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 to cook but my baking skills are way behind all others. Made this a couple of days ago. and it could not have been easier. Made the two full loaves and they were both gone before night fall. As it was the first time, I followed the recipe to the tee and I’m not sure I would change it. Thanks!
Hands down the best pumpkin bread I have ever had and baked. Recipe is simple but flavor is so bold and bread is so moist.
So simple and perfect for a autumn day!
Cut the recipe in half and used ~3/4 cup sugar instead of a full cup, found it to be sweet enough still. I agree with others that this is definitely more of a cakey texture, but in loaf shape. I was a little surprised at how little batter there was, not sure if I didn’t beat the wet ingredients long enough, my loaf only went 2/3 up my 8×4 pan after baking if that, but the inside texture was still wonderful, perfectly spiced, the clove really comes through just enough. Served it with some honey butter and you’re in business. Can’t wait to make a cake version out of this, too!
I am not the best baker, but your recipe was amazing! Easy to follow with the instructions and pictures and the extra tips were helpful! Thanks for sharing and the family story about your grandmother.
ABSOLUTELY hands down the BEST pumpkin bread recipe! Deliciously moist and tremendous flavor. Everyone asked for the recipe! Thank you SO much. It will be the ONLY recipe I use from now on! ❤️
Jenn, love your recipes. Thank you for sharing them on your site. Can you add fresh cranberries to this pumpkin bread? If so, what quantity? Thanks so much.
Hi Ruth, You can try it but I worry a little that they will add too much moisture because the bread is very moist already. You may want to increase the flour by 1/2 cup. (And I’d recommend 1/2 to 1 cup.) Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
If using pumpkin pie spice instead of each individual spice (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg) how much should I use?
1 tablespoon. Enjoy!
I would love to bake this loaf as muffins instead. How should I adjust the baking time?
Hi Olivia, I’d use this pumpkin muffin recipe. (Feel free to omit the topping if you’d like.)
Fabulous!!! Made exactly as written with the exception of using pumpkin pie filling and for spices – 1 tsp of Pumpkin Spice and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Thank you for sharing!!
5 stars. My friend made some and gave it to me and it’s absolutely amazing! I don’t even like pumpkin that much, so that says how good the recipe is.