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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This is the perfect pumpkin bread recipe for my family! The only change I made after baking the bread the first time was to reduce the amount of cloves to half a teaspoon. It is so easy to make. I wrap the loaves in plastic wrap, then in foil to freeze. When thawed and warmed in the microwave, they taste like just-baked.
Dear Jenn,
This recipe is the first I tried from your website. I think I made it 12 or 15 times since I discovered it in October, it has become my favorite cake ! We had it for Christmas and it was such a success ! 🙂
I use rice flour since I have to eat gluten free and fresh pumpkin that I mix before adding it to the batter, because I’ve never seen canned pumpkin here in France or Belgium. It’s just as good ! 🙂
Just have one thing to say – thank you !!!
Warm regards from the French Alps,
Amelie
You’re very welcome – so glad you’ve enjoyed it! 🙂
I have been making pumpkin bread using this recipe for two years now and am always pleased with the result. Fall is the favorite season in our family and this bread is a delicious part of that. Thanks Jen
This is amazing. I added cream cheese icing to make it even better. We all love it.
Amazing pumpkin bread! This will be the only recipe I will ever make. My 4 yr old daughter agrees, asked for 2 slices! Thanks for sharing your family recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, it’s wonderful! I call this type of recipe a “look no further” recipe. Because this is truly perfection.
My family loves it!
I love the taste of this bread so I have used this recipe for both bread and muffins. The muffins always turn out great but every time I have made it into loaves they fall and I’m left with short squaty bread that is gummy on the bottom. I can’t figure it out! Especially because I am an experienced baker and don’t usually have this problem, and also because the reviews for this recipe are fantastic. I live in pa and maybe it’s the sporadic weather…
Hi Erin, Sorry you’re having trouble with the loaves! Are you making any substitutions? What size are your loaf pans?
No substitutions but I do add a tsp of ginger and the bread pans are 8 by 4. I wonder if I baked them at 350 instead of 325 if that would make a difference. Anyway, the muffins I made today turned out perfect. I bake them at 350 for 20 minutes. Maybe it’s my oven…
Hmmm… hard to say what impacted the texture here – this recipe is typically very user-friendly. Are you, by any chance, at high altitude? If not, I do think your suggestion of a higher heat may help here – I’d suggest starting out with the oven at 375 degrees, baking the bread for 20 minutes at that temp, and then reducing it to 325. (It may take a few minutes less in the oven, overall.) That burst of higher heat at the beginning of baking may help a little bit with the rise. Hope that helps!
Love this recipe! I made it in pint canning jars . I put a lid and ring on as soon as they came out of the oven. They sealed. I gave them as gifts. They didnt last long so cannot vouch for shelf life. I did put pecans in them and filled the jars half way. Use wide mouth jars and grease generously
I love this recipe. I bake several batches to give away at Christmas time and it always comes out moist and perfect. I put it in pretty bags with a nice tag and share it with friends and neighbors.
Jen, I love your recipes. This one is especially delicious!
I usually make this with AP flour for my family but recently tried with cup 4 cup wholesome gf blend so I can eat it. It was more dense but still amazingly yummy!
Thanks again!