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 followed the recipe to a tee and found it to just be bland. It’s not “pumpkiny” enough for me, which was surprising given all the stellar reviews.
Thanks for posting this recipe. Does it matter that I have an electric stove/oven? Any tips for baking this recipe in my electric oven?
No changes necessary (I have an electric oven too). Enjoy!
This pumpkin bread is delicious! I’ve made it several times, but each time, it sticks on the bottom of the pan. Any suggestions for getting it to come out? I grease and flour the pans, but it still sticks.
Glad you like it (but sorry to hear it sticks). Have you ever tried a baking spray with flour like Baker’s Joy. If you have and it still sticks, you could put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. Hope that helps!
For those of you with sticking problems. Old school/ we grease & then line pans with wax paper. No sticking EVER.
The first time was so awesome, I made 6 mini loaves. I’ll take a pic when it’s done.
I LOVED making this for my family! I’m not a pumpkin fan, but they are and the bread doesn’t make it past 24 hours before it’s all gone. I make one loaf as is (but no cloves) and the other with chocolate chips on top. Not only does it make my house smell amazing, it makes the kids so HAPPY!
I brought this to the last class of an adult lit course and everyone loved it. They asked me if it could be made with oil. What are you thoughts about that and if the answer is yes, how much oil?
I made it the way its written and it is great. Its so nice to have two loaves and have one to put in freezer.
Hi Mayda, so glad people enjoyed the bread! Unfortunately, oil won’t work for this. It’s important to cream the butter and sugar to get a cake-like texture. Sorry!
This is definitely the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever made and eaten! With the holiday season, I’ve made it several times and shared it. Everyone loves it! I follow the recipe exactly and it turns out perfectly each time. I plan to keep this recipe in my family for a long time and hopefully will be making it with my grandchildren one day as well.
I just baked it and smells great. However, my pumpkin bread did not rise at all and I tested my baking soda and baking powder and they are both still good however my bread did not rise even an inch. I reduced the sugar by about 3/4 of a cup. Another possible problem might be my loaf pan size it is a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan but I’m not sure why my loaves did not rise.
The pumpkin bread is delicious! Most and flavorful, just did not rise as the pictures looked like.
Maybe next time ill make muffins out of them.
Hi Grace, It’s the loaf pan – that size will yield a large, very flat loaf. I recommend using two 8×4-inch loaf pans; muffins will work too!
Hello,
I just made this recipe exactly as written ingredient wise in the “family recipe card” using the margarine option. I had to use a 9×5 and an 8×8 square pan. The 9×5 I filled a little over half full and it did rise nicely. The 8×8 had a thinner layer as I used less than half the batter and it was done in about 35 min. The 9×5 took about 55 min. Very nice flavor and texture.
The first time I made this recipe, I didn’t change a thing and it turned out moist and delicious. The second time, I used gluten free flour and didn’t change a thing. It was moist and delicious as well!
It was amazing, i love the recipe, i found a recipe for maple glaze and it went great with the bread