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 really love this recipe… it would be great to have some guidance on cooking multiple small loaves in a pan. Would you say just reduce the time cooked? I see some people played with the temperature of the oven, what impact would this have on the mini loaves?
Michelle, I would keep the temperature the same but cut the baking time. I’d start checking them at about 35 minutes. Hope that helps!
Best ever…..will be used for many years to come!
I loove this recipe!! Every year it’s a huge thing and my family loves it and is always voted the best. It has the perfect moistness Thanks for sharing!!
HI
I made this recipe as a loaf and the only change was to add the streusel topping from your pumpkin muffin recipe for some “crunch” and more cinnamon. Moist, light, yummy and flavorful….just wonderful!
I just made this last night. The best! So moist and so much flavor! And so easy! I plan to make several of these for Christmas gifts. This will be my go-to recipe. Thanks so much!!
I made this with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour, and it was not very successful. The loaves didn’t rise very much (not a big surprise for gluten-free), and even though my cake tester came out clean at 65 minutes, it was undercooked on the bottom half after cooling. I liked the crispy exterior, but it was a bit too sweet for my palate. Next time, I would decrease the amount of sugar by half a cup.
Great recipe – everyone who tried it, loved it! I could only find pumpkin pie filling last time so halved the spices – came out perfect! Thanks Jenn!
I made this pumpkin bread and everyone loved it so much they ate both loaves so I decided to make it again within a week. For the second batch I doubled the recipe & made 1/2 with gluten-free flour from King Arthur. I also increased the amount of pumpkin from 30oz. to 33oz. because that is what I had & didn’t want to waste it. I will definitely be making this recipe on a regular basis. I think chopped walnuts or pecans might be a good addition to try sometime.
Discovered this recipe about two weeks ago and have already made it 6 times. It is absolutely perfect as written. It has so much flavor and the perfect consistency. Thank you Jenn for sharing this recipe!
“Kids love it…!” I knew I would love it, but I was skeptical that my nine-year-old son would even give it a taste. Wow…he actually DID love it! He kept asking for more! Now he is sad that it is all gone 🙁 I’m glad it is easy to make!