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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This recipe is fool proof! I am NOT a baker and this pumpkin bread came out amazing! Super moist, the family loved it!
so this is excellent! everyone loved it.. no edits. thank you
Best Pumpkin Bread I have ever made. Your grandmother found a gem when she cut it out of the magazine. Love the fact that it makes 2 loaves….one to eat now and one in the freezer for another time.
Best pumpkin bread EVER. I added a maple glaze and it’s fabulous!!!
Hi Sarah, I’ll let Annie weigh in on the maple glaze but wanted to respond to your question about rating the recipe. You can just skip that portion in the comment section and go directly to where you add your question or comment. (I removed your rating.) Hope that clarifies!
I made mini muffins (bake 20 minutes) and they turned out perfect!
Absolutely amazing recipe!! I just tried it and it was so simple to make and came out 10x better than I even expected. Super easy and delicious.
This was phenomenal! Came out super soft and not too sweet. I added pumpkin seeds on the top while it baked. Amazing recipe!
This has been my go to recipe for pumpkin bread for a while now and I just have to say how much we love it. I doubled a recipe every year around this time and sent some to my husband’s office and they just go crazy over it. So for my family to yours thank you very much for the recipe. It is most definitely a keeper.
Would using brown sugar over white sugar change the recipe at all?
Hi Paige, I’ve only made this with white sugar so for the most predictable results, I’d recommend sticking with the white sugar. That said, some readers have commented that they’ve replaced some of the granulated sugar with brown sugar and have been happy with how the loaves came out. Please LMK how they turn out!
I actually used brown sugar, I browned my butter, and added dark chocolate and pecans, and let me just say that my mouth was having a fall awakening. I highly suggest playing with this amazing recipe. I’m adding some blackcurrant to the next one.
If I wanted to make mini loaves how should I adjust the temp/time?
Hi Peggy, you can keep the temperature the same; I’d start checking them for doneness at about 35 minutes (although they may take a little longer). Hope you enjoy!
My rule of thumb for mini-pans is same temperature but 85% of the time. Seems to work for me. I also add just a pinch of black pepper.
Please help: This was he best tasting pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. I Love the flavors. I made it twice.
I only use fresh pumpkin. Both times I made it, it did not rise and was very moist, almost like a bread pudding. I thought I messed up and put too much butter. I also use a pastry flour with freshly ground flour. I have a more glutinous flour and thought it would try that next, thinking it might be the flour I used. But I now think fresh pumpkin purée has more moisture. Would you say that’s right? Would the extra moisture keep it from rising? If so, how much more flour should I use in the recipe?
Thank you for your help.
Hi Dayna, I’m sorry about the problem you had with how moist the bread was. After roasting the fresh pumpkin, do you squeeze it thoroughly to get out any excess liquid? If not, that white would explain why it has that texture.
No, I don’t. I didn’t know I had to do that. What would I squeeze it with?
Also, can I add extra flour?
You can put the puree in a sieve, put it in the sink, and apply pressure to it using a ladle, small plate, or bowl. This will extrude much of the moisture. For extra insurance, you can let it sit for 30 minutes to allow it to continue to drain.