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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It was wonderful. One of the best recipes I’ve ever tasted. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Hi! Excited to try this recipe as I love all of your recipes!! Wondering if almond flour would work in this recipe?
Thanks – Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi Laura, So glad you like the recipes! I wouldn’t recommend almond flour for this – I suspect it will change the texture too much — sorry!
I’ve been baking for decades and always thought my Pumpkin Bread recipe was delicious, then I came across this recipe and thought I’d give it a try. WOW! This really is the most delicious bread I have ever enjoyed. It is so good I had to cut each loaf in half and freeze in fear my husband would eat the entire loaf by himself. I’m baking mini loaves today so I can send to my children across the miles. Thank you for sharing!
Delicious! I usually fiddle with recipes, even on the first go. The photo of your Grandma’s copy, though, made me trust that this one’s a keeper. It is. Thank you for sharing.
My loaves did not rise like yours did. Followed your recipe exactly. All ingredients are new. Any idea as to why?
These actually don’t rise a ton – they’re more like a cake than a bread, so it’s likely you didn’t do anything wrong.
This recipe makes very tasty pumpkin bread! You will love it! Don’t make it in a bigger pan though, use the pan size recommended in the recipe.
I recommend putting this page on “Reader View” or printing it out, or the equivalent. There are too many ads, add-ons, or whatever -the page is constantly loading on both computer and phone which makes the recipe hard to follow. My computer lost 5% battery life in the time it took me to write this review.
Yummy!!! I made half this recipe, which called for about a cup of pumpkin purée. I used a homemade sugar pumpkin purée, but since I used some for another recipe, I didn’t have enough pumpkin. Made up the difference by adding a banana! It turned out amazing, not over powered by the banana and still super moist!!
I made pumpkin bread using this recipe, with my seven year old granddaughter. It was delicious! It was eaten in two days and everyone is asking for more.
Iris
Dexter, Ga
This is such a great recipe! Thank you, Jenn!!!
I tried it twice, and they came out uncooked and raw inside.. I was wondering what I am doing wrong, I was so disappointed.. I found out I was using 29 oz can of Pumpkin Puree. OMG! 😀 I was so happy when I found out the reason of failure. I used the same can twice, half on Halloween, half today. Thank you again!!!
So glad you figured out where the problem was and now that you’ve got it right that you’ve enjoyed it! 🙂
Wonderful recipe!! I peeled and chopped one apple and folded it into the batter before baking. My son and co-workers said best pumpkin bread ever!
Hi! This recipe looks great, but I want to make mini loaves. I have multiple pans that are about 2.5″ x 5.5″ x 1.75″ deep. Any suggestions as to baking temp and time? Thanks!
Hi Lynne, I’d keep the oven temp the same but would start checking them at about 35 minutes. Hope you enjoy!