Pumpkin Bread
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Kids love it, grown-ups love it…this pumpkin bread is hard to beat!
My grandmother clipped this pumpkin bread recipe from a magazine over 50 years ago, and it is my most-cherished family recipe. One of my clearest childhood memories is baking the loaves with my mom and carting them off to every neighborhood potluck and holiday party. Now I bake pumpkin bread with my own kids, and it’s just as wonderful today as it was back then. It’s easy to make — just a bit of mixing and stirring, pop it in the oven, and, in about an hour, you’ll have a house smelling of sweet autumn spices and two scrumptious, pumpkiny loaves.
Above, you can see the original recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box—it’s definitely seen its share of spills! After a bit of research, I discovered that the recipe was first published in the McCalls Cook Book (Random House, 1963). It is a typical sweet quick bread, similar to banana bread or cranberry nut bread, leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda instead of yeast. Quick bread batter can often be used to make muffins, and my pumpkin muffins are nearly identical to this bread, but with the addition of a pecan streusel topping.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Pumpkin Bread
How To Make Pumpkin Bread
Begin by combining the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. I like to add everything in neat little piles in case I lose track of what I’ve added.
Whisk well and set aside.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Beat until just combined. It will look a little crumbly.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Continue beating for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
Add the pumpkin.
Beat until combined. It will look a little curdled or grainy — that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.
And beat on low speed until just combined.
Transfer the batter to loaf pans.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let the loaves cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!
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Video Tutorial
Pumpkin Bread
Kids love it, grown-ups love it…this pumpkin bread is hard to beat!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-oz) can 100% pure pumpkin (I use Libby's)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Generously grease two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans with butter and dust with flour (alternatively, use a baking spray with flour in it, such as Pam with Flour or Baker's Joy).
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined; set aside.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until just blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until very light and fluffy, a few minutes. Beat in the pumpkin. The mixture might look grainy and curdled at this point -- that's okay.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Turn the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 65 – 75 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Fresh out of the oven, the loaves have a deliciously crisp crust. If they last beyond a day, you can toast individual slices to get the same fresh-baked effect.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (24 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 166
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Sugar: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 117 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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When I made this recipe the loaves didn’t rise that much but I think that might be the pans I used–I only had 9 x 5–but it turned out absolutely delicious! I was a little worried the cloves would be too much but the flavor was perfect. If I wanted to add 1 cup of walnuts can I just add them as is or do I need to adjust anything? Thanks so much for this recipe!
These loaves don’t rise a ton normally so using 9×5-in loaf pans would have made them that much shorter. Yes, you can add walnuts to the batter with no other modifications. Just make sure to chop the walnuts (if the nuts are too big; it will make the bread challenging to slice).
I was looking for a new pumpkin bread recipe – the one I have from my mother in law (from 1979) was “good” but didn’t use the whole can of pumpkin and I just didn’t want to take the time to adjust everything to make it work better.
Thank you, Jenn, this is a spot on, wonderful replacement!
This recipe is spot on!!! I make it all the time because this is a great treat, but I am watching calories now. Would it help if I used Stevia instead of sugar, or is it still gonna be bad because its bread? I will eat it either way, LOL, just tying to do what I can.
BTW, I was out of all-purpose on one try and did the standard adjustment for self-rising…don’t do it. I was still delicious, but you needed a spoon because it crumbled like crazy.
Seasons Greetings to all my carb lovers
Hi Lori, So glad you like this! I’ve never used a sugar substitute, but a number of readers have commented about various recipes of mine that they’ve been able to use sugar substitutes like Stevia, etc. successfully, so I think it’s worth a try!
Great recipe. I did find it a bit sweet though with 2cups of sugar. Is it possible to reduce the sugar without affecting the integrity of the outcome?
Sure, you can get away with reducing the sugar by 1/2 cup.
Followed the recipe exactly, except for the spices. Hubs is not a big fan of cinnamon, so I cut the spices in half and added cardamom. Other than using fresh pumpkin purée (I weighed out 15 oz), I followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Not sure why it calls for using 2 4×8 loaf pans – it could have easily fit into one. Mine came out short and dense, not bread like at all. And there is way too much sugar for a bread in this recipe. Very disappointed.
Jenn- I love this recipe. I just baked two loaves and have already popped one in the freezer. I cut into the second one and it is slightly tacky in spots and I’m afraid I’ve under baked it 😵💫Have I ruined them? Thanks for all of your delicious recipes.
Hi Steff, I saw your other comment. If you feel like it’s a bit too tacky, feel free to toast individual slices before you eat them. That should definitely help.
Jenn – Help! I baked the pumpkin loaves for a little over an hour and my tester came out clean. But when I cut into the first loaf it was slightly tacky in places. Have I ruined it? Or is it fully baked but just super moist?
Hi Steff, the bread is definitely moist, but if it’s tacky, it may be a little underbaked.
Could I add chocolate chips to the recipe?
Sure!