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 make this all the time! I typically adjust the spices a bit by using heaping teaspoons and adding ginger, allspice, and half the amount of cardamom, but that’s personal preference. Great recipe!!
OK I’m just gonna reply to my own comment I just made about the loaf not rising. After I posted it, the light bulb went off in my head. I recently bought some new loaf pans. I didn’t realize there are different sizes, the new ones I bought are 9×5. Then I noticed a comment said something about using 8×4 pans. So I think the larger size pan is what caused my problem. Jenn if you think this is what happened, maybe consider adding the pan size to the recipe for people like me (who only bake about once a year and don’t know these things.) I still think it is a good recipe.
Mystery solved! Yes, using 9 x 5-inch loaf pans would explain why the bread didn’t appear to rise. You must’ve inadvertently overlooked it, but the dimensions of the loaf pans required are in the second sentence of the recipe instructions. If you make this again, hope you have better luck next time around!
I have made this recipe multiple times and always love it so I give it 5 stars. BUT BUT BUT this last time, the batter did not rise at all! It was so flat and dense. I am sure I measured correctly and did not omit the baking powder and baking soda. The baking powder is not expired by the date on the can. I am not a great baker. Anyone have an idea what went wrong?
Hi Sarah, so glad you like this, but sorry you had a problem this time! My first question would’ve been about the baking powder, so now we know it’s not that. Did you make any ingredient substitutions or change the brand of any ingredients you’ve used before?
This recipe is the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. I sifted the flour mixture. It almost melts in your mouth.
If I only have a 9×5 pan and just want to make one loaf, would you still heat at 325 degrees and for how long?
Unfortunately, this won’t work with one 9 x 5″ loaf pan. If you can put your hands on a second one, you’ll need to make 1.5 times the recipe. The temperature will remain the same and the baking time should be about the same, but keep a close eye on them.
I made this with 9×5 loaf pans (only ones I had) and baked it for ~55-60 minutes at 325F. I kept a close eye on it after 55 minutes. They are not thick, but they were fully cooked through and taste great!
can this recipe be doubled?
Yep!
What size pans do you use for this recipe?
8×4 🙂
Very good pumpkin bread! I made the small 1 pound loaves to give out as holiday gifts. It will make 5 loaves measured about 9 ounces by weight of batter per loaf. I found that 50 minutes of baking for the smaller loaves was about perfect.
I was hoping for this info! What size pan did you use for small loaves? My pans are 2″D x 5″W x 1″H.
This bread came out with a very dense and very moist texture, not like any quick bread I’ve ever made. I’d say it was more like a pudding. It was also very sweet.
My daughter and her husband thought it was the best pumpkin bread they ever ate and insisted on eating the whole loaf.
Giving it three stars for not being a bread texture.
Should be giving it five stars for use as a holiday pudding – like a bread pudding.
One of the best pumpkin breads I’ve made. My whole family loves it. I do add a bit of vanilla to the sugar and eggs while I’m beating them. I really love making this 🧡