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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What a delicious recipe!
We don’t get canned pumpkin in NZ so used roast pumpkin instead.
I used freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon, ground clove and ground cardamom…so good.
I also added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to help with the rise.
It certainly doesn’t last long at our place.
Thank you
DELICIOUS!!!!
YUMMY!
Just made it this afternoon, let it cool for about 30 minutes and couldn’t wait to taste it…very moist and the flavor is terrific! I only added one cup of sugar instead of two and turned all the batter into a 10 inch bundt pan, baked for 65 minutes at 325 degrees and it is perfect! Thank you for this recipe!
I love this!!! I’ve made it several times! I sometimes add chocolate chips!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I am always looking for oil-free quick breads. I just made it again with banana (took out the spices and added vanilla) – it’s in the oven now!
Thank you for this recipe, the bread turned out wonderful. I did tweak it some because I love cinnamon I used 2 teaspoons instead of 1, I also added a teaspoon of ginger. The bread is so flavorful and moist. This is now my go to recipe for Pumpkin Bread.
This is by far my favorite recipe I judt add a bit more of the nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and it is perfect.
I can have this bread out for a week and it stays moist no matter what.
Looks great, but I would replace the ‘arm and hammer’ baking soda which is made from a chemical process with some that is mined. Much better for you and does what its supposed to do. Thanks for the recipe.
Update. I made it this Sunday as a treat. I don’t usually follow recipes but did with this and it is very nice. I did replace the baking soda with some good stuff, only using half a tsp and one tsp of baking powder. Only changes I made though. I thought everyone would complain about the cloves but it works really well.
I cut the sugar down to 1.5 cups and the butter down to 1/2 cup and made as indicated in recipe otherwise. Really really like it because it is not too sweet or heavy and you can taste the pumpkin and spices more.
Modified ingredients:
Used (1) large egg
1/4 cup of oat milk (in place of egg)
1 tsp. Vanilla bean paste
1 c. Brown sugar
1 c. Golden sugar
Sprinkled on top chopped figs, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, chopped apricots, and sunflower seeds
A pumpkin I harvested in October has been staring at me from my kitchen table. Here I am 6 months later with a few quarts of pureed pumpkin looking for pumpkin recipes. This one is a keeper. Make sure you really prepare your pans — I think I needed to leave mine in the pan longer than indicated before I took it out, the second one that I waited longer to remove came out cleaner. Delicious, and not under spiced like so many loaves.
Really good pumpkin bread. I was looking for a good recipe, found this and tried it. Great pumpkin taste and very moist. My family loves it too. I added raisins . Definitely a keeper recipe .