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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Hello!
I’ve made this once in loaf pans and it was exquisite! Wondering if I can make the recipe in one big bundt cake pan? Has anyone tried this ?
Hi Trina, I think it should work. If you try it, please come back and let us know how it turns out 🙂
I made it in a bundt with fresh cooked & pureed pumpkin- it needed the full 75 minutes but came out great. Only thing is it stuck…a lot. I think I would seriously flour before doing it again. Has anyone done cupcakes? Tips on the super stickiness? (by the way, the deliciousness made up for the crumbles)
I am going to make it today using gluten free flour, here’s hoping it is still good. I will let you know.
Fantastic recipe! I did use pumpkin that I had harvested and froze. Turns out fine. If worried about extra liquid, stain through cheese cloth. I did not and still turns out very well. Thanks for the recipe.
I am wondering if I can make this recipe ahead in any sort of way, and still get great results? I need the bread for in a few days but want to get my baking done asap. Do the loaves freeze well? How would you refresh the frozen bread? Is it possible to prep the ‘dough’ before baking it? Thanks so much!
Hi Brooke, These loaves do freeze well so you can bake them ahead of time. (They also stay moist for several days so that might not even be necessary.) Also, the dough must be baked immediately after mixed.
Oh my gosh, this is heaven. Takes like pumpkin pie in bread form. I just baked it, and I’m not sure it will even be cool before it’s all gone! Can’t wait to try even more recipes!
Wonderfully delicious! We have made this recipe with fresh chopped cranberries and walnuts, or with chocolate chips, my sons personal favorite, and all have been received with rave reviews! Many thanks!!!
I have some lovely pumpkins that need eaten up – this recipe looks wonderful. Can I substitute fresh pureed pumpkin for the canned? Same amount?
Hi Kristina, I can’t guarantee it will come out exactly the same because the consistency/water content might be different than canned but it should work.
Thank you! I’ll give it a try & let you know how it turns out. Happy Holidays!
This is the best pumpkin bread or muffins. Add a cream cheese frosting to the muffins.
Absolutely the most delicious pumpkin bread I’ve ever made! It was moist, full of flavor, and cooked up beautifully!! I made it exactly according to the recipe…the only difference was that it only took about 57 minutes in my oven. I brought it into work and everyone raved!!! Can’t wait to try other recipes on your site…I’m hooked!
I followed this pumpkin bread recipe to the T and it crumbled when we tried to take it out of the pan. Is oil or water forgotten in this recipe? I just searched other pumpkin bread recipes and yours is the only one that doesn’t use any water or oil in the ingredients.
Hi Joy, Butter is used in place of oil. I suggest trying it again, and be sure to let it cool sufficiently before removing it from the pan.
What did you grease your pan with? Did you sufficiently grease the pan? A couple of years ago I bought two new loaf pans because I was having problems with things sticking to my old pans. Maybe it’s the pans?? The other thing you could do is to line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment paper…and make sure you let it cool prior to removing. I would heartily recommend trying this recipe again, as it is by far the best pumpkin recipe I’ve ever baked. I have several requests from my coworkers and family members to make more this weekend! Don’t give up…
I find breads/cakes turn out best when I use room temp ingredients mixed in the proper order. If you moved too quickly, didn’t thoroughly mix or added additions all at once instead of 1/3 at a time you can end up with crumbly bread. Using bread flour and fresh eggs also improves texture. For this recipe I reduced the granulated sugar by 1/2 cup and added conf. sugar as a topping.