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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Absolutely wonderful – light, tender and delicious. My favorite pumpkin bread ever, and the only one I’m making from now on.
What are the nutritional facts please?
Hi Keri, They have been posted underneath the recipe. Hope that helps!
Excellent recipe! I traded out the butter for organic coconut oil. I used applesauce instead of eggs–local raw honey in place of sugar.
This seriously is the best bread I’ve ever made and it’s so easy to make! Thank you for publishing this recipe for us!!
My daughter (who just had my first grandchild – a girl!) eats very healthy – so when you substitute how much coconut oil? How much raw honey? How much applesauce? Thank you for your reply.
Hi Sandie!
I used 3/4 c coconut oil and 1.5 c raw honey. I used 2/3 c. Applesauce. Good luck!
Cheers to healthy eating
😉
How could you possibly know that its an excellent recipe when you’ve made so many substitutions?! Coconut oil and honey DO NOT taste the same as butter and sugar! Argh!
Hi Leah! Thank you for your input! I won’t dare review another recipe ever again unless I use every single ingredient that is listed. I’m a blasphemous person for even considering the notion that there may be people in my household that cannot eat certain foods. Mea culpa.
Hi Vanessa,
I want to thank you for your healthy modifications. This recipe is very good.
Thank you for the healthy subst. measurements!! Will try.
I also would like to thank you for your blasphemous review! Very helpful as I am looking for a recipe for my 3 year old who is severely allergic to eggs.
Excellent recipe! I added a crumble topping of butter, flour and brown sugar as well.
That crumble topping sounds delicious. Would you put it on after it bakes or before it goes into the oven?
Can I bake both loaves of the Pumpkin Bread at the same time?
Yes, definitely.
Love this recipe using butter instead of oil. This is now my “go to” recipe for pumpkin bread.
I came across this recipe earlier today because I had the urge to bake something. It is remarkable! I don’t usually like pumpkin bread too much, but this is divine :). It has such a great flavor–I made it exactly as the recipe is written (I divided it up between one 8×4 pan and 2 mini loaves). My mini loaves took about 40 minutes to bake.
I have 5×3 mini loaf pans. How do I adjust the cooking time?
Hi Laura, It’s hard to say exactly, but I’d start checking after 35-40 minutes.
I made the pumpkin bread using this recipe, and although I didn’t have cloves or nutmeg it was absolutely amazing.
INSTEAD OF BUTTER, CAN YOU USE MARGIN???
Hi Amber, I haven’t tried it myself but it should work; just be sure the margarine is unsalted.