oT
This Pumpkin Tahini Loaf recipe was a complete accident. Sometimes recipes are accidents. Does this ever happen to you? Where you add, like, one spice to something and then it turns into something else. Or maybe you accidentally mess something up and it’s a becomes a happy accident?
Billy told me that he was bored so he put peanut butter on a slice of pumpkin bread and it turned out to be amazing! So when he came over the other day and I was like, "I wanna make a twist on pumpkin bread," he suggested I use tahini. I thought hmm…ok let’s try it. We were SHOCKED at how good it was. It didn’t sound awful but also didn’t sound like an absolute winner. You all, it was a winner delicious!
Let's Start with the Basics: What is Tahini?
Tahini is a condiment made from toasted sesame seeds that is ground into a paste.
It's known as the star of such amazing dishes like hummus, baba ganoush and halva. It's glorious and adds such nice flavor to so many dishes. It can be slightly bitter which makes it an interesting addition to sweet applications.
If using it in a sweet application, it needs to have the right amount of sugar to offset its bitterness.
My Love for Quick Breads
Whenever people ask me, “I’m not a baker, what should I bake as my first go?”
I always suggest a quick bread or cookies.
When it comes to baking, this as easy at it gets. To make quick breads you take one bowl and mixtogether the dry ingredients; then, you mix together the wet ingredients. Next, you combine those two mixes, stick it in the oven and then BOOM: a loaf. A recipe for Pumpkin Tahini Loaf!
This loaf is a delicious, seedy loaf of pumpkin bread. The crumb is tight yet still very tender. The crunch is delightful and the smell is amazing. The flavor of tahini is very present but not overwhelming.
And if you're loving the tahini vibe, my Banana Tahini Loaf is also a winner!
Happy fall baking yay!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Grease and line a 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch with a sheet of parchment so that you have extra on the sides (this makes it easy to lift the loaf out). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. *If you use a 9x5-inch loaf pan, it’ll be a bit more stout than using a 8x4-inch.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, white and black sesame seeds, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, tahini, eggs and sugar, until very smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, being sure not to over-mix. Add the batter to the loaf pan and smooth out the top.
- Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs are ok!).
- Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and then remove and place on a cooling rack.
Amy says
Perfect consistency and the tahini gives it a distinctive and yummy flavor.
Allison says
This was fantastic. I made this vegan by using an egg replacer, and I reduced the sugar to 1 cup brown sugar, and used whole wheat flour. I also didn’t have black sesame on hand so I used all white sesame. Perfect for breakfast with a little vegan butter. Thank you!
Adrianna Adarme says
Wonderful to hear!
Joanna says
Could I substitute almond or sunflower seed butter instead of tahini? I'm out and don't want to make another grocery run 🙁
Adrianna Adarme says
that should work. i've never tried it but in theory should be fine! 🙂
Brad says
I'm gluten free - I know I can use a 1:1 flour - but wondering if you've ever tried making this with almond flour?
Adrianna Adarme says
you can't use 1:1 with almond flour. i would recommend using a gluten-free flour mix. 🙂
Rachel says
I tried this recipe and loved it! I used a little bit less sugar (only 1 cup) because I don't have that much of a sweet tooth. Delicious! The texture was great too-- very moist.
Stef says
"Made this" but modified honey for sugar, and flour for a zany blend of vanilla protein powder, oat flour and a tbsp flour (?!). Still tasted amazing! My mom asked me for the recipe! Thanks so much as always xx!
irene says
My Nephew loves pumpkin in any meal, he's definitely going to enjoy, pumpkin or sweet potato, can't wait mix things up for him.. thank you for sharing.
Vera from Lisbon (Portugal) says
Hi Adrianna! I could not help trying this recipe when I saw pumpkin paired with tahini on a sweet proposal. So, basically, it literally came out of my oven about one hour ago and it was served as sort of a dessert after dinner.
Sooo good and very subtel, especially because I've used coconut sugar and had just enough for one cup (I am no sweet tooth, and it definitely works for me). No one complained, they loved it, actually.
Thank you for such (inspired and) great ideas!
Adrianna Adarme says
Ahh this is amazing. Love hearing that it worked out! 🙂
Belinda says
Your tahini banana bread is a staple in my house so I’m going to trust you on this. However, here in Australia, we don’t get the whole Fall/Thanksgiving/Pumpkin craze so I’ll have to make the pumpkin purée from scratch. Would I add anything to the pumpkin? We also don’t have pumpkin pie spice so what would be in that?
Adrianna Adarme says
You can't find pumpkin puree in the can? You can also probably substitute canned sweet potato puree 🙂
Belinda says
Neither are available here. It’s just not something we use. The only canned puréed veggies are in the baby food aisle. I’ll have to make the purée from scratch
Olivia says
Hello! I'm from Hungary, we also don't have pumpkin pie spice, but I guess we can also use honey-cake spice. I made the purée by myself too, but I didn't add anything for this loaf... its so delicous in this way! 😀 I haven't found nutmeg here, too, but I don't give up! 🙂 I'm also interested the answer of the blogger, I've just shared my experiences.
Adrianna Adarme says
Oh wonderful! 🙂