This easy Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread is soft, moist, and delicious with great pumpkin spice flavors. It is the perfect fall treat the whole family will enjoy.
Jump To:
Easy pumpkin bread is soft, moist, and delicious with all those fantastic fall pumpkin spice flavors. Great for breakfast, brunch, or a snack.
Cook like grandma with this simple recipe using pantry ingredients. Options are provide for to make it your own.
Don't miss these other tasty quick bread recipes, like Banana Nut Bread, Apple Pie Bread, Beer Bread and Cinnamon Swirl Bread. For pumpkin recipes, try Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake and Homemade Dog Treats.
Based on Libby's pumpkin bread but with a few adpations from other recipes.
🎃Ingredients
- Dry pantry ingredients—all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt
- Pumpkin pie spice—or use cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves
- Pumpkin Puree
- Wet ingredients—eggs, butter, vegetable oil, water
- Optional ingredients—chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans), raisins, or chocolate chips
👨🍳How to Make Pumpkin Bread
- Mix flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients of milk, eggs, oil, and pumpkin. Then stir in the melted butter.
- Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Just get it all combined, and don't over-mix. Add any nuts or other ingredients at this point.
- Spread into a prepared loaf pan coated with butter and flour or PAM.
- Optional—Give the top a light sprinkle of granular white sugar.
- Bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick comes out clean or the internal temperature is 200° to 205°. Cool on a rack before cutting.
This is a summary of the steps and ingredients. See the recipe card or the step-by-step photo instructions below for full instructions.
When is pumpkin bread done?
The old-fashioned toothpick test of inserting a toothpick in the center, and when it comes out clean, it is done.
But if you have no toothpick or don't entirely trust that, cook to an internal temperature of 200° to 205° in the thickest center of the loaf.
Topping options
There is no topping in the old Libby recipe and most do not use any. I like a sprinlke of white sugar that will melt during baking and give a little sweet crunch.
If you want to take it up a notch, add a glaze. Mix a glaze of 1 cup of powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and two tablespoons of milk. Pour over the top of the loaf when almost cooled. If you use the glaze, the bread should be stored in a refrigerator.
Variations
- The original recipe had 1 ½ cups of sugar and was overly sweet. I decreased it to 1 ¼ cups, which seems much better—your choice. You may substitute brown sugar for part of the white sugar.
- You can make your own pumpkin puree, but the commercial version has more flavor and is a little sweeter.
- Oil will make the bread tender, but I wanted some butter taste, so I swapped out some of the oil for butter. I also changed the water for milk.
- Nutmeg was added in addition to the pumpkin spice in the original recipe. I skipped the extra nutmeg and increased the pumpkin spice to compensate for both simplification and taste.
- If you don't have pumpkin spice mix, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon dry ginger, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves.
- Additional Enhancements—I suggest chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) and raisins. Other common additions are coconut, chocolate chips, dried cherries, or cranberries.
⬇️How to make this pumpkin bread for two
This recipe makes a standard-size loaf, which is about 12 servings, depending on the size of the servings—more than some smaller households will want to make.
Mini loaves can be made in standard 3 by 5 ¾ inch mini loaf pans, which are ⅓ of the size and make 4 servings. Or make three and freeze two for later or give them as gifts.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings from 12 to 4.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- Cooking time will be 25 to 30 minutes—use the toothpick test.
❄️How to Store Leftovers
Like other quick bread, this can be stored at room temperature if sealed with plastic wrap or an airtight container for 2-3 days.
For more extended storage, use a freezer. Tightly wrap individual slices of pumpkin bread. It should be fine for up to 3 months.
❓FAQs
There are many sizes of loaf pans. "Standard" loaf pan size is 8-½ x 4-½ x 2-½ inches. You have what you have in size, so use that size.
A smaller pan will take longer to cook due to its thickness, and a larger pan is faster due to the loaf being thinner. As always, do not cook by time alone. Ovens differ—Cook to an endpoint, not time.
No, you can easily mix this by hand, but a small hand mixer helps a lot. If you do this by hand, soften the butter slightly and get it fully incorporated with the other "wet" ingredients with a whisk.
Storing leftover pumpkin bread
The bread can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days. If refrigerated, you may store it for 7 days.
