Pumpkin Bread Recipe (2024)

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This deliciously tender pumpkin bread recipe topped with cinnamon and sugar is a favorite fall treat in our family. It’s irresistible!

This pumpkin bread recipe is one of our favorite fall bread. We love it so much that we’ve now tried other variations like Pumpkin Streusel Bread andPumpkin Banana Bread!

Easy Fall Favorite

My mom is known for her bread. It always turns out so good, and so soft. She usually gets requests not only from the kids but from anyone who has had her bread before.

This easy pumpkin bread recipe is another one my mom adapted.It is so good and soft and has become a fall favorite. It’s just bursting with pumpkin flavor.

We changed it up a bit by adding some cinnamon and sugar on top and love how moist and fall-ish it is. We have a feeling you’ll agree. Slice it up for snacks, or for a not-too-sweet dessert!

How to Make Pumpkin Bread

One of the best parts about this pumpkin bread is that it doesn’t require any yeast!! Yay for quick bread!

Bread without yeast is so much faster, they don’t have to rise, and they are pretty much fail-proof. This recipe is no different!

PREP. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two 5-x-9-inch loaf pans.

WET INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, and sugar until well blended.

DRY INGREDIENTS. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Combine dry ingredients with the pumpkin mixture and stir until just blended. Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans.

TOPPING. To make the topping, combine sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Sprinkle over the top of the bread mixture in the pans before baking.

BAKE. Tent with foil and bake for 75–80 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm, or let cool before serving.

Told you it was simple. The result is a very delicious and moist pumpkin bread with cinnamon and sugar topping that everyone will go nuts over!!

Lining the Pan

One of the most exasperating aspects of bread making happens when the bread does not come out of the pan in one piece. One way to avoid this is to line the pan with parchment paper.

1. Spray the pans with cooking spray.
2. Cut 3 pieces of parchment paper 7 inches by about 12 inches.
3. Lay a piece of parchment paper across the long sides of the pans and the bottom. Press the paper, the cooking spray will help it cling to the pan.
4. After the bread has been baked and cooled a little, slide a butter knife along both of the short sides to help release the bread from the pan.
5. Use the parchment paper to lift the loaves up and out in one piece. Place the loaves on a wire rack to finish cooling.

recipe tips

This best pumpkin bread recipe is perfectly soft and moist with these simple tips.

Room temperature. Using room temperature eggs helps them incorporate into the other ingredients better.

Don’t overmix. Once the dry ingredients mix with the wet ingredients the gluten in the flour is activated. The more it is mixed, the more the gluten activates. Overmixing can cause dense and chewier bread.

Muffin method. This quick bread uses the muffin method. This just means that the dry ingredients are sifted together in a separate bowl. This is important because it ensures everything is properly distributed without having to over-mix the batter.

Check for doneness. The easiest way to tell if the bread is done is to poke a cake tester, or wooden skewer, into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If the crust is baking more quickly than the center, tent a piece of tin foil over the pan to help keep the crust from burning.

Ingredient tips

Seasoning. Replace the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves with an equal amount of Pumpkin Pie Spice.

Baking soda. This bread uses baking soda as its leavening agent. If the baking soda is too old, it won’t activate properly, yielding flat dense bread.

Pumpkin puree. This recipe calls for a can of pumpkin puree and NOT canned pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree is only pumpkin whereas the canned pie filling already has spices and other ingredients mixed into it.

Variations

To change up this easy pumpkin bread, try:

Flavor variations.

• pumpkin + chocolate chips combo can’t be beat
• enhance the cinnamon flavor by adding 1 cup of cinnamon chips
• add butterscotch chips
• white chocolate chips are also great with pumpkin
• mix in chopped pecans or walnuts
• slice it up and drizzle it with maple syrup

Cream cheese. Add a layer of cream cheese by mixing the following ingredients. Pour half the batter into the pan, then ⅓ of the cream cheese mixture, followed by the remaining batter.

Blend together:

• 8 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp flour

Storing info

STORE. Remove pumpkin spice bread from the pan and let cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in a Ziploc bag on the counter for up to 2 days or up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

FREEZE. Let the pumpkin bread cool and then wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer bag or wrap it again with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Recipe FAQ

For more pumpkin recipes, check out:

• Pumpkin Dump Cake
• Pumpkin Waffles
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
• Libby’s Pumpkin Roll
• Pumpkin Pudding Parfaits
• No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes

NOTE: Picturesfor this recipe were re-taken by Alicia of The Baker Upstairs.