This incredibly moist and flavorful pumpkin loaf combines the warmth and coziness of fall spices with the sweetness of pumpkin, resulting in the Best Pumpkin Bread that is both comforting and satisfying. The sweet brown sugar glaze pairs so well with this perfectly spiced quick bread.
It's safe to say that I'm just a tad obsessed with pumpkin bread. I mean is there anything better than a slice of pumpkin bread with your morning coffee on a crisp morning? For me, I think not! Claiming that my pumpkin bread is the "best" is quite a claim, but try it out for yourself and I'm 1000% positive you'll agree! It's incredibly moist, perfectly spiced and packed with tons of pumpkin flavor. I made sure to add quite a bit of pumpkin for obvious reasons like flavor but also to make the bread super moist, in which it definitely delivers!
Pumpkin bread is just like banana bread. It tastes infinitely better a few hours later or even better the next day. I always try to make it the night before I want to serve it. It's extremely yummy right out of the oven obviously, but if you give the flavors a chance to meld and settle together for a few hours, you will have an even more flavorful, moist pumpkin bread! It's chock full of my favorite fall spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Plus, I used more brown sugar than granulated sugar to make the flavor even more rich. There's not a dry crumb in this bread - it's absolute perfection!
Why this recipe works
- The pumpkin bread batter comes together in ONE bowl and no mixer is needed! You can just mix the batter quickly by hand.
Can we talk about the glaze for a second? Ahhhh, I just want to drink it. It's SO good. It's the same glaze I use on my banana bread and it's my favorite! Can anything be bad though with ingredients like brown sugar, butter and heavy cream? I don't think you can ever go wrong. You can omit it but.. why would you ever?
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Sugar: Light brown sugar & granulated sugar
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
- Salt
- Pumpkin puree: NOT pumpkin pie filling. The only ingredient should be pumpkin.
- Vegetable oil
- Milk: Whole or 2%
- Eggs
- Honey
- Heavy cream
- Unsalted butter
Substitutions & Variations
- To make this pumpkin bread even more like a copycat Starbucks pumpkin loaf, top with slightly crushed pepita seeds just before baking.
- Add a cinnamon streusel topping on top just before baking for a sweet and crunchy flavor.
How to make moist pumpkin bread
- Gently whisk all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Create a well in the center and add all wet ingredients. Beat until fully combined.
- Pour batter in prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Begin checking bread at about 55 minutes and every few minutes after that since every oven is different.
- Allow pumpkin bread to cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- For the glaze: In a small sauce pan, melt butter with honey. Whisk in brown sugar and heavy cream until smooth. Allow mixture to heat for a few minutes until very hot. Once mixture is ready, take off heat and allow it to cool and thicken for about 10 minutes.
- Drizzle over cooled pumpkin bread and serve.
Recipe tip
If the top of the bread starts browning too soon before the center is done, tent loosely with foil to prevent further browning.
This pumpkin bread will stay moist and fresh for up to 5 days stored in an airtight container.
To freeze, wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Place in a resealable, freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
This recipe calls for using a 9x5-inch loaf pan. You can also use two 8x4-inch pans.
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📋 Recipe
The Best Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- pinch salt
- 1 ½ cup pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbs whole milk
- 2 eggs
Brown Sugar Glaze
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tbs honey
- 2 tbs heavy cream
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan very well and dust lightly with flour. Set aside. You can also use two 8x4-inch pans.
For the pumpkin bread
- In a large bowl, gently whisk flour, baking soda, both sugars and spices together until combined. Create a well in the center and add oil, pumpkin, milk and eggs. Beat until fully combined.
- Pour batter in prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Begin checking bread at about 55 minutes and every few minutes after that since every oven is different. If the top of the bread starts browning too soon before the center is done, tent loosely with foil to prevent further browning.
- Allow pumpkin bread to cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
For the glaze
- In a small sauce pan, melt butter with honey. Once butter is melted, whisk in brown sugar and heavy cream until smooth. Allow mixture to heat for a few minutes until very hot without coming to a boil. Once mixture is ready, take off heat and allow it to cool and thicken for about 10 minutes. Drizzle over cooled pumpkin bread and serve.
Notes
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Olga says
Is there a reason the "pin it" pin doesn't work. I can't seem to pin this to my pinterest.
Jessica says
I'm not sure. I just tried pinning from mobile and desktop and both worked fine for me. Sorry for the inconvenience! Maybe try again in a little bit!