Homemade pumpkin bread is a favorite fall recipe packed with cinnamon spice and tons of pumpkin flavor. Extra moist and easy to make, this recipe has been a fan favorite since 2014. You don’t even need a mixer! The days of bland pumpkin bread are behind us.
Reader Laura says: “Wanted to say this bread is really good! And last year when I took some of my farmers markets breads to our county fair, this is one of the breads I entered for judging, got a blue ribbon, 1st place, for it! Very good!”
When September rolls around, I have the sudden urge to make every quick bread recipe under the sun. Some of my favorites are banana bread, apple cinnamon bread, and this orange beauty: the BEST pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. This is a favorite pumpkin bread recipe because each slice is incredibly moist and the process is very straightforward. There are no dry crumbs here! This pumpkin bread is also packed with pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavors. I’m telling you… this is some good stuff.
Perfecting This Pumpkin Bread Recipe
When I was testing this pumpkin bread recipe, it took me about 6 or 7 tries to get it just right. After plenty of sunken, soggy, and flavorless loaves, I finally mastered what ingredients and how much of each to use, and the result is pumpkin perfection. The recipe is a lot like these pumpkin muffins.
Here are the key ingredients you need & why:
- Pumpkin: There’s a lot of pumpkin in this recipe because it not only adds flavor, but moisture as well. I always bake with canned pumpkin, but homemade pumpkin puree works too. If you’re interested, here’s how to make pumpkin puree. Make sure you blot your homemade pumpkin puree to rid some of the moisture (not necessary if using canned pumpkin). Simply measure your homemade pumpkin puree, then squeeze out some of the moisture with a paper towel.
- Oil: Adds incredible moisture and lightens up the crumb. Vegetable oil is best, but you can substitute melted coconut oil instead.
- Favorite Fall Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves… the gang’s all here! These 4 spices complement the pumpkin flavor wonderfully (and are often found together in pumpkin pie and many other pumpkin recipes). You could also use pumpkin pie spice—see my recipe Note below.
- Orange Juice: I know orange juice seems strange here, but don’t be nervous. This bread will NOT taste like oranges. I use orange juice because a little liquid keeps the bread from tasting too dense. Milk works too if you don’t have orange juice, but the subtle orange flavor is like magic in this bread. It just works.
- Chocolate Chips: Optional, but if you’re a chocolate lover, pumpkin + chocolate is always a good idea.
Here’s the batter and a couple pictures of the bread without chocolate chips:
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Bread Recipe:
- Delicious in the fall
- Smells wonderful while it bakes
- Easy to make—no mixer required
- Extra moist
- Tons of pumpkin flavor
- Loaded with warm spices
- Adaptable—studded with chocolate chips, or use chopped pecans, or leave plain
- Similar to banana bread, it tastes even better on day 2 (if it lasts that long!)
I love this pumpkin bread recipe so much that I included it in my first cookbook, Sally’s Baking Addiction. It’s always a hit, especially when pumpkin spice season picks up!
But after 1 taste, you might not want to limit this quick bread to the fall season. 🙂
Another reader, Liz, says: “This is by far the best pumpkin bread recipe I have made… It’s moist and loaded with flavor. I love the orange juice that adds a fresh flavor to it. I add some orange zest that kicks up the orange flavor a bit. It goes well with the chocolate chips too.”
More Perfect Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Muffins & Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies & Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Roll
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Recipes to Make With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
For even more inspiration, here are my 30+ favorite pumpkin dessert recipes.
Print
My Best Pumpkin Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Homemade pumpkin bread is a favorite fall recipe packed with sweet cinnamon spice, tons of pumpkin flavor, and optional chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup (60ml) orange juice*
- 2/3 cup (120g) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, and orange juice. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. There will be a few lumps. Do not over-mix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips, if including.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60–65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be before or after 60–65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 55-minute mark.
- Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing.
- Cover and store leftover pumpkin bread at room temperature for up to 3–4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Baked pumpkin bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Spices: You can use 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice instead of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Be sure to still add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter.
- Oil: Oil is a better choice than melted butter in this recipe. The bread is not as moist and soft if using butter.
- Orange Juice: You can substitute milk (any kind) for orange juice.
- Chocolate Chips: If desired, try using milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, or even chopped pecans/walnuts instead of the semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can leave the pumpkin bread plain, too.
- Pumpkin Muffins: This recipe makes 15–18 pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Bake for about 20 minutes at the same oven temperature, or try this similar pumpkin muffins recipe.
- Bundt Cake: Simply make this pumpkin Bundt cake (pretty much this exact recipe) and leave out the cream cheese filling. Add 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips if desired. About 1 hour bake time.
Keywords: pumpkin bread
I didn’t have any orange juice on hand, however I did have apple cider, still came out moist and delicious. This is the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had – my kids love it too! Thank you for sharing!!
