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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Hi there! Quick question, I am home with a sick kiddo and can’t get to the store. I’d love to whip this up today but only have salted butter. Would you cut the salt to 1/4 teaspoon or eliminate it altogether? Thank you so much!
Hi Lora, I’d use 1/8 tsp. salt. Hope your kiddo feels better and you enjoy the pumpkin bread!
I made this diabetic and cholesterol friendly by substituting honey for the sugar and olive oil for butter. Don’t worry all the spices cover the taste of the olive oil and the honey. I also used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. This is so moist and delicious 😋
Delicious bread. I sprinkled some Trader Joe’s shelled pumpkin seeds on top for crunch.
The problem I’ve been having with this and other quick breads is that they’re not rising. When I made this recipe yesterday, the bread came out at about 2 inches tall. I know it’s not the recipe because the same thing happened with a pound cake.
I use coated loaf pans. Could that be the problem?
Hi Shirleen, glad you liked it! This bread is more like a cake and doesn’t rise very much. That said, if you’re having a consistent problem, getting your baked goods to rise, check the date on your baking powder. If it’s very old or expired, it will definitely affect your rise. Also, make sure you’re using the right sized loaf pans.
I would use the whole recipe for one loaf, not two loaves in a regular size loaf pan
Disappointing cake-like texture. The recipe language was peculiarly written also – “may look grainy and curdled” did not apply and seemed contrived. There was nothing “curdled” looking about it. I like recipes to be clear, straightforward, complete and detailed, not flowery.
Hi,
My looked curdled and I am grateful she mentioned it, otherwise I would have tossed it thinking something was wrong. That being said, the flavor and texture were great, but it was pretty flat.
Mine was grainy and curdled looking. I was also glad she mentioned it because I would’ve thought something went wrong!
Disagree. I even said out loud to myself that I was glad she put that in there, otherwise I would have freaked out – because mine was very curdled looking. Don’t assume your experience is universal.
Loved this recipe, mine also looked a bit grainy and curdled, wondering maybe you are not sure what curdled looks like? Next time I make it will cut down the cloves to 3/4 tsp instead of 1 tsp. even though I love the 1 tsp my family thought it was a bit clove heavy. Yum!
This was disappointing. It had a good structure but it didn’t taste really good. Just a little bit dull.
Hi! I am needing to make this recipe with gluten free flour and was wondering if I needed to change the measurements regarding amount! Thanks!
Hi Tori, no, I think that should work with gluten-free flour; a number for eaters have commented that they’ve made a gluten-free version successfully. You can keep the measurements the same. Would love to hear how it comes out!
Incredible recipe! Soft, moist melt-in-your-mouth but not dense! Right amount of sweet and spice. Super easy to put together and then the overnight does the rest for you!
This was absolutely delicious. I went ahead and put all of the batter into one loaf pan and it was perfect. So moist, not crumbly and perfect for fall. I also added mini chocolate chips and it was amazing!
This is really good, i also added few handfuls of dark chocolate chips. Very moist and delicious. I also used fresh pumpkin baked in the oven instead of canned.