Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (2024)

Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (1) Jessica

4.5 from 391 votes

103 comments

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

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Jump to Recipe

This soft, moist, and tender pumpkin bread recipe is packed with a whole can of pumpkin and warm fall spices. It’s incredibly easy to make and ready to go in the oven in just 10 minutes!

Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (2)

Table of Contents

  • Why You Will Love This Pumpkin Bread Recipe
  • Watch How To Make It
  • Ingredients Needed
  • How to Make Pumpkin Bread
  • Tips And Variations
  • How to Store Pumpkin Loaf
  • Can I Freeze This?
  • More Must Make Pumpkin Recipes
  • Get the Recipe

    Why You Will Love This Pumpkin Bread Recipe

    This homemade pumpkin bread is so incredible, it’s probably the best you’ll ever have! Here’s why I know you will love it:

    • Easy: This quick bread recipe comes together in just 10 minutes, with no mixer required!
    • Pumpkin Flavor: This pumpkin bread recipe uses one whole can of pumpkin, making it packed with pumpkin flavor with no leftover pumpkin to worry about!
    • Texture: Super soft and moist pumpkin bread every single time! Serve it warm with butter, room temperature or even chilled. It’s insanely delicious all three ways.
    • Starbucks Copycat: If you add pepitas on top, this becomes a great copycat recipe for the Starbuck’s pumpkin loaf. For the price of one piece, you can bake an entire loaf at home!
    • Great For Gifting: This pumpkin bread travels easily and stays delicious for days, making it a great homemade gift.

    Watch How To Make It

    Watch how to make this easy pumpkin bread recipe step-by-step:

    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (3)

    Ingredients Needed

    Most ingredients needed are pantry staples that you hopefully already have! For full ingredient amounts and directions, scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    • Flour: I used regular all-purpose flour.
    • Pumpkin Spice: I shared my homemade pumpkin spice mix in the recipe card.
    • Baking Soda
    • Salt
    • Pumpkin: I use a 15 oz can of pumpkin. Make sure it is pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling which is already sweetened.
    • Granulated Sugar
    • Brown Sugar
    • Eggs
    • Vegetable Oil: You can use canola oil or melted butter, if you prefer.
    • Vanilla Extract
    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (4)

    How to Make Pumpkin Bread

    If you can measure ingredients and use a whisk, you’ve got this!

    • Dry ingredients: Whisk to combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
    • Wet ingredients: Whisk together the pumpkin, sugar and brown sugar. Then beat in the eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (5)
    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (6)
    • Combine: Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the wet mixture until there are no lumps.
    • Bake: Pour the batter into a 9×5 loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Half way through baking, lightly cover with foil.
    • Serve: Serve bread warm, or cool completely and store.
    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (7)

    Tips And Variations

    Guarantee your pumpkin bread turns out just the way you want with these recipe tips and variations:

    • Don’t Over-Mix: Stir the batter just long enough to remove the lumps and then pour into loaf pan.
    • Parchment Paper: Greasing your baking pan and then lining it with parchment paper will help the bread to not stick to the pan. It also makes it very easy to lift the pumpkin bread out of the pan.
    • Cover With Foil: This is a very moist and dense pumpkin loaf, which means it will take a while to bake through. The outside will be done quicker than the center. To prevent the top from over-browning, loosely cover the pumpkin bread with aluminum foil half way through baking.
    • Add Nuts or Chocolate Chips: I love adding chocolate to create a pumpkin chocolate chip bread! You can add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter.
    • Pumpkin Muffins: Want to use this recipe to make muffins? Bake them in a standard sized muffin tin for about 18 minutes. I love to add a little cream cheese swirl to create pumpkin cream cheese muffins!
    • Cream Cheese: Want to add cream cheese to the bread? I tried it and it creates a gorgeous pumpkin cream cheese bread.
    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (8)

    How to Store Pumpkin Loaf

    To store, tightly wrap the completely cooled pumpkin bread in plastic wrap and then place it in an airtight container. Store the bread on your counter for about 4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

    To warm, you can lightly toast a slice in your toaster oven or a standard toaster. You can also microwave it for 10 seconds for that freshly baked taste.

    Can I Freeze This?

    You can freeze an entire loaf, or individual slices, for up to 3 months. Allow bread to cool completely, then wrap the entire loaf, or single slices of pumpkin bread, tightly in Saran Wrap. Place the wrapped bread in a freezer friendly ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, allow bread to thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.

