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 really, really like this recipe. It has the perfect hint of sweetness and spice. I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin flavored things in general but this will be a go-to recipe for the fall season from now on!
Almost every one of your recipes is a home run; unfortunately, I’m not a fan of this one. The clove flavor overpowered everything else.
Try it again without the clove….I only used cinnamon as that was the only spice I had on hand and it was so delicious!!
Definitely cut down the cloves
Absolutely delicious and second year making them . My go to Pumpkin bread aside from simplicity and awesome taste it makes 2 perfect loaves. only additions I added toasted chopped walnuts snd made a simple streusel for the top. Another hit Jenn thank you
Why mine didn’t rise?
Hi Maria, his is more like a cake than a bread and doesn’t rise very much. That said, did you use 8 x 4-inch loaf pans?
Love to make this one every year! It’s easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
BEST PUMPKIN BREAD EVER!
This is good, but so crumbly everytime I make it.
Hi Lauren, I’m sorry to hear your bread comes out crumbly! Do you slice it when it’s still warm? What kind of knife do you use to slice it?
It was amazing! I added chopped walnuts on top and it was perfect. My favorite pumpkin recipe!
Three years ago, I lost all my recipe books, and all the recipes I collected and “tweaked” for over 40 years in a fire.
I don’t know how I came across your site, but I’m very glad I did!
I followed this recipe to the tee, and after tasting it, I knew I would NEVER “tweak it”! This bread is moist, tasty and very easy to make! My 82 year old mother couldn’t say enough about this bread, and the best thing is, it tastes just like the bread both she and I would make each fall!
Thank you!
Would you recommend adding the pecan topping from your muffins to this bread?
Yep! But reduce the sugar in the bread by 1/4 cup.
I followed this recipe to a “T” and it came out very very dry and crumbly and lacking any flavor at all. It literally tastes like flour and sugar and has no pumpkin flavor at all. There is a tiny “hint” of cinnamon but not nearly enough for my family’s preference. I’m really disappointed with this recipe. Tried something new and it didn’t work. I’ll stick with America’s Test Kitchen and the science behind perfection.
This is the best pumpkin bread recipe I have tried. Everyone loves it! Thank you.
Thank you for putting this up. I saw your pumpkin bread recipe while making your chicken marsala (omg, seriously delicious, husband and I just finished our 3rd meal of it, will be a staple meal for us now!)
I changed the sugar to just less than 1 c. granulated + 1/4 c. brown.
And I added 1 c. chopped cranberries and 1 c. chopped walnuts.
I only have mini loaf pans… so filled 4 mini pans and baked them 55 min. to perfection!
I took a photo, but don’t see where to upload it.
Hi Millie. I want to make these in mini loaf pans so that I can gift them to others. I hope it works out based on the details in your comments!