We Found Your Perfect Pumpkin Bread Recipe (2024)

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This quick bread tastes so quintessentially of the fall, with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and molasses. Plus an optional orange glaze!

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Updated October 24, 2023

35 Ratings

Jazz Up Your Fall with These 15 Pumpkin DessertsFEATURED IN:

Oh, pumpkin season! There's a chill in the air, kids and adults alike are planning their Halloween costumes, and pumpkins are pouring out of the local markets. Now's the time for pumpkin bread, don't you think?

The Best Pumpkin for Pumpkin Bread

Most people use canned puréed pumpkin for baking recipes like this because of the consistent results. Although if you want, you can easily roast a sugar pumpkin, butternut squash, or kabocha pumpkin for its purée. You'll get more roasted and caramelized flavor that way. Steaming or boiling also works, though you'll miss the extra flavor from the roasting.

We Found Your Perfect Pumpkin Bread Recipe (3)

Can I Cook With a Halloween Pumpkin?

Not all pumpkins are equal when it comes to cooking! Those large carving pumpkins? Probably best left to carving, and maybe salvaging the seeds to roast.

How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Purée

Want to make your own pumpkin purée? It's easy! All you have to do is cut a small sugar pumpkin (or kabocha or butternut squash) in half horizontally and scrape out the seeds and stringy insides. Place the pumpkin halves cut side down on a lined baking sheet, and bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Once the pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh and use it in any recipe that calls for pumpkin purée. Freeze whatever is left over for future use.

If you are working with pumpkin pieces instead of a whole pumpkin, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.

Ways to Adapt This Pumpkin Bread Recipe

This pumpkin bread recipe is quite adaptable to different types of pumpkin purée and spice mixes. We took an old recipe from Fannie Farmer as a base and have made several changes to it over the years.

We have also made a lovely optional glaze for the pumpkin bread —with orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar.

Here are some ways you can adapt this recipe:

Mix-ins: The recipe calls for optional pecans or walnuts. You can also add a half cup of chocolate chips or dried, sweetened cranberries. Add a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger if you want more of a gingerbread flavor.
Sweeteners: We are using white sugar with added molasses. You can sub those out with 1 1/4 cup of packed dark brown sugar, or sub the molasses with dark honey.
Butter or oil: The original Fanny Farmer recipe used 1/2 cup of oil. We love the flavor that melted butter brings to this bread, but you can easily use olive oil, or a combination. You can also use melted coconut oil.
Flax eggs: Looking for an option to the eggs? You can use flax eggs instead—flaxseeds whisked together in water. (Here's how.)

We Found Your Perfect Pumpkin Bread Recipe (4)

Make-Ahead and Freeze

Life most loaf cakes, this one freezes quite well unglazed. Wrap it first in plastic wrap, then in foil. Freeze for up to three months.

More Great Pumpkin Recipes:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Waffles
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Biscotti

Pumpkin Bread

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time60 mins

Servings8to 10 servings

Yield1 loaf

You can easily double this recipe. If using the glaze, there is enough glaze for two pumpkin bread loafs.

Don't have molasses? You can sub the 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoon of molasses with 1 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar, packed.

Ingredients

For the pumpkin bread:

1 1/2 cups (200g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 cup (240 ml) pumpkin puree, store-bought or homemade
1 cup (200g) sugar
1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons molasses
1 teaspoon orange zest, optional
1/2 cup (65g) chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

For the orange glaze (optional):

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest

Method

Make the homemade pumpkin puree (optional):
To make your own pumpkin purée, cut a small sugar pumpkin in half horizontally. Use a large metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff.
Place the pumpkin halves cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Measure out 1 cup of puree for this recipes and freeze whatever you don't use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast, boil, or steam them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.
Preheat oven and prepare loaf pan:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Put in the middle rack of the oven. Butter the insides of a 4x8-inch loaf pan.
Whisk the dry ingredients:
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl.
How to Accurately Measure Ingredients for BakingREAD MORE:
Combine the wet ingredients:
Mix together pumpkin purée, sugar, the melted butter, beaten eggs, 1/4 cup of water, molasses, and orange zest (if using) in a separate bowl.
Make the batter:
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined and there is no more dry flour in the batter.
Do not overmix! If adding chopped pecans or walnuts, stir them in.
Bake:
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 45 to 60 minutes (depending on your oven and the color of your loaf pan—dark pans cook the contents more quickly than light pans), or until a tester poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Remove from pan and cool completely:
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Then run a blunt dinner knife around the edges of the pumpkin bread to gently separate it from the pan. Invert it to loosen it from the pan and put the loaf on a rack to cool completely.
Glaze:
If using the glaze, whisk together in a medium bowl the powdered sugar, orange juice, zest, and vanilla until smooth. If too thick, add a little more juice. If too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
Wait until the pumpkin bread has cooled completely before drizzling with glaze or slicing. Tip: use a serrated knife to slice. Fewer crumbs that way!
Did you love the recipe? Give us some stars and leave a comment below!

Brunch
Pumpkin Desserts
Fall
Quick Bread
Canned Pumpkin

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
259	Calories
10g	Fat
39g	Carbs
4g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8to 10
Amount per serving
Calories	259
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g	13%
Saturated Fat 6g	30%
Cholesterol 61mg	20%
Sodium 250mg	11%
Total Carbohydrate 39g	14%
Dietary Fiber 1g	5%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 1mg	5%
Calcium 23mg	2%
Iron 2mg	9%
Potassium 114mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.