Perfectly Moist Pumpkin Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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!
PrintPerfectly 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
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
501 Comments on “Perfectly Moist Pumpkin Bread”
The first time I made this bread it was awesome, but I just made it again tonight and it has the consistency and sweetness of cake…..anyone know what would cause this? I really want the bread texture I had the first time!
Lauren, I’m stumped. Did you remember to add the water? Did you use any substitution for the sugar?
Another great recipe! I added 50% more of each spice plus cinnamon. It’s the best pumpkin bread recipe I have tried to date. It’s not oily, soggy, dry, nor bland. Perfect for Thanksgiving! I’ll use this to make make muffins next!
Yay, so happy to hear this, Julia! I have a friend who amps up the spices in this recipe, too. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I just tried this pumpkin bread last night and it was sooo good (thank you!!) but the top middle was very raw, no matter how long I cooked it. Do you have any idea why? The rest of it was perfect! 🙂
Leah, so happy you like the bread (most of it) and sorry for the trouble in regard to the underdone center 🙁 What size baking pan were you using and what material? Sometimes glass/Pyrex loaf pans give people trouble especially with super moist quick breads like this one.
Thanks for your reply! I used a metal 8.5 x 4.5 inch pan. I have had this problem before, but I am not quite sure what to do about it.
Sure thing! And metal is what I use, too, so I’m not sure how to advise. Do you tend to have timing issues with anything else you bake? If your oven is unreliable (and i’m not suggesting it is), an oven thermometer is really cheap and a great investment — just helps reassure you that your oven is accurate. And then, the only other thing I can suggest is maybe covering the top of the bread with foil (loosely) after 45 minutes or so to make sure it doesn’t get too brown and to just keep cooking till it’s done even if it is over an hour. Also, cooling completely (which I’m sure you know) before cutting will help, too, because the cake will keep cooking when it comes out of the oven. Finally, mini loaf pans are a great investment, too, because they tend to cook things so evenly. I know they are kind of unnecessary, but they are great for gift giving, too. Anyway, I hope that helps and I hope you have better luck next time. One last thing, did you remember to add the water?
Thanks for the suggestions! I definitely added water. I do already have mini pans that I will probably use instead next time. They are so much more adorable when they are tiny – the only thing that stopped me before is that it means 2x as many dishes to wash! 🙂
Covering with foil sounds like a good idea, I will try that the next time I use those pans again. Thank you so much, you have been so helpful!!
You are so nice, ok, I hope you have better luck next time! The mini loaves are so much more adorable…and also a pain re dishes. You are so right.
In the recipe it calls for canned pumpkin, but in the directions it says pumpkin puree. I’m sure it matters which canned pumpkin you use?
Hey Kim, By pumpkin puree I mean canned pumpkin — just don’t buy pumpkin pie filling, which I believe has spices and other things added to it. Hope that makes sense. Let me know if there is anything else!
This looks amazing. I only have 3 eggs and unable to go to the store (sweet sleeping baby 😉 ) will the bread be ruined with only 3 eggs?! Thanks! 🙂
Go for it! These breads tend to be forgiving in this sense. Hope it turns out well.
Hi Alexandra this looks so good! Question, I have roasted a pumpkin as we don’t have canned pumpkin in Aussie. Will it work the same? How much would I use? I imagine I would have to puree it?
Thanks!
Hi Marisol!
Definitely purée it. It should work pretty much the same, and I would use the same amount of homemade puréed pumpkin: 16 oz. Does that make sense? Let me know if there is anything else!
I rarely comment on recipes I try but I had to with this one it was amazing and so simple!!
I did substitue the oil for the same amount of unsweetened applesauce and I usee brown sugar because that´s what I had on hand. I made a bread and 12 small muffins. For some reason the muffins did not rise alll that much but still tasted great! Bread came out perfect!
Thanks for the recipe!!
