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 (looking at you, chocolate marble pumpkin bread!) 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
- Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- 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
Can this recipe be doubled?
Hi Donna, for absolute best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling. Hope you enjoy this pumpkin bread!
Subbed in about 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. Added chocolate chips. Super delicious. Some of it stuck to the bottom of my well-greased glass pan because I got tired of waiting for it to completely cool. I’ll leave out the chocolate next time so it will bake in less time. And there will be a next time, Lord willing!
This is a great receipe. I only gave in four stars though to get your attention. I’ve been subsrcribed for years. Then all of a sudden I quite getting emails. I have since resubscribed a couple of times, and I’m STILL not getting any emails. No it’s not in spam. Can you please tell me what else I can do?
Thank you so much.
Hi Rebecca, Can you please send us an email to sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com and let us know what email address you subscribed through. One of our team members should be able to help you out!
Hi. Can I use maple syrup if I don’t have OJ?
Hi Lisa, maple syrup won’t work as a substitute here, but you can substitute milk (any kind) for orange juice.
Can I substitute sour cream for the orange juice/milk?
Hi Nancy, no, you’ll need a liquid to help thin out the batter a bit.
I used apple cider instead of OJ, the entire can of pumpkin, and poured half the batter in the pan, sprinkled half of 66 g sugar + 1.5 tsp of cinnamon, then topped it with the rest of the batter and sprinkled the rest of the cinnamon sugar and swirled it through with a knife. Delicious!
Wonderful pumpkin bread and the perfect way to welcome Fall. Moist and full of flavor. The bread held at AC room temperature quite well and stayed fresh for several days. I used mini semi sweet chips on the top. Next time I want to try dark chocolate chips in the bread and nuts on top.
Can you use pumpkin spice instead of cloves and ginge.
Hi Sally! 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.
Hi Sally
Can any part of the sweeteners be substituted with molasses? Maybe eliminate the granulated?
Thank you, Chef Redda
Hi Lauretta, adding molasses would take some testing since that would be adding extra liquid to the batter of this already very moist quick bread. You could try reducing the orange juice if you try swapping in molasses for the granulated sugar. Let us know how it goes!
Hi can nuts and cranberries be aded(dried cranberries)
Thank you
Hi Cindy, certainly! You can add 2/3 cup of your favorite add-ins such as raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips, etc. Enjoy!!
This turned out wonderful and was super simple. I used my own grown pumpkins so it feels great finding something that I can use them for!
I doubled the recipe and used a larger pan, I had to add about 15 mins. I also used half regular flour and half whole wheat and it worked great.
Can the total sugar amount be decreased to 1 C and use white sugar only?
Hi Katie, sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended. We recommend sticking with a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar as well.
Thanks! I have only one loaf pan and need to make 2 loaves. Can I remove the first loaf from the pan after 20 mins, put it on a wire rack, and then use the pan for the next loaf? Or how long will it need to stay in the pan to fully cool?
Hi Katie, the amount of time it needs to fully cool can vary. If it’s cool to the touch, it should be find to remove from the pan so that you can use it for the next loaf. Enjoy!
Would you please breakdown a cook time for mini pumpkin bread loaves?
Thank you
Hi Bam, the exact yield and bake time will depend on the exact size of your mini loaf pans (they vary). Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
This pumpkin bread is super moist and delicious. In addition to the orange juice I also added a bit of orange zest. It really made the flavours pop. Will definitely be making this one again.
Fantastic recipe. I doubled the recipe so I could share it with friends and family. Didn’t add chocolate chips, but did add pecans and raisins. Everything worked out great and I’ll definitely make it again.
can I substitute lemon juice for the orange juice
Hi Richard! Lemon would be a little strong. Instead of orange juice, you can use milk or apple juice.
A great recipe for me to bake with granddaughters! We used 2 smaller pans ,(8x4ish) and they baked at middle of oven perfectly in about 40 minutes.
Used Fresh OJ plus some orange peel. If adding choc chips, I would cut down the sugar a bit, but the loaf w/o chocolate was perfect. Not super spicy, but flavorful, tender.
Starting to bake again after some time, and I find it easier to weigh the weighable ingredients vs. using measuring cups. Any thoughts on my theory? I am also at 5,200 ft altitude and glad to see the recipe still turned out great!
Hi George, yes! We love to weigh the ingredients instead of dirtying measuring cups for each ingredient. It’s more accurate as well!
Thank you for the response! I appreciate it and looking forward to trying some tasty pumpkin bread (and many other recipes!)
Hi Sally, As with all of your recipes, this bread is extraordinary! I would like to experiment and add a cinnamon streusel topping. Do you think the bake time would be altered at all?
The bake time should be just about the same with a streusel topping, Eileen!
Sally, I love pumpkin nut bread. I add walnuts and sorghum or honey to the mix. Substitute sour cream also. Also use half whole wheat flour instead of all pain flour.
Sally, I love pumpkin nut bread. I add walnuts and sorghum or honey to the mix. Substitute sour cream also. Also use half whole wheat flour instead of all pain flour.
I tried this recipe, as written, at 5,100′ elevation and it turned out great. The only adjustment was at 50 minutes it was done. So if you live at high altitude, don’t be afraid to try this pumpkin bread. The spices are spot on.
This was a great recipe!!!! Only suggestion is not baking it so low in the oven. Just do it normal it kind of burnt the bottom. But still delicious!
Bread turned out delicious! I cut out the white sugar and used milk since I didn’t have on. The bread certainly doesn’t need the extra sugar. I’m curious why there is no vanilla in this recipe.
My 9yr old and I easily made this for a fall snack and it is so good. We used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (that we may have measured more with our hearts) and they were perfectly distributed throughout the loaf.
Our can of pumpkin was only about 80g more than the needed amount, so rather than find a use for such a small amount we just added that too. It turned out fine!
I love this recipe and I love pumpkin bread I added raisins instead of chocolate chips
Used King Arthur‘s all purpose organic flour and one and a half cups of this brand is 210 g so I use 215 g to play it safe
so delicious!! i doubled the ginger, cloves, and nutmeg and it made the bread so spicy and delicious. i put in less sugar than suggested, but i think next time i will match the recipe’s recommendation.
thank you for this yummy bread!
I have made so many of Sally’s recipes and this is one of my all-time favorites! This bread is moist, pumpkiny, and perfect for a fall day. I love it plain and with chocolate chips!
This is the recipe that made me everyone’s go to baker. I think I first made it in 2015 or 2016 when you posted the first version. I was in grad school, and the first time I made it for my study group, everyone was hooked. I couldn’t come without a loaf that fall.
I’m now a professional baker and it’s still one of my go-tos. I’m feeling very grateful for this recipe and where it took me and wanted to thank you for how you’ve impacted my life!
Any idea how to make this egg free?
Hi Aliza, we haven’t tested an egg-free version of this pumpkin bread so we’re unsure of the best substitute. Let us know if you give anything a try!
I baked this with 1/4 C of unsweetened applesauce when I ran of eggs and it was perfect. My preferred way to make it now! In a ceramic pan the applesauce version bakes well for me in about 70 minutes.
You may have to search several sites on a google search. But I have found that flax eggs will not give you the same rise/ lift. Maybe that MIGHT? save you a test run.?
Post again if you find a solution.