★★★★★
Can’t wait to make this! What kind of salt should be used? (I’ve been second guessing myself lately on kosher vs. fine sea salt etc)
Hi Catherine, All our recipes use regular table salt unless otherwise noted. Hope you enjoy the pumpkin bread!
This recipe is a keeper. I made a double batch, no mixer required I didn’t add chocolate chips but pecans instead. It’s moist and has great flavor.
★★★★★
Hi! I made this pumpkin bread last night, and it was delicious!! My mom isn’t a big pumpkin fan, but she ate the WHOLE piece that I gave her, so that’s saying a lot. One question, how long should I wait before cutting it. I may have cut it too soon, and it started to crumble a bit! Thanks!!
Hi Ashton! Cool completely before slicing 🙂
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Can I use a glass dish or does it need to be metal?
Hi Aubrey, you can absolutely use a glass dish. Bake time may take just a few minutes longer. Enjoy!
Thank u for great recipes my family loves it
Can I get two loaves out of this recipe?
Hi Jody, if you use a smaller pan, you could get 2 loaves, but I’m unsure of the exact bake time. You may be better off doubling the recipe to make 2 9×5-inch loaves.
I should stop being surprised that every recipe from Sally is so amazing. We made this one a little healthier with fresh ground soft white wheat berries, coconut sugar instead of the brown sugar, and raw sugar instead of the granulated sugar, and used coconut oil. Sometimes you can tell when you sub healthier ingredients, but these ones were still amazingly delicious. I’m not sure if it was the substitutions or not, but it almost had a bit of a gingerbread flavor. This is my go-to website for baking recipes, and I have yet to be disappointed.
★★★★★
This time of year I always have apple cider on hand. Could I substitute apple cider for the orange juice?
Absolutely!
Great recipe. I have made other pumpkin bread recipes, but this is the best! Didn’t have orange juice but used 2% milk. Turned out perfect. Will probably try next time with orange juice. I can see that this may add some additional layer of flavor. I’m really picky about baked goods. Your recipes are great and very good instructions.
★★★★★
Is it ok to omit the chocolate chips?
Absolutely!
Has anyone adjusted this recipe for altitude? Colorado Springs is wrecking havoc with my recipes!
I live in Breckenridge and made a few adjustments for altitude and it turned out great. I added about 2.5 tablespoons more flour, a tiny bit less baking soda, an additional egg and about a tablespoon more oil. Same temp and about 60 minutes in the oven.
★★★★★
I can’t wait to get to baking! My daughter was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease, so I’m not cooking or baking with gluten. Could I simply swap the flour for 1-to-1 GF flour (and of course make sure the other ingredients are GF)? Or do you have other suggestions for tweaks I should make? Thanks! LOVE your recipes!
Hi Ally! We haven’t tested this bread with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Although some readers report using an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour in many of our recipes with success, you should expect slightly different results anytime you substitute ingredients. If you’re interested in browsing, here are all of our gluten free recipes. Let us know what you try!
Hands down, this is the best pumpkin bread recipe!! I make it every year and sometimes all year around (I’m a pumpkin fan!)! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. It has become a family favorite and we have so many pleasant memories surrounding it.
★★★★★
Can this recipe be doubled without changing the amounts in the ingredients?
Hi Hattie, for best results (and to prevent over or under mixing), we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling.
I had a problem with this re
I had a problem with the pumpkin recipe. It came out mushy, underdone, even though the cake tester came out clean. If I make it again I will blot the canned, organic pumpkin, hope thar will do the trick.
★★★
Hi Pat, it sounds like the loaf could use a few additional minutes in the oven. For next time, you can tent the loaf with aluminum foil half way through bake time. This will allow the middle to continue baking through will preventing the tops and edges from getting burnt. If your pumpkin seemed especially wet, blotting it a bit should help, too (but don’t rid of all the moisture!). Thank you for giving this a try!
Can I make this in smaller pans? If so, how do I adjust the baking time?
Hi Betty, absolutely. Same baking temperature, but baking time will vary based on the size of your mini loaf pans. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Beautiful and tasty loaf! I’ve made a couple failed recipes recently and was looking for a solid pumpkin loaf that wouldn’t fail. I’ve had great success with Sally’s baking recipes previously, so I gave this one a go and it was a hit. Normally, I use pumpkin pie spice to save effort, but I had all the spices for this one. It turned out perfectly and was a great color. I added mini semi sweet chocolate chips and swapped the orange juice for whole milk, though I’d be interested to see how OJ changes the flavor and texture.
Will be making this recipe again for sure!
★★★★★
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t have quite enough pumpkin so I used a little apple sauce to complete the measurement and it worked great!
★★★★★