One of my favorite pumpkin recipes, homemade pumpkin bread is pillowy, soft, and moist. With pumpkin puree, warm fall spices, and a few baking staples, you can have this treat in the oven in about 10 minutes—no mixer required! Plus, quick breads like this are great for making ahead of time because they taste even better the next day.
I tested this recipe several times to get the texture just right and to try it with lots of different adaptations! The recipe is very easy to customize, depending on your preference. You can swap the spices for readymade pumpkin spice, add nuts for texture, or stir in chocolate chips or dried fruit for extra sweetness! Or finish it off with a crunchy streusel or cinnamon glaze. More ideas, helpful ingredient swaps, and baking tips are below!
A reader, Yami, says: “I love this bread. I’ve made it a dozen times with chopped almonds on top, with chocolate chips on top, with nuts and chocolate chips, and plain. They are all my favorite! Wonderful recipe that everyone loves.” ★★★★★
Table of Contents
- Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Can I Use Fresh Pumpkin Puree?
- Variations
- How Do I Know When The Pumpkin Bread Is Done Baking?
- Can This Recipe Be Made Into Muffins Or Mini Loaves?
- Pro Tips For The Best Pumpkin Bread
- How To Make Pumpkin Bread
- How To Serve Pumpkin Bread
- How To Store and Freeze
- More Pumpkin Recipes To Try
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
These are the main ingredients you need to make moist pumpkin bread. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.
Pumpkin — for ease, I use a can of Libby’s pumpkin puree! It has a great flavor and consistent results every time I make this recipe. Since pumpkin is the star of the show, be sure to use 100% pure canned pumpkin. Make sure you don’t accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling, which can be confused for the regular puree. It has spices and sugar added, which will affect how the flavor of the loaf turns out.
Dry ingredients — all-purpose flour is the perfect base for a tender pumpkin bread. The addition of baking soda and baking powder helps the quick bread rise so it’s tall and fluffy. If you want to make gluten-free pumpkin bread, use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
Oil — a liquid fat like vegetable oil is the secret to a rich, moist pumpkin bread. Because the oil is still in a liquid state at room temperature, it keeps the bread soft and moist even once cooled. I normally use a neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil to really let the pumpkin and spice flavors shine, but you could also use olive oil or avocado oil! I have made this recipe with browned butter, and it’s delicious, but the texture is a bit firmer since the butter fat firms up once cooled.
Sugar — I stuck with the standard granulated sugar for this recipe for added sweetness, but you could definitely swap all or part of it for packed light brown sugar for a little added moisture and caramely flavor.
Spices — ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, and a splash of vanilla extract add cozy fall flavor to every bite. You could swap the spices for 2 teaspoons of store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice if you like.
Can I Use Fresh Pumpkin Puree?
Canned pumpkin puree is the best and easiest option for pumpkin bread. But you can use homemade pumpkin puree, if you like, with a little trick. Homemade pumpkin puree has a lot of moisture, so you’ll need to blot as much moisture as you can by spreading the puree on paper towels and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. Too much moisture will affect the texture of the pumpkin bread.
Variations
My rigorously tested recipe can be customized in so many delicious ways! Try one of these for your next loaf:
- Add nuts: Add ½ cup chopped toasted walnuts, toasted pecans, or toasted pumpkin seeds for a little crunch.
- Stir in chocolate chunks: Add up to ½ cup of chocolate chunks or chocolate chips. Depending on how much sweetness you want, use dark, semisweet, or milk chocolate. Or, better yet, just whip up a loaf of my chocolate chip pumpkin bread!
- Add dried fruit: ½ cup of golden raisins or dried cranberries taste great in pumpkin bread!
- Top pumpkin bread with streusel: A simple, buttery streusel topping elevates the quick bread recipe. Add it on top of the pumpkin bread batter just before baking.
- Frost or glaze it: My favorite cream cheese frosting adds a tasty tang. You can also stir together powdered sugar with a dash of cinnamon and enough milk to make it drizzly. Wait for the pumpkin bread to cool completely before frosting or glazing it, or the frosting will slide right off.
How Do I Know When The Pumpkin Bread Is Done Baking?
Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If it comes out mostly clean, with just a few moist crumbs hanging onto the toothpick, the bread is ready. You can also push lightly into the top of the quick bread. If your finger leaves an indentation, it still needs some time. If it feels firm and springs back, the loaf is ready.
Can This Recipe Be Made Into Muffins Or Mini Loaves?
To make muffins, line a muffin pan with paper liners and fill each liner two-thirds full with pumpkin bread batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Or make my pumpkin muffins recipe!
To make mini loaves, grease your mini loaf pans and divide the batter among them, filling each one about two-thirds full. The bake time and yield will depend on the size of your mini loaf pans. Start checking them after 25 minutes and remove them from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let them cool in the pans for a few minutes, then remove the loaves and cool on a wire rack.
Pro Tips For The Best Pumpkin Bread
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. Scooping a dry cup directly into a flour container can overpack the flour. If you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour up in its container first before spooning it into a measuring cup. Level off with a knife. This will prevent you from accidentally over-packing the measuring cup with flour.
Use freshly grated nutmeg for the best, freshest nutmeg flavor. Nutmeg’s flavor comes from natural oils, and once it is grated or ground, those flavors start to dissipate pretty quickly. Store-bought ground nutmeg will never taste as flavorful as freshly grated nutmeg for that reason! Rub the whole nutmeg on a microplane or the small holes of a box grater to finely grate it.
Use room temperature eggs. Cold eggs are much firmer and harder to whisk into a smooth consistency. Warming them up will make it easier to incorporate the eggs for a cohesive batter. Set them out about 30 minutes to an hour before you start baking. Or, soak them in a bowl of warm tap water for 5 to 10 minutes.
