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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Can you replace butter with oil? What would you suggest if its ok? Thank u!
Hi Pamela, Several readers have commented that they’ve successfully used coconut oil in place of the butter. Hope you enjoy!
I really love this recipe; I’ve been making it for several years. However, I now have a 9×5 tall loaf pan (pain de mie pan) instead of the 2 8.5×4.5 pans. Can I make muffins from the leftover batter from the 1 pan? and what would your advice be for that?
Glad you like it! I’d use the guidance from this recipe for the muffins.
This is the best pumpkin bread that I have ever tasted! I couldn’t stop eating it. My friends have felt the same way! I actually let it bake for about 65 minutes and enjoy the more moist results– almost like eating a pumpkin pie bread. Thank you for this recipe!
This recipe was literally amazing. I had never had any pumpkin spice dessert before, but I’m glad I found this recipe. I only made a few adjustments to this recipe: I added around 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the batter, and I added some chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. I also added some pumpkin spice seasoning and baked it at 350 degrees for an hour.
Tasted amazing!
Hi! I made this recipe this weekend and I absolutely LOVED it. Instead of canned pumpkin, I used fresh pumpkin and halved everything to only make one loaf. It came out perfectly and tastes great! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Love this recipe! How long should the loaves keep in the fridge?
Hi Jillian, I never refrigerate them. They keep nicely at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, so if you refrigerate them, I’d guess you could add a day or two onto that. Hope that helps!
My daughter wanted to make something for the fall and so we made Pumpkin bread and it came out so yummy. Our 1st attempt, we used one stick of vegan butter and added condensed milk and it was very good. 2nd attempt we used applesauce in replacement of the egg and oh how yummy! during the process, we sprinkled brown sugar on top as well as pumpkin seeds. I have to say I think you’ve turned my (10 y.o.) daughter into a baker. She loves making this and adding her own touch. Neighbor had an opportunity to try some and loved it she has many orders or the horizon. Thanks for sharing!
Would you be able to add chocolate chips to this recipe?
Sure – hope you enjoy!
I was wondering if anyone has made this that lives in higher altitudes. I’m at just under 7000 and sometimes baking is tricky.
I made this yesterday and it’s already gone. My family absolutely loved it! It turned out super moist. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely delicious! And so moist I almost wondered if I cooked it enough but yes I cooked it exactly . Am wondering if I only used 1 stick might it be more “cakey”…I’ll try that next time as an experiment. I also used 1/4 cup dark brown sugar as part of the sugar and a few drops of vanilla. Nuts on the top really made it extra special.