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.
This is the original recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box; as you can see, it has seen its share of spills! After a bit of research, I discovered that the original recipe was published in the McCalls Cook Book (Random House, 1963). It is a typical sweet quick bread, similar to banana bread or cranberry nut bread, in that it is leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda instead of yeast. Quick bread batter can usually be made into muffins; my pumpkin muffins are almost identical to this bread but with a crunchy 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 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 65-75 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 doubled this recipe so it made 4 loaves in total, 2 of them i left as is and the other 2 I added dark chocolate chips. On the plain I sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar once they were out of the oven and resting. My god, this is so good. Can’t wait for the hubby to come home and try some, it will be a great start to our weekend! Thank you so much for this recipe, I will be making this every Autumn from now on!
p.s. Next time I make it I think I will try a version where I add candied pecans! <3
Easy and delicious!!!
Jusr delicious. I kept one loaf and gave the other to a brand new neighbor. The next day, the neighbor called to say “How scrumptious” it was and the best pumpkin bread she ever had. Also wanted the recipe!
Hands down the best pumpkin bread!!! Love all the spices! For those that said it came out flat you may want to make sure baking soda and baking powder are not expired. I’m making second batch today!
Excellent recipe. I’ve made this several times. It’s lovely to share with family and friends. I reduce sugar to 11/2 cups. I’ve added raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips on different occasions. Easy to make. A real winner!
I absolutely love this recipe. I make it all the time. My friends ask me to make it for them because they love it so much. I don’t change a thing in the recipe and it comes out so delicious. I’ve made a lot of pumpkin recipes and this is my favorite.
Would love to try this with left overs from pumpkin carving with the kids. What that work? If so, what amount would you recommend to replace the canned pumpkin?
Hi Clair, you’ll need about 1-3/4 cups of fresh pureed pumpkin. (After you’ve cooked and cooled the pumpkin, use a towel to squeeze out all of the extra liquid you can so the bread isn’t too moist). Enjoy!
Hi Jen,
Have you ever used individual loaf pans, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2? If so, other than baking time, should I adjust any of the measurements?
Thank you,
Denise
Hi Denise, I haven’t made this in 8 1/2 x 4 1/2“ loaf pans but it should work with no modifications. They will just be a bit flatter. The bake time may be a touch shorter if at all so just keep a close eye on them. Please LMK how they turn out!
I’m thinking of adding chocolate chips to the recipe. Do you think that would work here?
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Paige, I personally don’t love pumpkin and chocolate together, but many readers have added chocolate chips to this bread and were very happy with the results. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
My single loaf 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ came out fine after baking 60 min at 325 degrees.
I made this recipe this afternoon. After reading some reviews I decided to add ½ tsp ground cardamon and ½ tsp ground ginger to the spices and ½ cup each of chopped walnuts and pecans. It’s moist, tender and delicious!!! Next time I’m going to add raisins and after that chopped dates and after that… 🙂
It’s another hit from ‘Once Upon a Chef’ ! Thank you Jenn, your site is my go to for wonderful recipes.
This is my go to recipe I have made it with large dark chocolate chips AMAZING and I have made it without the chips also AMAZING Thank you
Can you melt butter instead of using softened butter? I use melted butter in my banana bread recipe and makes it super simple. Hoping will work with this pumpkin recipe.
Hi Jill, You really need the butter to be solid in order to cream the butter and sugar together. Sorry!
Terrible !! I Followed the recipe to a tea. I only substituted half a cup of regular sugar with brown sugar. I cooked it 10 minutes longer than suggested and the middle of one of the loaves was still like pumpkin pie instead of pumpkin bread.
I don’t recommend.
Lol. “Terrible !! I Followed the recipe to a tea. I only substituted…”
Can’t understand why you would give something a 1-star when you’re not following the directions as instructed. That’s on you.
🙄
I absolutely love this recipe! This is the third year in a row that I’ve been making it in the fall! I must have made it at least five times.
Now I’m actually wondering whether it would be possible to convert it into cupcakes. Do you think that would work? I guess I would need to reduce the cooking time, I was thinking of checking on it at around 40 minutes. What do you think? Any other adjustments I should make, or would you not recommend trying this at all?
So glad you like it! if you want to make cupcakes, I’d recommend using this recipe (you can omit the streusel and replace it with frosting). Hope you enjoy if you make them!
