Best Pumpkin Bread Recipes

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Jump to:

• Recommended products & ingredients
• What are the ingredients in pumpkin bread?
• Tasty and creative pumpkin bread recipes
• What to do with leftover pumpkin bread
• Conclusion
• More Recipes to Try

What are the ingredients in pumpkin bread?

Like with many baked goods, there can be wide variety between individual pumpkin bread recipes. However, there are still some main things you’ll find in common.

In addition to the standard ingredients you’d expect to find in a baked good recipe (such as flour, eggs, butter, etc.), the two main ingredients that are characteristic of pumpkin bread are pumpkin and the spice blend.

For the pumpkin component, it is possible to use either fresh pumpkin or canned pumpkin. The benefits of using canned pumpkin are:

• Convenience
• Readily available in any grocery store
• Consistency in thickness, texture, flavor

Note that there are different types of canned pumpkin products so read your recipe and the cans very carefully. Some cans are already sweetened or spiced, but your recipe might call for plain canned pumpkin.

Fresh pumpkin requires a lot more prep work to collect the pumpkin meat and puree it. Plus, flavor and texture can vary widely from pumpkin to pumpkin.

This means that you may have to add more flavoring and adjust the consistency to get the taste and thickness you want.

That said, if you have access to a great source of fresh pumpkins, you can get better flavor than you would out of canned pumpkin.

When it comes to the spice mix, you’ll also find there to be some variety between recipes in terms of quantity and specific spices used. Many recipes call simply for pumpkin spice mix, which is usually a combination of these spices:

• Cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Ground cloves
• Nutmeg
• Allspice (optional)

Other recipes call for only a select few of these spices, but they are all quite complementary so if you don’t have one on hand you can always try substituting for another.

It is important to note that in traditional pumpkin spice, there are greater quantities of cinnamon and cloves which their flavors more dominant and the ones that people associate with pumpkin bread.

If you really want to hit the nostalgia factor, try not to omit those two spices.

As a last resort, you can substitute pumpkin spice mix with apple pie spice mix instead. It is very similar to pumpkin spice mix, but lacks the cloves.

Tasty and creative pumpkin bread recipes

Classic

Fill your house with the delicious scent of classic holiday seasoning like ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg when you make this scrumptious pumpkin bread. (via Once Upon a Chef)

Easy

This is literally the easiest bread recipe you’ll ever find. All you need is just two ingredients to make pumpkin bread like a champ: just a canned of pureed pumpkin and cake mix! (via North Carolina Charm)

Healthy

Pumpkin bread doesn’t have to be an indulgence that makes you feel guilty. Go with this healthy pumpkin bread, which uses quinoa and oats. (via The Colorful Kitchen)

Starbucks

This copycat recipe makes a few healthy ingredient swaps to give you a pumpkin bread that will remind you of Starbucks’ seasonal hit, complete with pumpkin seeds. (via Celebrating Sweets)

Fresh pumpkin

If you’re the type to wonder, "how do you make pumpkin bread with fresh pumpkin?" then here’s a recipe to learn from the best!

Watch a clip of Alton Brown teaching you his classic pumpkin bread recipe on his Good Eats show. (via Food Network)

Vanilla pudding

This recipe has a clever way of incorporating the sweet, floral notes of vanilla into your pumpkin bread without actually using vanilla extract. (via Chin Deep)

Chocolate chip

I'm pretty sure everyone can attest to chocolate making everything better, and pumpkin bread is no exception!

This pumpkin bread with chocolate chips is guaranteed to be a hit, so make lots and spread the cheer. (via Two Peas and Their Pod)

With cream cheese

The layers of cream cheese inside of the pumpkin bread to create amazing contrast between the fluffy pumpkin bread texture and the creamy counterpart. (via Your Cup of Cake)

Banana bread

Pumpkin cheesecake + banana bread = Match made in heaven. (via Mom on Timeout)

Cranberry

This double flavored bread has pecans too. (via Mom on Timeout)

With Greek yogurt

Believe it or not, butter & oil are not necessarily a must when making pumpkin bread. This version uses Greek yogurt, but the results are still deliciously soft and tender. (via Running with Spoons)

With streusel topping

Streusel is a cinnamon-flavored crumble topping often found on coffee cake and muffins, but it works perfectly well on pumpkin bread too! (via Damn Delicious)

Nut bread

Here’s a pumpkin bread recipe that tries to give you a whole variety of textures in one by adding some of walnuts plus raisins. (via Unicorns in the Kitchen)

Sourdough

This no-knead dough is scored and shaped all fancy to look like a pumpkin. (via Lavender and Lovage)

Vegan

This pumpkin bread without eggs and milk features a delicious top layer of brown sugar to make it extra special! (via Averie Cooks)

Gluten free

This super allergen-friendly pumpkin bread is vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Best of all, you only can just throw everything into a single bowl to mix it all! Less clean up is always a win! (via Beaming Baker)

Paleo and keto

Just because you’re doing a paleo or keto diet, doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the pumpkin bread goodness! It’s made with a unique blend of flours and is only 3g net carbs. (via Gnom Gnom)

Muffins

What’s better than great pumpkin bread? Sharing it! Muffins are an ideal way to serve pumpkin bread in individual sizes. (via Craftaholics Anonymous)

Martha Stewart

This pumpkin bread recipe by the queen of hostesses, Martha Stewart, features orange zest and orange juice was featured on a popular health show. (via Doctor Oz)

Halloween

Not necessarily pumpkin-flavored, but a fun-shaped bread that's stuffed with cream cheese to make around Halloween. (via Baking with Kids)