Easy Pumpkin Loaf: 3 Simple Pumpkin Bread Recipes

Pumpkin bread is a moist, gently spiced quick bread made by folding pumpkin puree into a simple batter, then baking it until golden. It sits between cake and everyday loaf, sweet enough for a treat and plain enough for breakfast.

You will need pumpkin puree, either homemade from roasted pumpkin or from a tin of pure pumpkin, not pie filling, along with basic store-cupboard ingredients.

Below are three easy pumpkin bread recipes: a gluten-free almond loaf, a spiced chocolate version, and a cream cheese-swirled loaf. Pick one and get baking.

How to Store Pumpkin Bread

Most of these recipes, including all three below, keep for about a week in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.

Wrap the loaf tightly in foil or cling film to help it stay fresh.

How to Serve Pumpkin Bread

Enjoy it on its own, or slather a slice with butter. It makes a lovely treat for breakfast, a mid-morning snack, or a slice alongside lunch.

If you like this kind of spiced bake, our pumpkin muffin recipes and pumpkin cookies are worth trying next.

Top Tips for a Perfect Loaf

• Because bread needs to rise, even pumpkin bread, do not fill the tin more than three-quarters full or it will not rise properly.
• Mix the batter just until combined, with no lumps left. Overmixing can make the loaf turn out chewy.
• Bring all the ingredients to room temperature before combining them. This stops the batter clumping and helps everything mix evenly.

If you are making your own puree rather than using a tin, pick a pumpkin meant for eating rather than a carving variety. Our guide to carving vs eating pumpkin varieties explains which ones bake best.

Roasting a whole pumpkin often leaves you with puree to spare. Rather than waste it, see our ideas for smart uses for your old Halloween pumpkin.

With those tips in mind, here are three easy pumpkin bread recipes to try:

Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread

This gluten-free loaf gets its texture from almond flour, plus a mix of fruit and nuts. Swap the pecans for walnuts, or the raisins for dried cranberries, if you prefer.

No pumpkin spice to hand? Use a pinch of cinnamon, a smaller pinch of ginger, and a little nutmeg and cloves instead.

Ingredients:

• 200g almond flour
• 80ml honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp pumpkin spice
• 185g pumpkin puree
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 55g butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 35g raisins
• 25g chopped pecans

Method:

1. First preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C).
2. Lightly grease a small loaf tin (450g/1lb, about 21 x 11cm) and line it with baking paper.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
4. Beat the butter and honey in another bowl until fluffy, then mix in the eggs.
5. Now add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, as well as the pumpkin puree.
6. Stir in the raisins and pecans.
7. Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for about an hour.
8. Cover the loaf with foil after about 45 minutes so the top does not burn.
9. It is done when a skewer or knife inserted in the middle comes out clean but moist.
10. Let the loaf cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn it out and let it cool completely.

Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

Looking for a sweet loaf? This chocolate chip pumpkin bread is quick and easy to make. Feel free to stir in a handful of chopped nuts too.

Ingredients:

• 165g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 25g cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 80ml coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 120ml maple syrup
• 60ml milk (any kind)
• 2 eggs
• 90g dark chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 245g pumpkin puree

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C) and grease a 20 x 10cm loaf tin.
2. Stir the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Mix the pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and maple syrup in another bowl.
4. Now combine the dry ingredients with the wet ones.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
7. Cool before serving.

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese

Cream cheese pumpkin bread is moist and rich, with a swirled cream cheese layer running through the middle. If you love that pairing, our pumpkin cheesecake recipes are worth a look too.

Ingredients:

For the Loaf:

• 220g plain flour
• 110g brown sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 425g pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp pumpkin spice
• 120ml oil

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

• 225g cream cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 50g caster sugar

Method:

1. First preheat the oven to 190C (fan 170C) and line a greased 23 x 13cm loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Make the filling. Beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth, then beat in the egg yolk, vanilla, and sugar. Set this aside.
3. Next make the batter. Whisk the flour with the bicarbonate of soda, salt, and pumpkin spice in a bowl.
4. Whisk the pumpkin puree and caster sugar in another bowl, then beat in the eggs, vanilla, and oil.
5. Mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Do not overmix, just get rid of the lumps.
6. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared tin, then spoon half the cream cheese mixture on top. Add the rest of the batter, then the rest of the cream cheese mixture.
7. Swirl it gently with a knife to marble the cream cheese mixture through the batter.
8. Loosely cover the tin with foil, then bake for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
9. Let the cream cheese pumpkin bread cool, then serve in slices.

Pumpkin bread is one of the best parts of autumn baking. A moist, tasty loaf is as simple as mixing the ingredients and baking, and not much beats a thick, warm slice with a generous amount of butter on top.