Very moist! I made 2 mini loafs, 24 mini muffins and 1 regular loaf out of this mixture. It was truly a hit! I added some chocolate chips to the mini muffins for my little ones. I did cut some of the clove and sugar as recommended by others. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
This pumpkin bread is the best I’ve ever had or made! It’s a very moist bread, a bit more like a cake; but is so very tasty that my family can’t stay away from it. There’s been a request to serve it this Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. This recipe has such a beautiful taste of pumpkin. I used Trader Joe’s organic pumpkin purée.
Followed exactly and since I don’t have 2 of the same loaf pans, I used the other half recipe with Wilton 4 mini loaf pans (only filled 2) and just played with the time adjustment (did 30 mins and then checked in 5 mins increments). Very moist and taste on point.
Best Pumpkin Bread ever!!! I’ve always made my grandmother’s recipe – But even she would change her mind after tasting your recipe – it is the best! Thanks for another great recipe –
Recipe sucked! No one has those pans in their kitchen!! Middle of load didn’t cook. Wasted good ingredients.
Recipe sucked. Who has these stupid odd pan sizes! Bread did not cook in middle of freaking loaf. Super pissed it was a waste of good ingredients. If I could give less than 1 star I would.
Test with a toothpick before taking out. Make sure it’s clean, then bread is cooked in the center. Just tried this, my pan was narrower so it took longer to bake.
Delicious! I actually made this twice. The first time the aesthetics weren’t right, though flavor was amazing, so I tried again and it was perfect the second time. There are a couple of mistakes that I made the first time around that others may have as well, when it didn’t work for them.
First, you must have an 8×4 loaf pan. I tried using a 9×5, not really thinking too much about it, and ended up with a really flat loaf. I bought new pans, though the best I could do was 8.5 x 4.5, but this resulted in a much higher loaf due to the narrower width.
Second, the word “generously” associated with greasing the pan, should be underlined. I used canola cooking spray with flour the first time and the bread stuck. Loaves would not come out (resulted in a mess). The second time I slathered on shortening only (I used a palm-oil based one) to where it was clearly visible in streaks. The loaves came right out.
Lastly, be sure to really give enough time to make the batter “light and fluffy”. I don’t think I blended it enough the first time. Keep it going for a full 2-3 minutes.
I think this was my problem. Everybody decided to call me while I was making these so I kind of mixed everything then poured it. Ended up with flaky bread that didn’t stick together properly. Still tasty, just more of a thing to eat with a fork.
WoW! That’s all I can say. This was my first pumpkin bread, and it turned out scrumptiously perfect. They look exactly like your picture. At first I was skeptical because I used King Arthur Bread Flour and it looked a bit dense. But honestly, I couldn’t be happier how it turned out. Thank you for your clear and simple recipe. I am confident I can follow your recipes with no problems.
This recipe says it makes 2 loaf, I landed up with two flat loaves. Wish I used only one loaf pan.
My pans measured 8×4 and 3 1/2×7 1/2.
The loaves were mushy in texture.
Must say the aroma was lovely, filled my home.
My husband and I got into a huge fight over this pumpkin bread. It was super easy to make and delicious. I was so excited to have a slice with my Sunday morning breakfast. But when I woke up it was completely gone. My husband loved it so much that he ate the rest of it after I went to bed. Guess I have to go to the grocery store and make it again!
Thank you so much for the amazing and delicious recipe!
I made this today and it tastes really good! My only “complaint” would be they are rather flat. I used parchment paper to line my pans. Would that be the reason they didn’t rise? I made the recipe exactly as is and bake for 65 minutes in two 9×5 pans.
Hi Billie, Glad you enjoyed! It’s the 9×5-in pans that made the loaves flat; the recipe calls for two 8×4-in pans, which are much smaller.
Thanks for asking this question, I had the same result and did the same thing (followed the recipe exactly, but used parchment paper to line the pans). I didn’t catch that Jenn was using 8×4 pans. Glad to hear I didn’t do anything wrong, just different size pan! No matter the height of the loaf, it was delicious! The kids loved it too.
Super delicious! One of my new favorite recipes and blog❤
Followed directions exactly. Took out after 65 min. Cooled Tried it. DELICIOUS. I didn’t think it was too sweet or had too much clove. The only question is how to not eat it all before my daughter’s birthday party!