So happy to hear this Katerine! I love this recipe, too — moist, dense, perfectly sweet. Love your substitutions — thanks for sharing. I’m not totally surprised by the muffins not rising bc this is a denser batter. So glad you like it!
First time to your blog thanks to pinterest. I just tried this recipe!! So yummy! thanks!! I can’t wait to explore more of your site!
Wonderful to hear this, Becca! Thanks so much.
When using the mini pans, how full do you fill them? I always have trouble with the new sizes…
Thank you so much, can’t wait to try!
Hi Jill,
Fill them about 3/4 of the way high. It’s always hard to refrain — I am notorious for filling up to just below the rim, and it never pays. 2/3 or 3/4 high is enough.
I just made this delicious pumpkin bread for my teenage children as an afternoon snack. They literally just had the still warm bread a minute ago and it’s a big hit! It’s moist and full of flavour! This is a definite go to in my recipe book, thanks so much for sharing!!
So happy to hear this, Kelly! Thanks so much for writing in. There is nothing like pleasing the children, right?
This recipe sounds amazing and I will be making it as a loaf. I’m wondering if it will work as muffins though? I read that someone said they didn’t rise as muffins. Is there something I could do to help that?
I honestly haven’t made them as muffins so I can’t say for sure, but I have made them in mini loaf pans, and they rose just fine, so I’m sort of surprised. It must have something to do with the ratio of batter to shape and the cooking time…I wish I were more scientific.
How full are you supposed to fill the pans?
I would say not higher than 3/4 full or an inch from the top. Hope that helps!
I used your recipe in muffin tins last night and they were lovely. They weren’t tall, but they did have nicely rounded caps. We filled the tins 3/4 full and baked for 35 minutes, yielding 2 dozen. As for the taste, well… there are three of us in the house and we buzzed through 24 muffins in as many hours. I’m not kidding. Even my freakishly picky 6 year-old horked ’em down like a wood chipper. It’s almost embarrassing, the utter lack of self control we displayed, but they were really, really good.
So happy to hear this, Heather! I can’t believe I’ve never tried the recipe as muffins — it’s such a convenient shape especially with kids, and people ask about baking as muffins all the time. Thank you for writing in! My picky one loves this recipe, too, and when loaves are on hand, they never last long here either 🙂
I normally don’t take the time to comment very often on blogs, but I just had to with this one. I just baked this and it is absolutely delicious. Perfectly moist interior, crisp exterior, and warm spices without going overboard and without being too sweet. It’s absolutely amazing still warm out of the oven and I literally ate half of a loaf by myself before I could stop. It’s now my go-to pumpkin bread recipe. Thank you!
Just for anyone’s information; mini loaf pans also come in aluminum foil, usually five to a set, with their own little clear plastic lids (the same kind of plastic used for store sandwiches and salads). This time of year, most stores, at least the two big-box ones locally, have the pans in such colors as blue, red or green outside, with a generic snowflake pattern on them. Nice for Thanksgiving, etc. The foil pans bake everything up very nicely, and with the lids, makes for a nice presentation that won’t dry out within minutes of making them.
This was real easy to put together and mines about to come out of the oven. I’ve read a lot of comments and wondered what kind of flour was used when theirs didn’t turn out. Did they use an all purpose or self rising with the additional soda? I wish I could add a pic, they’ve risen beautifully. Next in the oven is leftover pumpkins from Halloween we didn’t carve so I can make my own purée. Thanks for the recipe and great ideas for substitutions.
I just made these-they smell so incredible! I had a mini loaf pan from Williams-Sonoma that has 8 mini loaves in it. They cooked for 30 minutes and look so pretty! I also made 7 regular sized muffins. The bread is for a little treat for some friends at work tomorrow morning :). Thanks so much for another wonderful recipe!
I made this tonight and just wanted to say how simple and delicious it was! This was my first time attempting to make pumpkin bread and I’m so glad to have found this recipe. The texture of the bread is similar to a pound cake and the spices are balanced without overpowering the pumpkin flavor. Will be adding this to my recipe book!
