Skip to Content

Perfect Pumpkin Bread

This quick and easy recipe for Perfect Pumpkin Bread is a must-try. And quick bread recipes like this are excellent for baking together.

Perfect Pumpkin Bread

With Will and Paige back in school, our house dynamic is shifting again. It does at the start and end of every summer. And I love that subtle shift … it means that sometimes I am the only one home. And sometimes it’s just Paige and I.

This afternoon? Will and I will have an hour together alone. After a summer of all-family-all-the-time, it’s nice to have a little solo time and some one-on-one time with the kids. It balances things.

It’s also nice that the weather is turning to something that resembles fall – cooler temperatures, especially at night and in the early morning, and warm sunshine during the days. It’s a glorious retreat from the burning temperatures and thick humidity of August. And this afternoon, I even noticed that the leaves are beginning to drop from the trees.

Progress, baby.

Really, as much as I love summertime, beautiful days spent away from the beach are more akin to torture than fun (lots of people would disagree with me, I am sure, but to me, summer must be spent at the beach).

With fall setting in, I am ready for all the warm, comforting foods it brings. Like pumpkin dishes because pumpkin is fall. Or autumn, if you prefer, but I have never been a fan of the word autumn.

This past weekend, I baked. A lot. And one of the delicious creations that came out of my afternoon baking spree was this Perfect Pumpkin Bread. It’s moist, like a good quick bread should be, and it has whispers of all the right spices – cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. It smells heavenly baking … and then the best part: you get to eat it. I suggest you toast it and then spread a pat of butter on. It’s so good that way.

Then, you can grab your mug of coffee and your favorite book (or e-reader … I love mine) and have a blissful few moments to yourself lost in a good book with a tender, sweet slice of pumpkin bread. You can thank me later.

As for that leftover pumpkin puree, try Iced Pumpkin Bundt Cake.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy pumpkin?

Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Yield: 1 loaf
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg and beat well to combine. Add the pumpkin puree and mix again.
  3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. With the stand mixer running on its lowest speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time until fully incorporated.
  4. Add the milk to the stand mixer and mix until fully incorporated.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and then put it in the oven. Bake for 55-65 minutes, until cooked through (use a toothpick ... when it comes out clean, the bread is done). Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before loosening the edges with a knife and turning out onto a cooling rack. Flip the bread right side up and let cool before slicing.
  6. This is really amazing toasted and served with a pat of butter.

Jen

Monday 6th of April 2020

This pumpkin bread was so good! Trying to use up everything in my cupboards bc of Covid and found myself with a can of pumpkin from last Thanksgiving so wanted to make bread. But then I realized I only had one egg and almost all the recipes I’ve seen call for two or three. So I literally Googled ‘pumpkin bread one egg’ and found this. I didn’t have high hopes, because I’ve never been to this site and had no idea what I was getting into. But it came together so well and was so so good! I even had to substitute almond milk because I didn’t have any regular milk. Thank you so much for this recipe! Definitely checking out your others now...

Sarah Walker Caron

Tuesday 7th of April 2020

This is the greatest. Thank you, Jen! I am so glad you found my site and so glad you gave my bread a chance. I hope you'll be back and find more recipes you love.

Homemade Fudgy Brownies Recipe

Monday 9th of February 2015

[…] were part of last weekend’s bake-a-thon (but don’t worry … this isn’t turning into a sweets or baking blog. It’s […]

Jennifer

Tuesday 9th of October 2012

I just made this and it's fantastic! Super moist, spices not overpowering. Definitely the best recipe I've found online and definitely bookmarking for the future!

Janelle

Wednesday 28th of September 2011

What size loaf pan?

sarah

Thursday 29th of September 2011

A large loaf pan -- I used a Wilton 9.25x5.25x2.75-inch one.

The Teacher Cooks

Wednesday 14th of September 2011

This is some beautiful pumpkin bread and that to me is a sign of fall. Fall is my favorite time of the year! Great photos Sarah!

Skip to Recipe