Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe with Canned Pumpkin

This pumpkin bread is a moist, spiced quick bread made with 1 cup of canned pumpkin, white and brown sugar, oil or melted butter, and four warm spices. It bakes in one 9×5 inch loaf pan at 350°F for 55 to 65 minutes and gives you 10 thick slices.

The batter takes about 10 minutes: dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another, then stir them together just until the flour disappears. That last part matters most. A gentle hand is the difference between a tender loaf and a tough one. I start baking this in September and keep going until Thanksgiving, often with a spoonful of cinnamon sugar on top for a crackly crust.

The Loaf in Numbers

• Pan: one 9×5 inch loaf pan, greased or lined with parchment
• Oven: 350°F (175°C), 55 to 65 minutes
• Yield: 1 loaf, about 10 slices
• Pumpkin: 1 cup (240ml) canned pumpkin puree, from a 15 ounce can
• Fat: ½ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
• Spices: 1½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp cloves, ¼ tsp ginger
• Keeps: 3 days covered at room temperature, 1 week in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer

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Baking with Canned Pumpkin

Use plain canned pumpkin puree, the kind with one ingredient on the label. Pumpkin pie filling looks the same in the can but already has sugar and spice in it, so the loaf turns out too sweet and the spices double up.

A standard 15 ounce can holds about 1¾ cups, so you will have roughly ¾ cup left. Cover it and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days. I stir mine into a batch of pumpkin muffins or cook it down into pumpkin butter to spread on the bread.

Homemade puree works too, as long as it is thick. Fresh pumpkin holds much more water than canned, and a wet puree leaves a gummy line under the crust. If yours slumps flat on a spoon, drain it in a sieve for an hour first. If you are starting from a whole pumpkin, here is how to make pumpkin puree at home.

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Oil or Melted Butter?

The card lets you use either, and I have made this loaf both ways. They give two different breads.

• Vegetable oil: a softer, moister crumb that stays tender for days. Choose oil if you are baking ahead or freezing the loaf.
• Melted butter: deeper flavor and a slightly firmer crumb with a bit of chew at the crust. Choose butter when you will slice it the same day.

The sugars split the work too. White sugar sweetens and helps the loaf rise and brown, while packed brown sugar adds moisture and a light molasses note that suits the cloves and nutmeg.

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Mixing the Batter Gently

Measure the flour carefully before anything else. The recipe needs 1¾ cups, or 220g. Scooping the cup straight into the bag packs in extra flour, and that is the most common reason quick breads come out dry and dense. Weigh it, or spoon it into the cup and level the top with a knife.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, both sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and all four spices until the color is even. Lumps of baking soda leave bitter spots, so break up any you see. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, oil or melted butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth and glossy orange.

Pour the wet into the dry and fold with a spatula. Stop the moment you cannot see dry flour. The batter will be thick and a little lumpy, and that is right. Every extra stir builds gluten, which shows up later as tunnels and a chewy, tight crumb.

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Baking Until the Center Is Set

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top so it rises evenly. For the topping, mix 1 tablespoon sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon and scatter it over the batter right before the pan goes in. It bakes into a thin, crunchy shell.

Bake at 350°F and leave the oven door shut for the first 45 minutes. Start checking at 55 minutes. The loaf is done when the dome springs back under a light press, the crack down the middle looks dry instead of wet and shiny, and a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Wet batter on the toothpick means another 5 minutes.

Cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift it onto a wire rack. The inside keeps cooking from its own steam while it cools, so a loaf cut hot tears and looks gummy. Give it at least an hour. Wrapped overnight, it slices even cleaner and the spices taste rounder.

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Sunken, Dry or Gummy Loaf?

• Sunk in the middle: the center was underbaked, or the oven was opened too early. Bake until the crack looks dry and use the toothpick test in the very center.
• Dry and crumbly: too much flour or too long in the oven. Weigh the flour and start checking at 55 minutes.
• Gummy streak near the bottom: watery homemade puree, or the loaf was sliced while warm. Drain fresh puree and let the bread cool fully.
• Top too dark, center still wet: lay a loose sheet of foil over the pan for the last 10 to 15 minutes.
• Tough with holes inside: the batter was overmixed. Fold only until the flour disappears.

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Keeping the Bread Moist for Days

Wait until the loaf is completely cool before you wrap it. Warm bread steams inside plastic, and the cinnamon sugar top turns sticky. Once cool, wrap it in plastic wrap or foil and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Pumpkin bread freezes well for up to 3 months. Wrap the whole loaf in plastic and then foil, or slice it first and tuck parchment between the slices so you can take out one at a time. Thaw it in its wrapping on the counter, and warm a slice in the toaster for a few seconds if you like.

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Serving It and What to Bake Next

I slice it thick and eat it plain with coffee, or spread it with salted butter, cream cheese, or a swipe of cinnamon butter. For a fall brunch table, set it next to a pumpkin pie dump cake so there is a soft loaf and a spoonable dessert.

For add-ins, about ¾ cup of chocolate chips or chopped walnuts or pecans can be folded in with the last few strokes. For muffins, fill lined cups about three quarters full and start checking at 20 minutes, or bake my pumpkin cupcakes if you want frosting on top. For the same spices in layers, try the pumpkin spice cake, and for another sliceable loaf, the cinnamon swirl bread.

Pin this pumpkin bread to your fall baking board, and tell me in the comments if you baked it with oil or butter.