Yay! So happy to hear this Heather!
Already made this recipe twice. It will be a regular here. Real good. Thanks.
I made the recipe on Wednesday. I didn’t have the mini loaf pans and I wanted at least, three loaves (I am stubborn)! I used 8x3x2 loaf pans and got four nice sized loaves. For the last bread, it was a little shy, I used dried cranberries (about two handfuls), and it turned out excellent.
Excellent recipe as is; however, the cranberries were really good, too.
Love the idea of cranberries. Yum!
I’ve made this recipe about 50 times since 2012. I’ve made it in standard loaf size, mini loaves and cupcakes. I’ve added walnuts, cranberries and chocolate chips. It’s a wonderful and perfect recipe! I too had problems with baking time and I took your advice and got a hanging oven thermometer. My oven was off by about 50 degrees also. I’ve printed this recipe for so any people! I found so many of my ‘go to’ recipes on your site, thank you!
I made this tonight – with this recipe I was able to make 12 muffins and 1 loaf. I added dark chocolate chips and walnuts into the recipe. The muffins were so pretty – almost didn’t want to eat them:) When my muffins were done – I slathered some coconut oil (instead of butter) and it was AMAZING! Very moist!
Wonderful to hear this! Love the idea of adding dark chocolate chips and walnuts and using coconut oil. Yum.
I have made this recipe for years, but have never tried many of the substitutions suggested. I love the crunchiness of the top of the bread, but this crunchiness seems to turn soft and gooey when stored in aluminum foil. If I am giving these as gifts, what would be the best way to wrap to preserve the nice crunch top? I thought about leaving them in the disposable pan and wrapping with tissue paper. I am thinking the wrapping needs to breathe and not be airtight?
Wonderful to hear this. I think leaving the loaves in the disposable pans is a good idea. And I like the idea of tissue paper or even parchment paper, though parchment is hard to fasten — tape doesn’t always stick to parchment, so you would need some pretty brown twine or bakers’ twine to keep it in place. This post on Food52 might be helpful: https://food52.com/blog/11897-the-best-way-to-wrap-a-quick-bread#jXSAa6:cLq
I made this today- chose this recipe out of many others because it called for less sugar per loaf. I made a couple changes – substituted applesauce for half the oil, and used coconut oil instead of canola. I also substituted oat flour (which I ground myself) for half the regular flour. I used all the seasonings listed – it was absolutely delicious! The changes made it just a bit more healthy – my rationale for eating so much!
Thanks so much for posting this wonderful recipe. I love your site and your upbeat humor. Happy Fall also back to you ♡♡
Cher
You are so welcome! Thank you for your kind words.
Can you use self rising flour?
Yes, just omit the baking soda.
As some one else commented, I have been making this pumpkin bread in coffee cans for the past 45 years. The recipe was given to me by a lunchroom aide in 1970, and I have been making it ever since. I also add 1 cup of chopped walnuts and 1 cup of raisins to the batter. I often make 13 at a time for gifts. Can’t improve on perfection. Thanks.
wow! you are the first person other than me talking about an old recipe using coffee cans! i was in the Bluebirds (Campfire Girls) and we took a bread baking class in 1968. We learned how to make bread using a coffee can to bake it in! Thanks for the memory! 🙂
I love baking in coffee cans, too! The bread always come out in such a cute shape.
Hi , I just wonder that can use baking powder / baking powder both ?? Each same teaspoon !!.. It is help ?? . Let me know thanks
I mean oops baking soda
Immaking this for a potluck party if i freeze it, by making it a couple days before how far in advance do i have to take it out of frzzr im making it fri and it will b served sun at 5pm
I’m thinking you don’t even have to stick it in the freezer. This stays really moist for days. But if you are worried, I would take it out Sunday morning.
Delicious pumpkin bread! I followed the recipe exactly.
wonderful