This irresistibly moist and spiced pumpkin bread recipe is packed with warm flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and, of course, pumpkin, making it the perfect treat for chilly mornings or afternoon snacks. It’s super easy to make and will fill your home with the most comforting, cozy scent!
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Packed with Flavor: This pumpkin bread has a wonderful pumpkin flavor to it (without it being overpowering) and is packed with spices! The spices I use in this recipe are cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, but you could add other spices of your choice too (e.g. allspice which I use in my pumpkin cake recipe). You could even omit all the spices and simply use pumpkin pie spice if you prefer 🙂
Super Moist: This pumpkin bread recipe is an oil based recipe (no butter), so it’s guaranteed to stay moist for days!
Quick & Easy to Make: This quick bread recipe uses the muffin method of making batter, where the dry and wet ingredients are mixed separately (usually with a whisk) and then combined. No fancy electric mixers needed and you seriously end up with the best pumpkin bread recipe!
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
You can find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card at the end of the post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is just a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (recipe video is also provided in the recipe card below).
Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional and lightly grease an 8.5×4.5inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving some of the parchment hanging over the edges.
Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Using a whisk, mix together until well combined and set aside for now.
In a large bowl combine white granulated sugar, eggs, unflavored vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until well combined and smooth.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and using a whisk, mix gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Drop the tin lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 65-70 minutes, or until a skewer or thin knife inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it. If your loaf tin is slightly larger than mine, then check the bread at the 55 minute mark.
Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, before lifting the bread out of the tin using the excess parchment hanging over the edges and place onto a wire rack to cool. Once ready, slice and serve!
Commonly Asked Questions:
Why is my pumpkin bread dense and not fluffy?
If your pumpkin bread is dense, it’s likely from overmixing the batter, which causes too much gluten to form. Mix just until the ingredients are combined. Also, check that your baking powder or baking soda is fresh, as expired leavening agents can prevent the bread from rising properly. Lastly, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided for best results, as too much liquid or fat in the batter can also make for a dense bread.
Can I use fresh pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin puree?
For this recipe I use Libby’s 100% canned pumpkin, but you can use fresh pumpkin too! Just roast or steam the pumpkin until tender, then puree it until smooth. Be sure to drain any excess liquid so the consistency is similar to canned pumpkin. Keep in mind that fresh pumpkin may have a milder flavor. Here is a great article for how to make homemade pumpkin puree: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pumpkin-puree
Can I add other ingredients like chocolate chips or nuts?
Absolutely! Pumpkin bread is versatile, and you can add chocolate chips, nuts (chopped pecans or walnuts work great!), dried fruit, or even a cream cheese swirl for added flavor and texture. I would recommend adding in any extra ‘mix-ins’ at the end and make sure to stir them in gently to avoid overmixing the batter.
Why did my pumpkin bread sink in the middle?
Sinking can happen if the bread is underbaked, if the oven temperature is too high, or if there’s too much moisture in the batter. Make sure your oven is properly preheated, and don’t open the oven door too early to check the bread as the rush of cold air into the oven can cause the bread to sink. Only check the bread after atleast three quarters of the cook time has passed. For more tips, check out my blog post on why cakes sink in the middle.
How do I store pumpkin bread, and how long will it stay fresh?
Store pumpkin bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. For longer storage, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Just thaw it at room temperature before serving.
Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe (So Moist!)
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp ground ginger - powdered ginger (not fresh)
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- ¾ cup (155 g) unflavored vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 1 cup (250 g) pumpkin puree - I use Libby's 100% canned pumpkin (see note 1 for fresh pumpkin option)
- 3 tbsp (45 g) whole milk - room temperature
- 1¼ tsp vanilla extract/essence
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and lightly grease an 8.5x4.5inch loaf tin and line it with parchment paper, leaving some of the parchment hanging over the edges.
- Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Using a whisk, mix together until well combined and set aside for now.
