Lightly scented with warming pumpkin spice and moist throughout, this old-fashioned pumpkin bread comes together in minutes with just a handful of ingredients. Bonus: the recipe makes enough for two loaves, so you can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and a snack. (If you have self-control around baked goods, I’m in desperate need of a tutorial.)
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How To Make Tender Pumpkin Bread
For a crumb that’s as tender as a love song, don’t overmix. Mixing develops gluten, the protein strands that help give your bread structure. The more you mix, the more gluten you develop, and the tougher your bread becomes.
How you combine your ingredients is also important. Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls, and then add the dry on top of the wet. Finally, fold the dry ingredients into the wet just until a batter forms. Don’t worry about lumps. Just don’t overmix.
What Else Can I Add?
This recipe is jam-packed with flavor, but it is bare bones. Add deeper flavors by substituting the water in the recipe for orange juice or apple juice. If you want to add a little texture, try mixing in a 1/2 cup of the following:
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Raisins
- Chopped dehydrated apples
- Chocolate chips (dark, milk, or white)
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
- Orange Zest (not a third cup, just two tablespoons)
How Can I Tell When My Pumpkin Bread Is Done?
Making a quick bread with a dense batter can be a little nerve-wracking. It can rise beautifully and look like it’s ready to serve. Then as soon as you slice into it, you find it’s underbaked. To prevent that kind of crippling letdown (I take pumpkin bread very seriously, ok?), follow these tips:
- Place a rack in the center of your oven, so air can circulate around your pan, and bake your loaf evenly.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure you’re baking at the required 350°.
- Don’t open your oven door during the bake. Opening it for even twenty seconds can cause temperatures to drop by up to 50 degrees.
To test if your loaf is done, remove it quickly from the oven and place it lightly on a heat-proof surface. Touch the top of the loaf. If the surface has a springiness to it, insert a butter knife through one of the cracks in the crust. When the knife hits the bottom of the pan, remove it and look at the blade. Is there wet batter stuck to it? Put your bread back in the oven. If it comes out clean with just a whisper of moisture, it’s ready to go.
What If I Don’t Have A Loaf Pan?
No worries! Use what you have, but be mindful that the type of pan you use will affect the baking time. You’ll need to rely on visual cues and the trusty butter knife trick. Whichever pan you use, make sure you don’t overfill it. Your bread needs room to rise. ( I feel like there’s a life lesson in there somewhere.)
How To Store Pumpkin Bread
If you have leftovers, wrap them tightly in foil, plastic, or beeswax and store them in an air-tight container at room temperature. They’ll keep up to 2 days. To store your pumpkin bread for up to 2 weeks, freeze it. First, let it cool completely, wrap it in plastic, then in foil, and place it inside an air-tight freezer-safe container.
Pumpkin Bread
Servings 16 slicesIngredients
- 15 oz pumpkin puree ($1.99)
- 2 cups sugar* ($0.78)
- 2/3 cup oil ($0.53)
- 4 eggs ($1.10)
- 1 tsp vanilla ($0.72)
- 2/3 cup water ($0.00)
- 4 cups sifted flour ($0.49)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder ($0.08)
- 1 tsp baking soda ($0.02)
- 2 tsp salt ($0.08)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice ($0.10)
- 1 tsp butter, for greasing ($0.05)
Instructions
- Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350°F. Grease 2 loaf pans with butter. In a medium bowl, mix the sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice.
- In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and water.
- Add the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients.
- Mix the dry ingredients lightly into the wet, just until a batter forms. Small lumps are ok.
- Split the batter between the two greased loaf pans and smooth the top.
- Bake for about an hour, or until a knife inserted into the crack in the loaf's top crust hits the bottom of the pan and comes out clean.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make PumPkin Bread – Step by Step Photos
In a large bowl, mix the 15 oz pumpkin puree, 2 cups sugar, 2/3 cup oil, 4 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2/3 cup water.
Add the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients lightly into the wet, just until a batter forms.
Split the batter between the two greased loaf pans and smooth the top.
Bake for about an hour, or until a knife inserted into the crack in the loaf’s top crust hits the bottom of the pan and comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool before taking it out of the loaf pan. Slice it up and enjoy!
This recipe was ok, but I feel like the pumpkin bread wasnt as sweet or flavorful as I expected it to be.
Maybe it’s supposed to be that way? Idk
Made this recipe exactly to the letter, except needed 70 minutes to bake instead of 60. SO GOOD, my husband adores it. Will be a yearly fall repeat, without a doubt!
Made a double batch, one loaf and a dozen muffins. Muffins were perfect at 24 mins, added an extra 10 mins for loaf – 70 total (likely needed more time cause I opened the oven to remove muffins lol).
Cut down the sugar a bit and threw in a few butterscotch chips and skor bits kicking around in the freezer, a great addition to make them feel more dessert-like.
Love the knife trick, way better than using toothpicks! Thanks for another great recipe.