Don’t over-mix the batter. For the best pumpkin bread recipe, stir the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients until just combined, or until the bits of flour and dry ingredients are just incorporated. Continuing to mix the batter will develop more gluten strands, which can yield a dense, tough pumpkin loaf. This is also why I recommend mixing it together by hand and not with an electric hand or stand mixer.
How To Make Pumpkin Bread
Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the recipe in step-by-step process images along with instructions for making homemade pumpkin bread. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.
1. Whisk together the dry ingredients— flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg— in a large bowl. (This ensures all of the spices and leaveners are evenly distributed throughout the batter.)
2. Add the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla to a medium bowl.
3. Whisk well to combine. You may want to start whisking slowly until the ingredients start to combine; otherwise, the oil can slosh out if you are too vigorous at the start!
4. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture.
5. Stir together by hand with a silicone spatula until just combined. Do not over-mix! A few small lumps may remain, and that’s okay; just make sure no streaks of flour are in the batter.
6. Pour the batter into a 9×5-inch loaf pan greased with baking spray. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs and the center springs back when pressed lightly. Let the pumpkin bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 9×5″ Loaf pan
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (210g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 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, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- 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.
Notes
- Cover the loaf to prevent browning, if needed. You can loosely cover the loaf with foil after 30 minutes if the top looks like it’s already taking on a lot of color. The thin layer of foil will protect the top from browning too much and possibly burning.
Nutrition
How To Serve Pumpkin Bread
Homemade pumpkin bread is a wonderful breakfast treat (or served anytime!), slathered with my homemade honey butter and enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee. Or, try a smear of maple or spiced cream cheese, almond butter, or Nutella! If you like it warm, pop a slice into the microwave for a few seconds.
How To Store and Freeze
Once the loaf has cooled completely, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze, cut the loaf into slices and wrap each slice in plastic wrap. Wrap once again with aluminum foil, and place individually wrapped slices into a zip-top freezer bag or tightly sealed container. You can also wrap and freeze the whole loaf if desired. Pumpkin bread freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw it on the counter for a few hours and reheat it in the microwave or oven.
More Pumpkin Recipes To Try
Enjoy the flavors of fall with one of my other popular pumpkin dessert recipes!
Pumpkin pie is the perfect fall pie! You can even prep ahead by making the crust and freezing it, so then you just have to whisk together the filling and bake.
My pumpkin sheet cake stirs together without a mixer, and bakes up with a tender crumb that melts in your mouth. Top it off with swoops of cream cheese frosting for a delicious fall dessert!
These super-easy pumpkin cupcakes are packed with flavor from warm spices and pureed pumpkin. The cake is super soft and pairs perfectly with the velvety cream cheese frosting.
Pumpkin cheesecake has a rich, creamy filling flavored with pumpkin and spices and a crisp graham cracker crust.
My pumpkin bars are chewy, soft, and the perfect crowd-pleasing dessert! Bake them in a jelly roll pan or a 9×13” cake pan, depending on how thick you prefer them.
If you’ve tried this pumpkin bread recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Doris M. says
My bread just went in the oven. I am praying that it comes out good. Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙏🏼❤️
John Kanell says
Thanks Doris!
Karla says
I LOVE how moist this is! I’ve gotten sooo many compliments on this bread! <3
Laura Rosanne says
Dear John, I just made your pumpkin bread from scratch: I had to make pumpkin puree myself since it is not available from stores here in the Netherlands. It turned out truly AMAZING, like you mentioned several times in your video 🙂 Thank you for the inspiration and great video’s! Kind regards, Laura Rosanne
Laura Rosanne says
P.S. 5 stars!
John Kanell says
Thank you Laura!!
Freya Shipley says
This is a wonderful recipe! I made it with cinnamon, cardamom, and half a teaspoon of fresh-ground black pepper, and it came out great. Thank you, John!
Maritza Mosquera Córdova says
Hola, soy de Perú y me encanta tu canal, aunque me gustaría que pusieras subtítulo en español, voy al punto, aquí es difícil encontrar calabazas pero hay algo similar, creo yo, por ejemplo camote, es dulce, zapallo podría hacerlo con estos productos? En lugar de calabaza, gracias, saludos
Paula says
Question about the white sugar, in the video you state 2/3 cup of white sugar. In the written recipe it reads as 1/3 cup. Which is correct?
Thank you. 😊
Annastacia says
Seriously the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had! I did do a flax seed egg substitute and used unsweetened almond milk in place of regular dairy milk. I weighed all the ingredients out and the result was a moist delicious bread that went so quick I was requested to make more. I like that it isn’t grossly sweet like so many other pumpkin breads I’ve made and it has a beautiful balance of spices. Honestly the best pumpkin bread!!
francine says
Can I make the bread without using baking soda nor baking powder? Do I have to use more eggs? I just do not like anythiing made with baking soda and or bakiing powder. Thanks for your help.
John Kanell says
those leavening agents are needed.
Noe Fonseca says
I do love goodies from pumpkin, but in my case i couldn’t find american pumpkin here in Brazil so I used kabocha squash and it came out really good… by the way, I included some Brazilian personality, adding coconut, cinnamon and clove (for us, pumpkin sweets mean this combo – despite I had used nutmeg too, but it is the kind of flavor strange to my mouth)… anyway, awesome recipe and now it is part of my must-bake notebook…
John Kanell says
that sounds DELICIOUS!
Linda Arata says
Great pumpkin bread going to make it and top with chopped pumpkin seeds. Thank you