This healthy gluten free gingerbread loaf is sweetened with dates, leaving it moist and full of full of holiday flavor. Made with a blend of whole grains and almond flour. Top this homemade gingerbread loaf with a dreamy spiced marscapone topping.
How to Make Gluten Free Gingerbread
Holidays can be full of our favorite treats, and healthy, too!
This healthier Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf is moist, and full of rich spicy flavor.
Ingredients for Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf:
- Oat, millet and almond flours
- Lots of spices, like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
- Dates (a great high fiber sweetener that also gives this load a super soft texture!)
- Pumpkin
- Molasses, for that classic flavor
- Coconut oil
Prepare to have the best smelling house! This loaf is Christmas in dessert form.
Top it off with a dreamy, light and fluffy marscapone topping. I use marscapone, lightly sweetened with honey, with a bit of cinnamon and ginger whipped in.
Choosing Gluten Free Flours for Quick Breads
My favorite gluten free flours to work with are almond flour and oat flour.
Neither of these ingredients has to be expensive. Costco carries large bags of almond flour — one will last through all your holiday baking!
I use store bought oat flour for this recipe, but if you don’t have any, just process oats in a blender until a fine flour forms. This will give the loaf a little more texture, but it will still be wonderful.
The millet flour in this recipe adds an additional depth of flavor, but is optional. There are instructions for subbing additional almond and oat flours in its place.
Gluten Free Gingerbread Tips
- Don’t have millet flour, and don’t want to go buy it? Sub 1/2 oat and 1/2 almond flour in place of it. I have tested this, and it works great.
- I have started giving the measurement of dates in weight rather than in cups — after a reader told me my Gluten Free Date Bar recipe didn’t call for enough dates, I decided to weigh out a few different varieties, and found that 1 cup of Medjool dates weighs as much as 2 1/2 cups of honey or korma dates. That’s a big difference! I have made this recipe using both Medjools and a smaller date variety, and honestly, you can’t tell the difference.
- Make it Gluten Free: Be sure to use certified gluten free oats, if necessary. Millet and almond flours should already be gluten free. If you are not sensitive to gluten, any oat flour is fine.
- Make it Ahead: This loaf freezes beautifully! I have frozen a whole loaf and defrosted in the refrigerator overnight, and have also frozen (already frosted) slices and pulled them out in the evenings for dessert.
- Make it Dairy Free: This loaf is already gluten free, but I frost it with my Autumn Spice Buttercream, which is cream cheese based. I do this to get a creamy frosting with the lowest amount of sugar possible. If dairy is not an option for you, choose a traditional buttercream made with a vegan butterspread.
Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 5 1/2 ounces dates 1 cup or 8-9 medjool dates
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup millet flour
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- If using smaller dates than Medjool, or if your dates are dry, soak them in hot water for 1-2 minutes prior to starting, and drain well.
- Add dates, pumpkin, hot water, coconut oil, molasses, egg, and vanilla to a blender. Blend for 2-3 minutes until the dates are broken down into a smooth puree. This is very fast in my Vitamix, but I have made it in a standard blender without a problem.
- In a mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients, and mix together well.
- Add the date puree into the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- Either line a loaf pan with baking paper, or grease it with coconut oil. Add the batter to the pan, and bake for 30 minutes, until the center of the loaf is fully cooked.
- Allow to completely cool before slicing. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, or the freezer for up to a month.
Notes
- 1 6 ounce package of marscapone
- 2-3 tablespoons of honey or date syrup
- A pinch of cinnamon and ginger
Nutrition
Other Gluten Free Christmas Desserts:
- Easy Chocolate Christmas Cake, by Cotter Crunch
- Dark Chocolate Mint Macaroons, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Gingerbread Cupcakes, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Topping, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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