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, tasty bread! I like that the recipe makes two loaves as well. Definitely will be making a second time!
What size pans did you use?
Made the pumpkin bread last night and the flavor was delicious (I did add 1/2 tsp of allspice), however it falls apart when I cut into slices. What did I do wrong?
Hi Kelly, Did you let it cool completely before slicing it? Usually that’s the problem.
Not only is this a scrumptious pumpkin recipe the house smells sooo good while the bread is baking. Thanks for all your delicious recipes. Next I’m going to bake the rosemary focaccia for Thanksgiving.
My family just loved this recipe! I even threw out my mom’s old recipe.
I felt compelled to give this review on your perfect pumpkin bread. It seems every year I’m looking for a new pumpkin bread recipe, and just ok with the results, until now. Baked this up last week as a trial, and boy the whole family was pleased, perfect texture and exactly the flavor you expect when you want pumpkin bread. I was a little skeptical about the spice quantities, but it was dead on in the flavor. Now I don’t have to look anymore!
Thanks Jen
FYI if you use something like Better Batter instead of the flour, you can also make a perfect GF Bread without anyone even knowing, well at least tell the GF people.
Love it but a little sweet for me. Can I cut sugar in 1/2 or will that change texture? Would brown sugar or turbinado tine down the sweetness at all?
Hi Allison, you can reduce the sugar in this, but I wouldn’t recommend cutting it in half. You can safely cut it back by 1/2 cup without impacting the texture of the bread. And while I would recommend sticking with the regular sugar, a number of readers have used half brown and half white sugar and have been happy with the results. Hope that helps!
Help! How do I cut the recipe in half?
Thanks!!
Hi Alison, You would just cut all the ingredients in half. Hope you enjoy!
I added one cup of chopped walnuts after mixing all the ingredients and baked the loaves in E Henry loaf pans at 75 minutes. Resulted in a very tasty quick bread I didn’t bother using a mixer. I blended the dry ingredients with a whisk then used the whisk to mix everything else. Two beaters that didn’t need to be washed Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Hello,
Would I be able to use mini bread loaf aluminum tins? I would like to make a mini-bread version for a bake sale. Would the thinner pan work for this bread? If so, how long do you recommend baking and how many mini-loaves baked at a time? Thank you, Jenn.
HI Dianne, I haven’t made mini loaves with this but I would guesstimate that you could make about 4 mini loaves with the batter. I’d start checking them at 35 – 40 minutes. Hope everyone enjoys!
Thank you, Jenn! All came out great! We sold out on the pumpkin breads. Your input was so helpful. By the way, your recipes have been a HUGE HIT in our home! We love everyone we’ve tried from your site, a trusted and delicious source! – Dianne
THE BEST EVER!