This classic pumpkin bread recipe is perfectly moist, easy to make without a mixer, and full of the best pumpkin flavor!
Most of the time when I’m craving pumpkin bread, I turn to my favorite recipe for these gluten-free, sugar-free, healthy pumpkin muffins. (Which, fun fact, can also be baked into bread!) But on those days when I find myself craving the real deal…
…this is the classic pumpkin bread recipe that I absolutely adore. ♡
It’s made with butter, sugar, flour, and all of the indulgent stuff you need in a good old-fashioned slice of pumpkin bread. And I’m especially partial to this recipe in particular because it adds extra pumpkin purée and pumpkin spice in the batter to bring out the best of those cozy fall flavors we all love, and makes this bread ultra-moist as well. This pumpkin bread recipe is also super-easy to make without a mixer. And of course, it beats any fall candle you can buy in the store and is guaranteed to make your entire home smell downright heavenly.
I’ve been tweaking this recipe bit by bit over the years and think I’ve reached the point where I’m finally happy with it. So if you happen to be looking for a classic moist pumpkin bread recipe to add to your repertoire, I highly recommend bookmarking and giving this one a try. It’s one of my favorite treats this time of year and I always look forward to it.
Let’s make some pumpkin bread!
Perfect Pumpkin Bread | 1-Minute Video
Pumpkin Bread Ingredients:
First, a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this easy pumpkin bread recipe:
- Flour: I have only tested this recipe with basic all-purpose flour. If you try it with a different flour, though, please let us know the results in the comments below.
- Spices: A mix of pumpkin pie spice (either homemade or store-bought) plus some extra ground cinnamon.
- Baking soda and baking powder: We will use both in this recipe.
- Salt: Please note that I wrote this recipe using fine sea salt, which is less potent than iodonized (table) salt. That said, if you only have table salt on hand, you can add it and just use a bit less (1/2 teaspoon).
- Sugars: This recipe calls for both granulated (white) sugar and light brown sugar.
- Butter: Which I prefer instead of oil in this recipe to add lots of rich butter flavor.
- Pumpkin purée: I used canned pumpkin purée, but you can make your own from scratch if you prefer. (Just be careful not to accidentally buy canned pumpkin pie filling, which is a different product altogether.)
- Eggs: Just two regular large eggs.
- Vanilla extract: Finally, some pure vanilla extract, which will pair beautifully with all of those cozy pumpkin flavors.
How To Make Pumpkin Bread:
Here is a brief overview of how to make pumpkin bread (full instructions included below):
- Mix the dry ingredients. First, we’ll whisk together all of the dry ingredients (minus the sugars).
- Mix the sugars and wet ingredients. Then in a separate large mixing bowl, stir together the sugars and melted butter until evenly combined, and then mix in the pumpkin purée, eggs and vanilla.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Next we’ll combine all of those ingredients. (Be sure not to over-mix!)
- Bake. Then we will pour the batter into a parchment-lined (or greased) bread pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool. Then I recommend transferring the bread pan to a wire baking rack to let it cool for a bit, invert the bread onto the rack to let it cool a bit more, then slice and enjoy! The texture of this bread (especially the crust) is definitely best the same day that it is baked, but I’ve included instructions below for how to store it at room temperature or in the freezer if you would like.
Pumpkin Bread Recipe Variations:
I’m one of those people who loves my pumpkin bread plain without any extra mix-ins. But if you would like to customize yours, feel free to…
- Add nuts or dried fruit: Feel free to stir in 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or dried fruit (such as dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots) to the batter before baking if you would like.
- Add chocolate chips:Feel free to stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (semisweet, dark, or white) to the batter before baking, if you would like to make chocolate chip pumpkin bread.
- Add orange zest: This batter would also be delicious with the zest of one orange stirred in.
- Add fresh ginger: If you love the flavor of ginger in your pumpkin bread, feel free to stir in 2 to 3 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger.
- Add a streusel crumble on top: If you really want to get decadent and make a streusel pumpkin bread, just stir together 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and a pinch of salt together until it is chunky and crumbly. Then sprinkle it on top of the batter before baking.
More Favorite Pumpkin Recipes:
Looking for some more pumpkin recipes to make this season? Here are some of my faves:
- Pumpkin Roll
- Pumpkin Scones
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Bread
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Description
This classic pumpkin bread recipe is easy to make without a mixer, perfectly moist, and full of the best pumpkin flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare oven and bread pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 5-inch bread pan with parchment or mist with cooking spray.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
- Mix the sugars and wet ingredients. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar and melted butter until evenly combined. Add in the pumpkin purée, eggs and vanilla and stir until evenly combined.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until they are just combined and no dry streaks remain. (Try to avoid over-mixing!)
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan, and smooth the top of the batter so that it is even. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool. Transfer the pan to a wire baking rack and let the bread cool for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully invert the bread onto the wire baking rack to continue cooling for 5-10 more minutes. Then slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Storage instructions: This bread can be stored in a food storage container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. If you would like to freeze the bread, let it cool completely to room temperature. Then wrap the bread tightly in bees wrap (or plastic wrap), enclose it in a food storage container or zip-top freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.
This is a simple recipe that tastes great. I’ve used oil instead of butter without a huge difference in flavor (we needed dairy free) and added raisins and other add ins successfully. I always do a double batch now, it’s that good! Thank you. Your recipes are always reproducible and a go to for a reliable outcome!
I am going to give this a try this year for Thanksgiving. Seeing that it only calls for one cup of pumpkin puree, and not wanting to waste the rest of the can… do you think if I doubled everything else and used the 15 oz can that it would still be pumpkiny enough? Thanks!
This recipe is AWESOME! Definitely a keeper and something we will make many times again. I did try a variation that worked very well. Instead of 1 3/4 of white flour, I used 1 cup of white flour and 3/4 cups of almond flour. And instead of 1 cup of sugar, I used 2/3 cups of monk sugar (my wife is diabetic). Also I substituted the melted butter with coconut oil. And coconut sugar instead of brown sugar because it has a lower glycemic index. And it turned out FABULOUS!
I’ve been making this for about 2-3 years now and my family loves it. It’s the perfect amount of sweet and spice and is super moist too. My boys and I aren’t fond of pumpkin bread with icing/frosting so it works just fine for us. My only issue is that every single time it takes more like an hour and 15 minutes to cook. I think this may be because I use homemade pumpkin puree instead of canned and homemade often has a little more water no matter how much you strain it before using. It’s fine and I’ve adjusted my expectations I just wanted to mention this for anyone using homemade puree vs. canned. I typically make it the night before we want it instead of in the morning and it gives my boys something to look forward to! Thank you for the great recipe!
I’ve been making this for about 2-3 years now and my family loves it. It’s the perfect amount of sweet and spice and is super moist too. My boys and I aren’t fond of pumpkin bread with icing/frosting so it works just fine for us. My only issue is that every single time it takes more like an hour and 15 minutes to cook. I think this may be because I use homemade pumpkin puree instead of canned and homemade often has a little more water no matter however no you strain it before using. It’s fine and I’ve adjusted my expectations I just wanted to mention this for anyone using homemade puree vs. canned. I typically make it the night before we want it instead of in the morning and it gives my boys something to look forward too! Thank you for the great recipe!
I made this recipe last week adding 1/2c chopped pecans and 1/2 tsp grated orange zest. I wanted to compare it to the pumpkin bread made by church ladies where we pick up pumpkins every year. I must say, this recipe turned out to be much better. Loved it! Husband agreed that it is better than the ‘church ladies’ bread! I’ll be making more to give for gifts. Thank you for sharing!!