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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Lovely, but too sweet for us. I will reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups next time.
Over time I’ve made your Banana, Cranberry, and Pumpkin breads. All 3 are delicious and easy to make. My grandkids especially like the Banana bread, but don’t pass on the other 2! Your site is the first I check when looking for a new recipe from soups, salads, entrees or desserts!
I made this recipe for pumpkin bread this am. It was wonderful. The only change I made was substituting some stevia for some of the sugar. I used 2 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup of stevia. Very moist & delicious . 😋
Our daughter begs for this bread all the time. Sometimes I make it just like the recipe says, but sometimes I add in a cup of mini chocolate chips which makes it like a dessert!
Can I use this recipe with the mini loaf size pan? What temperature and baking time would you recommend?
Thank you!
Hi Jan, Yes, you can make this in mini loaf pans. I’d keep the oven temp the same and start checking them at 35 minutes. Enjoy!
This year was the first year ever that our family was not gathering for Thanksgiving. We were reluctant to gather, especially with my 90-year-old inlaws. I wanted to bring my elderly in-laws something special to go with their meal at the senior residence where they live so I turned to my favorite online chef! You never fail me, Jenn!!
I followed your recipe exactly except for adding some chocolate chips to the top. I loved your grandmother’s original clipping and notes. It truly is the best pumpkin bread I have ever eaten. It is moist, wonderfully fragrant, and a little spicy. I made one large loaf and 2 smaller ones to share. I like that the recipe makes 2 loaves. This pumpkin bread was such a huge hit with my father-in-law, he could not stop raving about it! In fact, he called me every day after Thanksgiving to tell me how much he was enjoying it. When Hanukah rolled around a few weeks later, he wanted only one thing. And you guessed it, for his January birthday I baked him his own large loaf and told him that he did not even have to share it as I gave my mother in law her very own loaf, sans chocolate. What a delicious and easy recipe, Jenn. You made me look good again!
The best Pumpkin Bread on the planet! Have made this countless times now and never fails to be fabulous. Have started measuring out all the dry ingredients ahead (keeping the sugar portion seperated) and sealing in a bag or a jar; when I want to make a batch, all dry ingred’s are premeasured and I am ready to go in a jiff; really worth the effort.
I loved the story behind this recipe; this recipe was my introduction to Once Upon a Chef last year and is now my go to for EVERYTHING❤
This is the BEST pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. I don’t like mine too sweet so I always use 1/4 to 1/2 cup less sugar than the recipe calls for depending on my mood.
Made it and was the worse pumpkin bread I’ve made yet. I’m sure it’s bc of the butter. Didn’t like the consistency. Going to switch to unsweetened applesauce instead of butter
If you add applesauce in addition to the pumpkin, you will likely have an incredibly wet, dense loaf of bread. Sorry your first attempt didn’t work out. This was the best pumpkin bread I’d ever had, and I followed the ingredients and recipe directions exactly.
This pumpkin bread is so delicious! I’ve tried some others and this is by far the best. It taste just like the famous coffee chain’s pumpkin bread. It’s now my go to. I also like to add chocolate chips or pecans.
By the way Jenn, I love your cookbook and can’t wait until you new one comes out later this year.
This is the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever made! I did lower the sugar to 1 1/2 like other have suggested, and instead of the cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg (I didn’t have some of them!) I just substituted to 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice. Also, I easily made this a gluten free bread by using gluten free flour instead of all purpose. The texture is beautiful and spice is perfect.
This is the BEST pumpkin bread I have ever made! The spices are so lovely and warm. It blows all of my other pumpkin bread recipes out of the water. I also love that it makes two loaves so I always have one to share. Thanks for the fabulous recipe Jenn!