Pillowy, melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin bread is a fall staple. With a generous amount of pumpkin puree, a few comforting fall spices, and a few baking essentials, you can have this classic recipe in the oven in 10 minutes. Yes, you read that right. This is one of the easiest pumpkin recipes out there! The batter comes together in a flash, and then your oven does the heavy lifting. To be honest, waiting for that timer to buzz is the hardest part of this recipe — especially with the heavenly scents wafting from the oven!
I use a combination of my favorite warm spices for this easy pumpkin bread recipe, but feel free to use what you enjoy most, or just swap it out for readymade pumpkin pie spice! After all, the gourd is the star of the show here. The spices just add a little something special. Speaking of pumpkin, please remember to use 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. For more delicious pumpkin recipes, try my pumpkin pie recipe, pumpkin cake recipe, or pumpkin muffins recipe.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Leavening agents — using both baking powder and baking soda gives this quick bread the perfect rise.
Spices — cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg add warm, comforting, quintessentially fall flavors. If you like, you can use 2 teaspoons of my pumpkin pie spice recipe instead.
Pumpkin — canned pumpkin puree is the best option. Be sure to use 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which has other ingredients added to it. You’ll find it in the baking aisle near the pie filling, so make sure you grab the right can.
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
1. To a large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Whisk them all together.
2. Combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk until the wet ingredients are well combined.
4. Pour the pumpkin puree mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
5. Stir together until just combined. Do not over-mix or the loaf will be dense.
6. Pour the pumpkin loaf batter into a 9×5-inch loaf pan greased with baking spray. Bake in a 350°F heated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs. The center should spring back when pressed lightly. Allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
- Weigh the flour. Using too much flour will result in dry, crumbly quick bread, and no one wants that! The most accurate way to measure flour is with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour up first before spooning it into a measuring cup. Level off with a knife. This will keep you from packing in too much flour.
- Use canned pure pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling has sugar and spices added to it, so you want to avoid that. You can make this recipe with fresh pumpkin puree if you like, but remove as much moisture as you can from it beforehand, or the texture of the pumpkin treat won’t be right.
- A few swaps for richer pumpkin loaf. For richer flavored bread, swap out the vegetable oil for melted unsalted butter and replace all or half of the granulated sugar with light or dark brown sugar.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. For the best pumpkin bread recipe, stir the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients until just combined. Over-mixing will yield a dense pumpkin loaf.
- Cover the loaf to prevent browning. If you’re worried about the top of the bread becoming too brown, you can loosely cover the loaf with aluminum foil after 30 minutes of baking.
- Add chocolate chips. Or, better yet, just whip up a loaf of my pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe.
- Add nuts for texture. If you need a little crunch, add chopped walnuts, pecans, or toasted pumpkin seeds to the batter.
- Serving ideas: Homemade pumpkin bread is a wonderful breakfast treat slathered with my homemade honey butter and enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since it lasts for several days, you can certainly make it ahead of time. (Its long lifespan also makes it a wonderful, thoughtful gift idea!)
To make vegan pumpkin bread, you’ll need an egg replacement, as the other ingredients are vegan by default. My two favorite egg substitutes for this recipe are flax eggs or a whole ripe banana. To make flax eggs, mix 2 tablespoons flax seeds with 6 tablespoons water and set aside for a few minutes until the mixture has a gel-like consistency. Or just mash up a ripe banana and use that in lieu of eggs. You can also find commercial egg replacers- follow their instructions for volume substitutions.
To make gluten-free pumpkin bread, swap out the flour for your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour. The other ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten-free, but please double-check ingredient labels to be certain that there is no hidden gluten in the spices or leavening agents.
You can store it at room temperature or in the refrigerator. On your kitchen counter, it will keep in an airtight container for about 3 days. Store it in the fridge for up to a week. I like to reheat slices for a few seconds in the microwave so I can enjoy a warm treat.
This quick bread freezes really well! I like to freeze individual slices so I can just thaw what I need whenever the craving strikes. Wrap each slice in a layer or two of plastic wrap and follow that up with aluminum foil. Place the wrapped slices into a freezer-safe container or freezer bags. They’ll freeze well for up to 3 months. To defrost, thaw the slices in the fridge overnight and warm them up in the microwave.
If you’d prefer to freeze the unsliced loaf, wrap it well with plastic wrap and foil and store in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, slice up the loaf and warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this pumpkin bread recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- 9×5 inch loaf pan
- 2 mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (210g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1⅓ cups pumpkin puree (300g)
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar (250g)
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil (160ml)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until well combined.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir together until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs and the center springs back when lightly pressed. You can loosely cover the loaf with foil after 30 minutes of baking to protect the top from browning too much if desired. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove the loaf and cool completely on a wire rack.
Video
Notes
- Weigh the flour. Using too much flour will result in dry, crumbly quick bread, and no one wants that! The most accurate way to measure flour is with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour up first before spooning it into a measuring cup. Level off with a knife. This will keep you from packing in too much flour.
- Use canned pure pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling has sugar and spices added to it, so you want to avoid that. You can make this recipe with fresh pumpkin puree if you like, but remove as much moisture as you can from it beforehand, or the texture of the pumpkin treat won’t be right.
- A few swaps for richer pumpkin loaf. For richer flavored bread, swap out the vegetable oil for melted unsalted butter and replace all or half of the granulated sugar with light or dark brown sugar.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. For the best pumpkin bread recipe, stir the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients until just combined. Over-mixing will yield a dense pumpkin loaf.
- Cover the loaf to prevent browning. If you’re worried about the top of the bread becoming too brown, you can loosely cover the loaf with aluminum foil after 30 minutes of baking.
- Add chocolate chips. Or, better yet, just whip up a loaf of my pumpkin chocolate chip bread.
- Add nuts for texture. If you need a little crunch, add chopped walnuts, pecans, or toasted pumpkin seeds to the batter.
- Serving ideas: Homemade pumpkin bread is a wonderful breakfast treat slathered with honey butter and enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee.
