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 made this tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t have quite enough pumpkin so I used a little apple sauce to complete the measurement and it worked great!
Love it! I added fresh orange zest and it was over the top!!!
This is a terrific pumpkin bread recipe and I receive lots of compliments on it. It is VERY moist. I have adjusted upwards to 2 cups of flour and have also tried a little (not more than 1/4) whole wheat as part of the total flour amount. I have made these as mini-loaves and as muffins. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve made this twice in the last week and it’s been a big hit each time. The recipe makes two smaller loaves in the medium Alumni
I’ve made this twice in the last week and it’s been a big hit each time. The recipe makes two nice loaves using the medium foil loaf pans.
Absolutely the best pumpkin bread ever!
This has been a staple for years. I want to make this for a vegetarian who does not eat eggs. Can I make this without eggs?
Hi MP, we don’t recommend leaving out the eggs, and we haven’t tested a version of this bread with any egg substitutes, so we’re unsure what substitute might work best here. If you decide to do any experimenting, please do let us know how it goes. If you’re interested, our pumpkin coffee cake is naturally egg-free and equally as fantastic as this pumpkin bread!
I just made this using flax eggs and it worked perfectly! So tasty and moist.
I have been using this recipe for over 4 years now! I look forward to fall every year to make this recipe. I used 1 teaspoon of orange emulsion this time instead of the orange juice which was so delicious! I subbed in buttermilk for the juice. Happy fall yall!!
I don’t like cloves. I’ve been making this for years, butter is better, oil is cheaper
What are the macros for this bread please?
Hi Kari, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I loved this recipe that I had to make it again the next day!!
I loved
I just love this recipe…so moist and delicious!
I love a secret ingredient in recipes…this is the orange juice!
I have made this recipe many times through the years and it never disappoints. Since I usually just use an orange or two to get the juice needed, I go ahead and throw in the orange zest, too. My favorite way to make it is to add dried fruit and chopped nuts instead of chocolate chips. Raisins, cranberries, cherries – any dried fruit works great! I add toasted walnuts or pecans to the fruit to equal about a cup. This is the kind of loaf you can give to your neighbors, friends or family as a special fall thank you gift. Everyone loves it!
This is a very nice recipe, spice blend was not jumping out at you! Very nice tasting, freshly made and also after freezing!! I used fresh pumpkin and now have bought a pie pumpkin to see if there’s any difference.. I also added about 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts! Trying muffins next!!! My friend really likes it and Im going to be passing this recipe on to others.
Perfect!! I made these as muffins and they were done right at 20 minutes and came out perfect. I did get 18 muffins out of the recipe. These worked great even here in Colorado at about 5,500 elevation which is always a gamble. Highly recommend.
Good recipe but I use parchment paper and just lift the bread out of the pan- no greasing of pan needed.
The OJ is a great addition. I made one exactly as the recipe said, and one with some orange zest added like another user tried and both were great.
Can this recipe be doubled?
Thank you
Hi Wayne, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling.
Thank you
Hi! Do you think that the orange juice could be replaced with apple juice? It’s just what I happen to have on hand, or would milk be better?
Hi Brianna, we’d go with the milk if you have it available to you. Hope you enjoy the bread!
This smells so good in the oven and I also topped it with pumpkin and sesame seeds very delicious despite my major fail which I accidentally used pumpkin pie filling (never shop without glasses) but I have one question . When I sliced it it was very dark brown and not orange as in your photos. Could this be due to the pie filling or my needing to leave it in the oven longer as the centre was taking too long to cook through.
Hi Rose! Pumpkin pie filling is a very different product than pumpkin puree and will definitely change the results here. It is sweetened and has spices added already – which is probably why your bread is darker. It will also likely be very sweet.
This is our go to pumpkin bread recipe! I’ve made it 100x and do not change a thing. The only recommendation I have is to split into 2 loaves using a smaller pans to cook. I keep the time the same.
Wish you could see the beautiful rise on these loaves! After doubling the recipe, I neglected to check that I had enough pumpkin purée, which of course I did not! So I added equal parts of pre-frozen bananas. After thawing, mashing, & mixing them into the batter, the only difference I could tell with the results was that they took far longer to bake than the unaltered recipe. But, other than that, they look and smell incredible! Can’t wait to share with my family! Thanks for a great recipe!
I was craving to make pumpkin bread and wanted to try your recipe. I used the King Arthur unbleached bread flour since I didn’t have any all-purpose flour in my pantry. And because I didn’t have veggie oil, I used olive oil which seemed to add a nutty flavor. I used the pumpkin pie spice seasoning along with cinnamon, as recommended. I also added chocolate chips. The pumpkin bread came out really delish and moist! Next time I’m going to try it with all-purpose flour and veggie oil so I can see if there’s a difference in taste. 🙂 thank you for sharing your recipes
Best pumpkin loaf I’ve had! Super easy as well.
Best pumpkin bread recipe
Made into muffins/ cupcakes and topped with Cream Cheese icing/;frosting
Sally, you have quite a few gluten free recipes and, the several I’ve tried have been fabulous! I’d like to convert this to gluten free – using a 1-for1 substitution. That works well in some recipes (your morning glory muffins!!!) but other times not so well. Would this one work do you think? Any general guidelines you can share for converting recipes to gluten free? Thanks for all your DELICIOUS recipes and for sharing any suggestions on baking gluten free!
Hi Claire! We haven’t tested this one with a 1:1 gluten free flour, and don’t have much experience using it in general to provide guidance on how best to use it. So sorry we cannot be of much help here! However, many readers have reported success using gluten free flour in this bread, so please do let us know if you decide to give it a try!
10/10. Used milk and orange emulsion. The orange is the secret ingredient. The bread is moist and delicious. Baked in 3 small loaf pans for 35 minutes. Will definitely make it again.
This turned out amazing! super moist too. Followed the recipe exactly but left the chocolate chips out because i didn’t have any. I topped each slice with whipped cream for serving & it was perfect
SO DELICIOUS!!
The most delicious pumpkin bread I have made!! It is so moist and the flavor of the pumpkin really comes through! I used whole milk, didn’t have orange juice and 1/2 cup walnuts instead of chocolate chips. I have had good luck using a 12 x 4 inch tea loaf pan. I cover the loaf at the 30 minute mark and it steams itself done!! Yummy!!!