If you love pumpkin, you HAVE to try this easy pumpkin bread recipe! Moist, warmly spiced, and filled with pumpkin flavor, it's the perfect fall treat.
This pumpkin bread recipe is super moist, warmly spiced, and filled with delicious pumpkin flavor. It’s one of my favorite fall recipes, and I make at least one loaf every year. On a crisp fall day, you can’t beat the smell of homemade pumpkin bread baking in the oven!
I first published this pumpkin bread recipe in 2019, and I’ve since updated it to include even more pumpkin and warm spices. This version has a moister texture and richer fall flavor…and it’s completely impossible for me to eat just one slice at a time. I think it’s the best pumpkin bread I’ve tried. I hope you love it too!
Pumpkin Bread Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy pumpkin bread recipe:
- Pumpkin, of course! I tested this recipe two ways: using a full (15-ounce) can of pumpkin and using slightly less, 1 1/2 cups. While I hate to leave you with leftover pumpkin, I found that using 1 1/2 cups gave the loaf a better texture. It’s super moist, but not dense. You’ll have a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree leftover—perfect for making a pumpkin spice latte! Be sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. I like Libby’s.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and level it to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Vegetable oil – For moisture and richness. Another neutral oil, such as avocado or canola oil, would work here too!
- Milk – Use whatever kind you keep on hand. Regular milk, almond milk, and oat milk are all great choices.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and eggs – They help the loaf puff up as it bakes.
- Cane sugar – For sweetness.
- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves – For warm, cozy fall flavor. A tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice works too.
- Vanilla extract – It enhances the spices’ warm flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
This pumpkin bread recipe is so easy to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, make the batter. Whisk together the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix, or the pumpkin bread will be dense.
Then, bake. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350°F until the top springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.
- Tip: Check the loaf after 45 minutes in the oven. If the top is browned, tent it with foil for the remaining bake time so that it doesn’t get too dark before the loaf cooks through.
Let the quick bread cool completely before slicing and serving.
Finally, enjoy! Devour a slice plain, or slather it with butter or honey butter. Leftover pumpkin bread keeps well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, wrap slices in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow the slices to thaw at room temperature, or unwrap and defrost them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Pumpkin Bread Recipe Variations
Do you like nuts, fruit, or chocolate in your pumpkin bread? Feel free to adapt this recipe to suit your tastes. Here are a few fun ways to change it up:
- Add some crunch. Stir in 1/2 cup of your favorite chopped nuts, and sprinkle some on top. Chopped pecans or walnuts would be especially good!
- Make it fruity. Fold 1/2 cup dried cranberries, dried tart cherries, raisins, or chopped dates into the batter.
- Go the chocolate route. Fold 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips into the batter. Scatter more on top for good measure!
- Frost it. Craving a more decadent treat? Slather this loaf with my tangy cream cheese frosting!
Let me know what variations you try!
More Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
If you love this homemade pumpkin bread, try one of these delicious pumpkin recipes next:
Can’t get enough quick bread? You’ll love my banana bread and zucchini bread too!
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1½ cups canned pumpkin puree*
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup cane sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8x4 or 9x5-inch loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, salt, cloves, and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the top springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I like to check the loaf after 45 minutes. If the top is nicely browned, I cover it with foil for the remaining bake time to prevent further browning.
- Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.
Notes
Any ideas on how to make this gluten free?
Thks!
I was wondering the same. If Bob’s Redmill 1 to 1 GF could be used for all of the flour
Hi Lana, I think that would work fine.
I am the same megan from above. I remade this and it’s great! Yes, I did cook it too long AND I think at 400 degrees. If you do that you will be amazed at how dry you can make a non-cracker. I apologize for the one star Jeanine! Please feel free to delete that!
Hi, did you use white flour?
My go to recipe! Teenage son loves it for breakfast. I usually make it in three small loaves and freeze them to pull out as needed. I bake it for around 25 minutes.
Kind of perplexed at the lack of a weight-based measurement for the flour. Is there any way we can get the amount of flour needed in grams? It just isn’t possible to get a reliably accurate measurement of how much flour you’re using unless it’s by weight.
