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
Hi Sally! I have a question about oven temperature. I see that some of your recipes say “preheat oven to 350°F,” and I do preheat to that exact temperature according to my oven thermometer. But when I open the oven to put the cake/pie/pastry in, the temperature sometimes drops by about 20 degrees and stays there for a while. Is this normal and something the recipes are already written with in mind, or would you recommend preheating the oven 20°F higher so that when I open the door and put the dessert in, it actually bakes at the temperature you suggest?
Hi Cami, it’s normal for the oven temp to drop a bit after opening the oven door and letting in cooler air. If you’re using an oven thermometer so ensure your oven is baking at the correct temperature, we think your bakes will be just fine!
I’ve made this twice. It’s delicious but I have to bake it longer, another 25-30 minutes. Why? I never have a problem baking other recipes, so it’s not my oven. I use a 9×5 pan as directed. Any ideas?
Hi Sandi! Are you making any (even small) changes to the recipe? Is your pan a true 9×5? Some are a little smaller (like 4.5×8, etc.) and this can impact the bake time. Thank you for making this recipe!
I’ll double check my pan size. It was labeled 9×5, but I haven’t measured it. Thanks. Love Sally’s recipes!
Wonderful!! Really wonderful – and I’m not a pumpkin lover but this is exceptionally flavorful and moist. I added in some white chocolate chips and think I’ll try raisins and nuts next time. I wish I would have made 2 because the first one is gone too quickly :(.
Wonderful!! Really wonderful – and I’m not a pumpkin lover but this is exceptionally flavorful and moist. I added in some white chocolate chips and think I’ll try raisins and nuts next time. I wish I would have made 2 because the first one is gone too quickly :(.
I made these as muffins and made them gluten free with substituting king Arthur’s 1 to 1 gluten free flour. Then instead of 1/2 cup of granulated sugar I used 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. And let me tell you….these turned out perfect!!
Can I substitute raisins for the chocolate chips?
Absolutely!
I am getting ready to try this recipe and was wondering if I could use yogurt in place of the orange juice? Trying to get a little more protein in my diet. 🙂
Hi Lulu, we don’t recommend yogurt in place of the orange juice. You really need the liquid to help thin out the batter a bit. Milk would work in place of the orange juice.
This recipe comes together very quickly. Fantastic recipe with great flavour and a perfect way to use up left over pumpkin purée. Thank you!
Can I use applesauce in place of the oil?
Hi Linda, the bread would turn out with a less-than-desirable texture if you replace all the oil with applesauce. We don’t recommend it. You could try substituting a smaller portion to see how that goes!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe. My bread came out sooo good!! Instead of put chocolate chips i had some homemade chocolate icing made and i folded that into the mix instead. Perfection!
Fantastic recipe! The addition of orange juice caught my attention so I tried it when we had guests from out of town. I made mini loaves and these single round cake muffins. They’re flatter than muffins and wider, like a small layer cake. I made the loaves without chocolate chips and these single round cakes with Ghirardelli 60% chips. The chocolate ones went faster than the loaves, but they were all eaten and gushed over with compliments! This is my new go-to fall offering!
I just made this today, and it’s another fantastic recipe! I replaced the chocolate chips with chopped pecans. It’s moist and so flavorful!
hi sally
i just got your book and its awesome,
can i skip the nutmeg for this ? not a big fan of nut,eg.
Hi Juri, You can simply omit the nutmeg with no other changes if you wish. But you can certainly add more of the other spices for extra flavor (we love adding extra cinnamon!).
This is one of my favorite recipes of all time! I make it numerous times through the fall and winter. It is a great homemade gift for a friend or for a school event. It’s excellent with chocolate chips added, eaten at 3 PM with coffee! Thank you Sally!
Can I use apple juice instead of oj? I have lots of apple juice at home but no oj!
Hi Marissa, apple juice will work well here. Hope you enjoy the bread.
Hi Sally, thanks for sharing your pumpkin bread recipe. Just tried it and my bread is umm yummy, the perfect thing. I made a few changes which did not affect the outcome at all. I used coconut sugar, aquafaba, a little whole wheat flour, seeds and homegrown pumpkin. I will use less oil next time .
