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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Just made this wonderful Pumpkin Bread this morning and it was the best I’ve ever tasted. I used gluten free all-purpose flour, vegan butter, only 1 cup of light brown sugar (2 cups of sugar would have been too sweet for us), almost a full cup of walnuts, too. I did use 2 eggs, though and I’m glad I did.
The loaves did not rise as much as yours in the photo but nevertheless, so good…amazing. Cooked them exactly 1 hour, 5 minutes at 325 degrees and the knife was clean in the middle so they were perfectly done. Why do you think the loaves did not rise as much as yours?
Hi Deborah, Glad you liked them! These don’t rise very much — they’re more like a cake than a bread — mine usually are about 3 inches tall. How tall would you say yours are?
Mine were maybe 1″ high.
They should definitely be taller. My guess is cutting the sugar back to one cup would’ve had some impact. And were your loaf pans definitely 8 x 4 inches?
Good question. I just checked…they are 9 x 5 inches…so maybe that’s one of the reasons! Also, I will continue to use only 1 cup of sugar…the sweetness is perfect with that amount.
The 9 x 5-inch loaf pans would definitely explain the lack of height — glad you enjoyed it nonetheless!
Hi Jenn
Can I use a pumpkin instead of a can of pumpkin
Sure, Astrid, fresh pumpkin is fine to use here. I’d bake then puree it. After pureeing it, squeeze out any excess liquid before incorporating it into the recipe. Enjoy!
Love this recipe! I use half the amount of sugar though. It still tastes great 👍
I’m glad to hear half the sugar worked as we find these a bit sweet as well. I’ll cut way back next time! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I made this and used a cinnamon and sugar dusting in the pans and then sprinkled a little on top before putting into the oven, yum! I am making again this time I found a box of Pumpkin Spice pudding, I added a few Tbsp to the mix. We’ll see!! This recipe is a keeper!!! TY
Great flavor and texture. I am wondering if I did something wrong because it did not rise..
It was maybe one inch in height. I added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Any ideas of where I may have went wrong?
These don’t rise a lot, but they should have been about 3 inches high. Did you use 8 x 4-inch loaf pans? If so, is either your baking soda or baking powder old or expired?
Good catch. I picked up the old box of baking soda instead of the one recently purchased. The old arm and hammer will take care of the drain. Thank you for getting back to me.
There’s a hole in the middle. I have no idea why.
Hi Shelly, if it sunk in the middle it’s likely that it was underbaked. If you make this again, I’d leave it in the oven a little longer (and don’t remove it from the oven until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Wow. Amazing. I candy my pecans on the stovetop before adding them to the mix and I use pure clove oil instead of clove seasoning. I think the clove oil helps with keeping my bread moist as well as giving that extra clove flavor. I love this recipe and so does everyone I know! Thank you!
Made this yesterday for a family dinner dessert. I used 1 cup of light brown sugar and 1/2 cup of sugar. I love that this pumpkin bread uses the whole can of pumpkin, and that it makes two 8″ loaves. I also added 1/2 tsp of coarse ground black pepper and about 1 cup of chocolate chips. Baked 1 hour in my electric oven. Everyone at dinner wanted seconds!
This is absolutely the best pumpkin bread recipe I have ever found. I make it in a Bundt pan so it comes out incredible the texture is perfect. My adult children have voted that this is the new Thanksgiving dessert that we must have every year. We also have celiac, so I just substituted cup for cup gluten free flour and then the recipe didn’t need any other alterations. It comes out just as good. I’ve made both kinds now. Thank you so much.
This is absolutely the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had! It DOES make two loaves. I haven’t had a bad loaf yet. I add about two tablespoons of vanilla to it just to give it more taste and make it moister. I’ve made some for my coworkers and they’ve all loved it and are always wanting more! I also put some cream cheese and/or maple glaze on top and oh my goodness it is heavenly! This is always my go-to recipe for pumpkin bread. Thank you so much for sharing! 👨🍳
Absolutely DELICIOUS pumpkin bread, the best!! Thanks Jenn, & your beef stew is THE BEST!!
Very flavorful, but kinda dry and barely rose, so dense and not fluffy. Was decent with some butter and a drink.
We put butter on ours, too…it was delicious!
This is by far my favorite pumpkin bread recipe! Thank you!
never in your entire life will you find a pumpkin bread recipe better than this.
I agree!
This is a fantastic recipe, but it doesn’t make 2 loaves. I have enough batter for 1 loaf with quite a bit left over and no pan that’s the right size to bake it in. However, it’s delicious and it’s even better with some chocolate chips added—try it! 🙂