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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Forget any other pumpkin bread recipe….I’ve searched high and low for decades, and THIS is by far my favorite. I’ve baked this and distributed it to my neighbors, and every single neighbor immediately asks for the recipe. It’s flavorful, delicious, easy to make.
This is a flavorful and moist bread with just the right spice profile. I made it in 4 mini loaf sizes as those are great gifts to have in the freezer. I also used my home-grown pumpkin I had pressure processed in chunks. One quart equaled 1 can of commercial. (After you puree it let it sit in the strainer to drain off the excess liquid. Using “pie pumpkins” really helps as they have less liquid.) Cooking time for the mini loaves was just slightly less than the recipe.
Family favorite. It is so easy to make. The whole house smells wonderful as soon as the load is in the oven. I need to hide them since my kids would finish both of the loafs if I let them. I sometimes give it to them for breakfast but works as a great dessert as well.
I hope I haven’t reviewed this before….this is my go to recipe for pumpkin bread. I have used salted butter and unsalted and added either walnuts or pecans. Have added raisins, too. Delicious either way. I like the texture and the more compact size. The loaves make great gifts. Thank you for all of your hard work developing recipes. Your cookbook is a wonderful addition to any cook’s library.
This is a fabulous recipe. I originally made it for Thanksgiving but it’s so good that I make it regularly now. Scrumptious with chocolate chips thrown in.
Agree with all of the raves. This is the last stop on my search for a perfect pumpkin bread recipe. Love that it uses the whole can of pumpkin to produce a bonus second loaf for the freezer. Also appreciate the extra flavor in a butter based batter.
I make this recipe every November and December for my son it is perfect! My son’s job loves this bread for the holiday’s Thanksgiving and Christmas. They all look so forward to this treat. This year they did not get it for the holidays because my son contracted the Covid-19 from his job so he was unable to carry it in. There is no need to change anything about this recipe because I make four of these each time and all crumbs are snatched up! I will be increasing the amount this year. My son is an officer in Washington, DC. This is a great recipe for any holiday table and although I make it for those holidays it is great, there are times I add walnuts in just to give it a crunch but it is not really necessary. Thank You so much for all of your recipes. I would say this bread has been the show stopper at their pot luck table for at least three years, so that along shows you that they request this each and every year!
Simple and perfect pumpkin bread
I made this for gifts. Lots of compliments because it’s not too sweet and mild flavored
This is by far the best pumpkin bread I have had. I make batches of mini breads to keep in the freezer for when my cravings hit, which is pretty often.