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 love this recipe, the right amount if everything!! I used fresh pumpkin I had frozen so think I will be making this delicious bread more often, thanks.
This is awesome! I did use wheat flour and added a tsp of pumpkin pie spice to it.
My kids enjoy pumpkin bread all year round. I normally buy the Trader Joes pumpkin break mix and make the bread. However, I did’nt have any more mix as its a seasonal item. So I turned to your website.. I’ve been cooking with your recipes for over 5 years and the whole family (5 kids and 1 appreciative husband who grew up eating frozen TV dinners:))
I often add quick oats to my recipes and did for your pumpkin bread recipe. It was delicious and made the bread a wee bit healthier.
Thanks for taking the time to help out food enjoying aspiring chefs.
Outstanding!
I bought the same loaf pans that you recommended in your kitchen list and made the recipe exactly as written. So good! So satisfying! The baked loaves looked just like the pictures. Thank you Jenn!
I just made this today (despite the fact that it is not fall time), and it is delicious! I like mine with a tad more spice so I added about another 1/4 tea of pumpkin spice and extra cinnamon. Oh yeah I had to use pumpkin spice ( 1 tablespoon) as I did not have all the individual spices. I also thought my loaf pans were 8×4 but they were 9×5 so my loaves came out half the height 🙁 . But the flavor is there and so moist. I will make this again…soon. Thank you for this recipe!
Linda loves to bake
How long did it take for yours to cook?
My 2 loaves only took 50 minutes at 325.
I’ve made your version a number of times now with fresh purée I make with pumpkins leftover from Fall. It’s my go to recipe now. Everyone loves it!
Looks really good
I doubled the spices and substituted one cup of sugar with 1/2 cup of maple syrup. I love it spicy!
Oh .pues tuvimos una visita q trajo este famoso cake…. quedamos impactados x su aroma….y amablemente nos dió tu receta…. fantástico….es inevitable en cualquier ocasión prepararla…adoramos esta receta
Would I need to adjust anything to make this as muffins instead of a loaf?
Hi Elsie, I have a recipe for pumpkin muffins that I’d recommend if you’d like muffins. (You can omit the topping from them if you’d like). Hope you enjoy if you make them!
This is THE BEST pumpkin bread the I have ever made! I’ve been baking for over 45 years and loved my pumpkin bread recipe . It is being replaced by this recipe.
I didn’t think I’d like this much Clove and Nutmeg but this recipe is a perfect blend of spices! I grate my nutmeg fresh too!
This is a 5 star recipe!