To freeze leftovers wrap tightly in several layers and freeze for 3 months.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Prep the loaf pan with a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray or use the more traditional light coat of butter and then coat it with flour.
Mix dry ingredients of 1 ¾ cups flour, 1 ¼ cups sugar, 1 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin spice mix. If you don't have pumpkin spice mix, use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves.
In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients by hand or with a mixer of 2 eggs, ⅓ cup of milk or water, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, and 1 cup of pumpkin puree. Then stir in 3 tablespoons melted butter.
Mix the dry flour ingredients into the wet ingredients. Optionally add 1 cup of chopped nuts, ½ cup of raisins, or ⅔ cup of chocolate chips.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Optional—give the top a light sprinkle of white sugar.
Bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick comes out clean or the internal temperature is 200° to 205°. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes before cutting.
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 egg
- ⅓ cup milk or water
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons butter - softened
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice seasoning - buy or used ingredients below
home made pumpkin spice mix if needed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon dry ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Optional Additions
- 1 cup chopped nuts - optional
- ½ cup raisins - optional
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Prep the loaf pan with a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray or use the more traditional light coat of butter and then coat it with flour.
- Mix dry ingredients of 1 ¾ cups flour, 1 ¼ cups sugar, 1 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin spice mix. If you don't have pumpkin spice mix, use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves.
- In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients by hand or with a mixer of 2 eggs, ⅓ cup of milk or water, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, and 1 cup of pumpkin puree. Then stir in 3 tablespoons melted butter.
- Mix the dry flour ingredients into the wet ingredients. Optionally add 1 cup of chopped nuts, ½ cup of raisins, or ⅔ cup of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Optional—give the top a light sprinkle of white sugar.
- Bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick comes out clean or the internal temperature is 200° to 205°. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes before cutting.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Never use baking powder with aluminum.
- There are many sizes of loaf pans. A small pan may take longer to cook due to the thickness, and a larger pan faster due to the loaf being thinner.
- You may substitute pumpkin spice seasoning with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of dry ginger, and ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves.
- Check for the endpoint with a toothpick. You insert it into the center of the loaf, and it should come out clean. But if you have no toothpick or don't entirely trust that, cook to an internal temperature of 200° to 205° in the thickest center of the loaf.
- A light sprinkle of sugar just before going into the oven is a nice little touch.
- I like nuts in mine, but I have included options for raisins or chocolate chips if you want.
- Good at room temperature for about 3 days if sealed air-tight or refrigerate for 7 days. You can also freeze for 3-4 months.
- If you want to take it up a notch, add a glaze. Mix a glaze of 1 cup of powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and two tablespoons of milk. Pour over the top of the loaf when almost cooled. If you use the glaze, the bread should be stored in a refrigerator.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editor's Note: Originally Published November 7, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Joan
I made this 2 days ago. I baked it for the stated time of abut 1 hour but had to add 10 more minutes because it was somewhat gooey in the middle. Even so, it still remained slightly gooey in the middle. I used a 9"x3" glass loaf pan. I guess I should have used a thermometer to test the internal temperature.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Joan,
Welcome to the blog. So you had an issue.
You are right about zeroing in on the glass pan. Metal conducts heat much better and if using glass bakeware, you always need to be aware that cooking time will increase. Other issues like you ovens temperature (the real temp not the set temp) and markly complicate the issue.
So if there is an internal temperature provided, it is generally a good idea to use it.
Dan
Melissa
I added 1/2 teaspoon of allspice to the spice mix and it turned out great!
Jerri
Thank you for another delicious recipe! I keep some sort of sweet bread in the fridge for my husband all the time and I’m always looking for new flavors. I used your serving calculator to change this to 15 servings because my pan is 9 x 5. I used the 15 oz pumpkin and added an extra egg. Topped it off with some turbinado sugar before baking. It’s delicious.
Jeff McFadden
Another perfect recipe. I used Pumpkin Pie Spice as that was what I had on hand and it came out just fine. Not too spicy or sweet and plenty moist. Looking for a good Cream Cheese icing thats not too sweet to try on a loaf of this but everything Im seeing has way to much sugar. Thanks again for posting this - certainly going into my recipe file.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jeff,
Welcome to the blog. I like this recipe since it has nice taste but doesn't "scream" pumpkin or spice. Just right for me.
