Perfectly Moist Pumpkin Bread
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This is my mother’s recipe for pumpkin bread (or pumpkin loaf). Using canned pumpkin, it comes together in one bowl in minutes and is nicely spiced and full of fall flavors.
Everyone and their mother has a recipe for pumpkin bread. This happens to be my mother’s recipe — not sure where it originates beyond her — and it is incredibly delicious. Made with oil as opposed to butter, the batter comes together in minutes, and the texture of the finished bread is especially moist. If you don’t have a pumpkin quick bread recipe up your sleeve, this one is a winner.
What’s more? It’s a one-bowl job. No need to pull out the stand mixer for this one either. Grab a bowl and whisk, and you’re off!
Make it Ahead
I like to mix my batter at night, pour it into greased pans in the morning, then send the pans off to the oven. There is nothing like the smell of cinnamon-spiced pumpkin bread baking away on a fall (or winter!) morning.
Give it Away
If you have mini loaf pans, this quick bread makes an excellent gift. Mini loaf pans can be purchased here. Mini disposable loaf pans can be purchased here, too. These are great to use for quick breads year-round, but they are especially great to have on hand around the winter holidays.
PS: The Best Banana Bread
PPS: The Best Zucchini Bread (Award Winning 🎉🎉🎉)
What Spices are Good in Pumpkin Bread?
For simplicity, I use cinnamon and nutmeg in the recipe below. These are the classic “pumpkin pie” spices:
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cloves
- allspice
- ginger
Any of the above “warm” spices would complement the pumpkin flavor in the recipe below.
How to Make One-Bowl Pumpkin Bread
Here’s the play-by-play:
Gather your ingredients:
Add them to a mixing bowl as directed in the recipe below. A one-bowl job!
Transfer batter to two standard loaf pans or …
… five mini loaf pans:
Bake for about an hour for standard loaf pans:
Bake for 35-45 minutes for mini loaf pans:
This pumpkin bread makes a great gift!
Perfectly Moist Pumpkin Bread
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 2 standard loaf pans
Description
This is my mother’s recipe for pumpkin bread (or pumpkin loaf). Using canned pumpkin, it comes together in one bowl in minutes and is nicely spiced and full of fall flavors.
Loaf Pans: I love this Chicago Metallic 8.5 x 4.5 – inch loaf pan for this recipe. You need two pans for this recipe.
Mini loaf pans can be purchased here. Disposable loaf pans can be purchased here, too.
Canned Pumpkin: Some cans are 15 ounces; others are 16 ounces. It doesn’t matter – use the full can of whichever you purchase.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (424 g) sugar
- 1 cup (215 g) grapeseed oil or organic canola oil or other neutral oil
- 4 eggs
- 15 to 16 ounces (454 g) canned pumpkin (not pie filling), see notes above
- 3/4 cup (177 g) water
- 3 cups (384 g) flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoon (5 to 7 grams) fine sea salt or kosher salt … I use 1.5 teaspoons salt now
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (or less)
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves (optional… I never use)
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional… I never use)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease 2 standard (8.5 x 4.5-inch) loaf pans (or 4 to 5 mini loaf pans depending on what size you are using — don’t fill pans higher than 2/3 full) with butter or non-stick spray.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer or simply a whisk (my preference!) beat sugar and oil together until blended. Add eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Add pumpkin purée and water and mix until blended.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves (if using), and allspice (if using). Whisk only until just incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for about an hour (if using standard loaf pans) but start checking for doneness after 45 minutes — the loaves are done when the center springs back when touched. Note: When using the small pans, the loaves should be done in under 45 minutes. Start checking after 30 minutes.
- Let cool 15-20 minutes in pan; then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling before cutting and serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Quick Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: pumpkin, bread, fall, baking, gifts
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
479 Comments on “Perfectly Moist Pumpkin Bread”
i can’t wait to try this out! what are your thoughts about substituting applesauce for oil? worth it or not?
Lara — I’m so bad with this stuff! I say go for it. Or maybe sub half of the oil with applesauce to start? Wish I could help you out better. Report back if you make any discoveries!
Can’t wait to try this, I wonder if leaving it in fridge over night makes a difference? I am going to add nuts or choc.chips to mine.
You can def make it ahead and leave in the fridge. I often do this with my quick breads. Makes for easy prep in the am!
I like those disposable pans, I will look for them, they would make nice gifts during the holidays!
This looks so good! I have all the ingredients so I am definitely making this this weekend.
I’m so gonna try this tonight, now off to the organic shop for the best pumpkin!
