If you, like me, love pumpkin and believe that autumn wouldn’t be complete without at least one batch of homemade pumpkin bread, here are three of my favorite pumpkin bread recipes as well a few gathered from around the internet.
Although I have a vast collection of cookbooks, am prone to kitchen experimentation, and gravitated toward “fancy food” years ago, my preferences are changing.
These days it’s the simple recipes from my childhood that are most appealing.
Maybe it’s age? Maybe it’s my desire to simplify things? Maybe it’s all I am learning at IIN?
Not sure what’s driving the desire to get back to basics. But I digress…
I love pumpkin bread for lots of reasons – pumpkin is full of fiber, vitamins and minerals so I feel good about including it in my baking, it has a longer shelf life than any other quick bread I know, and it’s versatile.
Homemade Pumpkin Bread
You can adjust the spices up or down, add your favorite spices (allspice and ginger for example) or stir in extra goodies, such as dried cranberries, fresh chopped cranberries, chopped nuts, raisins or chocolate chips.
There’s a good chance you already have your own go-to pumpkin bread recipe. Canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) is my pumpkin of choice, since I’ve never had easy access to fresh pumpkins and am a lazy cook at my core! But if you are in the mood to experiment, you won’t go wrong with either of these recipes, that are tried and true.
Pumpkin Bread
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Favorite Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 60 to 70 minutes
Yield: 2 loaves
I made this pumpkin bread Sunday, adding a large handful of chopped dried cranberries. I also made a gluten-free version to take to my friend Nancy. To make this recipe gluten free – substitute your favorite gluten free flour blend for the flour, add 1/2 cup applesauce, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum.
Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water or apple cider
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 9×5-inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven. (Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.)
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Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 45 to 55 minutes
Yield: Makes 1 9×5-inch loaf
This is on my list of pumpkin bread recipes to try. The pumpkin ratio is much higher than in my current favorite, which makes me think it may soon be new best pumpkin bread. (We’ll see.)
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 (15-ounce can) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil or melted and cooled butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries (optional)
Preparation
Heat oven to 350. Coat a 9×5 with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ginger. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended. Gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stir in the nuts and cranberries (if using). (The batter will be very thick.)
Scrape the pumpkin bread batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the surface. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the bread out of the pan and let it cool on the wire rack for 1 hour.
Pumpkin Bread Squares
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Pumpkin Bread Squares Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Yield: one 8-inch square pan
This recipe for pumpkin bread squares produces delicious, dense, moist, and spicy pumpkin squares that are like gingerbread, only better for a nut lover like me because they are crusted with pecans. This is fall and winter comfort food at its most basic deeply satisfying best.
It’s adapted from a wonderful cookbook called The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress-Free Strategies for Busy People
These tasty pumpkin squares taste even better a day or two after baking when the flavors have had the chance to meld together and they travel extremely well.
For an easy thoughtful homemade gift, bake in a disposable foil pan and when cool, wrap with colorful plastic and/or cellophane.
Ingredients
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Generously grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (Alternatively, line your pan with parchment or greased foil.)
Pour chopped pecans into the pan and tilt to coat the bottom and sides evenly, and then carefully tip out the excess, saving them for the topping.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla, whisking until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until well blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. (You don’t want to over mix since this can make your pumpkin squares tough.)
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Scatter the remaining nuts evenly over the top of the pumpkin squares batter.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes or so.
Cut into desired size bars. Serve warm or at room temperature.
These delicious pumpkin squares can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
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A few more pumpkin bread recipes from around the web…
Pumpkin Bread – In case we haven’t mentioned it already, we just LOVE pumpkin here in the shoebox. Chances are, if it contains pumpkin in the ingredients list, we’re going to like it – a lot. In fact, we’re not really sure if there are any recipes out there that wouldn’t benefit from a little pumpkin. It’s like salt and pepper, pumpkin is. (Very much like my favorite pumpkin bread but with wonderful step by step pictures.) From the Shoe Box Kitchen.
Vegan Pumpkin Bread – Sometimes I make recipes vegan simply because I’m out of eggs and/or butter. It’s true. A severe and persisting egg shortage in my house was the inspiration for the Vegan Pumpkin Bread. If you’re vegan, you’re probably annoyed. That’s ok. I can be annoying. If you’re not vegan, you’re probably happy to know that you can still bake up some wonders without eggs and butter. Your call. Found at Joy the Baker.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread – was so happy myself to see four loaves of my pumpkin bread cooling on the top of the stove that I snapped a few pictures. In disarray or all lined up, the sight of these loaves of pumpkin bread made me happy! Found at Gluten Free Easily.
More Easy Quick Bread and Muffin Recipes
Bran Muffins – For bran muffins that are moist, chewy, and not too heavy or sweet.
Pumpkin Muffins – These pumpkin muffins turned out perfectly – moist and tender, not too sweet, with a gentle spiciness and a beautiful golden-orange color.
Moist Banana Bread - I could barely contain my excitement. I happened upon a recipe for super moist banana bread that isn’t full of butter and sour cream.
PS – Have you grabbed a FREE copy of my Homemade Granola Bars e-cookbooklet yet? When you do, as a BONUS you will receive a FREE subscription to my monthly e-zine full of ideas for balancing your love of good food with your desire to stay slim and healthy.