About the frosting. Cream cheese frosting generally needs about 4 oz of cream cheese to one cup of powder sugar. You won't be able to change that much. Many recipes will add butter or a bit of milk. The more of these liquid like things you add, the more sugar is needed to get the texture right. I think a bit vanilla is needed and the butter is nice but skip the milk. A touch of lemon juice is good depending on usage. Remember if you do the cream cheese, it needs to be refrigerated.
Dan
Deborah Lein
I've decided to make a double batch of this pumpkin bread (since I only have a 29 oz can) with 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 dark brown sugar. And will add cranberries with some OJ instead of water. HOWEVER, I have all the wet ingredients prepped. And am prepping the dry ingredients and I see that my C*****t double acting baking powder includes an aluminum ingredient. Aak! Will just have to let you know how it works out. What can be used instead of baking powder for quick breads?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Deborah,
The baking powder with alunimum will work but it leaves a bit of an after taste. If you are fine with that, use it. My wife and I are both sensitive to the taste (not allergic) and most of the family. It is just bitter/metalic taste.
There are some things people suggest as a substitute for baking powder. Just check Google.
Dan
Jen B
Hi Dan - would love to make this recipe in cupcake size or even muffins, or better yet, muffin tops (I love that pan). Any suggestion on how long to bake?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jen,
Quick breads and muffins, although simular, are not quite the same in texture and moisture. I doubt you would be happy.
A couple of suggestions. First, find a specific pumpkin muffin recipe. Second, you can adapt something like my https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/really-good-banana-nut-muffins/ using pumpkin and the spicing from here into that recipe and the pumpkin for the banana... that may well work. That recipe does has some discussion on jumbo and mini muffins.
I have never done muffin tops but like most baking of recipes like this, the old fashion toothpick test as an end point almost always works.
Let me know that you try.
Dan
Elaine Katz
Dan,
where can I find your other recipes?
~Elaine
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Elaine,
First the OJ question. I'm sure it would work. You don't have to have a dairy product in a quick bread. Beer bread comes to mind. But I question the taste combo. It is up to you since recipes are just guidelines anyway. See https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/so-how-is-recipe-like-pirate-code/
Now about the other recipes. In the menu at the top of every page is a Recipes section that will take you to the https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/recipes/ where you can access all the recipes (about 450 total). They are searchable, or you can look at categories or by month published (but many older ones have moved to a more current date.
Dan
Elaine Katz
FYI...I purchased 'pumpkin spice' at ALDI for $1.69.
can I substitute fresh squeezed orange juice for milk?
~thank you, Elaine
Elaine Katz
thank you so much for responding to my question re: using brown sugar
in your (pumpkin bread) recipe.
I plan to make it this wkend & I will let you know how it comes out. I also
will add 1 tsp. of vanilla...is that ok?
thanks again...can"t wait, my mouth is already watering. have a great
holiday...
~Elaine Katz
Elaine Katz
going to make the pumpkin bread this weekend..sounds delish!
can I substitute brown sugar for all or half the 1 cup sugar? I have NEVER
commented on this site before.. can you please answer my question?
~thank you
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Elaine,
Welcome to the blog.
Yep. port or all. All brown sugar is just white sugar with some molasses. Dark has more molasses than light.
It will change the taste just a bit. I suspect in a good way. Also, if you didn't notice, I adjusted the sugar down in in this recipe. Most other recipes use 2 cups of sugar. One used 3 cups. I thought even 1 1/2 cup was too sweet.
Enjoy your bread.
Dan
PS I deleted the other comment.
Elaine Katz
going to make the pumpkin bread this weekend..sounds delish!
can I substitute brown sugar for all or half the 1 cup sugar?
Brizn
If you would have wrote that you used 1/2 the sugar in the ingredients or directions I did read your notes until after and it needs more sugar taste very bland
Lorraine
I'm excited to make this! Like Gina, I'm going to substitute pumpkin pie spice for your homemade blend. How much pumpkin pie spice should I use?
DrDan
I have not done this with pumpkin pie spice but the total amount of spice is 2 teaspoon so 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoon seems reasonable.
DrDan
Gina
Yumm, this looks amazing! I'll have to pick up some pumpkin and try this I think. Will be substituting "pumpkin pie spice" for your homemade blend simply because it's what I already have and nutmeg seems to be crazy expensive here on its own. Thanks for the wonderfully simple recipe!