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.
PrintMy 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
Any tips on how to make these in mini loaf pans and with the addition of cranberries and pecans? Thanks!
Hi Serenity! You can use mini loaf pans with those additions. Baking time will depend on the exact size of your mini loaf pans. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
I made this for a friend, who absolutely loved it! I appreciate that it’s dairy free (I didn’t use chocolate chips). The flavor of the spices and molasses come through a lot (I used dark brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice as noted in the recipe notes) – it reminded me a bit of gingerbread cake, especially with its dark brown color.
★★★★★
I love this recipe! I have made it a few times and it turns out great. I would like to add golden raisins or dried cranberries. Do you think it would work?
Hi Laura, adding those should be fine, yes. Enjoy!
Can I substitute the oil with butter??
Hi Lara, we don’t recommend it-—the bread is not as moist and soft if using butter.
I used butter and thought the bread was great! I put the butter into the baking dish and melt it in the oven, then add it to the recipe. Having the pan preheated like this makes a delicious crust on the bread (learned the trick from a cornbread recipe I found years ago).
The recipe was good but I thought there would have been more pumpkin flavor in the bread. I used the exact amount of ingredients in the recipe.
★★★
I love following all of your recipes, they always turn out so delicious. I am using fresh milled AP that my son’s work makes. It is stone ground, no preservatives. On one of their sites it’s says to add a little bit more liquid per cup of flour to the baked goods. Should I add a bit more oj then to this recipe? Thanks
Hi Allya, I’m afraid your guess is as good as ours here! We haven’t tested the recipe with that specific flour, so aren’t sure. My recommendation would be to follow the flour instructions and add a little extra OJ here. Hope it turns out great!
Hi have you any feedback on using gluten free flour?
Hi Denise, we haven’t tested this bread using gluten free flour, but let us know if you do.
Could I bake this recipe into muffins instead of a loaf? Any change in temperature or baking time to do that?
Hi Jenny, yes you can! See the recipe Notes: 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.
Thank you so much!
I’ve made this recipe twice to give away and was told it was delicious. Will be making it again soon.
★★★★★
I’ve made this recipe several times! I think it tastes just like Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf which I LOVE!!! If I run out of all purpose flour will the flavor & texture still be the same if I use whole wheat flour?
★★★★★
Hi Sandra, if you swap all ww flour here, you can expect the bread to be denser and drier. I would recommend trying half ww and half AP flour instead of all ww. You could also try this recipe for whole wheat mini pumpkin muffins if the craving hits!
This recipe is absolutely delightful! Sally, you have taught me how to do so much, from using yeast, to improving my baked goods. You are my absolute fave! 🙂 Side note: when you go to print this receipe and you click the small version – it actually enlarges, so I think the link needs to be updated if possible. Thanks so much for all you do!
Hi Holly, thank you! Let me look into that printing page issue. Thanks for letting us know.
If I add a streusel topping would this pumpkin bread still bake correctly??
It should; you may need to slightly extend the bake time.
Can I use a glass loaf pan?
Hi Ann, absolutely. Bake time may be a few minutes longer.
First time trying this bread. It turned out too fluffy and crumbly. Every loaf stuck to the pan, even though I oiled them well, and it was impossible to cutt it without it crumbling to bits.
Sounds like your pumpkin bread turned out a bit dry? We’re happy to help. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. We always recommend using a non-stick spray (like Pam) for greasing baking pans.
My bread turned out marvellouslyurned out my bread turned turned out marvellously! and so good and moist. Didn’t have orange juuce.I left it out. Still awesome
★★★★★
Can I use avocado oil instead of canola oil? I am hoping because of all the spices, the avocado flavor will not come through.
Hi Gayle, avocado oil is a nice oil for baking, especially when there are other strong flavors present. You can certainly try it here.
This is by far the best pumpkin bread I have ever made! I have made many, so this is saying a lot!! My young adult kids ask for it ALL THE TIME, it hardly lasts a day in my house!
★★★★★
Wow! I’ve tried a few different recipes over the years, and said to myself well Sally never steers me wrong! So glad I tried it’s now my new favorite recipe!! So moist and delicious. My oven isn’t the most accurate I did add about 10 min more to mine. Wonderful!!
★★★★★
I tried this recipe and my family loved it! However, is there a way to make the top crust crunchy? I feel like that would perfect this!
Hi Dave, so glad your family enjoyed this bread! You could try adding the crumble from these pumpkin muffins to the top of the loaf, or even topping with some pepitas or your favorite nuts.
My bread turned out hard and crusty. Is that because I left out the orange juice?
★★★★★
Hi Florida, it sounds like the bread may have been overbaked if it’s hard and crusty. You don’t want to leave out the orange juice/milk either—the little bit of moisture is needed for a soft, moist loaf of bread.
Getting nervous reading the reviews that say the batter is thick. Mine was super runny Maybe my home made pumpkin puree carried too much water? Waiting nervously by the oven for a potential disastrous cake
Hi Emma, homemade pumpkin puree can often be more watery than canned pumpkin puree. If you decide to try this bread again with homemade puree, you may find it helpful to blot out some of the moisture if it seems especially wet. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Could you use apple juice instead of orange juice (seems like the properties would be pretty similar), or is milk a better alternative? Thanks!
Hi Kyle, apple juice will work well here. Hope you enjoy the bread!
Hi! I was wondering if a glass loaf pan would work at the same temp and time?
Hi Lexi, You can use your glass loaf pan – just keep in mind the bake time may be slightly longer. Enjoy!
This looks like a great recipe. Can i add a few walnuts and chopped dates to it without changing the cooking time?
Hi Bonnie, yes! We recommend keeping the total amount of add-ins to about a cup. Hope you love the bread!
I always get rave reviews with your recipes. Your not afraid of seasonings but I used 2 tsp of the pumpkin pie spice. I also waited till about 40 min before I tented.
★★★★★
I love this recipe. I have made it plain, but when I add chocolate chips they sink and tend to stick to the bottom of the loaf pan.
Hi Maureen, We’ve never had that happen before. The batter is quite thick so the chocolate chips shouldn’t really be sinking. Two things you can try… (1) toss the chocolate chips in 1 Tablespoon of flour and add to the recipe as directed (including any excess flour) and/or (2) pour batter into pan and chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking. No longer than 15 minutes or the baking soda will lose some of its leavening power.
Great recipe! Didn’t have orange juice (but will the next time) used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, turned out great. Love the addition of ch chips, hadn’t thought to do that but always add them to my banana bread.
Woops! I accidentally forgot the baking soda and so this baked up very heavy and dense like a very fudgy brownie. The spiced flavor was delicious though! I served it warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. I will definitely by making this again (with baking soda next time!!).
★★★★★
For those that like less sugar, I used 1/2 cup organic maple syrup and 1/4 cup dark brown sugar. I used coconut oil. I eliminated the chocolate chips and added 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup pecans. Tented the loaf with foil at 50 minutes and cooked for one hour. It turned out perfect. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing what worked for you! I know many will find this comment helpful.
Easy recipe to follow. I love the options at the end of the recipe. I choose to go with the bunt cake.
Incredibly delicious! Placed in 4 small aluminum pans for 40 min. Now have Christmas presents for friends!