Pumpkin Bread: an effortless recipe for a tasty quick loaf

With its fragrant spices and rich, pumpkin flavor, pumpkin bread is a phenomenal recipe to whip up this fall. This moist, tender loaf is packed with the delicious taste of baking spices like cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, and sweet pumpkin.

Pumpkin bread is super easy to make, and since it's a quick bread, you don't need to wait for hours for the dough to rise. Just mix up the batter and pop it in the oven. Enjoy your pumpkin bread at breakfast or as a snack. Leftovers make amazing French toast!

Pumpkin Bread Ingredients 

Homemade pumpkin bread only calls for a few ingredients. You'll need flour and leavening agents like baking soda and baking powder.

Sugar sweetens the loaf, while spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves give it a wonderful warming taste.

Butter helps to keep it tender and moist, while pumpkin stars as the main flavor.

Pumpkin bread is a relatively healthy quick bread although it does contain a fair amount of sugar and butter. You can make it healthier by reducing the sugar and butter in the recipe.

How to Make Pumpkin Bread

To make the perfect homemade pumpkin bread, start by greasing up two bread pans and dusting them with flour. Dusting the pans with flour will help prevent the bottom of the loaf from getting soggy. Sift the dry ingredients together, then whisk them so they're well combined. In a second bowl, cream butter and sugar, then beat the eggs in one at a time. Add in the pumpkin puree. Once combined, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Pour the batter into the loaf pans. Bake the bread for 65 to 75 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let the loaves cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then take them out and set them on wire racks to cool completely. Voila! Beautiful pumpkin bread you can enjoy as a breakfast or snack.

Tips for the Best Pumpkin Bread

Make sure to measure your flour properly. Level off the measuring cup so you don't have excess – this can lead to dense bread.

Use room temperature ingredients to ensure your ingredients mix together seamlessly.

You'll know your pumpkin loaves have finished cooking when a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean.

To make vegan pumpkin bread, use vegan butter or coconut oil instead of butter and silken tofu or flax eggs instead of chicken eggs.

Use pumpkin puree to make your bread, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened and contains other flavorings. You have less control over how the flavor of your bread will turn out if you use it.

To avoid soggy pumpkin bread, make sure to flour the bread pan before pouring in the batter.

Pumpkin Bread Variations

Want to jazz up your pumpkin loaf? Mix in some tasty additions like chocolate chips, chopped toasted nuts like pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds. Mix in some toffee pieces, or add chunks of apple tossed in cinnamon.

Dried fruit like raisins or cranberries or sweetened coconut flakes are amazing in pumpkin bread, too!

How to Store Pumpkin Loaf

Wrap your bread in foil or cling film and store it at room temperature for up to 4 days. Pumpkin bread will last up to 1 week when stored in the fridge.

Can You Freeze Pumpkin Bread?

You can totally freeze pumpkin bread. Wrap it in cling film or place the loaf into an airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months. To thaw it out, put it in the fridge overnight.

More Recipes You'll Like

Sweet pumpkin muffins

Chocolate chip orange zucchini bread

Cinnamon bread

Pumpkin bread rolls

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325F. Grease two loaf pans with cooking spray then dust them with flour.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Whisk to combine.

In a second bowl, cream butter and sugar.

Beat the eggs in one at a time.

Beat in the pumpkin puree.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture.

Pour the batter into the loaf pans.

Spread the batter evenly.

Bake for 65 to 75 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the loaves cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then take them out and set them on wire racks to cool completely.

Slice and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

Use 8×4-inch loaf pans to make your bread.