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’ve tried several of your recipes and they are always spot on. This recipe sounds like exactly what I am looking for, except that it doesn’t have walnuts and raisins in it. Can I add a cup of raisins and chopped walnuts to this recipe? I don’t want to add something that will make the bread not bake right. Thanks!
Hi Tia, it’s fine to add nuts and raisins!
I have been making this for years (it’s the best recipe out there) but this year it definitely didnt come out full like the pictures. Seems many others are having this problem. It was like 2″ tall. I’ll probably use the full recipe for one loaf. Did the recipe change at all?
No, the recipe didn’t change at all. This has always been pretty-profile bread as it’s more like a bread than a cake. That said, is you baking powder old or expired? Did you use 8 x 4-inch loaf pans?
Can I use a pyrex for this?
Sure, but the loaves may take slightly less time to bake in them, so just keep a close eye. Hope you enjoy!
This is THE go-to pumpkin bread recipe in our house. Our whole family LOVES it, kiddos included. I was hoping to make mini loaves to give to neighbors as a thank-you for a surprise baby shower they had for me before we move. Do you have any recommendation on how many mini loaves (5.75in x 3in) one recipe would make and how long to bake?
So glad you all like this! I’m guessing this will make 3 to 4 mini loaves, and I would start checking for doneness around 35 min (they may take longer). Hope that helps!
Question: My bread pans are 9×5, will they work for this recipe? If so what would be any adjustments to make for baking?
Hi Christina, If you only have 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, I’d increase the batter by 1.5 and bake in two 9 x 5’s. Bake time may be a touch longer but keep a close eye on them. Hope you enjoy!
This pumpkin bread is delicious…perfectly spiced and very moist. I’ve tried many pumpkin bread recipes over the years, & this is my favorite by far.
I enjoyed making this recipe and the house was wonderfully fragrant while they baked! I live at 5,000 feet though and the loaves didn’t rise well and weren’t fully baked after 75 minutes. I haven’t experienced this with my other batter bread recipes. I wonder if you have any ideas?
Hi Laura, I’m sorry you had a problem with this! How long did they take to fully bake? If it wasn’t much longer than 75 minutes, it could just be that your oven runs a little cool. Here are some suggestions for checking it. And these loaves don’t rise a ton; they’re more like a cake than a quick bread. And I don’t have any experience baking at high altitude, so it’s hard to say whether or not that had any impact. Regardless, I’m sorry if they didn’t come out as you had hoped.
I’ve been making this for years. So unbelievably delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I would say I’m a rather seasoned baker… and unfortunately my pumpkin bread never cooked right.
I followed all of the steps (I’ve reread them too!) and measured ingredients correctly and somehow my pumpkin bread- no matter how long I baked (1 hour) (+10 min on 350) (+25 min on 350) the pumpkin bread was more like a thick pudding when cutting into it. (Yes I let the bread sit to cool before doing so).
Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s the recipe. Unfortunately I think it’s the recipe that I followed (the one at the bottom that has 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 butter, 2 cups sugar, etc)
I’m sorry you had such a problem with this! What you’ve described sounds very unusual for this bread. Is there any chance you mismeaured an ingredient?
Mine sunk right in the middle… 😔 I never opened the oven during baking time. What could have I done wrong?
I used coconut oil instead of butter and flax meal eggs instead of regular eggs, but that usually is fine. Any ideas? Taste wise, delicious, just not a pretty bread this time around.
Hi Nina, I’ve never baked with flax eggs, so I can’t confidently say that it wouldn’t have impacted the bread. That said, when. quick bread sinks in the middle, it usually means that it’s underbaked, so next time leave it in the oven for a few extra minutes. Glad it tasted good though. 🙂