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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Thumbs down….I should have trusted my gut instinct on this one, having made pumpkin bread for decades. I questioned the amount of ground cloves, seemed to be way too much, but I stayed true to the recipe. This recipe, followed to a T, turned out dense, had more of a custard-type density to it. Very little rise during baking too. The only thing positive I can say is that it smelled good while cooking but the finished product leaves way too much spice taste on the palate and the pumpkin is hid behind the overwhelming clove aftertaste. I won’t be using this recipe again.
If the recipe was so good why did you change the amount of pumpkin from 1 lb to 15 oz? I made it both ways and the 1lb is definitely WAY BETTER!!!!
Hi Jennifer, This is a really old recipe. Nowadays, pumpkin comes in 15-oz cans. It’s only a 1-oz difference and opening a whole nother can would create a lot of waste.
Actually, that is not accurate. Canned pumpkin is measured in FLUID ounces, which are not the same at WEIGHT ounces. There are 8 fluid ounces in a cup, but a cup of pumpkin purée would weight a totally different amount than say a cup of flour. One lb of pumpkin in my kitchen (I just weighed fresh purée) was more like 2.5 cups, about 50% more than you’d find in one 15 oz can. This could easily account for the bread baking better if the original old recipe is used.
Hi Erin, I wonder if we are looking at different cans of pumpkin? My can of Libby’s pumpkin puree is 15 oz/425 g, which is just shy of a pound.
Ok it seems Libby’s is measured in weight not volume, so you are right about that. I just made your bread with fresh pumpkin and it turned out great. Thanks!
I made this for my co-workers and they loved it!! Many asking for the recipe. I took both loaves to work and plate was immediately empty. I baked them for 60 minutes in the 8 inch loaf pans.
Baked this recipe 3x and each time, it got worse. (i commented in an earlier posting about a thick custody bottom with NO crumbs!). i did not mix with brown sugar this time, and used all regular sugar as per recipe. i attempted a similar pumpkin bread recipe (different proportions) from another website and it succeeded beautifully. i wonder why?
Hi Kim, that’s a definite head-scratcher as this recipe typically gets great results. Is there any chance you measured something incorrectly? (So sorry about the problems you’ve had with it!)
This is DELICIOUS! Best pumpkin product I’ve ever had. Wonderful recipe. Super moist and satisfying, and stays moist even at room temperature for a few days! I used fresh pumpkin instead of tinned (about 2 1/2 cups) and added about a teaspoon of vanilla.
Hello! I made this bread and absolutely love it. I am wondering if you have tried to substitute the flour for almond flour?
So glad you like it, Rebecca! I have never made it with almond flour so I can’t say for sure, but I do worry it’d be very dense. If you do try it this way, I’d love to hear what you think!
A mix of two-thirds almond flour to one-third coconut flour plus and extra egg and a tablespoon of vital gluten did the trick for me!
Can I use half veg oil and half butter?
Hi Kathy, vegetable oil won’t work in this recipe – I’d stick with the butter – sorry!
I used veg oil and maple syrup as butter + sugar replacements and it came out nicely. Probably not as good as the original but I still liked it!
What temperature of oven please
Hi Maureen, the bread should be baked at 325°F. Enjoy!
This pumpkin loaf is beyond delicious! At first I thought the cloves and nutmeg quantity was too much, but I thought, “who am I to question the chef?” so I went ahead and followed the recipe as is. I am so glad I did! The spiciness is absolutely perfect and my co-workers agreed. It is a beautifully moist and pumpkin-y, with an excellent balance of spice. I will never question the quantity of spice again Jenn!
I want to use fresh pumpkin. What is the equivalent to canned pumpkin?
Hi Maria, you’d need about 2 cups of fresh pureed pumpkin. Enjoy!