Pumpkin bread made with oil and pure pumpkin purée gives you a straightforward spiced loaf without frosting or a cake mix. This recipe uses a 9-by-5-inch pan and makes about ten slices. Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice supply the flavor, while gentle mixing keeps the flour from turning the batter unnecessarily tough.
Plan for pumpkin bread to cool after baking. A loaf can look ready at its edges while the center still needs more time, and slicing while it is hot can compress the crumb. Use a center check, then a rack, rather than treating the listed bake time as a guarantee.
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Why This Recipe Works
Oil stays fluid as the loaf cools, and pumpkin purée adds moisture to the batter. The recipe uses one cup of pumpkin and one cup of granulated sugar, making it different from richer loaves with extra purée, brown sugar, juice, or cream-cheese filling. This pumpkin bread keeps the original nine-ingredient batter.
There is no creaming stage or electric mixer requirement. Whisk the wet ingredients well, combine the dry ingredients separately, and stop folding once no dry flour remains. Pumpkin bread does not benefit from beating a completed batter until perfectly smooth.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Bread
Use plain canned pumpkin purée, not sweetened pumpkin pie filling. Measure one cup rather than emptying an unspecified can. All-purpose flour is spooned into the measuring cup and leveled; packing it tightly can add too much. Baking soda should be fresh, and pumpkin pie spice is a dry blend rather than pumpkin-flavored syrup.
For this pumpkin bread, the half cup of oil belongs in the batter; a little separate pan grease is also needed. Both eggs are large. The extra half teaspoon of cinnamon is intentional alongside the spice blend. Whole-wheat flour or gluten-free substitutions are not treated as tested one-for-one versions.
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup plain pumpkin purée (Not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
Dry ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (Spoon and level)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Pan preparation
- as needed butter or oil for greasing (Separate from batter oil)
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, lining the base and long sides with parchment if helpful. Mix pumpkin, sugar, and oil until even, then whisk in the eggs. In another bowl, combine flour, soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt thoroughly so the leavening distributes through the pumpkin bread.
Fold dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture using a spoon or spatula. Scrape the bowl sides and bottom, then transfer to the pan and level the surface. Bake roughly 50–60 minutes, checking the center with a skewer. It should have moist crumbs, not wet orange batter. If the top colors before the center sets, cover loosely with foil and continue baking. Let pumpkin bread stand in its pan ten minutes, then lift to a rack for about an hour or until cool before slicing.
How to Serve
Cut pumpkin bread into ten slices with a gentle sawing motion once it has cooled. Serve plain or with a small amount of butter chosen separately at the table. Coffee, tea, fruit, or yogurt can accompany a slice, but those additions are not included in the loaf’s ingredients.
If you prefer a warm slice, warm only the portion you intend to eat after the loaf has set and cooled. This avoids trying to cut hot pumpkin bread when the interior is still fragile. Slice thickness changes the portion count, so ten is an approximate yield rather than an exact serving weight.
Storage
Once cool, wrap pumpkin bread or place it in an airtight container. Keep at a cool room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerate for up to four days. In a hot or humid kitchen, use the refrigerator sooner and discard any loaf with mold or unusual spoilage.
For longer storage, wrap individual slices and freeze in a sealed container for up to two months for best quality. Thaw wrapped slices in the refrigerator or unwrap and warm a portion gently. Avoid sealing steaming pumpkin bread: trapped condensation can make the surface damp.
Do not taste uncooked batter; the FDA guidance on raw flour explains why flour-containing mixtures need cooking.
Tips and Variations
Pan dimensions affect the loaf height and bake time. A smaller pan can overflow or leave the middle slow to cook, while a wider pan makes a shallower loaf. Keep the stated 9-by-5-inch size when following the timing for pumpkin bread.
Scrape the batter from the mixing bowl instead of leaving flour pockets at the bottom. Do not add chips, nuts, icing, or more spice and then claim the unchanged recipe was tested with them. This pumpkin bread is the plain oil-based version; related chocolate and filled loaves have their own formulas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use pumpkin pie filling?
Use plain purée. Pie filling already contains sugar and seasonings and would change the balance of this pumpkin bread.
Does the whole can go into the bowl?
No. Measure one cup of purée. Can sizes vary, and the remaining pumpkin can be refrigerated separately.
Why is the middle wet after an hour?
Ovens and pan materials differ. Cover a darkening top loosely and continue until a center skewer shows crumbs without liquid batter.
When should I slice it?
After the pan rest and rack cooling, ideally when fully cool. Hot pumpkin bread can crumble or compress under a knife.
Can I freeze individual slices?
Yes. Wrap cooled slices and freeze airtight up to two months for quality; thaw or warm only the portions you need.
More Recipes to Try
- Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
- Homemade Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Sourdough Discard Cake
- Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Easy Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup plain pumpkin purée Not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
Dry ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour Spoon and level
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Pan preparation
- as needed butter or oil for greasing Separate from batter oil
Instructions
- Preheat to 350°F. Prepare the 9-by-5-inch pan with a light coat of grease and, if desired, a parchment sling.
- Whisk pumpkin purée, sugar, and oil in a bowl, then incorporate both eggs. In a second bowl, thoroughly combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
- Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture just until no dry streaks remain. Transfer all batter to the prepared pan and smooth its surface.
- Bake 50–60 minutes, or longer if a center skewer still carries wet batter. Loosely shield with foil if the top becomes too dark before the middle sets.
- Leave in the pan 10 minutes, then remove to a rack and cool approximately 60 minutes or until completely cool. Cut into about ten slices.
