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Super Moist Pumpkin Bread

Super Moist Pumpkin Bread delivers an incredibly soft, tender crumb using pumpkin purée and warm fall spices in a quick-bread loaf. It bakes up deeply golden with a toothpick-clean center and stays moist for days thanks to the oil and sour cream.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast
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
  • 0.5 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
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.25 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée
  • 0.25 cup sour cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp milk Use only if needed for consistency.
Optional mix-ins
  • 0.75 cup chopped pecans or walnuts Optional.
  • 0.5 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips Optional.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 oven

Method
 

Prep the pan and oven
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Mix 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 when you no longer see streaks of spice.
Mix wet ingredients
  1. Beat the eggs with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar, packed until smooth and slightly lighter in color. The mixture should look glossy and cohesive.
Combine wet and pumpkin mixture
  1. Mix in the vegetable oil, melted unsalted butter, pumpkin purée, sour cream, and vanilla extract until fully combined. Scrape the sides to ensure no streaks remain.
Adjust batter consistency
  1. Stir in the milk only if the batter seems very thick, adding it gradually. Stop once the batter flows easily from the spoon with a thick ribbon.
Combine dry and wet
  1. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until incorporated. Mix only until no dry flour pockets are visible.
Add optional mix-ins
  1. Fold in the chopped pecans or walnuts and/or the semi-sweet chocolate chips if using. Stop as soon as they are evenly distributed.
Bake
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake at 350°F for 60–70 minutes, until deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool and serve
  1. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely. This prevents steam from making the crumb gummy.
Slice
  1. Slice and serve as is or with softened butter or cream cheese. Cut only once the loaf is fully cooled for clean slices.

Notes

For best texture, do not overmix after the flour is added—fold just until incorporated to keep the crumb tender. Store the loaf wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days; freeze sliced portions for up to 2 months. For a dairy-light swap, replace the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt of similar fat content for a comparable moisture level.