Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (2024)

Homemade pumpkin bread is a favorite fall recipe packedwith cinnamon spice and tons of pumpkin flavor. Extra moist and easy to make, this recipe has been a fan favorite since 2014. You don’t even need a mixer! The days of bland pumpkin bread are behind us.

Reader Laura says: “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!”

Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (1)

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, buthomemade 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). Simplymeasure 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.
Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (2)

Here’s the batter and a couple pictures of the bread without chocolate chips:

Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (3)
Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (5)

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, or leave plain
  • Similar tobanana bread, it tastes even better on day 2 (if it lasts that long!)

Ilove 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, says: “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.”

Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (6)
Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (7)

More Perfect Pumpkin Recipes

  • Pumpkin Muffins & Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies & Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
  • Pumpkin Roll
  • Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
  • Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Pumpkin Bundt Cake
  • Recipes to Make With Leftover Pumpkin Puree

For even more inspiration, here are my30+ favoritepumpkin dessert recipes.

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Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (8)

My Best Pumpkin Bread

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.8 from 488 reviews

  • Author: Sally
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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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()
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4teaspoon 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing.
  5. 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

  1. 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.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
  3. 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.
  4. Oil: Oil is a better choice than melted butter in this recipe. The bread is not as moist and soft if using butter.
  5. Orange Juice: You can substitute milk (any kind) for orange juice.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No Mixer!) - Sally's Baking Addiction (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 does my pumpkin bread taste bland? ›

Why does my pumpkin bread taste bland? Make sure to follow the recipe exactly. That means—don't leave out the salt, don't cut the amount of sugar, and use the specified amount of cinnamon. This is important because flour is what I like to call a “flavor thief”— it sucks the flavor out of ingredients.

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 ...

Why is my pumpkin bread so 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.

What happens if you use too much baking soda in pumpkin bread? ›

It's important not to use too much baking soda in recipes, as it can result in a metallic, soapy flavor. It is much more powerful than baking powder – you only need about 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup of flour to leaven baked goods.

What makes 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 my pumpkin bread so dry? ›

Overmixing can affect your dough by pushing in too much air and kickstarting extra gluten production, both things that can lead to gummy, dried out batter. Our Every Day Life notes that setting your oven too high and baking your bread too long could also be the source of dryness.

Why is my pumpkin bread not cooking all the way through? ›

Setting the Oven Temperature Is Too Hot

If your oven runs hot, your bread is likely to brown and bake up on the outside before the center has a chance to fully cook.

Why does my pumpkin taste sour? ›

If the fresh pumpkin is overripe, it can start to ferment and develop a sour taste. Another factor to consider is the type of fresh pumpkin you're using. Some pumpkin varieties, such as butternut squash or Kent pumpkins, have a sweeter flavor than others.

Why did my pumpkin bread turn green? ›

Sunflower flour does a funny thing where it turns green when baked… It's harmless, but not the most attractive food color. It doesn't affect the taste, so I'm totally fine with it.

How to tell if pumpkin bread is done baking? ›

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.

Why did my pumpkin bread sink in the middle? ›

Baking temperature

Some ovens run hotter than its settings, some cooler. If the oven is too hot the loaf will be brown and crispy on the outside but doughy in the middle and may collapse as it cools. When bread is baked at too low a temperature it will not rise enough in the oven resulting in a dense and sunken loaf.

How can I make my bread lighter and fluffy? ›

Add Sugar

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

What is the best flour for bread? ›

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

Can I rebake undercooked pumpkin bread? ›

It's not as easy as they make it sound to salvage undercooked pumpkin bread, but if you're lucky this handy trick will work. Heat the oven to 350 F, return the bread to the oven, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes. This should cook the inside and will work even if the loaf has cooled a little.

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.

Why did my pumpkin bread come out dry? ›

Experienced bakers such as The Baking ChocolaTess have tackled the problem of dry bread, finding the main sources and some creative tricks to reverse the issue. One common problem is having an incorrect ratio of wet to dry ingredients. This can be easily adjusted by increasing the liquid or decreasing flour.

Why did my pumpkin bread deflate? ›

The bread could've had stale leavening ingredients, or the time/temperature needed to be changed because of elevation. Sometimes in higher elevations the dough rises too quickly and then ends up falling before it can be baked and stays that way.

References

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