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! Your family will love the mouthwatering scents wafting from the oven. Plus, quick breads like this are great for making ahead of time because they taste even better the next day.
My moist pumpkin bread 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! And since pumpkin is the star of the show, be sure to use 100% pure canned pumpkin. For more delicious pumpkin recipes to enjoy this fall, try my pumpkin pie recipe, pumpkin cake recipe, or pumpkin cupcakes.
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Flour — all-purpose flour is all you need for pumpkin bread. If you want to make gluten-free pumpkin bread, use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
Leavening — baking soda and baking powder help the quick bread rise so it’s tall and fluffy.
Spices — ground cinnamon and grated nutmeg add cozy fall flavor to every bite. You could swap the spices for 2 teaspoons of my pumpkin pie spice if you like.
Pumpkin — be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling for the best pumpkin pie recipe. Pumpkin pie filling has spices and sugar added, which will affect how the flavor of the loaf turns out.
Sugar — granulated sugar adds moisture and sweetness.
Oil — use a neutral oil like vegetable oil or canola oil. Oil is a must for rich, moist pumpkin bread.
Eggs — eggs help bind all the ingredients for a cohesive batter and rise for tender bread. You need 2 large eggs.
Vanilla — use high-quality vanilla extract.
How To Make Pumpkin Bread
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
2. Add the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla to a medium bowl.
3. Whisk well to combine.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
5. Stir together until just combined. Do not over-mix.
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.
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.
Pumpkin Bread Variations
- 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!
- For richer pumpkin bread: Use melted butter instead of oil and swap all or half of the white sugar for light or dark brown sugar.
- 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 it: My favorite cream cheese frosting adds a tasty tang. Wait for the pumpkin bread to cool completely before frosting it, or else the frosting will slide right off.
How To Serve Pumpkin Bread
Homemade pumpkin bread is a wonderful breakfast treat (or anytime!) slathered with my homemade honey butter and enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee. If you like it warm, pop a slice into the microwave for a few seconds.
How To Store
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.
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 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.
- Use room temperature eggs: This 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.
- 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 can yield a dense, tough pumpkin loaf because too much gluten will develop.
- Cover the loaf to prevent browning: You can loosely cover the loaf with foil after 30 minutes of baking to protect the top from browning too much if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! 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.
Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If it comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs, the pumpkin 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 springs back, the loaf is ready.
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.
If you love this recipe try these out!
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!
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
- 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 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.
- Use room temperature eggs: This 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.
- 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 can yield a dense, tough pumpkin loaf because too much gluten will develop.
- Cover the loaf to prevent browning: You can loosely cover the loaf with foil after 30 minutes of baking to protect the top from browning too much if needed.
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