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Pumpkin Bread is loaded with warm spices and full of delicious pumpkin flavor. This recipe will become one of your absolute favorites!
There is just something about quick breads that make me happy. They’re one of my absolute favorite things to bake no matter the season.
They come together super easily, they’re often delicious for both breakfast and dessert and they’re the perfect treat to gift to just about anyone.
From Banana Bread, Zucchini Banana Bread, Apple Pie Bread, and Butternut Squash Bread, I pretty much have any type of quick bread you could possibly want. But my absolute favorite quick bread of all the quick breads here on My Baking Addiction, this Pumpkin Bread will always be my most loved and most baked!
THE BEST PUMPKIN BREAD RECIPE
Okay, let’s chat about this pumpkin bread. There is nothing that signifies fall for me more than this recipe. I’ve been making it for years – long before my blog, and it shows up countless times in my kitchen throughout the season.
It’s sweet, spicy and incredibly moist. I know, I know, moist is not my favorite word either, but there is really no way to adequately describe this Pumpkin Bread recipe without mentioning that word.
I have fed this bread to so many people and every one of them has declared that this recipe is the best Pumpkin Bread they have ever tasted.
This particular recipe gets better with time, so whip it up a day or so in advance before you plan on eating it or giving it away.
Because let me tell you, it makes a great gift for neighbors, a hostess gift, or a gift for your boss if you’re looking to butter them up a bit.
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN BREAD
This quick bread recipe takes a bit of time to bake, but I bet you can pull together the batter in about the same amount of time it’ll take for the oven to preheat.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and measure out your ingredients:
- 1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin puree
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
Like all quick-bread recipes, we mix together the wet ingredients in one bowl, which in this case includes a whole can of pumpkin puree. We’re not skimping on the pumpkin in this bread!
In another bowl, we’ll whisk together all of the dry ingredients. From there, add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix the batter together before dividing into two loaf pans.
That’s right, this bread makes two loaves! That’s why it’s extra perfect for gifting.
Or you could keep them both for yourself. It freezes beautifully, after all. Serve it up plain, toasted, with a spread of butter, or get a little adventurous and fry it up in a pan and make Pumpkin Bread French Toast!
CAN YOU USE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING IN THIS RECIPE?
When you’re making this bread, make sure you grab a can of pure pumpkin puree.
Canned pumpkin pie filling is not the same thing; it has a bunch of added ingredients that we don’t need in our Pumpkin Bread.
While you’re at the store, grab a few extra cans because I can guarantee you’ll want to use them in Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Crunch Cake, and more.
RECIPE VARIATIONS
This bread is perfect as it is, but you can totally add some extra if you want.
Add in some chocolate chips for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, or even add things like chopped pecans and dried cranberries. Simply fold them in before you add the batter to the pans.
If you love pumpkin bread, but are looking for pumpkin muffins? This recipe works beautifully for both.
Simply divide the batter into muffin tins that are either sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lined with paper liners.
Bake them up at 350°F for about 18-20 minutes and you’ll have some seriously delicious pumpkin muffins!
STORING AND FREEZING
Store this bread well wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you want it to keep for longer, pop it into the refrigerator.
This recipe is also great for freezing. You can either freeze the loaves whole or freeze individual slices.
To freeze the whole loaves, wrap the bread well in plastic wrap and then wrap them tightly in foil.
To freeze slices, cut nice, thick slices and wrap them each in plastic wrap. Pop them in a zip-top freezer bag.
Freeze the bread for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, take the whole loaves out of the freezer and let them thaw on the counter overnight, or grab as many slices as you like and microwave them for 30-60 seconds for a nice warm slice of Pumpkin Bread.
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 can pure pumpkin puree 15 ounces
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 inch loaf pans.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until combined.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Video
Notes
- Makes 2 8.5×4-inch loaves
- This bread is a fantastic base for all sorts of additions. Get creative by adding in chopped nuts, chocolate chips, dried cranberries or whatever else sounds good to you.
