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 enjoyed this recipe, but agree it is too sweet. If I make it again I would cut the sugar by 1/2 cup.
Too sweet for my preference, but easy to make and the flavor is good. I used the same amount of chai masala instead of the spices above since I didn’t have them on hand. I would’ve given the recipe a 5 if it weren’t so sweet.
Help! I followed the directions and the loaf stuck to the bottom of the pan. Loaf is cooked through and pan was buttered and dusted with flour.
Any idea what I did wrong?
Bread tastes delicious but bottom third stayed in the pan so I can’t gift it as I intended. Thankfully it’s a tasty mess!
Oh no, that’s a huge bummer! If you treated the pans with butter and flour, I suspect either it wasn’t enough or that your loaf pans have lost their non-stick quality. (Are they old?) If your loaf pans are old, it may be time for new ones. I love USA Pan Bakeware. If they’re not old, you may want to use a sling in the loaf pans to make for easy removal. See the technique here. I hope you have better luck next time around!
I’ve been using this recipe for years! My friends and family love it and they argue over who gets to take the leftovers home. I’ve changed a couple of things, however. Instead of each individual spice (cloves, nutmeg, etc) I used pumpkin pie spice equal to the measurements of the original separate spices; for example, if the total amount of spices used was 2 1/4tsp, I would use the same amount in pumpkin pie spice. Next, I used 25% less sugar. Otherwise, I’ve left the recipe alone. If I bake it true to the letter, I usually serve it with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream on top while it’s still warm.
I’ve been making pumpkin bread for decades. I’ve always used recipe after recipe trying to find one that was just *the* recipe. None of them compared to Starbucks pumpkin bread to me. But this recipe is amazing. It’s perfect. I’ve made it multiple times and it never fails. The flavor is bursting. The texture and color is beautiful. I’ve written it down in our family recipe binder as our official pumpkin bread recipe for our family.
LOVE this recipe!
I’ve made it dozens of times and it comes out perfect.
If I could offer any advice, it’d be to make sure you really mix your batter after adding the pumpkin especially if you’re using a stand mixer. I’ve noticed that the butter and sugar won’t always mix in and you’ll end up with blotches of butter and sugar. I usually take it off the stand mixer and use a spatula. I should mention that I’ve always doubled the recipe too, so maybe that’s why I’ve had a little bit of trouble here.
I want to add raisins. Pre-soak in water and fold in after adding the dry ingredients?
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Tabi, so glad you like it! Yes, I doubt the reasons after folding in the flour mixture. 😊
Love this recipe I made 6 loaves for the holidays, super tasty and easy to make!
Yay – I FINALLY found a recipe that matches the pumpkin bread I yearn for from the University of Tennessee! I bought a big can of pumpkin (29 oz) on sale and doubled the recipe. Made it as written and it was delicious. I had to bake it forever to get the bit at the top where the loaves crack open to cook completely, but the loaves were still moist. This got two thumbs up from the kid who requested pumpkin bread as a Christmas present. Thanks!