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 just made this bread with my 14 year old son as we were putting up the Christmas tree and it was amazing!! We loved it so much that it’s going to be our new tradition to bake your pumpkin bread while decorating the tree! Thank you so so much for sharing your family recipe!
I made this today. It’s the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had! I added dark chocolate chips but I wouldn’t do it next time. This is one of the very few times that chocolate doesn’t really add anything to a recipe. This bread would be delicious with a cup of hot cider or some type of autumn tea.
Oh my goodness. These reviews won’t steer you wrong. This is incredible. This is a perfect recipe and beyond delicious. The only problem is I don’t want to share it now! Thank you for the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had- coming from someone who is obsessed with all things pumpkin!
Very good. It’s a keeper!! Next time going to cut back on the cloves – it was a little too much for me.
I have made many, many pumpkin breads/loaves in the past 30 years. I have tried to duplicate the Starbucks recipe which I love so much. All that said…this is now my “go-to”. It’s as good or better than Starbucks which is saving me a lot of money!
I made a small change (I find people hate it when you change a recipe…sorry). Someone left a comment about how oil is the only thing that makes loaves moist and I agree coming from the south. I substituted the butter for 1 cup oil and using 2 – 8 x 4″ pans I bake for one hour. It’s just so good. No more searching!
Thank you, Jenn!
AMAZING! I brought it to school for my friend’s birthday and it was a fantastic treat during NHS.
Made this twice this week – moist and delicious!
This was really a nice, moist pumpkin bread BUT I am cut recipe in half and cut the baking time down drastically. Only took about 35-40 minutes in my oven at 325. I also used fresh pumpkin puree from a white pumpkin.
When everyone says this is the best pumpkin bread, they mean it! I found a crumb topping recipe to add on top of the loaves and this is BY FAR the best bread I’ve ever made. I’ve made the recipe 3 times in the last month because everyone wants it!
I made this Pumpkin bread last week, the first time I’ve ever attempted making anything like this, it turned out perfectly. The only thing I did other than following the recipe was I added some choped walnuts. It was so good that 2 loaves lasted about 3 days (I ate most of it). I’m going for bananna nut bread next, wish me luck.