    More Must Make Pumpkin Recipes

    • Maple Glazed Pumpkin Donuts
    • Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
    • Best Pumpkin Cheesecake
    • Pumpkin Pie Cookies
    • Pumpkin Roll with Toffee Filling
    • Pumpkin Cookies

    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (9)

    4.5 from 391 votes

    Print Pin Recipe

    Yield: 8 slices

    Pumpkin Bread Recipe

    This super soft, moist pumpkin bread recipe is made with a whole can of pumpkin and tastes even better than the Starbucks pumpkin loaf. Bonus: it’s incredibly easy to make with just 10 minutes of work!

    Prep Time10 minutes minutes

    Cook Time50 minutes minutes

    Total Time1 hour hour

    Ingredients

    • 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
    • 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice, or cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • ½ cup packed brown sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and line with parchment paper (where it hangs over the edges) for easy removal. Set aside.

    • In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

    • In large bowl, whisk to combine the pumpkin, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture, until there are no lumps.

    • Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Around the 30 minute mark, lightly cover the top of the bread with foil, to make sure the top does not overly brown.

    • Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve warm, or allow to cool completely.

    Video

    Notes

    Storage: To store, first let the homemade pumpkin bread cool completely and then tightly wrap the bread in plastic wrap and then place it in an airtight container. You can then store the bread on your counter for about 4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

    Freeze: You can freeze an entire loaf, or individual slices, for up to 3 months. Allow bread to cool completely, then wrap the entire loaf, or single slices of pumpkin bread, tightly in Saran Wrap. Place the wrapped bread in a freezer friendly ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, let bread thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.

    Parchment Paper: Greasing your baking pan and then lining it with parchment paper will help the bread to not stick to the pan. It also makes it very easy to lift the bread out of the pan.

    Cover With Foil: This is a very moist and dense pumpkin loaf, which means it will take a while to cook through. The outside will be done quicker than the center. To prevent the top from over-browning, loosely tent aluminum foil over the top of the pumpkin bread about 30 minutes into the total baking time.

    Add Nuts or Chocolate Chips: I love pumpkin chocolate chip bread! You can add up to 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter. Love Starbucks pumpkin loaf? Add pepitas on top of the batter to create a copycat version.

    Pumpkin Muffins: Want to use this recipe to make muffins? Bake them in a standard sized muffin tin for about 18 minutes. I love to add a little cream cheese swirl on top of the batter before baking to create pumpkin cream cheese muffins!

    Cream Cheese: Want to add cream cheese? I tried it and it makes a perfect base to create a gorgeous pumpkin cream cheese bread.

    DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice:Combine 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp allspice.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice, Calories: 410kcal, Carbohydrates: 64g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 41mg, Sodium: 306mg, Potassium: 180mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 40g, Vitamin A: 8334IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 41mg, Iron: 2mg

    © Jessica – The Novice Chef

    Cuisine: American

    Category: Pumpkin

    Categories:

    • Bread
    • Breakfast Ideas
    • Desserts
    • Fall
    • Family Recipes
    • Holidays
    • Pumpkin
    • Recipes
    • Thanksgiving
    • Videos

    Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

    Related Posts

    • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

    • Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

    • Pumpkin Pie Crisp

    • Pumpkin Bars

    Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe | Soft & Moist With A Whole Can Of Pumpkin! (2024)

    FAQs

    What happens if you put too much pumpkin in pumpkin bread? ›

    You might think you could overcome the lack of flavor by adding more pumpkin purée to your recipe, but you'd be mistaken: By the time you've added enough purée to taste it, your baked good would have a soggy texture on account of all that moisture.

    Why is my pumpkin bread not moist? ›

    Try cutting the amount of flour, or adding more milk. It's also possible your oven was too hot, or you baked the pumpkin bread for too long. Try reducing the oven temperature and cutting the baking time.

    How do you make canned pumpkin taste better? ›

    Cook It on the Stove

    Briefly cooking your canned pumpkin purée on the stove can help improve both the flavor and texture. This method helps reduce excess moisture, which gives the pumpkin a superior texture. It also releases the natural pumpkin flavor and helps reduce the metallic taste from the can.

