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 never leave comments, but I had to after making this. It is simple to make and extremely delicious! Better than any pumpkin bread I’ve bought or made before. Definitely keeping this in my recipe pile. Thank you!!
First time I made this recipe I did the big WOW! So moist, so delicious, so perfect, etc! Today I plan to venture with fresh cooked pumpkin and an extra egg or two! I have found when I bake my squash it is great consistency so figure I have nothing lose but a few ingredients! 6 stars to posted recipe!
Absolutely delicious outcome! I used a food processor to whip up the baked pumpkin. Added 1 extra egg. The rest is the same as Jenn’s recipe!
This is possibly the best pumpkin bread I have ever made. It was so good that the first loaf was gone within 15 minutes of coming out of the oven. I HAD TO HIDE THE OTHER LOAF! It came out super moist and stayed that way. Just enough spice that it wasn’t bland. Super easy to make. Since I live in the mountains though I shaved off 15 minutes of cooking time.
This is the most amazing bread I’ve ever made! I cannot believe the flavour and how moist it came out! The only change I made was to add two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in place of the nutmeg, cinnamon & cloves (simply because I didn’t have any cloves). This recipe is amazing and I can’t wait to make again. Thank you for sharing this!
How many loafs Does this make? And can I freeze the batter if I have any left over?
Hi Nicole, this recipe makes two loaves. I wouldn’t recommend freezing the batter, but you could bake both loaves and then freeze one of them. They freeze nicely!
Made the pumpkin bread today and it was amazing! Have been using the same recipe for over 30 years but this will be my new go to recipe! Thank you for posting it!
This bread is so GOOD!! I can’t wait to bring it to work. I am a beginner and made two of your recipes today. My workplace is going to love your recipes! Thank you Jenn. P.s. I greased the pan and also sprinkled flour as you suggested for the non-stick pan that really helped them slide out of the pan. 🙂 Thank so much for responding.
I made this tonight and it’s wonderful. The only change I made was to cut back on the sugar. The bread is light and moist and very tasty. The house smells awesome too.
Definitely a five star recipe . I’ve made tons of pumpkin bread and this is my favorite recipe to date. I used 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of white and that made the bread (in my humble opinion) even more rich and autumny-tasting.
Hi Jenn, I am fairly new to baking, but have to start somewhere. 🙂 Can I also use a non-stick bread pan from Sur La Tab? Or do I have to grease that too? I grew up on this bread too so wan to make my own. Thank you, I love your site, I just signed up today.
Best,
Denise
Hi Denise, While you probably wouldn’t have a problem with the bread sticking in that pan, I may grease it a bit just to be safe. Hope you enjoy!