Easy Pumpkin Bread
This easy recipe (seriously – it only takes 10 minutes to prep!) becomes a go-to as soon as fall rolls around. Made with canned pumpkin, this quick bread is moist, with the perfect amount of sweetness.
This quick pumpkin bread recipe officially means fall has begun!
I have grown my list of pumpkin recipes over the years (Pumpkin Pie Bars, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Cupcakes, Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins with Pecan Streusel, and of course Pumpkin Pie), but this one is super fast and so versatile, which makes it is a must-have for fall recipe lovers!
How to make pumpkin bread
(The full recipe is listed below, but here is a preview of how quick this bread really is!)
After you pre-heat the oven to 350, mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, and set aside.
In a separate bowl whisk wet ingredients until smooth, and slowly stir in the dry ingredients.
Finally, fold in nuts. (The nuts in the recipe are optional, but I highly recommend them. Just like pumpkin is amped up by spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, the same is true when it comes to throwing nuts into pumpkin recipes!)
Once your batter is ready (10 minutes prep) split batter between two pans and bake for 60-80 minutes. Cool on drying rack and try it warm!
My tips for making pumpkin bread
Pumpkin bread pitfalls
People often struggle with their loaves sinking, or drying out. Both issues come down to timing in the oven.
The drooping in our quick breads comes when we don’t bake all the way through to the center. Depending on the size of your loaf pans, you may need to keep them in the oven closer to 1 hour 30 minutes.
Top browning too quickly? Tent it with foil to avoid the overbaked, dry pumpkin bread we all fear!
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Freezing and eating ideas
Since this recipe yields two loaves, you can put one in the freezer and eat the other fresh! Just like most rich pound cakes and breads, this is somehow more delicious after being tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and left to settle overnight. Kept at room temperature, this bread keeps for up to 1 week, and is perfect for breakfast or a midnight snack.
Wrapped up (and packed in foil) in the freezer, a loaf will be good for up to three months. If you are looking for smaller portions (great for gifts!) you can easily use this batter in mini loaf pans or muffin tins, baking for about 30 minutes.
Substitutions and add-ins
The simplicity of this recipe means it’s versatile and easy to work with!
Brown sugar is a warm substitution for granulated if you have it, and zucchini can be used in place of pumpkin during the summer months.
If you need a nut-free pumpkin bread, cranberries or chocolate chips can be used to provide some extra oomf, while oats or pumpkin seeds are perfect sprinkled on top.
One of the keys, however, is making sure you use canned pumpkin puree rather than pie filling to get this slightly sweet and very clean pumpkin flavor.
Ready for more fall baking?
- Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze
- Gingerbread Pound Cake
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling
- 19 Warm & Cozy Pumpkin Recipes
I would absolutely love it if you made this pumpkin bread sometime soon; if you do, please stop back and leave a rating and let me know how you liked it! ENJOY! 😍
Easy Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 3⅓ cups (400 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) salt
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (198 g) vegetable oil
- 2⅔ cups (529 g) granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 15 ounces (425 g) canned pumpkin
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (114 g) chopped pecans or walnuts, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 8½x4½-inch loaf pans.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and sugar until combined. Add the eggs, pumpkin, water and vanilla and whisk until thoroughly combined and smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix gently until combined. Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in the nuts.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the oven and place the pans on a cooling rack. Once the breads are completely cool, turn out of the pans. You can serve immediately or, for even better flavor and moistness, wrap the loaves in plastic wrap and store at room temperature overnight.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Lauren Grant.
Love your site, I’m new here! Tonight I made this Pumpkin Bread recipe but I’m going to wait until tomorrow to try it since everyone says it’s better the next day! It was very easy to make, smelled soo good baking, but my problem is getting the darn loaf out of the pan. I kind of remember now why I don’t bake much :). I was able to get the sides free of the pan with a metal spatula but the bottom was horribly stuck so when I turned it over (after it cooled down), half of it was still stuck in the pan. No big deal if it’s just for the family but I was hoping to make some up for gifts for the neighbors and such. Any suggestions? A little oil didn’t work for me! Maybe I need new loaf pans! Any recommendations? Thanks and again, love your site! Tracey~
Hi Tracey, If you had trouble I would recommend greasing the pan with shortening, and then flouring it. That should do the trick. Or you could line the bottom with parchment paper, and then grease and flour it as well.
I tried your bread! It tastes really good… I just loved it! Me and all my familly hehe Mine isn’t as nice as yours, it broke as I tried to remove it from the pan… I don’t really know what went wrong, it might be the homemade pumpkin puree, or it could be my baking soda… no idea why it went wrong…
so delicious! just a few changes for me:
-2x nutmeg
-add atleast 1 teaspoon cinnamon
-add an extra 1/3 cup flour
about 75 minutes and it is baked perfectly :) thank you BEB
i just made this and it came out AMAZINGLY. i modified the recipe slightly because of my ingredients:
– used fresh pumpkin puree that i didn’t drain so i omitted the water in the recipe
– added in some powdered cinnamon, cloves, and ginger along with the nutmeg
it baked up perfectly in 60min.
thanks for the recipe! :)
I did the recipe, I’m not sure if I did something wrong. But my loaves came out bland. Maybe it’s because I didn’t put the cinnamon, because my zucchini bread pretty much is the same ingredients but w. cinn. I also added too much batter to the pans, which caused over spillage as the bread rose.
thanks for the recipe..
