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.
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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Great bread. I personally am not a huge fan of cloves and nutmeg so I cut those in half and it turned out good. Very moist bread
My experience was the recipe works if done in aluminum pan rather than disposable aluminum pan. The disposable aluminum pan loaf was mushy, the aluminum baking dish by comparison turned out a perfect loaf.
Try baking in a glass load dish, the bread comes out amazing! Super moist! I’ve tried both aluminum and glass, and that’s what I’ve found! The glass dish works best
I have misplaced one of my loaf pans. Can I bake in a bundt pan? Would the time increase? Thanks!
Hi Amanda, For a Bundt cake, I suggest using this recipe from my cookbook. It’s very similar.
This is the best pumpkin bread I have ever made. Followed everything exactly and baked in two 8×4″ disposable tin pans. Used butter and flour to grease pans and the loaves literally just lifted right out. Thank you for this recipe.
What about substituting vegetable oil for the butter I never have butter in my house only margarine and I don’t think that that would be appropriate to use?
Hi Laura, I wouldn’t recommend using vegetable oil here. If you have stick margarine, I think it will work – it just won’t taste quite as good. 🙂
Thank you i will wait until I get to the store i want it delicious.
I used margarine and the bread came out delicious! Go for it.
I make it with margarine (regular Blue Bonnet) instead of butter, and it turns out delicious. It’s strictly personal preference, but I tend to prefer margarine over butter in a lot of baked recipes to get the desired texture and flavor, and the cost savings are considerable. Relatively few recipes truly need butter over margarine to bake up properly. I did leave out 1/4 c of the sugar, and substituted half of the cloves with ginger. I’m not giving the recipe a star rating as I did make substitutions and alterations, but the flavor of the finished product was a 5/5 for me. I’ve made it twice, and will definitely continue to make it.
Needs A LOT MORE spice !!!!
Best pumpkin bread recipe ever, moist and simple clean taste, I’ll be making this bread many more times.
Thank you Jenn
Juan
A friend of mine made this pumpkin bread and brought it to a get together a few days ago, it was delicious! I’m planning on making it at home, but am wondering if I can use a cast-iron skillet to bake it? Should I adjust the temperature/bake-time/recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah, I think that would work. You may need to reduce the cooking time; I’d start checking around 40 minutes.
That’s soo good (light) hesitated over nutmeg and cloves but it is absolutely wonderful and you are right it is very cake like.Love it ….it’s a keeper
Thank you! This was easy to make and it was delicious!