This delicious gluten free butternut squash bread is tasty, moist and combined with dried cranberry. Great to consume after dinner or with some tea.

I'm super excited to share this baked treat with you all, trust me when I say it doesn't last very long in my house. If you like sweet bread, that is moist with hidden vegetables, then this is the recipe for you.

It contains no refined sugar, wheat free making it great for those who are afflicted with celiac disease/wheat allergy and has a low GI too.

Let me confess something, would you believe me if I told you that I used to loathe baking. Yes, I sure did! I think it was more to do with it not being my strength, but since blogging I've learnt to fall in love with baking.

When I first made this gluten free butternut squash bread I was so tempted to pair it with dairy free chocolate chips. Being the choc-aholic that I am, my first thought was to incorporate chocolate. However, my thoughts quickly turned to some dried cranberries that I had lying around in my pantry.

Plus cranberries are in season right now so why not make this sweet bread seasonal.

One of the key benefits to using butternut squash is that it's widely available all year long. While pumpkin seems to be highly favoured for this type of recipe, I personally think butternut squash is a much viable option to use.

The ingredients you will need

Gluten free flour blend
Butternut squash puree
Coconut sugar
Dairy free butter
Coconut oil
Eggs
Dried cranberries
Baking soda
Baking powder
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Ginger
Pink salt

How to make gluten free butternut squash bread

Preheat the oven to 180c/356/gas mark 4
Grease and line a baking loaf pan with parchment paper or a loafer liner
Place the gluten free flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and pink salt in a medium bowl and set aside

Cream the butter and coconut sugar in a medium sized bowl until smooth.
Add the eggs, olive oil, vanilla and butternut squash puree to the butter/sugar mix and whisk until the mixture is well combined

Grab the bowl with the flour blend and add to the wet ingredients (in batches) to form a smooth batter (DON'T overmix) .

Use a wooden/silicon spoon to fold the dried cranberries into the batter.
Pour the cake batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle the top with pumpkin seeds.
Bake for approximately an hour, place a piece of aluminium foil over the pan approximately 45 minutes into baking to stop the bread from browning too much.
Test the readiness of the bread by inserting a skewer in the centre. If it comes out clean, it's baked! If not return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes and check again.
Carefully remove the loaf from the pan and place directly onto a cooling rack
Serve accordingly and store leftovers in an airtight container

Suggested add ins

Dairy free chocolate chips
Raisins
Pecans
Toasted almonds
Shredded coconut

Recommended tools that I use to make this recipe

Non stick loaf pan - I use this pan in so many of my recipes that require a loaf pan
Loaf liners - these liners fit perfectly into 9x5 inch loaf pans and saves on the clean up too
Hand mixer - great hand held tool for whipping up batter and countertop friendly
Coconut sugar - this is my go to low GI sweetener which is slow releasing and unrefined
Bob's red miller 1 to 1 - I use this GF blend for most of my wheat free recipes

Notes and Tips

Don't over mix the batter as this may result in the top of the loaf being slightly crumbly upon slicing.
To prevent the loaf from browning too much cover the loaf with aluminium foil. I do this about 45 minutes into baking.
Double check the readiness of the bread with a skewer. If it's baked, the skewer will come out clean, if not give the bread another 10 minutes to bake through and repeat.
Make sure the butter is at room temperature (leave to sit out overnight or a few hours prior to baking). This will ensure the butter and sugar will cream thoroughly.
Due to the cake batter being quite dense use a stand mixer or electronic hand mixer this will make mixing so much more easier.
The quantity of gluten free flour used may vary according to which brand you use. I use Red Bob Mills 1 to 1 baking flour.

Gluten free baked goods you may like

The Ultimate Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
Gluten Free Coconut Rum Cake
Jamaican Ginger Cake
Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies
Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake
Flourless Orange Almond Cake

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