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 for years. You don’t even need a mixer! The days of bland pumpkin bread are behind us.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
One reader, Laura, commented: “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. You can also add chocolate chips to other quick bread recipes like zucchini bread and peanut butter chocolate chip zucchini bread.
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, add a swipe of cinnamon butter, 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, commented: “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 & Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies & Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Roll
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies & Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Coffee Creamer
- Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Recipes to Make With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
For even more inspiration, here are my 30+ best pumpkin dessert recipes.
Print
My 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
- 1/4 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: 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I have a new airfryer and someone said it can be used for baking too…
Can you cook this bread recipe in an airfryer?
Hi Sian, we’ve never tried baking this pumpkin bread in an air fryer before but let us know if you do!
This is a solid pumpkin bread recipe! Tastes like the filling of pumpkin pie. Don’t skimp on the spices! Thanks Sally & team for a recipe we can come back to every fall!
My air fryer is actually a convection oven, would make sense if so.
I’ve tried your triple chocolate cake and now this and they are the best! Thanks for sharing. Any tips on making this less sweet?
Hi Mia, so glad you’re enjoying our recipes! You can certainly try slightly reducing the sugar in this recipe, but the outcome will be different than intended since sugar plays a role in the taste, texture, and structure of baked goods. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
Brilliant Recipe. I doubled the recipe and made a large batch for my family. I think my husband ate half of it in one night. Note, that it is a bite sweeter than a bread. I would say its a closer relative to a cake like texture and taste (but of course so is banana “bread” and this is a very similar cousin to that). Still wonderful and could be easily adapted by lowering the amount of sugar added. I normally don’t write reviews but I had to come back for this one. Absolutely stunning recipe.
I am concerned with using so much sugar in this recipe. How much can I reduce it to still make the recipe work?
Hi Marlene, you can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the final outcome will be different than intended. Beyond taste, sugar also plays an important role in the texture and structure of baked goods. If you do decide to reduce it, we’d recommend starting small and adjusting for future batches.
Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil?
Absolutely!
I noticed no baking powder is used. Normally I see 1/2 a tsp of baking powder in a loaf . Is it because pumpkin is somewhat acidic?
Thank you! I love many of your recipes!
Hi Vanessa, This recipe is correct as written– with the acid present in the ingredients, use baking soda.
Would it be okay to double the recipe?
Hi Curt, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling.
The Best Pumpkin bread EVER!! I have been making this recipe for YEARS! The family always begs me to make it come fall!
I’ve had such amazing experiences with Sally’s recipes. They are the best!! But this didn’t turn out for me. It was very stodgy on the bottom. In the photo of the sliced loaf, it looks slightly too wet and dense at the bottom too. Mine was way worse though- the bottom half inch was dense. The flavor was lovely.
Delicious Pumpkin Bread! Thank you! A comment that might help others: We do not stock orange juice or milk in our house for drinking. However, I keep a can of OJ concentrate in my freezer. I discovered a great tool on-line that tells me exactly how much concentrate to add to water to make the amount of orange juice I need for a recipe. I also keep powdered milk and powdered buttermilk in the freezer. Sally was kind enough to tell me to add my powdered milk to my dry ingredients and then add the requisite amount of water to the wet ingredients when baking – rather than reconstituting the milk and adding it to the wet ingredients. Now I am able to have ingredients on hand without any wasting. Sally – I so appreciate your wonderful site!
Can you share the site that tells how much concentrate to add to water to make orange juice for a recipe? That would be a helpful reference tool.
Hello – the site is: Gourmet Sleuth: Orange Juice Concentrate To Orange Juice Conversion Chart
How do I make this at high altitude? What substitutions do I make? We live at mile high.
Hi Caryn! We wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I’ve done this recipe for a second year in a row because it’s just soo good! I’m sharing it with a couple of neighbors! Thank you
Can you use gluten free flour instead of regular all purpose ?
Hi Leighton, We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but some readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
This recipe came so highly recommended.
I decided to see if I could make it as delicious as all reviews say, while addressing the complex dietary restrictions in our family: no dairy, gluten, soy, or eggs.
We’ve been playing with dietary restriction game for a while. I love a challenge.
So, I substituted “flax eggs” for real eggs, Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour for wheat flour, (adding a little extra xanthum gum for texture), and Enjoy Life 100% Real Chocolate Chunks (no dairy or soy).
I used oat milk instead of orange juice because that was what was on hand.. And melted coconut oil, because we like the subtle flavour.
Admittedly I was a little nervous making all these substitutions.
3 hours later:
the ingredients have been assembled and mixed. The bread baked and cooled.
The verdict: ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. MOIST AND FLUFFY. GREAT FLAVOUR, GREAT TEXTURE.
YOU’D NEVER KNOW IT WAS GLUTEN FREE!
Hi Sally!
This is my go to pumpkin bread recipe. Turns out perfect everytime, my 3 year old is a very picky eater and loves this bread. I wanted to ask, is it possible to add marshmallows to it without it disappearing into the batter? Or should I just add to the top and broil it?
Thank you!
