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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Quick breads are moister and hold together better when made with oil rather than butter. This “bread” had a cake like texture that was much dryer than my usual recipe made with oil. It also calls for entirely too much clove. I cut the clove in half and baked it for 55 minutes and it still wasn’t very moist. Not the best recipe I’ve tried.
Oh my! I have the original McCalls Cookbook, published in 1963. It was my first cookbook ever and no longer has its front cover! Sadly, I can’t seem to find the recipe in the book. It’s not under Quick Breads or Pumpkin. Regardless, I plan to give your grandma’s recipe a try. Thanks!
Good morning Jenn,
I plan to make this recipe and use the streusel topping from your pumpkin muffin recipe. Will the volume of streusel from the muffin recipe be enough for two loaves and do you think the streusel will interfere with slicing the bread?
I love your recipes, have made many, many and have never been disappointed.
So glad you like the recipes! I’d recommend making 1.5 times the topping to have enough to cover both loaves. Enjoy!
This is an excellent recipe! The pumpkin bread was moist and had a tender crumb. I was nervous about using a whole teaspoon of nutmeg, reduced to generous 1/2 tsp, but next time I make recipe I will use 1 teaspoon. Thought I was going to freeze second loaf , but it is quickly disappearing from my kitchen counter. Haha!! Thank you for sharing recipe!
I made this and my family loved it! I add about 3/4 cup of chopped pecans. Planning to take it to Bible study tomorrow, but there may not be any left!!😊
I tried to read through all of the comments before asking my question, but I didn’t make it to the end. So my apologies, Jenn, if you have already answered this. What are your thoughts about adding fresh cranberries to the pumpkin bread? If you think they would be good, about how many? 2 cups of whole berries? Or better to cut them in half? Many thanks for your advice—and for all of your spectacular recipes, photographs, and detailed instructions!!
Hi Sandy, So glad you like the recipes! You can definitely try adding fresh cranberries but I worry that they will add too much moisture — this bread is quite moist already. If you go forward with it, you may want to increase the flour by 1/2 cup. Please LMK how it comes out if you try it!
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious pumpkin bread recipe. My friends loved it, “it was so moist.” I’ll be sharing this a lot.
Thank you Chef Jenn!!!
Is it really two cups of sugar? Has anyone tried cutting it in half?
This recipe is delicious! I didn’t have clove or nutmeg so I used pumpkin spice. Great recipe!!
Hi Jenn – coming to you from Canada. We’ve just had our Thanksgiving, the fall colours are stunning in Ontario, so this recipe is right on point. I followed it to the letter except for 2 things – 1) reduced the cloves to 1/4 tsp just because we aren’t loves of intense clove taste 2) I didn’t have the required size of loaf pans so used 8 mini pans instead – baked at 350F for 30 minutes. The loaves have a slight “loft” to them – they really look lovely. They are cooling on the the rack as I write this (but the batter tasted awesome so I’m sure the loaves will too). Your recipes adorn our table both at the holidays and for everyday. Thanks for sharing and for the instructive tips you provide along the way!
Delicious, I substituted plain flour for rice flour as I’m gluten free. Melts in the mouth and second helpings is a must!
Personally wouldn’t call it a loaf, it’s a cake.
I have been baking and cooking for over 50 years and I can be stubborn about old favorite recipes. Well, I just made this recipe and with the grace of God, this will be my only Pumpkin Bread for the next 50 years! I am now a follower of your site. This is proof that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!