- Adapted from allrecipes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So good!! I didn’t have two loaf pans so I split the batter to make one loaf and 18 muffins instead. The muffins baked for 25 minutes and came out perfect. I also sprinkled some of the muffins with chocolate chips or pecans. After reading through some of the comments, I swapped the water for milk and used 1/2 c melted butter and 1/2 c oil in place of the 1 c of oil. The loaf does take awhile to bake. It’s actually still jiggly in the middle so I threw a piece of foil on top. I’ll just keep eating the muffins until the loaf is ready. Thank you so much for sharing!
Dear Jamie,
I follow your recipe and the result comes out so nicely, my pumpkin bread is soft, moist and of course so delicious and beautiful too.
I am in Vietnam and we have lots of great pumpkin and I shall keep baking more and more pumpkin bread for my family.
Thank you and happy baking!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for stopping by and reporting back.
-Jamie
It’s so easy. Thank you :)
Quick question: I want to make this YUMMY Pumpkin Bread to give as gifts for Christmas but I want to incorporate bourbon in the recipe. What would be the best way? Incorporate it in the batter? Or pour on top with a simple syrup after it’s been cooked?
Marietta-
Personally, I would add it to the batter. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Jamie
It turned out FANTASTIC! I replaced 1/3 cup bourbon whiskey in the water measurements and used 1/2 cup applesauce with 1/2 cup oil!!
Marietta,
I’m glad you the recipe was a success for you. Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
When baking one loaf at a time how long should I bake?
Jennifer-
If you are using the stated pan size the baking time will be the same. If you are using a larger pan to bake the entire batch the baking time may vary depending on the size. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
This recipe is awesome…way better than Starbucks! Thanks for sharing it.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Frances! :)
This is a fantastic recipe! I’ve made it twice now and I also noticed that the baking time varied. The first time it took almost 80 minutes and the second time 60 minutes was enough. I think it has to do with humidity in the air .
I’m going to try it again, reducing the oil to half a cup and replacing it with either mashed bananas or applesauce. I always add extra pumpkin spice and cinnamon because I love the smell. I may even add a touch of cayenne just to spike it up.
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
I was searching the web for some pumpkin bread recipes. I found 4 before I checked out your recipe and printed out the directions which took one sheet of paper. I printed out your recipe and ended up with 28 pages of crap that I care nothing about. What a waste of good paper. Your web site sucks.
Dale-
I am uncertain as to how you printed the recipe, but both myself and web developer both just tested the print function of this and several others here on My Baking Addiction. We have a handy recipe print feature in the recipe box where you simply click “print recipe” under the thumbnail image and it is functioning perfectly. I hope your day gets a little better and I am so sorry you find my website to “suck.”
-Jamie
PRINT PREVIEW is always a very useful thing to use before printing something off of the internet!!! But good job blaming others for your own mistakes.
Great recipe! I have made several times as is, even more with substitutions. Just tried it with prune purée instead of oil as muffins, my preschoolers loved it. Might have been a bad idea to give it to them right before bed but oh well ;)
I’m so glad you liked the recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Hi Jamie. Thanks for sharing. This is a great recipe. My four year old is actually allergic to eggs so we have to get creative with our baking so she doesn’t get left out. I replaced the eggs with ground flaxseed and water (1 TBS ground flax seed with 3 TBS water replaces one egg). I know it sounds a bit strange but it works great in a lot of bread and muffin type recipes. It turned out fantastic with your bread! It was moist and delicious. I thought i would share in case anyone out there bakes for someone with an egg allergy. Thanks!
Christina-
Thanks so much for the substitution tips. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
I just made this recipe and while it’s very moist, it also turned out very dark – but I think that was my fault as I have a convection oven and i left it in there for 70 mins, instead of checking it at 60 mins. It’s not burnt but overall the loaf (inside and out) is quite dark.
I followed the instructions and also added a tsp of cinnamon, but that shouldn’t alter the colour that much (should it?)
I brought a loaf to work to see how my co-works like it (if they do)
Zoe-
It could definitely have been the convection oven – I doubt it was the cinnamon. I have made this recipe too many times to count, but I have never used the convection option on my oven. I hope it still tastes good!
Jamie
LOVE this recipe! I have made it several times as is and with a few alterations. I use applesauce in place of the oil and decreased the sugar to 1.5 cups, less if I add chocolate chips (which my boys love in their pumpkin bread!) You can scale down to a half recipe quite easily too. Freezes great! This is a definite keeper!