    Why is canned pumpkin better to use in baking? ›

    Canned Pumpkin Delivers Consistent Results

    That's because the amount of water in each pumpkin varies. That means your homemade puree can either yield a perfectly lush pumpkin pie from scratch or one that's unpleasant and watery.

    What are the side effects of too much pumpkin? ›

    When taken by mouth: Pumpkin is likely safe when eaten in foods. It is possibly safe to take pumpkin seed or pumpkin seed oil in medicinal amounts. Side effects from pumpkin products are rare, but might include stomach discomfort, diarrhea, and nausea.

    How do you get moisture out of canned pumpkin? ›

    The easiest is to spread your puree out on a cookie sheet and blot it with a paper towel. If you have a little more time on your hands, you can put your pumpkin puree either on the stove or in the oven to cook off a bit of moisture.

    How can I make my bread more moist? ›

    You can brush butter or oil on the crust before slicing the loaf for added flavor and moisture. Finally, if you need more time to finish the loaf, freeze portions for later use, and it will help keep the bread from going stale and allow you to enjoy it fresh later.

    What adds moisture to bread? ›

    Use around 5% sugar (percentage of flour), use of milk and honey in the recipe keeps the bread soft and moist after baking if kept covered and protected from dry environments. Use of oil in the recipe also keeps the bread softer.

    How do you keep pumpkin bread from drying out? ›

    HOW DO I STORE PUMPKIN BREAD AND FOR HOW LONG? Place in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to 4 days. To freeze, wrap in heavy-duty foil or plastic wrap and then place in a tightly sealed container or heavy-duty resealable freezer bag.

    How do you increase the flavor of pumpkin? ›

    Ruth Reichl's Tip: Roast Your Pumpkin Purée

    Not only does roasting deepen the flavor of the pumpkin, but it bakes off some of the moisture in the purée, ensuring a more custard-like pie with less risk of a soggy crust.

    What is the best canned pumpkin to use? ›

    In this taste test, our Test Kitchen pros found that the biggest name in the pumpkin game does, in fact, make the best canned pumpkin on the market. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin is a favorite among our culinary crew. Libby's canned pumpkin has a really rich orange color that is quintessential fall.

    What brings out pumpkin Flavour? ›

    Pumpkin is notorious for pairing well with warm winter spices – as found in a variety of Moroccan-inspired cuisines. Try incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cumin and chilli with your pumpkin dishes for flavour-packed feasts.

    Is Libby's pumpkin purée real pumpkin? ›

    Libby's, the quintessential canned pumpkin brand, uses a proprietary strain of the Dickinson pumpkin variety in their product, which is also often called a Dickinson squash. On Libby's website, it states that their product is 100 percent pumpkin.

    Can I use canned pumpkin instead of fresh pumpkin? ›

    There isn't much of a difference between canned pumpkin and fresh pumpkin puree, and looking at the list of ingredients on the back of the can will tell you that. It will probably just say pureed pumpkin or steamed pumpkin puree.

    Is canned pumpkin puree the same as canned pure pumpkin? ›

    Canned pumpkin (labeled as "100% pure pumpkin") is a purée of pumpkin that is sometimes mixed with other kinds of winter squash. It is unsweetened and does not contain any added spices. Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks.

    Why did my pumpkin bread turn out dense? ›

    Pumpkin bread can become dense if there is not enough hydration or wet ingredients in the recipe. Another cause is overcooking the bread which can cause it to dry out. Remember, it's always easy to keep cooking if it isn't done but impossible to take cooking time back.

    Why did my pumpkin bread come out gummy? ›

    If your pumpkin spice bread is gummy or undercooked in the center, it's typically because it either 1) needed more time to bake in the oven or 2) the batter was too wet, which led the bread to collapse in on itself a bit (this happens if you measure ingredients by volume, rather than by weight: it's easy to ...

    What does pumpkin do in baking? ›

    Not only does pumpkin purée act as a sweetener, a creamy moisturizer, and a fat substitute in everything from muffins to soup — but it also tastes delicious in everything! But because canned pumpkin is unlike any other baking ingredient, it tends to be mistreated in recipes.

    How to tell if pumpkin bread is done? ›

    So, to know when pumpkin bread is done, look for the crack on the top of the bread, which is a tell-tale sign it's either done or close to being done. Then stick a skewer or toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it's ready to come out of the oven.

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