Pumpkin Bread

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Kids love it, grown-ups love it…this pumpkin bread is hard to beat!

Slices of Pumpkin Bread on a plate.

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.

Picture of a pumpkin bread recipe.

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.

What You’ll Need To Make Pumpkin Bread

Bread ingredients including baking soda, eggs, and butter.

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.

Dry ingredients in a glass bowl.

Whisk well and set aside.

Whisk in a bowl of dry ingredients.

Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Butter and sugar in a bowl.

Beat until just combined. It will look a little crumbly.

Bowl of beaten butter and sugar.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Egg added to a butter and sugar mixture.

Continue beating for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

Beaten egg, sugar, and butter in a bowl.

Add the pumpkin.

Pumpkin in a bowl with a butter mixture.

Beat until combined. It will look a little curdled or grainy — that’s okay.

Electric mixer with a light orange-colored mixture.

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.

Dry ingredients in a bowl with an orange-colored mixture.

And beat on low speed until just combined.

Bowl of pumpkin bread dough.

Transfer the batter to loaf pans.

Two bread pans of pumpkin bread dough.

Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Two loaves of pumpkin bread in pan.s

Let the loaves cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Two loaves of pumpkin bread on a wire rack.

That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

Slices of Pumpkin Bread on a plate.

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Video Tutorial

Pumpkin Bread

Kids love it, grown-ups love it…this pumpkin bread is hard to beat!

Servings: Makes 2 loaves
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 65 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

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

  1. 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).
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined; set aside.
  3. 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.
  4. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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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Comments

  • Didn’t rise, photo isn’t accurate. Way to much spice.

  • I’m bummed I didn’t read the other reviews first before making this because I ended up disappointed in the texture. While the flavor is great, the loaves barely rose at all. They just kind of fell flat; one of my loaves rose just enough to drip over the side of the pan and make a mess in the oven, but not enough to make that big (or any size) dome over the top of the rim like one associates with quick breads. I followed the recipe, and I agree with one comment that this was more of a pumpkin cake than a bread. Again, the flavor is great – spiced and sweet – but I would either follow another recipe next time or listen to others who made adjustments in baking powder amount and mixing method (hand vs mixer) so they aren’t so flat and sad.

  • My comment is more of a question as I am interested in making this bread. Can I substitute canned pumpkin for fresh, pureed pumpkin?

    • Hi Abiola, You can definitely use fresh pumpkin. Just squeeze out any excess liquid so the bread isn’t too moist. Enjoy!

  • So I checked. The pumpkin cake recipe on this site is very much like this “bread” recipe, except it has 1/2 cup LESS sugar and two more eggs. So yes, this is simply a moist and tasty cake in loaf form. And I will probably make it again, but as a dessert, not as quick breakfast bread, and with less sugar.

  • This is a tasty, sweet cake baked in a loaf pan. That doesn’t make it bread. I decreased the sugar by 1/3 cup and will try 2/3 next time. It is not firm enough to spread with butter, let alone cream cheese. BUT it has great flavor and is moist. No issues with baking—in fact, mine was done in less than 60 minutes.

  • If you make one recipe from this web site, make this pumpkin bread. I have made it probably 20 times. I liked it so much I made small loafs out of it and gave it out as Christmas gifts one year.
    The first cookbook has a pumpkin cake based on this bread and that is equally fantastic.

  • This is the best pumpkin bread! My family and friends loved it! I will be making more!

  • Wonderful. I used cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and skipped the other spices. I also substituted some of the flour with quick oats. Batter is thick but bakes up very well!

  • Simply Fabulous! A family favorite! My family and I have made this recipe many times. We have made it both vegan and non-vegan. We have also used canned pumpkin as well as fresh pumpkin. It’s delicious every time.

  • Last year I moved from Maryland to Western North Carolina. I had no idea I was considered ‘high altitude’’, and I learned the hard way. At 3750’, my baking does need adjustments, especially with yeast breads. This recipe is delicious! The only adjustment I made was slight, to the oven temp -cooked at 330 for 55 minutes. Moist and yummy.

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