Easy Pumpkin Bread

There’s nothing like making a loaf of easy pumpkin bread in the fall months. Warm, spiced and topped with a crunchy layer of pumpkin seeds, a slice of this bread is just like the one you can find in your favorite coffee shop. It’s sure to delight anyone who craves a taste of fall.

Easy pumpkin bread recipe

Whenever the weather starts cooling off, I always get a hankering for buying more sweaters and scarves, coffee drinks with pumpkin spice flavors and some fall baking.

If I order a pumpkin spice latte, I will always want a slice of warm pumpkin bread to go with it. But buying pastries can really add up at the coffee shop after a few visits.

That’s where the fall baking desire comes in: I love to bake up a few loaves of pumpkin desserts in the fall. From pumpkin doughnut muffins to pumpkin cake push pops to pumpkin pop tarts, there is always room in my baking schedule for more pumpkin.

(And my cocktail schedule too — I love to make this pumpkin spice mule and this pumpkin spice old-fashioned with any leftover pumpkin puree.)

But pumpkin bread takes the cake. It is often requested in my house over banana bread whenever the hot temperatures subside.

Why you’ll love this recipe

I’ve been baking this pumpkin bread recipe for at least a decade, and it’s always such a hit.

Easy breads like pumpkin loaves and cinnamon raisin bread make great gifts for neighbors and friends or the perfect treat to enjoy with coffee.

Over the years I’ve been tweaking it to make it to my liking. I love the ease of making this pumpkin bread with canned pumpkin.

And if I find myself with leftover pumpkin puree, I use it to make pumpkin spice syrup for coffee drinks and cocktails. The two together instantly transport me to the nearest coffee shop!

(Truthfully, this recipe is better than Starbucks’ pumpkin bread!)

Better than Starbucks pumpkin bread recipe

This recipe is as good as, if not better than the one you can find in the siren’s coffee house.

It’s moist. It’s perfectly balanced between sweet and spiced. And it has that crunchy pumpkin seed topping, just like the one you can order with your PSL.

But I love making it at home because:

1. You can make more. I’ll often make an extra loaf for a friend or neighbor, or sometimes I’ll bake up a ton of mini-loaves in this miniature loaf pan. (I love giving these to guests at Thanksgiving to enjoy the next morning.)
2. You can use your favorite ingredients. I will always splurge on organic pumpkin puree, or sometimes even homemade pumpkin puree. My spices always come from my favorite local shop or a high-quality brand like Spiceology. And it never hurts to use high-quality vanilla extract, either.
3. You can mix it up. Sometimes I will add more pumpkin seeds to the top or even to the batter. Sometimes I will stir in chocolate chips to make it into pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

How to make pumpkin loaf

Here’s a quick look at how we’ll make this easy pumpkin bread:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease your loaf pan.
2. Mix up the dry ingredients and spices.
3. Beat the eggs, sugars and vanilla.
4. Add the pumpkin and oil.
5. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients and spices.
6. Pour into the loaf pan and bake!
7. Bake for an hour, then let the bread cool down before serving.

Step-by-step instructions

Now let’s go step-by-step with pictures on how to make this pumpkin bread.

Before you get started, measure out all your ingredients. It makes baking go so much faster! Also, turn on the oven to 350°F, then grease your loaf pan.

Go ahead and mix together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, as well as the spices. Feel free to substitute the spices for pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice.

Step 1: In a stand mixer, mix up the eggs, both kinds of sugar and vanilla extract. (Feel free to use a hand mixer and a mixing bowl.)

Step 2: Beat the eggs until all the ingredients are nice and blended. The color of the mixture should be pale yellow.

Step 3: Add the pumpkin puree.

Step 4: Add the oil.

Step 5: Mix again until the ingredients are all incorporated. The addition of the pumpkin will cause the mixture to turn a light orange.

Step 6: Add the dry ingredients: the spices, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. (Ideally you will prepare these ahead of time in a mixing bowl — I forgot to grab a picture of this step!)

Step 7: Mix on low speed until the flour mixture is just incorporated. Be sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl every 30 seconds or so to make sure all the dry ingredients get mixed together.

Step 8: When the mixture is a solid orange color, you are ready to pour it into your loaf pan.

Step 9: Top with pumpkin seeds and pop it in the oven!

Cook for 60 minutes, but start checking it around the 50-minute mark. Test it with a cake tester or a toothpick. When it comes out clean, you’re ready to take it out of the oven.

Step 10: Place the loaf pan on a wire baking rack for 10 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and let cool completely before cutting into it.

Cut it into thick slices — it should yield you 8-12 slices depending on how thick you like your pumpkin bread to be sliced.

And that’s how you make pumpkin bread! So easy and way better than Starbucks.

Enjoy it for breakfast with your favorite autumn latte. Serve it alongside an afternoon coffee or tea break. Eat it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for dessert.

It’s seriously the best. This easy pumpkin bread recipe will satisfy your hankering for fall baking!

More pumpkin recipes

If you love pumpkin, look no further than these amazing fall recipes:

• Pumpkin Spice Cake Push Pops
• Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
• Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Toffee Bark
• Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Muffins
• Pumpkin Banana Muffins