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
- 1/4Â 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:Â 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.
I am a make from scratch cook and this is just the PEFECT recipe! I am big on easy and even BIGGER on absolutely delicious! This is my one and only go to recipe for pumpkin bread! yummy
I made this recipe twice over 2 days. Not sure if maybe my spices are just old and less flavorful, but the first time the bread came out ok, but not so flavorful, and I think covering it with tin foil was a mistake. Second time I doubled all spices and left off the foil, and I’m much happier with it. Texture was great. Without the foil, it develops a nice crusty outside. I made it in the form of a loaf and as muffins and in a pie tin. All seem good.
I made mini muffins, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar— my tea party loved them. I used chopped pecans instead of chocolate chips. Baked at 350 for 15 min….
OMG!! I just made this bread and it’s absolutely the best pumpkin bread I have ever made. I can’t wait to make more of your recipes.
Would gluten free flour work?
Hi Kay, I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour but let me know if you try it!
Can I bake this in small loaf pans? Like, the baking pans that have 6 little loaves?
You sure can, Hannah! The bake time will be much less. I’m unsure of the exact time as it depend on the size of your pans, but test the loaves with a toothpick and when it comes out clean they are finished baking!
Yummy! Only thing I did different was add a crumb topping to the top before baking cuz you will never regret adding a crumb topping! The bread is moist and nothing overpowers any other flavor. This was DELISH!!! Thank you!
10 loaves made in November. A go to recipe. Made with fresh pumpkin and played around with a yogurt oil mix when I ran out of oil. Still perfect although yogurt made it a bit spongier. Guess what the co-workers are getting for Christmas?
Oh my Goodness, best pumpkin bread recipe ever, thank you.
I’ve made this a few times now but in muffin form as I don’t have a loaf tin and they are just incredible! My step-dad hates cinnamon and spices but he’s in love with these, he was shocked when I told him what’s in it. I bake once or twice a week and he’s constantly asking when I’m doing another batch of these muffins. Sometimes I reduce the amount of chocolate chips and put some pecans in for crunch, amazing! I’m now obsessed with your site and have tried a few different recipes which are all incredible. Currently got lemon and blueberry scones in the oven which I can’t wait to eat. Thank you!
I made it as muffins! Made 18 small, perfect , moist muffins.
I used avocado oil, chopped walnuts, tiny dark chocolate chips.
Just wondering if I could use wheat flour instead of the white, all-purpose???????
Hi, Sally! I have a friend who made pumpkin bread with cranberries, and I would love to create this recipe with cranberries instead of chocolate chips. Do you have any suggestions on what measurement of cranberries would work here and not throw off the balance of the bread?
Hi Bil! I recommend 1 heaping cup of fresh or frozen (do not thaw) cranberries. You can add them whole or you can chop them.
Why does my pumpkin bread always crumble when I cut? Any suggestions??
Hi Sheri! Make sure that you aren’t making any ingredient substitutions. Also, make sure that you wait for the bread to cool almost completely before slicing. A serrated knife is best for bread.
I made this the day before Thanksgiving for the fam to eat for breakfast while I was cooking. My MIL can’t have caffeine (so therefore no chocolate chips) but I used raisins instead. Everyone loved it. Best pumpkin bread I’ve ever made and it was so easy. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I made this in mini bundt cake pans for gifts! I saved one for my husband and I and oh my golly it was delicious! This will be my go to from now on!! I didn’t change a thing except the pan and cooked for 28 mins .
When using fresh pumpkin puree, do I need to squeeze out the excess liquid of the pumpkin puree?
Squeezing out a little would definitely be helpful to avoid an overly wet batter. You can use a clean tea towel or paper towel.
I made this the other day, and it was great! Mine took much longer to bake, but I think my loaf pan might be 8×4 which would explain that. I just put some foil loosely over the top at the 55 minute mark and let it go for about 85 minutes total.