To viewers, it’s worth trying.
What would the bake time be if I used mini loaf pans instead of a 9×5?
Hi Amy, we’re unsure of the exact bake time since it will depend on the exact size of your mini loaf pans. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
THIS PUMPKIN BREAD IS AMAZING! I’ve been nonstop making this. All the guys on the ship love when I bring it into work. It doesn’t last till the end of the day! Wonderful recipe!
I enjoy putting my own touches on any recipe I try, so I didn’t follow this recipe exactly, but it gave me an excellent starting point. I only made a few tweaks. I replaced the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 1/4 cup of maple syrup, used melted butter instead of oil, and eliminated the orange juice. I also used sprouted spelt in place of AP flour, but I kept everything else the same. My oven isn’t working at the moment, so I cut the recipe in half to make 6 muffins in my toaster oven. The cups were almost completely full, so I was a little worried about overflow, but the batter being on the thicker side prevented that from happening. I reduced the temperature to 325, and they were done in 20 minutes. They came out amazing. They were incredibly moist, not overly sweet, and they rose beautifully. The only other tweak I might make for next time is reducing the cloves by maybe half of what the recipe calls for since I find cloves to be a bit strong for my taste, but otherwise they were perfect. Thank you for this recipe!
I have an 8.5 x 4.5 pan and a 10 x 5 x 3 pan. WWSD (What Would Sally Do)?
Hi Penney, you can use the 8.5 x 4.5 pan, filling it about half way and then using the leftover batter for a muffin or two on the side. Enjoy!
AMAZING recipe! I didn’t have orange juice on hand so I used milk (as suggested in the footnotes) but I realized too late that I had apple juice- maybe that would be good too? Made it without chocolate chips.
I made my own streusel topping (flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon, butter) and that really took it up a notch! HIGHLY recommend making a streusel topping.
I’m definitely making this again. Just the perfect pumpkin bread. In Sally we trust!
Love this recipe! Baked it a dozen times last fall! It came out delicious every time! I did swap butter for oil though.
Wondering Is there any way to reduce the sugar? Or have an alternative!?
Hi Marla! So glad you love this recipe. Sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended.
Is pumpkin puree the same as Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin in a can?
Hi Lula, yes it is. We recommend using that, not the can labeled pumpkin pie filling, for this bread.
Made today, wanted some healthyish pumpkin bread. So good, and super moist texture. I wanted to use up some things so substituted whole wheat flour instead of AP flour, and just 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (no granulated at all). Used a mix of avocado and walnut oil as my neutral oil. No chips although I may try that in the future. Added a salted maple drizzle on top (powdered sugar, maple extract, a little milk, and salt). Absolutely love it. Guest-worthy!
Can you substitute the oil for olive oil?
Hi Abigail, Olive oil would work, but it would change the flavor quite a bit. You really want a neutral-tasting oil for most baking recipes.
This is the most perfect recipe, it came out so beautifully even on the first try! Not too sweet, perfectly spiced, and light and springy texture.
Can you leave out Orange juice
Hi Debra, the orange juice works wonderfully with the pumpkin (helps accentuate its flavor), but milk will work just as well and produce an equally tasty bread.
I love all your baking recipes. I really appreciate the time you put into perfecting them. How would you change the cook time on this to cook in an air fryer?
Hi Jacki, we haven’t tested this in an air fryer, so we’re unsure of the bake time in an air fryer. Let us know if you do any experimenting.
I made this pumpkin bread today. I used coconut oil and instead of the half cup of granulated sugar and 3/4 cup of brown sugar, I used 3/4 cup maple syrup and a quarter cup granulated sugar. It is so delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever made a moister pumpkin bread than this. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
I have been making this pumpkin bread for years, it is absolutely the best! I have since turned it into carrot quick bread. I substitute cooked pureed carrots instead of the pumpkin, and it’s delicious. Even my husband, who hates vegetables, loves this bread.
Oh I’m definitely going to try this!