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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Seriously the best pumpkin bread recipe! So easy too and best of all it is delicious!
Yummy recipe! Easy to make. My family loved it! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. It’s truly a gift to be cherished!
This pumpkin bread recipe is great. Quick, easy, good flavor and moist. I did do something I saw on another recipe… instead of using flour to “flour” the loaf pans I used some butter, parchment paper, butter and “floured” with sugar and cinnamon, this comes out with a very light crust on the bread and nice to get the bread crumb bits after you cut a slice. This is now my “go to” when making pumpkin bread. Thank you so much for the recipes you offer I have never been disappointed.
Perfect! I was searching for an old-fashioned recipe (without any healthy substitutes lol) and came across this. Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you.
Awesome recipe and very easy to make. Very similar to my mom’s recipe!
As I made it, I would say this is a 5/5 pumpkin bread. No idea what it would be like if following the recipe 100%; I just came here for the basic flour/powder/soda/egg/fat ratios. I’ve made this a few times, and will definitely continue to make it. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I used margarine instead of butter due to personal preference of flavor, texture, and cost. I slightly increased the salt (3/4 tsp), reduced the sugar down to 3/4 c instead of 1 c, my cinnamon teaspoon was slightly heaping, cloves and nutmeg were reduced to 1/2 tsp, and I added in 1/2 tsp of ginger to round the flavor out a little.
Mistyped that, meant to say 1 1/2 c of sugar, not 3/4 c sugar. Eating another slice right now! =)
Loved it! Used fresh squash, half butter flavored Crisco, I had less butter than had thought. Added pecans, turned out delicious! Thnx!
This is a 5 star recipe as far as I’m concerned! I’ve made pumpkin bread before and it’s always been a dismal gummy mess. I grew pumpkins in my garden this year and decided it would be a shame to not give bread another try. I chose your recipe hoping the photos would help (they did!) and because I loved how you actually answer questions people post. I baked my bread in 8 mini pans and it turned out great! The spices are just yummy. Thank you, thank you!
Hi Jen. I’m an experienced baker and cook. I read your recipe and reviews. Against my better judgment, I baked it. I must sadly say that I didn’t care for the recipe. I’ve made and sold both banana and pumpkin breads with great results. I found that using butter in quick breads yields a gummy, heavy loaf. I personally use oil with fantastic results. The other things I noticed is the amount of sugar in this recipe. Way too much. Too Sweet!!!! Also I noticed that there is not enough salt. Cloves I just don’t use in a quick bread. There is no need if you have cinnamon and nutmeg. I would have put a dash of ginger for a nice warm undertone. I’m sorry to say it went in the garbage. A sad, heavy, over gummy, oversweet, tasteless mass. But the house smells awesome! Sorry.
Hi Peg. Wow. I am truly flabbergasted by your comments on this recipe.
Please give me a moment to gather my thoughts so that I can express them with the appropriate filters in place.
Was there any part of you that was trying to be helpful? I’m looking for that, but I don’t see it.
Condescending. Passive aggressive. Overall just a tasteless mass of words.
We all see recipes that don’t fit our style, but there is no need to put down the people who take the time to post these recipes for us. Instead of such a hateful comment you could just post your own recipe for pumpkin bread. I am sure there are people who share your preferences.
Personally, I always omit the salt and tend cut sugar by about a third. But I have no need to put down anyone who does not. And I would never be so rude as to tell someone that their recipe “went in the garbage.”
Come on, be a little kinder. It will make the world a more beautiful place for you and everyone around you.
If you had such reservations, why make it? It seems having made and sold pumpkin bread (as you pointed out), you made this one to criticize.
Who cares if you made/sold pumpkin bread? Who cares if you are an experienced baker? If you do not like the recipe just say so, not make yourself appear to be the expert and you are picking apart every aspect of this recipe.
wow so unnecessarily rude! maybe start your own ‘expert baker’ blog peg. i just made this last week and loved it! just hand wrote it to add to my permant recipe box. on a separate note, do u have any experience making this recipe as muffins? was curious on the yield, temp amd bake time if so?
Glad you enjoyed, Blaine. 🙂 Here’s the muffin version.
I feel as if you are giving her experience on baking. If you saw ingredients that you prefer not to use in the recipe, then you probably should have found another recipe.
You are a rude A$$. your attitude and condescending personality sucks… If didn’t like it fine…but to attack the writer was totally uncalled for, I’m sure not everyone likes your bread so think before you open your rude ass mouth. plus anything you cook with that nasty attitude I won’t put in my mouth.. food should be cooked with love … maybe that’s why your bread didn’t come out right… who in the H care if you are a baker or not … stay off here … if you were so good why did you even have to look up a recipe ms …. chef
I just made this bread and the taste is fantastic! It didn’t raise enough so I’m going to buy new baking powder, even though it’s not expired, and see if it helps. I don’t think I over mixed it but it just didn’t rise much. I’m going to eat it anyway because the taste is great. Maybe a different pan would help. Thanks for sharing.
Can I use fresh pumpkin puree in the pumpkin bread recipe?
Hi Carole, Yes, you can use fresh pumpkin here. Just make sure to drain it of excess water so that the consistency is similar to that of canned pumpkin. Hope you enjoy!