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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Absolutely wonderful! I used mini chocolate chips; about a half of a bag total and it turned out great, I also cut the cloves in half, as I found them a bit too strong. The bread keeps really well and is always a favorite. Thanks for another favorite recipe!
Would adding one cup walnuts and one cup raisins destroy this beautiful recipe?
Hi Kat, I think they would be nice additions. Just make sure you chop the nuts; if they’re too big, it will make the bread hard to slice.
Jenn, thank you for your quick response! I started gathering ingredients to make the loaves but switched to muffins at the last minute. I added one cup each raisins and nuts and they turned out fantastic! Thank you for another top level recipe, yours are always incredible! Kathleen
This turned out amazingly. I couldn’t stop going for a slice. It’s gone. Gonna make again asap.
Really tasty! I followed the directions and ingredients to a tee and it turned out great. I ended up baking for 70 minutes. The loaves turned out mid sized, maybe coming up to about halfway in the pans, so I may either half the recipe or put it all in one loaf pan and up the baking time whenever I make again. I also want to try adding a little vanilla and add-ins like chocolate chips and walnuts. Overall, amazing. I think it’s the nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon that really do it!!! This also was not overly sweet at all even with the two cups of sugar. I also wonder how it might turn out with brown sugar or a mix of both brown and granulated. I really recommend this recipe. I saw a can of pumpkin at the store and knew I had to try my hand at making a fall-themed something and this recipe was absolutely the right move!
Hi Jenn!! I made this the other day and noticed the bottom of the loaf was a bit soft so I added more time. What am I doing wrong? I can’t seem to figure it out. The flavor was beyond amazing though.
Hi Nancy, I’m sorry you had a problem with the bottom of the loaf being too soft. Did you take the loaf out of the pan and then put it back in to return to the oven? If so, unfortunately, that doesn’t generally work. This is naturally a moist bread, but it should be moist throughout. Did you happen to roast fresh pumpkin yourself? If you did, it may be that you didn’t remove enough moisture from the pumpkin puree. If that’s not the case, next time you make it, I’d suggest using Libby’s pumpkin purée and King Arthur flour.
I’m making it. I hope it turns out great. thanks
This was absolutely delicious! I’ve been looking forward to making this for a couple days now so as soon as I transferred it out of the pan I cut a slice. It had the perfect crust like you said! Perfect taste and I only used Great Value branded items. I only had enough flour for one loaf and coincidentally I only have one loaf pan but this was easy enough to convert.
This recipe will definitely be a fall staple. The best recipes are passed down from our families with stains and dirt over the recipe card. Thank you for this!
This is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe! I’ve been making it for a few years now as written, but I would love some advice on adapting it to mini loaves—I have 4 (5.5×3 in.) mini loaf pans that I’d like to use.
Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
Hi Whitney, So glad you like it. For mini loaf pans, I’d keep the oven temperature the same, and start checking for doneness at 35 minutes.
Made this exactly as instructed. After baking this for about 70 minutes, it still comes out way too soft, and baking any longer will make the outside turn brown and hard, which is unacceptable. This recipe calls for a 15oz can of pumpkin, which is way too much, and the reason why it ends up coming out too soggy in the middle. It also doesn’t have an incredibly wow taste to it, as it’s super generic. Absolute disappointment.
It might help those of us who can only find large cans of pumpkin to state that it takes slightly less than 2 cups of pumpkin. Also, line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment paper.
One of the best pumpkin bread recipes I have made.
I have used my mom‘s recipe for 15 years, but this one is unbelievable. So moist and flavorful. I have been handing it out to several friends and they are loving it.