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 am so disappointed. I made these today to use as gifts and they hardly rose in the pan. I followed the directions to the letter. I used to have another pumpkin bread recipe that rose to the top of the pan.
This recipe is my go-to recipe for pumpkin bread. I’ve used this recipe the past few years and its great. I use 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and GF flour to make it gluten friendly. I used this recipe this morning (11/4) and the loaves turned out great! I was really proud of myself and how fluffy I got the butter/sugar/egg mixture, this time round. Thank you Jenn 🙂 Happy Baking!
I was very disappointed. This is just like the recipe I have been using for years with one exception: I use oil instead of butter. The oil makes it moist. Someone told me years ago – butter for cookies; oil for cake. I wish I had stuck with my usual recipe.
This is the best Pumpkin Bread I’ve ever had, and I’ve baked and tasted many in my 70+ years. Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Jen! I made the pumpkin bread using pie pumpkin which was baked at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. I then took it out of the oven and let the pumpkin cool. After cooling I then scooped out the meat and placed in my food processor. It was whizzed around until all lumps disappeared and was very smooth. WOW. The pumpkin bread using your recipe and fresh pumpkin was divine. As another reader posted I could have eaten the whole loaf by myself. Your recipes never fail.
Made this bread using home roasted pumpkin. The bread was a hit by all who tried it. Have saved the recipe and hated with a friend.
Sorry but this recipe is a pass for me. As a chef I followed your instructions completely to the tee except I sifted the flour. My loaves were lacking volume. I don’t see how this is supposed to fill TWO loaf pans. It left me with two small flat loaves. And yes I used the right pan size. I liked the taste but I want big beautiful loaves! I’m going to rework the recipe for more volume.
This sounds like a silly question but grandmas recipe calls for you to sift the dry all together and you whisked yours? Does that make a difference? Did grandma adjust the recipe to better/make it easier?
Hi Angel, Not a silly question and good eye! – flour comes pre-sifted now so whisking the dry ingredients together is totally sufficient. 😊
Actually that’s not completely accurate. Once flour is shipped and tossed about any pre-sifting would no longer be effective because it would have compacted again. Sifting is necessary.
Would this recipe work in a bread maker? Can’t wait to try it either way! 💃🏻
Hi Olivia, I’ve never used a bread machine so I can’t say confidently whether or not any of my recipes would be appropriate for one. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Mine did not turn out and I followed the recipe to a T.
Hi Brandy, sorry you had a problem with this! if you give me a little detail about how the bread came out/what problems you encountered, I’d be happy to help troubleshoot.