Hi Angela! Marshmallows will melt into the bread when it’s baked, so we don’t recommend adding them to the batter. You could definitely add some on top and broil, or you may enjoy this marshmallow frosting on top as well!
The recipe sounds delicious. I want to make this tomorrow but I have a question regarding the spices. Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead & what would be the measurements?
Hi B, absolutely. See recipe notes for details!
I use raisins or dried cranberries rather than chocolate chips. Soak them in boiling water (just enough to cover) while assembling other ingredients. Drain well before adding to batter.
I have made this three times in just less than two months! This is a great recipe, the loaf is so moist while also not being too sweet. I do put chocolate chips on top as well! I also use Chobani Extra Creamy Oat Milk since I’m not a fan of orange juice and it would be a waste if I bought a bottle of it. Will be putting this one in my recipe book. Thank you 🙂
Any suggestions for making this in a mini loaf pan? Thanks!!
Hi Anne, Bake time will vary based on the size of the mini loaf pans. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Same temperature. Enjoy!
Superb!!!!! The hint of orange is perfect.. I am never disappointed in your recipes and this one was perfect also! Next time I’ll try it as smaller loaves to give away. thank you for a delicious treat!
Can you quadruple this? I am hoping to send it to some neighbors.
Hi Em, For best results, we recommend making four separate batches rather than quadrupling.
Hi Sally,
I have made a few of your recipes and loved them all but this pumpkin bread is Incredible!! I followed the recipe but had no OJ so I used buttermilk indtead and I added toasted pecans. Wow!! Deelish!!
I am a big fan of your baking site. Whenever I am looking for a baking recipe, this is always the site I go to. I’ve learned a great deal about technique from you, which has made all of my baking much much better. I follow the directions exactly as you said, and added chopped dates and pecans. Not a big chocolate fan. Anyway I poured the batter into three smaller pans because I love to give baked goods away to my friends at school. Everyone raved about it. Thanks so much for your wonderful site.
Just made this and it is amazing!!
I am back this year making this bread yet again. I can’t stay away!!! I only allow myself to make it once a year, because if I didn’t control myself around this recipe well lol.. I’d be in trouble! It’s one of my all time favorites on your entire site! It’s just as wonderful and perfect as I remember. It’s also one of my go to recipes for holiday gifts for people. It’s lovely in mini loaf tins and wrapped up pretty with cellophane and ribbon. People rave about it every year! I love it with the chocolate chips, but walnut and cranberry is another favorite, or pistachio and extra orange zest! So many possibilities with this recipe! I’m so glad it’s the holiday season so I have an excuse to bake it again ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I Made this, first of all I am not a Pumpkin lover at all, for some reason I had a taste for pumpkin pie with pecans and this was the first recipe I found. I liked it because it was a small batch and no cloves , I do not like cloves . batter is delicious , I got almost full from licking the batter : The bread came out the pan perfectly I can’t wait to taste it.
This recipe has blown our minds!
I made a few changes for personal diet preferebce, as opposed to not liking the sound of the recipe. I replaced the two eggs with the equivalent of egg replacer due to our vegan diet, and reduced the sugar by about 70g in all, purely because we are trying to lower our intake.
The bread came out beautifully moist. That may also be due to the egg replacer, as its certainly moister than your photographs, but I love a moist bake.
It’s sweet, tastes divine, and my wife is already asking when we’re making it again. The answer is this weekend, for my father-in-laws birthday cake! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
I have just completed making this and I swear I’ve never eaten anything better.
The only thing I did differently was put all of the liquids into my ninja blender blender and put them on puree it made them so airy and fluffy the cake is amazing!!!
I’ve been using this recipe for years, it’s my go-to! I tried another recipe this year, because it was easier (spice cake box mix, and a can of pumpkin) and it did not measure up at all! The texture and flavor of this bread is unmatched by any other recipe I’ve tried. Thank you for posting!
I love the recipes on this site and use them often but this one did not turn out well for some reason (but I’m sure it was user error). My bottom and sides were burnt but the middle was not done. What can I do to fix this in the future? I do have an oven with the heating element on the top instead of the bottom if that makes a difference in the rack position.
Hi Rachel, it sounds like this could be fixed with a few adjustments to the oven. I would lower the oven rack to the lowest rack, lower the oven temperature by 25F, increase the bake time until a toothpick comes out clean, and tent the bread with foil after 20 minutes of baking. All of these will help promise a more evenly baked quick bread. I hope this helps!
Rachel make this recipe into muffins instead!!
Her recipes are amazingly delicious !
I made this replacing baking soda with 3teaspoons of no sodium baking powder due to sodium restriction and I used a Bundt pan for the first time. It came out beautifully! I was expecting disaster….
Thank you for a great recipe.
Great to know, thank you for sharing! I’ve been on a low sodium diet for a couple years — maybe that’s why I’m so sensitive to — and repulsed by — baking soda. Will make the 3:1 switch with baking powder with confidence!
Doesn’t baking powder contain baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) plus a weak acid?
I followed all the directions and it came out so perfect. I wont be looking for any other pumpkin bread recipes. Thank you for sharing this recipe i really appreciate it.