Making these now 🙂 they are in the oven – awesome recipe!
Ali! okay so I read Darcy’s comment, ran to facebook for more info…CONGRATS! oh my goodness. So exciting. It’s a good thing you are keeping yourself well fed with pumpkin bread as I’m sure you need all the extra energy/calories you can get at this point. These little loaves are adorable. Can’t wait to try them out. Hugs to the entire Stafford family!
Thank you Talley! The pumpkin bread was a big success in the house… it definitely feels like fall, something I’ve truly missed the past three years! I hope all is well!
Had silly moment scanning through the pictures on this post, took me a minute to realise you had mini loaf tins… thought you were making Pumpkin Bread for 50!
Do you get a better result if you mix the batter the night before ?
They look so lovely – I am awaiting your reply !
I don’t necessarily think the result will be better, but it just saves time if you want to bake something off fresh in the morning.
I would love this, but I know I would eat it all. I’ll bet your kitchen smelled divine.
I tried this for Thanksgiving, and my vegan stepdaughter (who does indulge in eggs) loved it, but my husband and I both noticed a really strong baking soda taste. Anyone else have this problem?
Leslie, I’m so sorry to hear this… strong baking soda taste is not pleasant! I don’t know what could have happened. I’ve made this recipe many times and have never had that issue. I compared some recipes online to make sure the ratio of baking soda to flour wasn’t too high, and it seems ok. I’m going to have to make another batch soon to make sure I’m not going crazy. Sorry the recipe didn’t turn out well for you!
I had the really strong baking soda taste too. I’m not sure why.
Probably didn’t get baking soda mixed in well—I make these all the time and never have problem—I also leave out the water and use the spices cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves OR just use 3 tsp of Allspice. You can also add cranberries, raisins, nuts etc—the more the better.
Thanks for this, Jan!
So so so excited for these to come out of the oven! They’re baking up in there right now and smelling delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Ok, I made this yesterday and my kids and I ate an entire loaf by bed (the other had gone to a neighbor). So this morning, I made a special trip to the grocery store just for a couple more cans of pumpkin so I could make it again for girls night at my sisters!
Made 1.5x recipe for 2 loaves (one with choc chips in it- yum) and a set of 12 pumpkin cupcakes. The cupcakes took 22 min in the oven (just FYI for anyone else who might need this option) and are just as tasty as the bread!
Also, I subbed in 1/2 applesauce for the oil today (saw that someone else asked about that above) and I can’t tell the difference from yesterday’s bread.
Thanks again for the recipe!!!
Kelsey — So glad to hear this! And great tip on the applesauce. I wish I knew how to make these sorts of substitutions more often. So glad you can’t detect the difference. I’m going to try that next time!
Leslie,
I had this happen once. It turns out my baking soda was expired (by several years)–yuck! Perhaps make sure yours is fresh???
I have made cookies with old baking soda and it tasted pretty bad with lots of funky baking soda flavor to it. When in doubt, test baking soda out with vinegar, test baking *powder* out with warm water. For both, the more bubbles, the better. I’m getting ready to make this recipe but with cranberries as i have a bag of craisins that need to be used!
Baking soda absorbs odor, thats why they tell you to put it in the refrigerator to take away unpleasant smells. So I put my baking soda in a Ziplock screw on container and store it with the rest of my spices. That way it stays fresh for when I need it.
Have any ideas about the sugar? Would love to make this, going to try and do half the applesauce for some oil, but need to watch my sugar. Anyone substitute the sugar for anything else??? Help
Hi Kelly, I am not great with these sorts of substitutions, but I have a feeling you could cut at least 1/4 cup of the sugar (maybe even 1/2 cup) without the texture being seriously altered. When I start cutting sugar from recipes, I usually don’t do more than 1/4 cup at a time, but if you feel that 1/4 cup isn’t enough, then go for more. Good luck with it!
Splenda subs for sugar with equal amounts in all baking except things that require a candy thermometer
What do you consider to be a “Standard” bread pan size?
This is my first time to make bread loafs and I want to make sure I get the right sizes.
I will be giving them to a fundraiser to sell at a bake sale and then I want to hand some out for the holidays.
Please let me know Thanks 🙂
Cori — a standard size bread pan is about 9 X 5 x 3 inches give or take a half inch on any side. How nice of you to be giving away loaves for a bake sale as well as for the holidays. I love these small sized pans for the gift-giving season: https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Stick-Mini-Loaf/dp/B003YKGS0Y
i just made this pumpkin bread and it was awful— went to the garbage — costly !!!
