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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I love this recipe and make it frequently! I have made it with the following variations and enjoyed it as well:
-Reduce the sugar to 1.5 cups
-Replace the butter with .5 cup applesauce
-Add mini chocolate chips
-Put batter in muffin tins and reduce the baking time
Overall, it is versatile and hard to mess up – a crowd pleaser for sure!
I lover his bread! It’s a friends and family favorite and it never lasts more than 2 days. It’s so easy too! I’m not the most skilled baker and I’ve never messed it up 🙂
I’ve made this recipe twice. Both times it’s turned out absolutely delicious 😋
My whole family ( especially Grandsons)
Love it!!!
5 stars all the way!! I have made this several times now and it just doesn’t disappoint. I follow the recipe to a T and the only question I get is – when will you make more? Thank you!
Absolutely loved this recipe! Had to adjust the heat for my oven but everything was perfect!
I don’t know how I stumbled on this recipe, but I’m glad I did. It’s better than the one I couldn’t find lol. It was the picture of the original recipe, and as I learned from my grandma and mom, these types of newspaper recipes have to be good, the paper wouldn’t want to upset the readers
I tried this recipe yesterday and was a little surprised by the amount of cloves, but I made it exactly according to the recipe. Now, let me say that I love cloves and always add extra to my pumpkin pie. That being said, I thought the cloves overpowered the flavor, so I will be reducing the cloves by at least half next time and maybe adding more cinnamon and some ginger. The loaves were very moist and dense and did not break apart. My oven is new and based on past experience I checked the bread around 50-55 minutes. It finally came out of the oven at 60 minutes and it was done all the way through. I thought this was a very good recipe and I will make it again, but will be adjusting the spices for my tastes.
Can I use 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice instead of all 3 separately?
Sure, Donna, but you’ll need 1 tablespoon – not 1 teaspoon. Hope you enjoy!
Made this recipe for the first time and followed the recipe as is. Very moist bread, but too sweet and either the clove or nutmeg seemed to over power the bread. Otherwise it was a great pumpkin bread. Will alter the sugar and spices next time I make it.
Made this recipe without the cloves, slightly upped the cinnamon and nutmeg, and added a dash of vanilla.. great recipe, delicious!
I’m not a novice baker and have baked pumpkin bread every year for the past decade as a gift to whoever is hosting us for Thanksgiving. But, this year I decided to try a new recipe. So disappointed — it completely fell apart When transferring to the cooling rack, even though it was cooked through, and I’d let it sit for about 10 minutes in the pan first. Mine was far TOO moist, not a quick bread at all.
So sorry you had a problem with this, Kristen — did you make any adjustments to the recipe?