I made this pumpkin bread recipe and it turned out great! The loaves baked up tall and were very moist. The recipe works just as well if you do half oil and half applesauce. Thanks Michelle.
Hi! I’m comparing pumpkin bread recipes, and I notice that you don’t use cinnamon and/or cloves in addition to nutmeg. Is there any particular reason? I love cinnamon so I’m inclined to add a little in… Also, why the 2/3 cup of water? I haven’t seen that in other recipes.
Thanks! Love your site!
Hi Megan, No cinnamon just because it allows for a really clean pumpkin flavor, but you could definitely add some if you’d like! The water is to keep the batter thin and moist. My very favorite chocolate cake recipe also includes water – makes a world of difference!
I’m going to be trying this recipe tomorrow. The recipe I’ve made in the past is not quite the consistency I’m looking for in a pumpkin bread. I’m excited to eat a slice with the fresh pumpkin butter we just made!!
hey.. wanted to check if I’m substituting fresh pumpkin, do I use the same amount ? Don’t find canned ones too easily here in India, but got fresh ones by the dozen :)
Yes, you could use the same amount. Just be sure to squeeze out any extra moisture of the fresh pumpkin; not doing so could cause the recipe to be runny.
Great! Can’t wait to try this one.
Whole Foods has a delicious pumpkin muffin with pepitas on top and I’ve been searching for a pumpkin muffin recipe that isn’t too sweet or too complicated. Anything like that would be greatly appreciated!
Hmm, I’ve always wondered why my pumpkin bread doesn’t turn out nice. Maybe it is because of the temperature of the oven. Would try out your recipe though and see if it works better.
Boy does that bread look good. I want a whole loaf for breakfast tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
I made this last week, substituted the nuts for chocolate, added a strudel topping and a glaze. Yummy!
http://peanutbutterjane.blogspot.com/2011/09/pumpkin-chip-bread-with-strudel-topping.html
Thanks for the tip about leaving at room temperature overnight! I bet that WOULD help with flavor and moistness. I’m also definitely going to try your pumpkin-cream cheese muffins!
It is fall indeed! Your pictures have me craving some pumpkin bread!
Mmmmm…it’s starting to feel like autumn…and pumpkin bread will be baking in my kitchen. Yours looks fabulous~
We love pumpkin bread! I just tried a new version with apples in it and we LOVED it! Here’s the recipe: http://sherrilynnpuz.blogspot.com/2011/09/pumpkin-apple-bread.html
I sooo very much want to make this bread, but my son has a mild allergy to eggs. He does fine w/ breads with one or two eggs in them but I’m nervous about four. Do you have any ideas to sub two eggs w/ something else? Can I up the amount of pumpkin? Any thoughts?
Hi Amy, I have not tried any substitutions with this bread so I couldn’t say for sure. Keep in mind, though, that this is 4 eggs for two loaves of bread. So one loaf only has tho eggs.
Fall is here and I cannot wait to make anything and everything pumpkin! This looks delicious and I am filing it away to try it.
Thanks for sharing!
Pumpkin bread is one of my fall favories–yum!
Pumpkin Bread is one of my favorites, and I try to make it for friends for the holidays. Fall and pumpkins go hand in hand, and I love them both.
Making banana bread this week, but you’ve inspired me to do pumpkin next. Thanks for the great recipe.
What a wonderful way to enter into the fall. It sounds wonderful and pretty straightforward. I might want to add chocolate chips to it, much as many of the zucchini bread recipes do.
I have been baking with pumpkin this past week, too. I made your pumpkin and cream cheese muffins… so good. I would love to see a really good pumpkin soup recipe.
It sure is Fall already with all the pumpkin recipes I see all over the net. This pretty little darling right over here is very exceptional. Just look at the gorgeous pictures, you can almost take a bite from it!
Perfect recipe for this Fall weather we are having. I had a hard time finding canned pumpkin- I went to 3 three different grocery stores. When I did finally find the pumpkin, I bought 10 cans!
This looks delicious! I’m a huge fan of pumpkin bread but allergic to cinnamon (dang it). So I’m THRILLED that this one doesn’t have it in the ingredients you listed! Yay!
This fall weather definitely does call for pumpkin. This bread makes me want to wrap myself in a blanket, with a mug of hot apple cider in my hands.
The bread looks lovely! I am soooo excited for more pumpkin recipes. I’m already getting on my pumpkin kick this year!
Just stumbled upon your site, also just finished making pumpkin bread, crazy coincidence. My recipe was similar except it used about a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips!