You need to make this Pumpkin Molasses Bread for dessert on Thanksgiving this year. Trust me. It’s really easy to whip up (who needs something complicated on Thanksgiving? NO ONE), it’s super delicious, and it totally tastes like Autumn. The deep flavor of molasses brings extra richness to the pumpkin spice flavor and keeps the loaf deliciously moist and tender. Plus this pumpkin spice bread will make your house smell better than any autumn flavored candle, hands down. ;)
Originally posted 11/14/2012, updated 11/5/2021.
Recipe Updates
I made some significant changes to this recipe, since many readers had a difficult time getting their bread to cook all the way through. I reduced the ratio of molasses and other wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and reduced the cooking temperature slightly in order to help the bread bake more evenly. The result is a tender but moist crumb, without any pockets of unbaked batter in the center.
What Kind of Loaf Pan to Use
I used a standard loaf pan, which is 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches. My loaf pan is made of metal, which heats quickly in the oven. You can use a ceramic or glass loaf pan, but you may find that you need to bake your bread slightly longer.
How Do You Know When the Bread is Done?
Ovens can vary a little bit so it’s always best to test your bread to make sure it’s cooked through. There are a couple of different reliable methods.
- The Toothpick Method: insert a clean toothpick into the center of the bread. If the toothpick is coated with raw batter when you pull it out, the bread needs to bake longer. If it just has a few moist crumbs stuck to it, the bread is finished baking.
- An Instant Read Thermometer: The same instant read thermometers used to check the doneness of meat can also be used to check the doneness of quick breads! For quick bread, like this Pumpkin Molasses Bread or Banana Bread, you want the internal temperature to be between 200-205ºF. This is the temperature at which the batter will be set into a nice crumb.
What Kind of Molasses to Use
I used Grandma’s Original Molasses, which is the type you’re most likely to find in most U.S. grocery stores. You can usually find it in grocery stores either near the pancake syrup, jams and jellies, and peanut butter, or in baking aisle. It just depends on the store. I have not tested this recipe using black strap molasses, which has a thicker texture and more pronounced flavor (some would say it’s slightly bitter).
How to Serve Pumpkin Molasses Bread
This rich and sweet bread is absolutely divine with some softened butter smeared over top. The creaminess of the butter perfectly compliments the warm spices and sweet molasses flavor. The flavors in this bread would also be absolutely perfect with a hot cup of coffee. :)
Pumpkin Molasses Bread
Servings 8 1-inch thick slicesIngredients
- 1 15oz. can pumpkin purée ($0.95)
- 2 large eggs ($0.58)
- 1/3 cup cooking oil ($0.21)
- 1/4 cup molasses ($0.59)
- 3/4 cup sugar ($0.12)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.14)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg ($0.05)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder ($0.05)
- 1 tsp butter ($0.03)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, eggs, oil, molasses, and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir them together just until combined. It's okay if there are a few small lumps. Avoid over stirring.
- Coat the inside of a loaf pan with butter. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread it out smooth.
- Bake the pumpkin bread for about one hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 200ºF, or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay, just no raw batter stuck to the toothpick).
- Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool, then slice and serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Pumpkin Molasses Bread – Step By Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together one 15oz. can pumpkin purée, 2 large eggs, ⅓ cup cooking oil, ¼ cup molasses, and ¾ cup sugar.
In a separate bowl, stir together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1.5 tsp baking powder. Make sure they’re very well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients.
Stir just until they are combined. Avoid over stirring. It’s okay if it’s slightly lumpy.
Use a teaspoon of butter to coat the inside of a loaf pan. transfer the batter to the loaf pan and spread it out smooth.
Bake the pumpkin molasses bread in the preheated 350ºF oven for about one hour, or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 200ºF, or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay, just no raw batter stuck to the toothpick).
Transfer the pumpkin bread to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, slice, serve, and enjoy!
Dreadful. Burnt after 50 minutes at 350 degrees F, tasted like bitter dirt, and fell apart when serving. Ruined my Thanksgiving.
Made as directed, baked for 50 minutes, perfection!
Thank you for sharing.
It never really baked and I have made 4 batches of my tried & true, they all turned out beautiful. I was very disappointed. Baking is expensive and we could not eat this bread.
Moist but not very sweet. Not a fan of the molasses flavor. A little too funky.
Delicious! I was torn between the two pumpkin bread recipes on the website, but decided to go with this one because the ratio of wet to flour seemed like the pumpkin flavor would be more pronounced and because I wanted to sub the flour and less flour meant less room for possible error. We are trying to increase our fiber but I need a baked good, so I kept everything the same other than swapping the 2 cups of flour for one cup whole wheat flour and one cup oat bran. I baked in a cupcake tin because I didn’t have the patience to wait for the longer cooking time of a load pan. They taste amazing.