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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I doubled this recipe so it made 4 loaves in total, 2 of them i left as is and the other 2 I added dark chocolate chips. On the plain I sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar once they were out of the oven and resting. My god, this is so good. Can’t wait for the hubby to come home and try some, it will be a great start to our weekend! Thank you so much for this recipe, I will be making this every Autumn from now on!
p.s. Next time I make it I think I will try a version where I add candied pecans! <3
Easy and delicious!!!
Jusr delicious. I kept one loaf and gave the other to a brand new neighbor. The next day, the neighbor called to say “How scrumptious” it was and the best pumpkin bread she ever had. Also wanted the recipe!
Hands down the best pumpkin bread!!! Love all the spices! For those that said it came out flat you may want to make sure baking soda and baking powder are not expired. I’m making second batch today!
Excellent recipe. I’ve made this several times. It’s lovely to share with family and friends. I reduce sugar to 11/2 cups. I’ve added raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips on different occasions. Easy to make. A real winner!
I absolutely love this recipe. I make it all the time. My friends ask me to make it for them because they love it so much. I don’t change a thing in the recipe and it comes out so delicious. I’ve made a lot of pumpkin recipes and this is my favorite.
Would love to try this with left overs from pumpkin carving with the kids. What that work? If so, what amount would you recommend to replace the canned pumpkin?
Hi Clair, you’ll need about 1-3/4 cups of fresh pureed pumpkin. (After you’ve cooked and cooled the pumpkin, use a towel to squeeze out all of the extra liquid you can so the bread isn’t too moist). Enjoy!
Hi Jen,
Have you ever used individual loaf pans, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2? If so, other than baking time, should I adjust any of the measurements?
Thank you,
Denise
Hi Denise, I haven’t made this in 8 1/2 x 4 1/2“ loaf pans but it should work with no modifications. They will just be a bit flatter. The bake time may be a touch shorter if at all so just keep a close eye on them. Please LMK how they turn out!
I’m thinking of adding chocolate chips to the recipe. Do you think that would work here?
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Paige, I personally don’t love pumpkin and chocolate together, but many readers have added chocolate chips to this bread and were very happy with the results. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
My single loaf 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ came out fine after baking 60 min at 325 degrees.
I made this recipe this afternoon. After reading some reviews I decided to add ½ tsp ground cardamon and ½ tsp ground ginger to the spices and ½ cup each of chopped walnuts and pecans. It’s moist, tender and delicious!!! Next time I’m going to add raisins and after that chopped dates and after that… 🙂
It’s another hit from ‘Once Upon a Chef’ ! Thank you Jenn, your site is my go to for wonderful recipes.
This is my go to recipe I have made it with large dark chocolate chips AMAZING and I have made it without the chips also AMAZING Thank you
Can you melt butter instead of using softened butter? I use melted butter in my banana bread recipe and makes it super simple. Hoping will work with this pumpkin recipe.
Hi Jill, You really need the butter to be solid in order to cream the butter and sugar together. Sorry!
Terrible !! I Followed the recipe to a tea. I only substituted half a cup of regular sugar with brown sugar. I cooked it 10 minutes longer than suggested and the middle of one of the loaves was still like pumpkin pie instead of pumpkin bread.
I don’t recommend.
Lol. “Terrible !! I Followed the recipe to a tea. I only substituted…”
Can’t understand why you would give something a 1-star when you’re not following the directions as instructed. That’s on you.
🙄