1 Cup flour ~= 120g
Hi Jeanine,
Can I use a natural sweetener instead of cane sugar? Like maple syrup?
Also, instead of canned pumpkin, I usually have frozen puréed pumpkin. Would that work?
Hi Amira, we haven’t tested this recipe with a natural sweetener, but these pumpkin muffins are naturally sweetened and so delicious! Your frozen puree should work great in either recipe.
Easy and delicious; moist and flavorful. I used half white flour, half wheat, used a tablespoon of Penzey’s pie spice, and added half a cup of chopped walnuts. I like that this is not overly sweet. Perfect for breakfast or with a cup of tea as an afternoon snack.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Are there nutrition facts available for this recipe?
Hi, we don’t calculate nutrition facts for our recipes, but you can always plug the recipe into an online nutrition calculator like MyFitnessPal if you need detail nutrition info. Hope this helps!
I love your homemade brownies recipe, and I’m very anxious to try this one. But what if I don’t have any wheat flour on hand? Will other flours work just as well?
Hi April, it should be fine with just all purpose flour.
Hi! Is there any reason I can’t/shouldn’t make these into muffins? I know you have a pumpkin muffin recipe on the site as well but I made this bread last time and it was delish but love serving muffins for a larger group.
Hi Cari, the muffin recipe will be puffier and will definitely make 12 muffins. I think the bread is a little more dense and they might just be squattier.
Thank you for this absolutely amazing recipe! Made this today and added dark chocolate chips, used buttermilk instead of almond milk , and also reduced the sugar by half and it turned out perfect! (my family doesn’t like very sweet things)
Made this last night to have with my morning coffee it was tempting to try it last night before I went to bed at 10:30pm. Smelled awesome, did add pumpkin spice and then lastly chopped walnuts and dates, very nice, would make again
Those additions sound delicious! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Made this for my OCT book club gathering and it was pretty well received.
I followed the exact instructions but added some pecans and dried cranberries (1/2 cup of each). I also added 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice after reading some of the spice comments.
The bread deeply split while baking across the top which I wasn’t quite expecting, so as a presentation not the greatest look, but of course did not effect the taste. I served it on its own, but the next day had a slice and decided to add a bit of butter – which put it over the top. I highly recommend it spread with some butter. Fall is officially here.
Hi Ashley, did you change anything about the recipe?
Hello Jeanine,
I wish I could send you a picture!
My pumpkin bread looked perfect, tested and it was done. Then, when turning it over, the center top broke. It looked uncooked, I placed it on a baking sheet back in the oven.
My poor bread look awful… but, I tried it and was delicious. I used less sugar because I added dried bing cherries and walnuts.
I keep enjoying it with ricotta on top for added protein at breakfast. I’m about to finish it, my husband only ate a piece twice. …
what did I do wrong Jeanine?
Hi Maricelle, it either sounds like it could have baked a little more or you tried to remove it from the pan before it was cooled.
Delicious! I didn’t realize I was out of eggs so I used the flaxseed option instead. What a pleasant surprise! Lack of eggs will never stand between me and pumpkin bread again. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Can you double this recipe?
Have you ever replaced the flour in your baked goods with Gluten free flour?
Hi Amy, I have but I haven’t tested every recipe. Sometimes it works great as a 1:1, other times we tweak some things. I haven’t tried this one, but this banana bread is awesome: https://www.loveandlemons.com/gluten-free-banana-bread/
I love your recipes! I regularly make your pickled red onions from your cookbook. And I’ve been looking for a healthier pumpkin bread recipe—is it sweet enough with 1/2 cup sugar?
Hi Pam, we think it’s sweet enough!
can you sub another oil for olive?
Yep! A neutral oil like avocado oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil will work great.
Can the pumpkin bread be made with gluten free flour or almond flour?
Hi Jeanne, I haven’t tried but I think a GF blend will work. A don’t recommend 1:1 almond flour replacement, when I use almond flour, the wet/dry ratios are usually not the same.