- In a large bowl combine white granulated sugar, eggs, unflavored vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and using a whisk, mix gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Drop the tin lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 65-70 minutes, or until a skewer or thin knife inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it. If your loaf tin is slightly larger than mine, then check the bread at the 55 minute mark.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, before lifting the bread out of the tin using the excess parchment hanging over the edges and place onto a wire rack to cool. Once ready, slice and serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
18 Comments
Hi MK, I have been baking chocolate cakes for the past two days and the baking time in convection mode was 30-35 mins at 180°C.
So for the pumpkin pie, if I preheat the oven at 160°C then for how long do I bake the cake in the same mode for the quantity you listed above?
Hi Tanima! 🙂
So if using a convection oven then reduce the temperature to 160°C and bake for the same amount of time stated in the recipe, so for this pumpkin bread it will be 55 minutes. You may want to check it a little earlier just incase your oven runs a little hot. Convection ovens cook food faster, so by reducing the temperature it helps to ensure the bread bakes at the same rate as mine without overbaking. You can read more about this here: https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/3-baking-tips-you-probably-didnt-know/
Hope that helps Tanima and hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Delicious!!! I love this bread! It is very flavorful. I added chopped pecans. It was a little over baked at 51 mins so I will check the next one I make from 40 mins on to get the right baking time for my oven. I will be gifting this one to friends and family.
So so happy to hear you loved the recipe Stephanie 😀
Chopped pecans would be such a great addition to this pumpkin bread! Hope your family and friends loved it just as much 🙂
Moist, wonderful texture. The spices pack a good punch. I don’t think this is sweet enough for us or has enough depth of flavor we were hoping for. I would want to try again with either brown sugar or additional white sugar and molasses. Maybe date syrup for a bit more bass. Otherwise, it’s a very good recipe- I highly recommend it.
Hi Jaim! 🙂 So glad to hear you loved the recipe. You could totally add more sugar for a sweeter recipe – brown sugar will add extra sweetness and a bit more of a caramel flavor too!
Hi MK can you substitute self rising flour for all purpose flour and substitute diet sugar for regular sugar?
Thank you
Hi Kimberley! 🙂
I haven’t tried either of those myself, but with the self-raising flour it should work fine – you just want to omit the baking powder but keep the baking soda in the recipe.
For the sugar, I’m really not too sure sorry! It may be okay if the diet sugar is meant to act as a 1:1 substitute for regular sugar.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but would love to hear how it goes if you decide to try it out 😀
Hi MK!
I have a premade pumpkin spice mix, can I substitute this for the spices in your recipe? If so, what do you think would be measurement of the mix? Looking forward to baking this one, I love your recipes!
Hi Erin 🙂
Yes that should work fine! I would use about 2 to 2 1/2 tsps based on how much ‘spice’ you want in the bread 🙂
So glad you’re loving the recipes Erin, hope you enjoy this one just as much 😀
Dear MK, good day. Can I check if I x2 the quantity and follow the recipe according to your pumkin cake, then is the baking time the same or I suppose to increase to how much more?
Thank you
M.
Hi Melodee! 🙂
It depends on the number of baking tins used. If making 2x the recipe and distributing it between two loaf tins then the baking time will stay the same 🙂
If you decide to make a taller loaf (which I haven’t tried myself so not too sure how it would bake up), then you will likely need to increase the baking time. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Can I use almond milk?
Hi Maureen 🙂 I haven’t tried that myself, but it should work fine in terms of the texture of the bread! Just keep in mind it may alter the taste of the pumpkin bread 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
My family said it was the best pumpkin cake they ever tasted. I only put in 2 cups of sugar instead of 2 1/2 cups. I wanted the spices to come out more, w a touch of sugar..it was amazing.
I am definitely going to make a bunch of these for the holidays coming up.
Ty so much for this receipe
Awesome! So glad to hear your family loved the recipe Melinda 😀
Really appreciate the feedback 🙂
My neigbor gave us a pumpkin bread so I wanted a recipe and viola your’s just popped up in my email. I can’t wait to return the favor and make a couple of loaves. This recipe looks easier than others that I have searched.
Thanks so much Cheryl! 😀
Hope you enjoy the pumpkin bread 🙂