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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What a delicious looking recipe! I’m going to try it tonight but just have a large square cake pan – How would you suggest I adjust the cooking temp/time?
Just came out if the oven – cooked it at 150°C fanbake for an hour and it was perfect 🙂
Hi Larissa, It should be about the same; just keep an eye on it.
Hi Jenn,
Great recipe, thank you.
I would like to make this without the refined sugar. Any suggestions of what I can use?
Dates or mashed banana?
Thanks for the assistance.
Best,
Linda
Hi Linda, Unfortunately, there’s no good substitute for the sugar in this recipe. The bread is super moist, so I fear mashed fruit would turn it to mush. You can, however, cut back on the sugar by a good 1/2 cup.
This is my very first time baking any kind of bread. This bread was very moist and delicious. Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe.
I made this today and it tasted awesome! I had never made pumpkin bread before except from a box mix but this tasted way better. Served the bread to friends and they enjoyed as well. This recipe is a keeper. I’ll never go back to box mix again! Thanks
I assume you I will have to half the entire recipe if I only have one loaf pan, correct?
That’s correct 🙂
Hi Jenn – I’m excited to make this for Thanksgiving, but I also have only one loaf pan so I’m going to halve the recipe. Is the cook time the same for 1 loaf vs. 2? Thanks!
Hi Emily, Yes, it will be about the same. Enjoy!
I made the bread last night and it was delish! I was hoping to use the recipe to make pumpkin muffins. Would any adjustment be needed?
Hi Lindsay, Look up my pumpkin pecan crunch muffins, and feel free to omit the topping, although it is delicious 🙂
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/pumpkin-pecan-crunch-muffins.html
Thanks!!
Delicious! Just cooled enough to try, it’s so good and moist. I can see many more in the future.
I’m hoping this recipe turns out well!! I’m nervous about how little dough went into the pans… I’m used to having full pans when I put them into the oven instead of 1/3 full. Also, the dough is very thick… I live in Wyoming and I’m wondering if that will make a difference in how it bakes also.
Another question: I made a double batch and I forgot to add two of the eggs. How will that effect it? Not as moist?
It also won’t rise as well. Hope it turned out okay!
How did it turn out?
When my batter seems a bit too thick I add some milk to it and very quickly mix it just saw the batter loosens up a bit to the consistency of batter that I’m normally used to. It works and I’ve never had any problems. The loaf comes out very moiste
It turned out pretty good! I made a double batch of what they said is two loafs. I used 1/3 butter, 1/3 margarine, 1/3 applesauce, only two eggs because I forgot that I didn’t add the other two. The baby shower I took it to devoured it in 2 1/2 hours!!
Have you ever made this recipe using one bundt pan instead? Any adjustments necessary? Thanks!
Yes — and you will need to make adjustments. I will email you a recipe 🙂
Uh oh- I made this on a whim and it’s baking now….in a bundt pan…
This pumpkin loaf is excellent in every way: spicy (but not overly), moist (but not too oily), flavourful (not overpowered by pumpkin or other spices). Will make this again and again! I wrapped the second loaf in freezer paper then a ziplock freezer bag, so I hope that the 2nd loaf tastes almost as good without degradation in the freezer!