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 for years. You don’t even need a mixer! The days of bland pumpkin bread are behind us.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
One reader, Laura, commented: “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. You can also add chocolate chips to other quick bread recipes like zucchini bread and peanut butter chocolate chip zucchini bread.
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, add a swipe of cinnamon butter, 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, commented: “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 & Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies & Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Roll
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies & Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Coffee Creamer
- Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Recipes to Make With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
For even more inspiration, here are my 30+ best 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I am excited to try your recipe but would like to make the pumpkin bread in mini loaf pans. Do you know how many pans should I use and how long should I bake it? Thank you!
Hi Heidi, Mini pans come in a wide variety of sizes. We’re unsure of how many or the exact bake time since it will depend on the exact size of your mini loaf pans. Use the same oven temperature and keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
This is the perfect pumpkin bread recipe. My family loves it! I’d like to make these in individual cupcake sizes for a Christmas party. Do you have any suggestions on what the baking time might be for cupcakes?
Hi Christen, 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.
Superb recipe!! Made countless of times and everyone LOVES. Love how EASY it is with no stand mixer or super special techniques that are hard for beginners. Definitely worth trying!!!
Made this for breakfast today and it is so good!! The perfect fall taste. Thank you!
Could I use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Marianne, we would try replacing half the flour with half whole wheat, but any more than that could try out the bread too much.
ok, thank you!
Would adding cranberries instead of chocolate chips be a good substitution
Hi Liz, we haven’t tried that, but are you thinking fresh or dried?
This has become one of my tried and true favorite recipes. I’ve been making it for years and people always love it! Every time I bring it to a potluck, it’s a huge hit, with people going out of their way to tell me how good it was/ ask for the recipe.
If I want to make it vegan, I’ll substitute two mashed bananas for the eggs. This adds some sweetness, though the banana flavor is usually imperceptible under the pumpkin and spices.
And as I just mentioned in another comment, I like to use the full 15oz can of pumpkin. When I don’t, the remainder often gets lost in my fridge. When I use the full can, I eyeball slightly larger quantities of all of the dry ingredients. This makes enough batter for a full size loaf and a mini loaf. If the full size loaf is for an event, I love being able to have the mini loaf for myself 🙂 If you’re new to baking, I wouldn’t try eyeballing the larger quantities, but if you’re an experienced baker, give it a try!
I’m sorry to say that I had to throw this loaf away. It was horribly dry. I know how to follow a recipe but one needs sour cream for moistness.
You probably overbaked it. If you used a dark pan the loaf cooks faster.
Love this! Made this last week… was a huge hit. Will make another this evening. (I made minor adjustments… as is my habit–hahaha). Really excellent, very tasty, very easy. Thank you! (I swear by your banana bread and fruit galette recipes too!)
This is one of my families favorite snacks. I bake it for about 25 minutes in a 8×11 bar pan and cut them in squares instead of a loaf. They are a hit at fall bake sales too.
How would I adjust this fabulous recipe to make it Gluten Free?
We haven’t tested it ourselves, but some readers have reported success using a 1:1 gluten free all-purpose flour blend in many of our recipes. We’re unsure of the results may change, but let us know if you do give it a try!
Could I make this in mini loaf pans?
Hi Andrea, absolutely. Same temperature, but bake time will vary depending on the exact size of your pans. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
How much would I increase or decrease the other ratios if I wanted to use the entire 15 oz can of pumpkin?
Hi Abby, that would be tricky. Here’s Recipes to Make with Leftover Pumpkin Puree!
I eyeball adding a little extra of all the dry ingredients, and use the full can of pumpkin. This makes enough batter for a regular loaf and a mini loaf. I’ve done this many times and haven’t had any issues.
If you’re new to baking, you might not have the skills to eyeball the quantities. In that case, I’d agree to just try to use the extra puree in something else.
This is my go to recipe. I love the spices added, and never mind pumpkin pie spice. I have a well stocked spice rack. I do make a small change: I switched pecan pieces for chocolate chips. It is absolutely wonderful! Thank you for publishing this.
