Pumpkin Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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!
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made this recipe several times this fall. I did not change a thing! Followed the recipe as shown. I shared this bread and I have a loaf frozen for my son when he is home for Christmas.
I substituted quinoa flour, reduced the sugar to just < 1/4 c, blended dates and molasses with the cooked pumpkin leftover from Halloween and sprinkled pumpkin seeds on the top before baking. I really like the spice profile. Delicious. And easy to freeze if wrapped well. I've made ahead for over the holidays. Thanks Jenn. Don't remember how I initially found your site, but its a go-to for recipe ideas now.
Spent my 20s, 30s and 40s searching for the perfect pumpkin bread recipe and my search is finally over. Texture and taste is the best I’ve ever had and this recipe is so quick and easy! The bonus is it makes two loaves. Who can just have one loaf for a house full of boys?! Only two changes: I ran out of white sugar so I had to use 1 cup of brown sugar for the white sugar. Also, I don’t like cloves so I left those out. Thank you, Jennifer!
My family LOVED this!! Made it twice in two weeks. I didn’t have two cake loaf pans, so I used a 9×13 pan instead and baked 5 minutes less. Turned out great!!! Everyone loved how moist it was. Even my Dad, who does not like desserts, had two servings. Thanks again for another great recipe, Jenn!!!
After reading a previous review, I halved the nutmeg and cloves, and I am very happy with the results – the warmth of the spice was there but was not overwhelming. My family loved the bread and agreed that the full teaspoon of nutmeg and cloves would have been too much.
Next time I think I will put a little shy of the 2 cups sugar in the bread, it was just a little over sweet for my taste.
This bread was made for thanksgiving this year and was by far the best recipe I have came across. My mom and I plan on making it every year now!
No one else in family likes pumpkin pi so I’ve been looking for an easy pumpkin ‘something’ to add to the Thanksgiving table. This bread is so good I’ll be lucky if I have any left for the big day tomorrow.
Just a few comments for others trying this recipe for the first time (I made no modifications to the recipe as posted):
— My loaves rose very sluggishly at first, so much so that I was sure I had a dud in my oven. Eventually the loaves rose to the occasion!
— My loaves baked to perfection about 10 minutes faster than called for in the recipe. I was afraid they might be undercooked even tho the tester came out clean. If I had let them go the full time they would have been ruined.
— The only change I made was to increase the spices– using my own pumpkin pie spice mix with ginger. The result is I won’t be missing the taste of pumpkin pie tomorrow 😉 .
–
Made this bread the other night for the first time. It’s the best I have ever tasted. I added a pecan crumble topping to one of the loaves and it was a big hit. . making more tonight to freeze.
Thank you Jen for a great recipe.
Love the texture etc., however for my taste, the recipe has too much cloves and nutmeg. When I make this again, and I will, I will use 1/2 the amount of those 2 spices. Too overbearing. I personally enjoy the pumpkin taste more.. Also, watch the baking time, mine was done in 60 minutes.
Hi,
Delicious flavor!! I added a 1/4 C Choc Chips, too. Only issue, was that it began to crumble after cooled. It is quite possible I mixed it to fast&long with my kitchen aid mixer. would that cause it to be more of a cake than a bread?
Hi Patty, This bread is definitely more cake-like and delicate, which is probably why it fell apart with the added chocolate chips. You didn’t do anything wrong with mixing it; that’s just the nature of it.