Bread Recipe FAQs
Sure! This recipe works with either canned butternut squash puree or fresh. Canned squash will save you time and has a more consistent and concentrated flavor, but fresh has a more vibrant flavor.
A medium butternut squash typically yields 2-3 cups of puree.
If your bread is dense, the most likely reason is that it was overmixed. Once you add the oat flour, mix the batter until it is just combined.
More Delicious Vegetable Dessert Recipes
If you tried this Butternut Squash Bread recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Butternut Squash Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butternut Squash Puree, in a can or make your own by roasting squash then blending
- 2 Egg Whites
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- ⅓ cup Nonfat Greek Yogurt
- ½ cup Coconut Sugar, or sugar of choice
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons Almond Extract, or vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk, or milk of choice
- 1 ⅓ cup Oat Flour, or gluten free oat flour
- ⅔ cup Cacao Powder, or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup Mini Chocolate Chips, use dairy free if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 F. Prepare a loaf pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.
- Using a standing mixer or bowl for hand mixer, add applesauce, Greek yogurt and oive oil mix to combine smooth.
- Continue to combine, then mix in sugar, egg whites and almond milk mix until fluffy.
- Add butternut squash, almond extract, sea salt, baking soda, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix to combine.
- Slowly add the oat flour to the batter while continuing to mix. Do not over mix.
- Add mini chips to the batter and fold in by hand reserving a few chips to sprinkle on top when finished. Transfer batter to prepared bread pan.
- Bake at 350 F 45-50 minutes until a toothpick can be removed clean from the center.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan 1 hour before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Avoid dry butternut squash bread by properly measuring out the oat flour by spooning it into the measuring cup instead of scooping it.
- Let the bread cook for a full hour before slicing it so it doesn’t crumble and fall apart.
- The dark color of the cacao powder hides the browning of the bread, so be sure to use the toothpick method to check the doneness.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love when vegetables get mixed into delicious desserts and breads. I just put an entire zucchini in w my green smoothie today. It still tastes delicious bc I have chocolate protein powder and blueberries in the mix 🙂
Now that is genius!
Curve lemons are the worst! I’ve been feeling a little out of balance myself lately. I’m finishing my holistic nutrition program soon enough and trying to decide whether I’m looking for a traditional job or starting my own client practice. I love the flexibility of my own practice but the financial reality is a whole other thing… We’ll see!
I thought you were going to do a masters program? Either way, I can’t wait to see what you do because I’m sure it will be awesome and you will be my inspiration!
What a genius idea adding butternut squash! This looks delicious!
Thanks Kate!
Chocolate and veggies, yep sounds odd but oh so right! This looks delicious!
I’m one to tends to question things and take on a little more than I should. I don’t see it that way until I realize I am on the go all the time and have no down time or me time. I said I would take more time for myself but somehow turned me time to volunteering at the school more, like 4 times as much as I was. I turn to baking as well and my kitchen but tend to overthink things. I hope I didn’t miss it but I I’m not seeing your exciting news from last week, just remember things always have a way of working out and while I also have a problem when my path takes an unexpected turn I’m trying to embrace it. It came to me reading a book with A, that the fairies are in the woods not on the path and that is where I will find the most exciting things. Hope that makes sense. Happy Meatless Monday!
It does make sense. Maybe I need to be reading more children’s books. They offer so much wisdom.
I made a similar chocolate bread a little while ago and it was one of my favorite snacks or breakfast! There’s nothing better than eating chocolate and having it be healthy too:)
So true!
This is so awesome! I’ve never even thought to use squash in a sweet recipe really! This looks delicious!
Oh my dear, you so need to try it because it’s insanely delicious!
Squash and chocolate? Who would have thought?? Looks fabulous and creative. Thanks for linking up with us today. I have a new co host hope you check out her blog too she rocks
I’ve been a follower of Sarah’s blog long before she started cohosting. Thanks!
You had me at dark chocolate!!! Love this!
And yes, striking the right balance is a constant goal of mine, and one that I always struggle with. Sometimes I feel completely inundated, while other times I think I have it (sort of) under control. Hang in there and trust your instinct — it’s done well for you so far!
I think that feeling comes with the blogging turf, don’t you? It has so many highs & lows.
You know exactly what I am going to say to this recipe, and that is HELLLLLL YAAAASSSSSSS. Pinning and I might just eat my computer.
I’m sure you already know this, but there is a psychological rule that states that questioning something only makes us more dedicated to it, in the end. You have to justify your reasons to yourself, and confirm and commit to why you chose it in the first place. So regardless of what it is that you end up deciding, you will be firmly committed. And that means that you will KICK ASS.
Would give you some bread, but you have to live so far away! You know that is great advice. I never thought about it that way. It’s so easy to stay where it feels safe and you know what to expect. Still I AM SCARED!
There is always a goal I’m questioning, or conflicted about and I think when we spread ourselves thin like that it’s impossible NOT to question something! I tried to keep my goals reasonable but I still have a lot on my plate, and there are definitely some days I want it all to away because it’s overwhelming.
I like to feel like I’m accomplishing things. Maybe I need to break down my goals so I feel like I am accomplishing something vs. working towards something forever.