Something went wrong. Followed recipe exactly using the correct size Pyrex loaf pan but the center caved in and was raw. Oven adjustment????? What about clay and metal? The taste was there but could only eat the edges….and very little of that. Hope you can help. Thank you,
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte, I’m sorry you had such a problem with this! You may want to double check to make sure your pans are 8 x 4 inches. And sometimes the edges of baked goods can brown more quickly than the center because glass conducts heat better than metal (if you notice that’s happening, you can reduce the heat by 25°F) but the center of your cake should definitely not have been raw. Is there any chance you may have made a measuring error? Also, you may want to check your oven temperature. Here are some tips for doing that.
This is seriously the BEST pumpkin bread recipe that I’ve tried! So delicious!
Loved it! Like other reviews mentioned, I cut down the sugar to just shy of 1-1/2 cups. Could honestly probably cut it down by another 1/4-1/2 cup and it would still be sweet. Instead of the separate cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, I just added about 0.5 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. I also added in 1 cup of chocolate chips. BTW this bakes perfectly in an 8×8 pyrex if you don’t have two loaf pans.
This is the best pumpkin bread recipe I have ever tried! The texture is amazing. My family loves it!
Perfect! I used my homemade pumpkin puree for the recipe, super nice and moist. Has an amazing flavor. 👍
This is one of our favourite recipes, always a winner for the kids. So much so they asked me to make it into a layer cake for Halloween. Will this recipe work in 9 inch pans either as single round or a layer cake?
So glad you and the kids like this! If you want to make a layer cake, 8-inch rounds would be preferable but 9-inch rounds should work – they will just be a bit flatter.
Or if you’re okay with one layer, you may want to consider this recipe. You’ll need to double the frosting (you may end up having a bit of frosting leftover). Hope that helps!
A great recipe but need a few tweaks. Lower the sugar to 1.5 cups as many other reviewers suggested-it’s still plenty sweet. Lower cloves to 1/2 tsp to prevent it overtaking the other spices. I swap out 1/3 of the AP flour for whole wheat. At this ratio you won’t taste a difference and it will still be that distinctive orange color. If so sub WW flour use extra large instead of large eggs for an extra bit of moisture. Same bake time. Thanks for a great start Jenn!
I’ve portioned my pumpkin purée in 1 cup measurements & stuck them in the freezer. How many cups of pumpkin would you estimate I’d need for this recipe? Thanks!
Hi L, You’ll need 1-3/4 cups. Enjoy!
This is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe. Love it! Thank you for sharing.
My husband said it’s the best pumpkin bread he’s ever had … and he’s the pickiest eater! Another successful recipe! Thank you!!!
Hi, could this be made in a bundt pan? Thanks, Kristy
Hi Kristy, If you want to use a bundt pan, I’d recommend this cake instead. It’s very similar. Hope that helps!
Does it need to be refrigerated? And how long will it last without freezing?
It doesn’t need to be refrigerated and it will keep nicely at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. Hope that helps!
This was the answer I was looking for, but I must say I LOVE this recipe. Everyone at work loves it and my fiancé loves it. I’m not very good in the kitchen and I’ve pulled it off without a hitch for the fourth time now! I also used it for banana bread subbing nutmeg for all spices, and, of course, banana instead of pumpkin. Three did the trick, two wasn’t as moist, but still good. I also used brown sugar because it’s all I had the first time, and I didn’t want to tempt fate by using white on subsequent batches. I get the disposable loaf pans from the dollar store because I was taking it to work. I’ve stuck with that at home also because if it’s not broke, I’m not skilled enough to fix it!
With my kids coming for the holidays, I’m excited to peruse more of your recipes!
I did put it in a Bundt pan as I did not have 2 loaf pans. I greased the Bundt pan with butter well and dusted with flour. It took about 1 hour 20 minutes baking time. After 10 minutes I flipped it out of the pan. It was delicious. Probably a little denser than a cake but really good. I now have 2 loaf pans and am making the recipe again!
This was delicious, and came out perfectly. I added dried cranberries. Will definitely make this again 😍
First, you’re my favorite chef to follow 🙂
I was questioning the butter and low heat but I always trust your recipes and of course, the recipe proved to be my new go to pumpkin bread recipe.
I did add chocolate chips and had to cover with Saran Wrap quickly before eatin the whole loaf ☺️
You knocked this out of the park! Thank you!
The loaves turned out perfectly and were moist and flavourful. However, like another reviewer, I found 1 tsp of cloves very strong and overpowered every other flavour. Next time I will only use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. I also added a simple glaze to the cooled loaves. I am a big fan of your recipes and rarely make any adjustments.
Just made this tonight and it came out moist and light. I used leftover homemade pumpkin purée. Will make again! Thank you!
