Pumpkin Bread
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My family’s treasured pumpkin bread recipe is incredibly moist, perfectly spiced, and easy to make with canned pumpkin. It’s been a reader favorite for years—and for good reason.
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). The batter can also often be used to make muffins—my pumpkin muffins are nearly identical to this bread, but with the addition of a pecan streusel topping.
“This will be my family’s only pumpkin bread recipe from here on out. Thank you!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pumpkin Bread
- All-purpose flour: Be sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Scooping directly from the bag can pack in too much flour, resulting in dry, dense bread.
- Baking soda, baking powder, and salt: The baking soda and baking powder work together to give the bread a nice rise, while the salt balances the sweetness.
- Ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg: This classic blend gives the bread its signature cozy pumpkin spice flavor. If your spices have been sitting in the pantry for a few years, it’s worth replacing them—fresh spices make a noticeable difference.
- Unsalted butter: Softened butter creams more easily with the sugar, creating a light, tender crumb. It should give slightly when pressed but still hold its shape.
- Sugar: Besides sweetening the bread, sugar helps keep it moist and contributes to its beautifully golden crust.
- Large Eggs: Bind the batter together and add richness and structure to the finished loaf.
- 100% pure pumpkin purée: Be sure to use pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, which contains added sugar and spices. I always use Libby’s because it has a consistent texture and rich pumpkin flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Pumpkin Bread
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined. Whisking the dry ingredients first distributes everything evenly and helps prevent overmixing later, so every slice bakes up light, tender, and perfectly spiced.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until just combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little sandy or crumbly at this stage—that’s completely normal.
Step 3: Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then continue mixing until the mixture is light, pale, and fluffy. This extra mixing incorporates air into the batter, giving the finished bread a tender, delicate crumb.
Step 4: Add the pumpkin. Mix in the pumpkin purée until combined. The batter may look slightly curdled at this point, but don’t worry—it will come together once the dry ingredients are added.
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed just until the flour disappears into the batter. Be careful not to overmix, or the bread can become tough instead of soft and tender.
Step 6: Fill the loaf pans. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared loaf pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula, offset spatula, or even the back of a spoon. This helps the loaves rise evenly as they bake.
Step 7: Bake. Bake until the loaves are beautifully domed and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Your kitchen will smell amazing long before they’re done!
Step 8: Cool and serve. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. They continue to set up as they cool, making them easier to slice without crumbling. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, simply cover with aluminum foil or store in a cake keeper at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them for longer storage.
Looking for more pumpkin recipes? If you’re in the mood for more fall baking, be sure to try my pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, and pumpkin scones. They’re all reader favorites and perfect for pumpkin season.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
Video Tutorial
Pumpkin Bread
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
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) 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 (165°C )and set an oven rack in the middle position. Generously grease two 8 x 4-in (20 x 10-cm) 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 to 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. Once completely cooled, cover the loaf with aluminum foil or store it in a cake keeper and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
- 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.
- Freezing 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
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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My sister made this for me while I was visiting home for Thanksgiving. My little girl is begging me to make it, but I live in France and don’t have canned pumpkin. I usually substitute it with baked pie pumpkin and in this case the flavor was there, but the texture was off— a bit on the dry side. Should I add an extra egg or would it be better to reduce the flour? Thanks!
Hi Margaret, I’m not familiar with baked pie pumpkin – I looked it up and it looks like it’s a variety of fresh pumpkin (and not a canned product)? If that’s the case, did you drain off excess liquid after roasting the pumpkin? If you did, I’d drain off a bit less to add more liquid to the bread. If not, I’d cut the flour back by a few tablespoons. If I’m all wrong about what baked pie pumpkin is, please let me know. 😆
Sorry, my comment wasn’t very clear. I meant that I de-seed and halve a sugar pumpkin (my mom calls them pie pumpkins) and bake in the oven until soft and use that as a substitute for canned pumpkin. Their water content can vary a lot, but now that I have an idea of what the batter should look like they are turning out much better. Thanks for the help!
Margaret, thanks for the follow up and clarification. Glad to hear you’ve adapted to using that variety of pumpkin and the bread is coming out well!
I had searched in vain for years to find the right pumpkin bread recipe (my mistake was including the words “Starbucks Copycat” because that’s my favorite). A family friend baked this one for us recently, and the moment I tasted hers, I knew I had found it! I’m convinced that butter is the secret ingredient here. Bought a pair of smaller loaf pans so I could make this for years to come. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
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!