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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Could you use pumpkin pie spice instead
Yes, you’ll need 1 tablespoon. Enjoy!
I made it two days ago for a group of women. It could not have been more perfect! I’m making it now for an event on Sunday. It is the best!
It turned out great. Everybody is loving it!!
I followed the recipe without the cloves. I used 1/2 the sugar, 1/2c dark brown sugar 1/2c raw sugar and a really ripe banana. It came out very good.
I live in the tropics so I did not cook as long as you recommended, it was moist and very tasty.
Thank you for the recipe and all the work that went into your recommending it.
I will try more of your recipes later. Grateful
This pumpkin bread is absolutely delicious! Soft, moist, full of flavor…perfect. It presents a little on the plain side if giving as a gift, so I drizzled confectioner sugar icing mixed w real maple syrup over the top and sprinkled little bit of orange zest over the frosting.
And…I felt the loaves were not high enough when mix is shared between 2 full size loaf pans. So…Next time I’ll use 1 full size pan and one mini pan and see how that works.
My loaf pans are larger. Can I use the disposable foil loaf pans? Would temperature or time change?
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris, the disposable pans should be fine with no modifications. Just keep a close eye on them. Enjoy!
1 15 oz is very confusing. I thought that meant 1 lb and 15oz. The amount on the can says 1lb and 15oz. So I threw the whole can of pure pumpkin in there. Otherwise this recipe is pretty good.
Hi Bao, I’m sorry you found it confusing! I just updated the ingredient to try to make it a little more clear.
This bread is fabulous!! I have made dozens of Jenn’s recipes with absolute success, and this bread certainly doesn’t need another accolade, but it deserves it! After reading several comments, I opted to add only a scant 1/2 tsp of cloves, as we are not huge clove lovers, and it was perfect. I followed everything else to a T. 🙂
Gotta love all the readers telling a classically trained chef that her recipe doesn’t work ha! If you read a recipe and think it has too much sugar or cloves, make it with less. Pretty simple. This recipe is 50 years old so it has clearly stood the test of time. Those reviewers saying this needs oil to be moist either did not actually make the bread or made a mistake. This is the moistest pumpkin bread I have ever eaten. Thanks, Jenn, you rock!!
It is a delicious recipe, however I dont think it is the best. I’ve made countless different pumpkin bread recipes and this one always seems to fall apart and not stay together.
Agree! I did have some trouble getting it out of the pan however.
Line the pan with parchment paper and the loaf easily lifts out of the pan. Pull the parchment paper off before it cools. I have made this recipe countless times and have never had a problem.
I made this today and it is delicious. It’s my new go to recipe for pumpkin bread. Thank you.