Hi Jenn, Just made this recipe with no modifications and it turned out great! I live at 5,000 feet and I find that the only thing I consistently do with recipes is have them bake at the longer range of time. For this recipe 75 minutes.
Fresh out of the oven and a big success. Delicious. A bit sweet, so will reduce sugar next time. I used 1 cup each of ap and whole wheat flour. Also added in dark chocolate chips. So light and fluffy! Excellent recipe with clear directions.
You are my favorite chef! Can you use almond or coconut flour?
Hi Stacy, Thank you for the kind words! 💗 I wouldn’t recommend almond or coconut flour here, but if you’re trying to avoid wheat, and all-purpose gluten-free flour would work nicely. Hope that helps!
I used kamut and it was perfect!
Just made it just like the recipe. All I could taste was cloves. Maybe because the cloves were very fresh?
Hi Clara, It could be but if you find that the taste of cloves is overpowering for you, feel free to reduce the amount if you make these again.
Omgosh!! This is delicious!! Husband loves it! I now make this once a week. Making it as we speak for my parents who are coming over for dinner tonight! Highly recommend! Best pumpkin bread recipe ever!! Love!
It was an amazing recipe, huge hit in my house. I loved the different spices. Something I did was add a vanilla glaze, and it just accentuates the already incredible flavor!
For some reason, my bread turned out to be only 1.5 inches high. I added the leavening agents as instructed, so I can’t figure out what went wrong. I also didn’t get the volume of mixture you see in these pictures. When divided into two pans, the mixture covered the bottom third. The loaves also cooked in 45 minutes.
Hi Leen, These don’t rise very much, but the timing sounds off — did you use 8 x 4-inch loaf pans?
Yes
Hi Lucy, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher for me as this is a pretty predictable recipe. Is there any chance you made a measuring error?
Mine were short too, although tasted very good. I don’t have the smaller pans I only have the 6×9 pans. Can I do it in just one 6×9 pan?
Hi Anne, These don’t rise a ton (they’re more like a cake than a bread), but using the 9 x 6 inch pans would’ve given you an even shorter finished bread. If you want to use those pans, I’d make 1.5 times the recipe. Hope that helps!
Why use unsalted butter? Is regular butter OK?
Thanks, Sue
Hi Susan, The primary reason is that the amount of salt in salted butter varies by brand. This makes it harder to calibrate the rest of your seasoning in the recipe. Most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can use the salted butter if that’s all you have on hand and reduce the salt in the recipe as needed. Hope that helps!
Absolutely delicious and so moist; hard to keep the family from devouring right out of the oven
I’ve been making this for years and have always enjoyed it. Like some of the others I cut the sugar to 1.5 cups and it works great. I’m going to make it again but only have bread flour and cake/pastry flour on hand. Help! Should i do a 50/50 blend of my two flours?
Hi Lisa, I haven’t tried it this way so I can’t say for sure, but I think it should work. Enjoy!
I can always trust your recipes and this was no different – INCREDIBLE! Easy to make and delicious. Thank you.
One tip, as a former professional baker, I was taught to never send a product out without an embellishment. In this case, I adjusted my usual banana bread topping – 1 T sugar 1-1/2 T brown sugar and swapped 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice for my usual cinnamon. Not sure why but this topping is a HUGE hit. I suggest you try it 🙂
Do you add that on at the end of the baking process?
Curious if substituting honey for some of the sugar would work. I do see several people have cut sugar down successfully. Also, would you simply cut the recipe in half if you only want one loaf? I assume so but didn’t know if the cooking time would be adjusted at all.
Hi Ellene, for the best results, I’d stick with the sugar. If you replace any of the sugar with honey, I’d keep it at a minimum. And, yes, if you halve the recipe, you’d simply halve the ingredients. The bake time should be the same. Hope you enjoy!
First time making pumpkin bread and it tastes amazing! Very moist and easy to make. Will definitely keep this recipe and plan to make it again and share a few loaves.
I made this recipe twice, first time I used a little more pumpkin and added a little more of the spices. It was delicious and more like a cake. The next time I followed your recipe with 2 cups of pumpkin (I used E.D Smith pumpkin for both). Equally it turned out great but this was more of a bread. I’ll try and upload a photo.
Followed the recipe but bread came out raw. Even put it in the oven for an extra 30 minutes. Still raw on the inside. Nothing like the pictures.
The bread has a nice texture and was pretty easy to make. I wish I would have used 1/4 the amount of cloves because it really overpowers the pumpkin flavor.