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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Would you suggest using glass or metal pans, & which typically need more time in the oven? TIA!
Hi Beth, either would be fine here; If you use glass, they may bake just a tiny bit faster, so just keep an eye on them. Enjoy!
This is the first recipe I tried of yours…last fall. Everyone loves it.
I have since tried several of your recipes and have never been disappointed!
Can I freeze this bread with good results?
Thanks!
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Sharon! Yes, this bread freezes nicely. 🙂
Truly amazing!
Made this for family and everyone from my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter to my 88 year old Mom raved about it! It was a hit!
OH. MY. GOSH. This is hands down the BEST recipe for pumpkin bread I’ve ever used! Moist, dense, and delish! AMAZING!
Love love love this bread/muffins! Question for you. See the bread is baked at 325 and the muffins at 350. My muffins were a tad overdone I feel at 35 minutes. Why the different temperatures?? Thanks!!
Sorry to hear the muffins were a bit overbaked for you! The reason for the temperature difference when you bake bread versus muffins is that because the bread is larger in volume and weight, the higher temperature used for the muffins will dry out the bread before it’s baked all the way through. If you make the muffins again, I’d keep the temp the same, but just check them 2 – 3 minutes earlier than you did this time around. Hope that helps!
Can you use this same recipe to make banana bread, by just substituting banana for the pumpkin? My family loved it by the way!
Hi LoriAnn, glad you liked this. I’d actually suggest using one of my banana bread recipes – I have several. If you look at the introductory paragraph of this Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread recipe, you’ll see links to all the other versions as well. Hope you enjoy whatever you try!
This recipe was perfect! I was so excited to try a new recipe for pumpkin bread, especially one that called for butter and not oil! It turned out perfectly baked in my oven after 75 minutes. I was also very pleased how well-baked the inside was, which many recipes can’t seem to get right. Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’ll be my go to from now on!
The bread did not turn out well for me.baked bread on 325.i think it should be 350.didnt seem like it baked as well or raised or browned
Jen, this pumpkin bread recipe is exactly the one I’d been making for years…and then lost, in a move. Waaaa! How terrific to have found it again on your website!
And what a fabulous website this is. I just finished making your chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce recipe and it’s baking in my oven as I type this. Anxiously awaiting to have it for tonight’s dinner!
Finding your website was like finding buried treasure! It’s beautiful and the recipes look great.
😊