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Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread

Old fashioned pumpkin bread made with real pumpkin purée and warm fall spices, baked into a soft, moist loaf with a deeply golden crust. The batter is mixed just until no dry streaks remain to keep the crumb tender.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Cooling 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp ground cloves
Wet ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.5 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.25 cup milk

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Prepare the oven and pan
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves in a large bowl until evenly combined. Stop mixing once the spices are uniformly distributed.
Mix the wet ingredients
  1. Beat the eggs, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the vegetable oil, unsweetened applesauce, pumpkin purée, vanilla extract, and milk until fully combined.
Combine and bake
  1. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no dry streaks remain, and do not overmix. Scrape the bowl as needed to keep the batter thick and uniform.
  2. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan gently once to help level the surface.
  3. Bake at 350°F for 60–70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the loaf is deeply golden. If the top darkens too quickly, loosely tent with foil for the remaining time.
Cool and serve
  1. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing for clean, tender slices.

Notes

Pro tip: for the most tender crumb, fold the dry into the wet just until the flour disappears—overmixing can make pumpkin bread tougher. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze slices in an airtight bag for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge. For a lighter option, use refined coconut oil instead of vegetable oil for a similar moist texture.