Converts well to gluten free.
Please clarify, are these 9×5 pans?
I’ve made this many times now! I’ve made it in muffin form, added icing to make it cupcakes, in a large brownie pan, etc. it always turns out amazing! It’s very simple to make! Thanks for one of my favorite recipes!!!
This is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe that I’ve tried. Simple and delicious! The pumpkin flavor is just right.
I had all of the ingredients on hand and was able to whip up the recipe in about 15 minutes. It was so good! It’s so great to see Monti on here!
I didn’t have any loaf pans, so I just poured the batter into a greased 9 x 13 glass dish. Then, after an hour had passed, I just kept checking on it periodically until it was done. I stuck a fork in it, and when it came out without any batter stuck to it, that’s when I knew it was ready. Absolutely delicious, even if I ate it in cubes instead of traditional slices. Make do with what you have! :)
Hello, is pumpkin spice like pumpkin pie spice? Thank you!
Yes. So sorry for omitting that VERY important word and thank you for catching it!XOXO -Monti
Moist, sweet, and delicious! I made this with Beth’s homemade pumpkin pie spice blend, which gave it just the right level of warm spiciness. It has a lovely crisp crust, too.
I feel like I learned so much about baking while making this recipe, too – I didn’t know about sugar inhibiting gluten formation, or about why over-mixing batter makes it dense and chewy. These are definitely lessons I can carry on to other baking projects. :)
Rose! So stoked that you made the recipe and that I taught you a couple of tricks. I’m a professional chef, but I was a homecook for most of my life. I truly believe the only things that separate the pros from the homecooks are a few tricks and, of course, tools. My goal is to give you those tricks! I love this comment so much! Thank you. You made my day. XOXO -Monti
I’ve made this twice now, and I’m obsessed! It turned out perfectly each time (even though I didn’t sift the flour!). I have made with a variety of shaped pans, and they all worked out well! It’s very easy to make and very tasty! My favorite shape was the mini muffins!! I also think it would be amazing with cream cheese frosting!
Halp! I put all of the batter into one loaf pan 9 5/8 x 5 1/2 x 2 3/4 and plopped it into the oven before I realized should be split into two loaf pans. It’s in there for an hour, should I extend the time to 70 mins? Keep an eye on it, temp it, etc?
It will def need a longer cook. Though I’m sure you know that by now. I’m sure you knocked it out of the park. Next time just follow the cues outlined in the paragraph titled: HOW CAN I TELL WHEN MY PUMPKIN BREAD IS DONE?
It’s all about visual cues (the butter knife) and touch cues (the springiness). XOXO -Monti
Absolutely amazing! My new go-to pumpkin bread recipe. Very easy to follow. It’s the perfect level of spice and sweetness. Mine came out beautifully right at 55 minutes.
Don’t skip sifting your flour! It makes mixing it much easier.
Ayyyyy!!! So glad you made it, Amy! xoxo Monti
Pretty good recipe! A bit light on flavor so next time I may add another tsp of pumpkin spice or another can of pumpkin purée, but this was quite good 😊 thank you for the recipe!
I must have did something wrong. I triple check and followed the receipe but I tasted a lot of flour in this. I would not make this again
Janet, I hate to hear that! We tested this recipe four times, and though we had issues with the oil (the first batch had too much oil, and it dulled the flavors), we never had issues with the flour. Did you measure the flour after sifting? Also, did you mix properly? A few lumps are ok, but it should def be mixed into a batter. I hate when baked goods don’t turn out. It’s the biggest disappointment. XOXO -Monti
I must have did something wrong I tasted a lot of flour in this.
What size loaf pan? 4.5 x 8.5 or 5.5 x 9.5?
We used a 4.5 x 8×5, but you can use any size. Just keep an eye on it with the larger pan. It lessens the thickness of the bread, and will also lessen the cooking time. But not by much. XOXO -Monti
(I think your math may be wrong for the per slice cost)
Thank you!! My math game is the worst. XOXO -Monti
This bread is delicious. Light and fluffy, and great texture. It isn’t dense – more cakey. The pumpkin and spices are quite light – but delicious. I have one loaf pan, so made muffins along and a loaf, instead of two loaves. I watched the oven closely to try to get the timing right. I think the timing eta was close (other quickbreads I’ve made from budget bytes (i.e.e pumkin molasses or banana bread) have taken way longer than the recipe timing (and were much denser), but this one seemed pretty close). I bet it would be delicious with chocolate chips or chopped walnuts mixed in. Yum!
What kind of oil is best?
Also, is the flour measured before or after sifting?
Use an oil that doesn’t have much flavor to it- like vegetable or canola. XOXO -Monti
And the question about the flour?
Oops! Sorry, I missed that. The flour is measured after sifting. XOXO -Monti
Can I substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar?
You can, but it will change the timing, as brown sugar has molasses in it. Just keep a close eye and you should be fine. XOXO -Monti