What if I wanted to add raisins or fresh cranberries
Hi Terri, You can add 2/3 cup of your favorite add-ins such as raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips, etc.
Honestly the best pumpkin bread I could have asked for! I found it while trying to figure out how to make a dream loaf come to life – with dried cranberries and nuts. I just replaced the chocolate chips with those, and it was to die for! I’ve made them a handful of times in the last month, and last time I even did the pumpkin from scratch. DELISH, every time.
This is awesome bread! I used melted butter instead of oil and just the brown sugar. I add walnuts too. Love it!!! Thank you.
This is awesome bread! I used melted butter instead of oil and just the brown sugar. Love it!!! Thank you.
I will make this again and again!
I made three chocolate chip loaves — two to give away and one for my family. I ran out of eggs so used 1/4 C of unsweetened applesauce for ours and the texture was perfection. I also used 425g of pumpkin puree in all loaves because that’s what a full can was, so about 1/4 C more than the recipe called for. I was nervous the flavor would be too pumpkiny, but it was great. I also used 1 tsp pumpkin pie spices and 1 tsp cinnamon in all because my pie spice included cinnamon.
The egg loaves were baked in foil pans and took 80+ minutes to come out dry, but the applesauce loaf in a ceramic pan was perfectly baked in about 70.
I haven’t gotten to try the egg version since those were gifts, but I don’t feel like I have a reason to bake this with eggs again because that applesauce version is excellent. Thanks for this simple, delicious recipe!
Best pumpkin bread ever, have made it several times. This time I had maple extract on hand from trying your maple brown sugar cookies which were amazing btw…so I added a bit. Just when I thought it couldn’t get better!! Thanks!
I love this recipe – it’s my go-to for the holidays. I use a decorative Nordic loaf pan and it comes right out and looks beautiful. Easy and delicious – thank you!!
So good! Would you recommend adding walnuts?
Absolutely! Replace some or all of the chocolate chips with chopped nuts.
Yes!!!
can you use silicone loaf pans of the same size? Thank you!
We’re sure you could, Haylee!
It’s pumpkin perfection! First time making this and it turned out great. I let it cool in the loaf pan and it came loose easily without crumbling or sticking. The bread is fluffy but substantial, the chocolate chips add an unexpected surprise of sweetness. I frosted with cream cheese icing. Its just perfect! Thank you for this recipe, I’ll be making it again to share with family and friends.
I make this loaf with olive oil and milk and it’s always hit but I will say the middle rises and cracks but I’m not sure why.
Hi Cheyenne, that’s just the heat escaping from the baking bread—some loaves will do this more than others. Nothing to worry about!
I also use olive oil, and when I use EVOO it has a more intense pumpkin taste, I find. This is a good thing! Usually I use the lighter olive oil though.
Can you please remind me- why no baking powder in this recipe?
Hi Rich, this recipe gets the proper leavening from baking soda only. No baking powder needed here. Hope you enjoy the bread!
Hi Sally, thank you for a wonderful recipe! The only thing, actually two things I did differently was to leave the rack position alone but lower the temp by 25°.
I figured if my pan was on the lowest position , it would over bake the bottom. I think I ended up baking it for 65 mins.
I tented it at the 45 min mark but there wasn’t any need as it didn’t get dark at all. So I removed the tent. Also I forgot to bring the cold ingredients to room temp. It was fine. The bread was tender and moist.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Hi Sally,
I don’t have OJ, but have apple cider. May I substitute the apple cider for the OJ?
Many thanks,
Lesley
That should be just fine, Lesley!
This recipe is so easy to make, truly the hardest part was remembering to take the eggs out of the fridge a few hours before. I omitted the chocolate chips, as a nod to healthiness. Turns out I was running a bit low on brown sugar, so I made up the difference with white sugar. It still came out perfectly. Moist, flavorful, not too sweet. Even my husband liked it, and he usually doesn’t care for pumpkin-y things.
Do y’all think Sunny D would work in place of orange juice?
Should be fine, or milk works too!