Pumpkin bread is a soft, moist quick bread made with real pumpkin puree, warm fall spices, and a sweet brown sugar flavor. It's a classic pumpkin loaf that feels cozy and homemade, perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Pumpkin Bread
🕒 Ready In: ~1 hour 20 minutes
👪 Serves: 10 slices
🥣 Main Ingredients: Pumpkin puree, flour, brown sugar, eggs, butter, milk, fall spices
👌 Difficulty: Easy - mix, pour, bake
⭐ Why You'll Love It: This pumpkin bread is moist and tender with warm spices, rich pumpkin flavor, and two loaves perfect for sharing or freezing.
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This pumpkin bread bakes up tender with a rich pumpkin flavor and a perfectly spiced crumb that stays soft for days. Double the recipe for two loaves, so it's great for sharing, gifting, or freezing one for later.
If you love fall baking, you might also like our Apple Cider Layer Cake, Pumpkin Bundt Cake, or Chocolate Pumpkin Bread.
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Why You'll Love Pumpkin Bread
Moist and tender: Pumpkin puree keeps the loaf soft with a rich texture.
Perfect fall spice flavor: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves give it classic pumpkin bread taste.
Easy quick bread: Simple ingredients and no yeast needed.
Great for any time: Works for breakfast, snacks, or an easy fall dessert.
Key ingredients
- Pumpkin puree: Adds moisture and rich pumpkin flavor throughout the loaf.
- Brown sugar: Gives the bread a deeper sweetness and helps keep it soft.
- Fall spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove create that classic pumpkin spice flavor.
- Baking soda and baking powder: Help the loaf rise so it bakes up light, not dense.
- Melted butter: Adds richness and gives the bread a tender crumb.
- Eggs: Bind the batter and help the loaf bake evenly.
Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this page for exact quantities.
Easy Substitutions & Variations
- Add chocolate chips: Fold in 1 cup chocolate chips for pumpkin chocolate chip bread.
- Add nuts: Stir in ½ to 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for extra crunch.
- Swap the milk: Use any milk you have, including dairy free milk.
- Add extra spice: Increase cinnamon slightly for a stronger pumpkin spice flavor.
- Add a topping: Sprinkle coarse sugar on top before baking for a crisp, bakery-style crust.
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove.
- Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, melted butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Step 3: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Step 4: Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Do not over mix: Stir just until combined so the pumpkin bread stays tender, not tough.
- Use pumpkin puree, not pie filling: Pumpkin puree gives the right texture and spice level for pumpkin bread.
- Watch the bake time: Start checking around 55 minutes since ovens and pans vary.
- Tent with foil if needed: If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil for the last 15 minutes.
- Cool before slicing: Let the loaf cool so it sets and cuts cleanly.
Make-Ahead & Freezing Options
- Make ahead: Pumpkin bread tastes even better the next day once the spices settle.
- Room temperature storage: Store the loaf tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator storage: Keep it in the fridge for up to 1 week, then bring slices to room temperature before serving.
- Freezing: Wrap the whole loaf or individual slices tightly and freeze for up to 2 months.
- Thawing: Thaw at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Pumpkin Bread faqs
Pumpkin bread can turn dense if the batter is over mixed or if too much flour is added. Mix just until combined, measure flour carefully, and bake until the center tests done so the loaf rises properly.
Pumpkin bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter. The top should look set and the loaf should spring back lightly when touched.
Yes, fresh pumpkin can be used in pumpkin bread, but it should be cooked and drained well so it has a similar thickness to canned pumpkin puree. If it is too watery, it can make the bread gummy.
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Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9×5 loaf pans with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together pumpkin puree, sugars, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients to the wet until just combined.
- Pour the batter evenly between the two loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Remove from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack.
Nutrition
Notes
- Do not over mix: Stir just until combined so the pumpkin bread stays tender, not tough.
- Use pumpkin puree, not pie filling: Pumpkin puree gives the right texture and spice level for pumpkin bread.
- Watch the bake time: Start checking around 55 minutes since ovens and pans vary.
- Tent with foil if needed: If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil for the last 15 minutes.
- Cool before slicing: Let the loaf cool so it sets and cuts cleanly.
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