I believe that the recipe should read baking powder not baking soda as mine did not raise… disappointed
Davene, I am so sorry to hear this, and I am especially sorry for the cost. I don’t know what else to say. I would never post a recipe that I didn’t think worked and that I didn’t think other people would truly enjoy. Very sorry.
I made this recipe today and both loaves turned out excellent. I added semi-sweet chocolate chips to one loaf. We enjoyed them very much! Wanted to thank you for such a yummy fall recipe! I will be making more bread soon! 🙂
Love this bread! Delicious!!!!
I love that you made mini loaves! They are the perfect gifts. Can’t wait to make this around Christmas time! Actually, that’s too far. I’ll have to make these this weekend 🙂
Just pulled these out of the oven. This is THE BEST pumpkin bread recipe I’ve used. It’s so moist! I also made some cinnamon cream cheese icing to put on top just for esses and gees. 🙂
Tia — SO happy to hear this. I made this just a few days ago for a little girls get together. It was a huge hit. If only I had thought of serving some cinnamon cream cheese on the side…heaven!
This bread truly is THE BEST! Just finished my second batch, in part to give to a neighbor and also us to enjoy. It’s moist and just perfect (especially with a few chocolate chips sprinkled in the batter…yum!). Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
Teri — Love the idea of chocolate chips. I made a loaf last weekend, and as good as it was, I was sort of longing for some chocolate chips. Next time for sure.
I made this this morning. It is delicious. I changed a few things.
I used brown sugar instead of regular, subbed 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour for half of the flour, 1/2 cup of applesauce for half the oil.
I made 1 loaf and 12 muffins. My kids loved them.
Heather and Lisa — so happy to hear this. Love your additions — demerara sugar — and adaptations — so healthy. Thanks!
I made a batch this morning and it was such a hit that I made a second batch just now, to give away to friends and family. It’s really moist and makes a pretty, high rising loaf, just like the picture. I had all spices on hand so it has a really delicious holiday taste and the house smells wonderful. The only changes I made were to use whole wheat flour ground twice so it’s very fine. It has a bit more chewiness which I love And I sprinkled 1 – 2 T. of Demerara crystal brown sugar on the tops before baking for sparkle and crunch. Thanks for sharing your recipe. It’s a keeper!
Just made this, subbing 1/2 oil with applesauce, and it is delicious! I only had one loaf pan on hand, so I poured the rest of the batter into a mini-muffin tin (baked for about 10 min) and I now have a delicious loaf and 24 adorable little muffins! I’ll keep making this throughout holiday season. Considering subbing maple syrup for sugar next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Alexis — thanks so much for sharing your adaption. Sounds wonderful and more healthy. Love it.
Made 2 loaves today and this bread is perfect, thanks for a great and simple recipe! I substituted 1 cu. of brown sugar and added a little molasses for flavor and nutrition and it was so delicious one of the loaves is already gone between my family and our neighbors. Can’t wait to have the other one for dessert tonight and breakfast tomorrow.
Laura — Love the idea of brown sugar and molasses in this bread. I think those flavors must really complement the pumpkin and spices nicely. Thanks so much for sharing!
Did you ever try to make the pumpkin bread and freeze it?? I wanted to start baking for Thanksgiving now.
Fran, This is one quick bread that does freeze well. I have frozen it — it wasn’t frozen for long (maybe two weeks?) — and I think because it is so moist, it really worked beautifully. I think you are safe to bake this ahead and freeze it — Thanksgiving is right around the corner!
Can I make this in advance and freeze?
Tried your pumpkin bread recipe this evening for the first time. The batter tasted wonderful ~ pumpkin and lots of spice flavors! Yum! I was wondering how you would describe the texture of the bread once it was baked. Mine seemed to be a bit “heavy”?? It also took a bit longer than one hour to bake. Possibly because my oven is quite old. The texture is puzzling me? Can you help?
Joy, the texture of the bread is very moist and maybe even a little spongy. I wouldn’t call it heavy but it definitely is dense, and sometimes it does take longer to bake. I’m sorry the texture is puzzling you. One recommendation I have is to buy an oven thermometer. This will help you enormously with everything you bake/roast. I have on that hangs from one of the racks in my oven, and I always look at that to gauge the temperature — my oven is about 50º colder according to my oven thermometer than what the dial on top of the oven says. So, that might help you with the timing, but as for the texture…oh! Did you add the 3/4 cup water? I forgot to do that once, and the bread did not come out right.