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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If I use less sugar what should I add to replay it? More pumpkin? Or do I even have to replace it?
Hi Kay, No need to replace it with anything. Hope you enjoy it!
Also, how full should the batter fill the pan? 3/4 ..1/2?
Hi Kay, the batter should fill the loaf pan between 1/2 and 2/3 full. Hope you enjoy!
Anxious to try the recipe. Would like to incorporate sour cream. Any suggestions on how to tweak it? Thanks
Hi Linda, I don’t recommend adding sour cream – it’s already quite moist and I’m afraid it would just make it too wet. Sorry!
Made this tonight, it was delicious!!! Smelled heavenly when I pulled it out of the oven and I took a bite as soon as it cooled off enough. I’m excited to share it with my family!!! Awesome recipe!!!
This is a really delicious pumpkin bread. It’s easy to make, moist and perfect toasted with butter!
I made this recipe with a sugar pumpkin I roasted rather than the canned pumpkin. I also lined the pans with parchment paper. The bread didn’t rise as much as I would have liked. Could the use of parchment paper or sugar pumpkin have affected the rise? Should I have used more baking soda?
Regardless, the bread was consumed by my family with no complaints!
Hi Bob, I don’t think the parchment paper or the use of sugar pumpkin should have affected the bread. This bread is actually more like cake than bread, so it doesn’t rise much. Glad everyone ate it, though!
Can I substitute the white flour and use whole wheat flour instead?
Hi Lori, I would suggest substituting half the all-purpose flour for whole wheat. If you still like the texture, you could up the ratio of whole wheat flour next time. LMK how it turns out!
I made it today and it was a hint. The only adjustment I made was to add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup Splenda as my husband is a diabetic. It was great, although next time I will reduce ground cloves to 1/2 tsp. My husband could not resist the aroma and cut into it after 5 minutes to have it still hot with butter.
JoSo moist!!!!!
I love this bread. I cannot remember how many teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice I used in place of the spices. I think I used three. Do you have a suggestion? Thanks!
Yes, Joan, that sounds right (as you are replacing 3 tsp. of other spices). Glad you like it!
I don’t have 8×4 pans, but do have 9×5 and Bundt pans. If I use a Bundt pan, how long will it cook? Can I use a single 9×5 pan, and if so, how long would THAT bake? Or should I just increase the batter (and if so, by how much) and bake in two 9×5 pans?
Hi Susan, I’d increase the batter by 1.5 and bake in two 9 x 5 pans. Hope that helps!
Very good moist.
My family loved it !