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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Very easy and the kids loved it. I don’t really even like pumpkin and I enjoyed it.
This was a really good recipe though I did make some changes.
1. Used 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Will probably cut more out the next time I’m making this
2. Cloves – I used about 3/4 tsp and it was still too much for me. Will cut down to 1/4 tsp next time
3. Didn’t have an 8×4 pan so I put more than half in a slightly large the pan and did the rest as mini muffins.
4. Baked at 350 not 325. Works for my oven but experiment with your own.
This is the best pumpkin bread recipe and the only one I use. After the bread has cooled I make an orange glaze and drizzle it on top of the bread just like my mom use to do.
YUM! I made this bread yesterday and it turned out perfectly! I followed the directions exactly as written and so glad I did! It was a huge hit with my family and friends and will now be my go to pumpkin bread! Thanks for this great recipe!!
Hi JENN!
I made your pumpkin bread recipe yesterday… it was everything you said it would be… Delicious..moist..amazing aroma !!!
I love your tips, format, pictures and results! Keep the recipes coming
Thanks
Sara
This pumpkin bread turned out absolutely perfect. It’s the only pumpkin bread recipe I’ll be using now!
I have made this recipe 6 times, every one a winner. But, I have 2 favorites. One is reduce sugar by 1/3 cup, reduce cloves and add 1/4 each fresh ground cardamon and allspice, a dash of vanilla, the use of salted butter (along w the 1/2 t salt.) and add chopped pecans. The other is to change the above as follows; reduce flour by 1/2 cup, substitute 1/2 cup of white sugar for brown and increase vanilla. This makes a much loved pumpkin pudding cake – serve with whipped cream for rave reviews. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe that lends itself to personal interpretations♥️
Hi Jenn,
I tried your recipe and as per time mentioned in recipe when I checked it was not done in middle, I had to keep for another 10 minutes in oven untill toothpick came clean. But when i removed it from pan after10 mnts it was super moist and got big crack in middle. when it got cooled down completely and i started to serve it just couldnt hold up and started breaking..taste was super but it wasnt firm at all.
where did i go wrong….i want to try it again as i loved the taste but i have to figure it out why it was breaking before i give try. awaiting your reply ….. 🙂 thank you
Hi Rajal, Sorry to hear you had a problem with this. Do you think there’s any chance that you made a measuring error with the ingredients?
Rajal, The toothpick inserted in my pumpkin bread came out clean after the prescribed time. Still I had a fleeting thought, looking at it, that perhaps I should leave it in the oven for a few more minutes. But I wanted it to be moist, not dry, so I took it out of the oven. It was difficult to slice – too crumbly – but tasted great. I may leave it in for a few more minutes the next time.
This is the only pumpkin bread recipe you will ever need. I made it two weeks in a row and it was a huge crowd pleaser!
I used one larger loaf pan and it took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake. I also added a basic cream cheese frosting on top 😍
Used 3/4 Cup Whole Milk Greek Yogurt in place of butter for my work-out friend. Delicious!
Love the photo of the old original recipe. The spice amounts offer such an aroma of bliss.