Pumpkin Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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!
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I’ve tried maybe 3 or 4 exceptionally rated pumpkin bread recipes but have never been thrilled. All have been good, but no stand outs, until now. I made this recipe today, following the directions exactly as is, with exception of subbing 1/2 a cup of brown sugar for the white. It was excellent. Rose beautifully, smelled divine, cut up nicely, moist and light without being crumbly. Perfect amount of spice as well. Took about 70 minutes in the oven, but think next time I will leave them in for another 5 with the oven off. Will also up brown sugar as well from 1/2 a cup to 1 cup (so 1 cup white and 1 brown), as it was still plenty sweet.
Overall, a pumpkin bread I would finally make to serve or give to others.
It was exactly what I was looking for. Moist, thick, and spice filled. It was gone within a couple hours.
WOW!! This recipe was AMAZING! It was super easy and so delicous! 10 out of 10 would recomend.
Great recipe. I only used about half of the sugar (mixed up brown and granulated sugar also) and added some seeds on top. It came out still too sweet for me personally but definitely delicious. I started with frozen, diced pumpkin that I mashed once heated up. To get the liquid out, I scooped it into a coffee filter. Saves you from having to throw a kitchen towel straight into the laundry basket.
This is now my go-to pumpkin bread recipe. This came out so light and fluffy and full of flavor. It is by far the best pumpkin bread recipe I have used. Even my poodle took it out of my hand and licked the plate!! I did add 1 tsp of ginger and cut the sugar by 1/4 cup. I thought about toasting some of it and adding sausage and sage to it to make a stuffing for butterfly pork chops.
Just made the bread. My seven year old grandson gave it five stars and said it is the best. We used a pumpkin that had been baked, puréed and frozen. Weight of 15 oz. also changed the sugar to one cup with half a cup of brown sugar. Like less sweet and the demension brown sugar adds to recipe. Also put it in a bundt pan and baked it 55 minutes. It rose beautifully and was so moist. THank you!
This recipe was great. The breads rose for me with no problem. My entire family loved it!
I made this last October while nearly ten months pregnant. I ended up eating both loaves myself since my preschoolers weren’t fans of pumpkin. Oh well! More for me! I’ve been dreaming of it since and just dug up the recipe to make this weekend. My mouth is drooling in anticipation. FYI, I substituted g-free flours… Half quinoa flour/half brown rice flour. Simply delicious. Oh, and I put pumpkin seeds on top.
Does this need to be put in the fridge after its done baking ? Or can it stay out on the counter
The counter is fine. Hope you enjoy!
Delicious pumpkin bread recipe. After I take the loaves out of the oven, I poke holes in them and pour a cinnamon glaze on top. The glaze sinks in and infuses these delicious breads with even more cinnamony goodness. I also add more cinnamon to the recipe (yes, kinda obsessed with cinnamon) and add a half teaspoon of ginger and allspice as well. Absolute heaven.
I have not made this yet but it looks so good- I can’t wait to make it, but I bought regular butter instead of unsalted like it calls for. Will that make a difference?
Hi Peggy, Yes, you can use the salted butter. I would just cut out some of the added salt in the recipe. While it varies by brand, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can reduce the salt in the recipe as needed.