Hi Sally! I LOVE your recipes and your instructions always leave to perfect baking!
Would I be able to substitute buttermilk for the OJ or will that make it too heavy?
Thank you 🙂
Buttermilk would be just fine!
This delicious, sweet, autumnal treat has simply been dubbed “loaf” by friends, family and co-workers. I have made it NUMEROUS times and it always comes out incredible! Be careful not to put too much pumpkin in, though, because you’ll have to bake it forever. I’ve slapped foil on it a couple of times to protect the top while cooking the inside a bit longer. Tonight was my first muffin attempt and they look and smell just as wonderful! Thank you Sally!
This pumpkin bread was awesome! I actually made 2 loaves so I could bring one to a potluck meeting I had. One had canola oil in it and for one I substituted melted butter. The melted butter was a bit more moist and tasted a tad better. I also used essential oils instead of spices because I didn’t have all the spices on hand. I will be making this every fall. It was a huge hit at my meeting!
Just made this yummy bread! I didn’t have ground cloves or ginger so I only used cinnamon and nutmeg. I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup brown. Added 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla. I folded in 50% less sugar dried cranberries Instead of choc chips. I topped with crushed walnuts. Wow! Perfect! I planned on using another recipe but found yours today. I was sold after seeing orange juice as an ingredient.
Will try with choc chips next
Oh yeah, I also used a 9×9 square pan and baked for 30 minutes. I have bad luck using loaf pans for my banana bread. I didn’t want to chance it.
Very moist, great flavor. I decreased white sugar amount from 3/4 to 1/2 and it was still sweet enough. Will definitely make again.
Made this with my daughter’s second grade class- they LOVED it and it was easy for them to make. Now I have to bring it to every play date!
Best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had! My mother in law loved it so much she asked me 2 or 3 times if I had saved the recipe because it’s worth keeping! I made 2 mini loaves that baked for about 25-30 minutes and a medium sized loaf that baked just shy of an hour. I wanted to make 4 minis but I was afraid it wouldn’t fit! I think this yeilds almost 5 cups of batter. This must make a huge normal sized loaf! I’m glad I split this into small breads and shared it, because if I had made a normal sized loaf I would be VERY tempted to eat it all… it is currently 8am and I’ve put away 2 slices with my coffee. Pumpkin is healthy, right?
I’ve made this pumpkin bread several times. It is simply delicious! However, I’m wondering why it’s taking SO long before the center is done? It takes around 80 minutes for my oven to bake this. It isn’t an old oven either. It’s a little crispy on the edges when it’s finally done. It’s still delicious. I’m Just wondering why it’s taking so long. Thanks!
I recently made this and it turned out delicious! I added in chocolate chips, but think I will try raisins next time.
Omg this is the best pumpkin bread recipe indeed! I am going on making it for the 3rd time and just had to tell it’s is an absolute hit in my home. My seventeen year old who loves chocolate loved the chips added to the bread. It doesn’t last with company and I just love making it. Wouldn’t change a thing …it’s simply Perfect! Thank you Sally for sharing this! Our new family favorite in Boston ! P.S. Love all of your recipes.
Simply delicious. Not a pumpkin pie fan, so decided to try this bread recipe. There was no struggle preparing it. Love the simplicity of it and the moisture and flavor so great. This recipe will be added to my favorite list. Thanks
One tip: this should be called cake instead of bread. Moist and decadent, the consistency of this “bread” is a dense, cakey crumble. High amount of sugar and generous oil makes this recipe delicious and a crowd pleaser. Not my favorite “bread” however, as it is too sweet and cakey to have this title!
I agree that quick breads are cake-like in their sweetness! They are called “bread” more from the fact that they are baked in a loaf pan 🙂
I doubled the recipe because I knew it would go fast in our house. I followed Alton Brown’s recipe for real pumpkin puree – so easy! I omitted the chocolate chips and it is better the second day. It is very moist and tasty.