This Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pecan Crumb Cake is soft, perfectly spiced, sweet, and it brings all the flavor of fall (like butter, pecans, cinnamon and pumpkin) together.
“Wow!” That’s what my husband said after he taste tested this gem of a recipe… and I couldn’t agree more. After all four of us had our share – I sent the rest to some friends for fear we would finish it all before dinner.
And let me tell you, it was really hard to give the rest of this up.
One of the downsides (or upsides, depending on how you look at it) of being a food blogger on the side is that there are too many tasty treats lying around the house. If I don’t share them, my workouts in the morning will be wasted 😉
I try to develop at least two recipes a week, and each one needs several rounds of testing. So you can imagine the flow of treats through our house. It’s basically non-stop. And on top of recipe testing, I bake their normal weekly favorites like donuts and muffins (and sometimes chocolate cake).
My girls and husband love that I bake almost daily, especially the girls when I make muffins for breakfast. They are pretty spoiled with all the baked goods.
We all loved this delicious crumb cake, and I am sure you will love it too. Do you have a can of pumpkin left in your cupboard?
This recipe is the PERFECT recipe to use it for. I have a couple of other recipes that use less than a can of pumpkin, so if you’re looking to use the rest (and not waste any) you can hop over and take a look at my Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread. It uses a cup, so it’s the perfect follow up recipe to this scrumptious cake.
Can I use coconut sugar in this recipe?
Yes. Coconut sugar is a great substitution for granulated sugar or brown sugar. I haven’t tested this recipe with maple syrup, honey, or a low carb sweetner. I don’t recommend this recipe if you are living a low carb lifestyle.
I can’t have pecans. What other nuts can I use?
Although this recipe is designed with pecans in mind, if you can’t have pecans you can also use walnut or chopped macadamia nuts. Both are delicious and will deliver tasty results.
Looking for a side dish that used pumpkin? I have the perfect recipe for you – Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spiced Corn Bread. Once you try it, you will never want to make regular cornbread again. The pumpkin helps it to stay moist and it’s killer with butter and honey… just to let you know.
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know what you thought. Also, if you have any questions about this recipe stop back by and leave a comment and I will get back to you.
Pumpkin Pecan Crumb Cake

Ingredients
For the pecan topping:
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (measured after chopped)[br][br]
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup gluten-free quick oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9" round non-stick cake pan; set aside.
- Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the bottom of the prepared cake pan. In a small mixing bowl, mix the melted butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Drizzle over the pecans in the pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the quick oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until well combined. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree and sour cream - mix until combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Poor the cake batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 35-38 minute or until the center is set. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a spatula or butter knife, separate the edges of the cake from the pan. Carefully flip the cake over onto a plate, so the pecans are on top (like an upside-down cake). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 4505 Total Fat: 300g Saturated Fat: 117g Cholesterol: 798mg Sodium: 2335mg Carbohydrates: 416g Sugar: 235g Protein: 69g
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
This one is totally making my mouth water! Gosh, how wonderful this cake would be for breakfast tomorrow! Just shared. 🙂
Shirley
chrystal says
We really enjoyed this cake. We ate half of it in 5 minutes! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Chrystal
Alana says
Did you use that same gf flour blend or did you use something different? Wondering if I have need to go but garbanzo flour
chrystal says
HI Alana,
I used my white rice flour blend (blend #2) found under the flours section of glutenfreepalate.com. I left off the blend number intentionally because both blends work really well with this crumb cake. If you have a favorite flour blend that uses similar ingredients to my flour blends, I would encourage you to try it with this recipe. It should work in theory. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Best,
Chrystal
LaRonna Briddell says
Hello, this recipe looks absolutely divine except my son can’t do the oats… do you think I could substitute something else or would that totally throw off the soft texture?
chrystal says
Hi LaRonna,
Give quinoa flakes a try. I have not tested them myself, but many of my readers have great luck using them in baking. You might want to start with 1 cup of gf flour and 1/2 cup of quinoa flakes.
Cheers,
Chrystal
Judee@ Gluten Free A-Z Blog says
I’m visiting from GFW. This cake looks fabulous and I’m not surprised that it went so quickly! I love the combination of the pumpkin spice and pecan topping. I say , “wow” too.
Dena Sanchirico says
Sounds delicious, always looking for something quick to make that’s sweet and nutty. I am going to try it later today!
chrystal says
Hello Dena,
I hope you enjoy the crumb bake! It’s one of my favorites.
Cheers,
Chrystal
Alene says
This is perfection! Delicious! My husband, too, couldn’t believe it was gluten free. I used Cup 4 Cup g.f. flour, and it wasn’t a problem at all. I had a large can of puree open and saved and really would like to use it all, before the next holiday, lol. Thank you for the recipe.
chrystal says
Hi Alene,
Thank you for stopping by and letting me know that you like it! We are fans too 🙂 I have a few other recipes on my site that use pumpkin if you are looking to finish off that pumpkin puree, including pumpkin donuts!
Happy Holidays,
Chrystal